Karen Chilton narrates a powerful story about freedom, choice, and responsibility during the Civil War. Daniel Cumberland and Janeta Sanchez have been paired up and sent on a mission for the Loyal League--a secret group of black spies. Neither is happy with the arrangement. Chilton captures Daniel's struggles after his experience with abduction into slavery: He is a broken man who does not want to heal because he cannot forgive himself. Janeta has a different but no less complicated struggle to overcome: her guilt at causing her father's imprisonment and her increasing discomfort at being a double agent for the Confederacy--all of which Chilton evokes with ease. Janeta's frequent use of Spanish poses no problem for Chilton, who seems to speak it as easily as English.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2019
Duration: 10 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781501960437
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
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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