Marni Penning and Andrea Emmes carry listeners through the three timelines in this audiobook. With heartfelt expression, they show listeners just how far and how hard a person can fall in their quest for perfection. The intertwining lives of the characters are made all the more captivating through the narrators' evocative performances. Using a distinct voice for each character, Emmes and Penning project every emotional moment, allowing listeners to feel the highs and lows of Bridget, Claire, and Barbara's lives--both private and public. As their stories are laid bare, listeners are swept to a conclusion that is as gripping as it is poignant.
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 2025
Duration: 10 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9798228706279
Publisher: RMSW Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
An expert evocation of the gradual collapse of one man’s orderly life.
Narrator Winson Ting gives a haunting portrayal of Tsuneo Asai, a Japanese civil servant whose life unravels as he delves deeper into the death of his wife, Eiko. Vidish Athavale narrates Pico Iyer’s introduction to Matsumoto’s 1971 psychological portrait. Ting’s base line for Asai is restrained and socially appropriate, but the tension steadily increases when Asai meets the woman in whose shop Eiko died and notices discrepancies in her story. Through careful control of pace and tone, Ting ratchets up the tension with a trembling voice, strained whispers, and tight pauses, revealing how Asai’s veneer of diligence and obedience begins to crack as he uncovers clues that dismantle his moral compass.
An expert evocation of the gradual collapse of one man’s orderly life.Pub Date: today
Duration: 7 hrs, 33 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217343171
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: today
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026
Altheide makes the most of this complex narrative, which explores reputation, desire, and flawed judgment.
Novelist Steven Hammer’s declining career and strained marriage leave him increasingly drawn to Astrid, the family’s Norwegian au pair. Eric A. Altheide’s subtle shifts in tone highlight Steven's many missteps of obsession, insecurity, and self-justification. Listeners have front-row seats to a middle-aged man’s inability to transition from fame to obscurity. Altheide portrays Steven's growing fixation on Astrid with mounting tension. His performance maximizes the overlapping circles of passion, manipulation, and power as Steven and Astrid's choices produce larger and larger consequences and a public scandal eventually erupts.
Altheide makes the most of this complex narrative, which explores reputation, desire, and flawed judgment.Pub Date: June 30, 2026
Duration: 6 hrs, 34 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063457201
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: June 23, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026
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