Eleven-year-old Jenny Graymark Beacons arrives at Graymark Manor expecting to be warmly and lovingly received by her grandfather after her long trip from China. Instead, she is called an imposter and told to leave. Having nowhere else to go, she accepts a job as a servant and ends up living in the cellar, working all day to clean and do laundry. As she reconciles herself to her fate, Jenny begins to make friends and a new life for herself. Christina Moore captures Jenny’s trepidation as she faces the terror and loneliness of her new life, as well as the change in her voice and stature as she grows more comfortable in her new role. Moore's fully voiced reading gives convincing portrayals of the austere Madam Duprey; resentful Violet; easy-going and direct Jingles; cold and cruel Winston Graymark; and Jenny’s kindly grandfather. Moore's dramatic performance builds the suspense, casting suspicion every which way, until the predictable but satisfying end.
Ages 8+Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2001
Duration: 4 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Liam Aiken narrates this prequel to the Series of Unfortunate Events in a somber, deadpan tone that heightens its dark humor. As a teenaged Lemony Snicket investigates a series of arsons in a town called Stain’d-by-the-Sea, Aiken creates voices that delineate character and help keep clear the large cast of Snicket’s associates, enemies, and enemies that turn out to be associates. Aiken’s tone of quiet urgency will keep listeners hooked through wordplay, mysteries, good meals, romance, and the appearance of a new villain named Hangfire, who hoodwinks adults, frames a librarian, and kidnaps all the children in town. This smart and funny listen will please Snicket fans and create new ones.
(Mystery. 8-14)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2014
Duration: 6 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781478955733
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
While narrator Liam Aiken evokes the wistful, dolorous tone of Snicket’s second mystery in his All the Wrong Questions series, he fails to deliver Snicket’s signature snark with appropriate vigor. In this episode, the main character, 12-year-old Lemony Snicket, continues the investigations that began in STAIN’D BY THE SEA with the case of the missing chemist, Cleo Knight. As Aiken delivers Snicket’s declarative sentences in a deadpan voice, his remote reading keeps listeners distant from the story. Furthermore, Aiken does not always play up the quirks of the town’s eccentric characters. When he does use individualized voicings, the story shakes off its languidness to some degree. Aiken’s melancholy narration echoes Snicket’s loneliness but doesn’t enliven the recording for young listeners. An attached PDF file includes the character Seth’s illustrations.
(Mystery. 8-14)Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2013
Duration: 4 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781478924845
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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