Narrator Peter Noble is known for the range and variety of his audiobook credits, and more importantly for his sensitivity to the unique mood and character of each work he undertakes. That skill is put to good use in historical novelist Alan Furst's latest WWII thriller, set in occupied Paris and other sites across Nazi-occupied Europe. The plot is episodic, a series of separate adventures by Furst's accidental spy, a 40-something writer of detective novels with no previous combat experience. Furst, a master of period detail, draws us into the wartime atmosphere, the everyday experience and mood. Noble's delivery is measured and slightly hushed, as if danger were lurking somewhere close by--as it invariably is in this tense, high-action thriller.
Pub Date: Nov. 26, 2019
Duration: 7 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781797101552
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Ayla, one of the "others," is adopted by a clan of Neanderthal cave people. She struggles to conform to their ways, but her advanced human traits overwhelm and threaten their primitive culture in this initial installment of an immensely popular series. Although the story might benefit from abridgment, Rowena Cooper easily carries out the formidable task of enlivening the mostly silent and stereotypical characters with consistent, diverse personalities and human dimension. Through skillful phrasing and inflection, she maintains the reader's interest and suspense, especially with Ayla and her plight, throughout this rambling and imaginative story.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 22 hrs
Publisher: BBC Audiobooks America/ Chivers
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
This lyrical, sensual novel of woman's lot in Manchu, China, is as well researched as it is well written. Authentic in tone, it's nonetheless written for Westerners by a Western expert on China. Moreover, Susan Clark performs the demanding text superbly, with only occasional signs of fatigue. For the most part she not only sustains the quaint diction and Asian atmosphere, but also, creates whole worlds with her voice. She acts the book, rather than reads it, and, in so doing, turns a pretty trifle into a stupendous beauty.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 4 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Audio Literature
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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