Timothy Dalton offers an excellent, fine-tuned narration of this first in a planned series of crime novels by Booker Prize winner John Banville, writing as Benjamin Black. The series will feature Garret Quirke, an alcoholic Dublin pathologist as quirky as his name. The dark, densely plotted novel focuses on illegal transatlantic trafficking in orphans by prominent Catholics who want to create a stockpile of future priests and nuns. Dalton differentiates his Dublin and Boston Irish accents beautifully. He’s also adept at creating believable personality studies of a wide range of characters, including women, the very young, and the old. His narration, which grabs the listener’s attention from the first, never flags.
Pub Date: March 6, 2007
Duration: 9 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Audio Renaissance
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Novelist Benet Archdale and housemaid Carol Stratford are two young, single parents who have no reason to know each other. They become tangled in a nightmarish spiral of kidnap, fraud, family violence and death. Ruth Rendell creates psychological suspense in thrillers that are compulsively readable or, in this case, listenable. British actress Imelda Staunton's reading is perfectly paced, and the characters are well defined. You'll have a hard time turning it off.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 9 hrs
Publisher: BBC Audiobooks America/ Chivers
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Emerson and Peabody are at it again! Uncovering antiquities takes a back-seat as the romantic archaeologists track down the master criminal who is stealing Egypt's ancient treasures. With the help of their precocious son, Ramses, the intrepid pair unravel this mystery in crowded bazaars, desert camps and the heart of the Black Pyramid. Barbara Rosenblat's reading fully measures up to the tale. She is a master of timing and nuance. Rosenblat's power for character interpretation has grown with each book in this amusing series. This is the best one yet.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 12 hrs
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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