Welch breathes life into this slow tale honoring the golden age of mystery and detective fiction.
Australian Ernest Cunningham is seeking a loan for his detective business when he, his girlfriend, and ten others are taken hostage in a bank holdup. Each captive is also an unlikely thief whose backstory is revealed via Ernest’s skills. Narrator Barton Welch differentiates the characters, including snooty French film director Remy, with his exaggerated accent, and Gabriel, a priest who communicates with them by typing on his iPad and who eventually breaks his vow of silence to help. Ernest is believable as an unreliable narrator, and getting inside his head adds fun to the proceedings. Puns, corny jokes, and unnecessary asides, however, become repetitive, and the Christie-esque denouement, set in a funeral parlor, is disappointing.
Welch breathes life into this slow tale honoring the golden age of mystery and detective fiction.Pub Date: March 17, 2026
Duration: 9 hrs, 51 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063434400
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2026
For someone whose vocal palette contains so few colors, Edward Asner is a surprisingly effective narrator. His familiar, pleasant growl compels attention and bespeaks authority. He has his faults though. As an audiobook performer, he has but one personality, whatever the narrative voice of his text. One gets the impression that he enters the studio underprepared, taking his time to discover the book as he reads it. Thus it is with An Isolated Incident, a taut, suspenseful murder mystery set in Puget Sound. Other readers could better explore all the beats of this rich page-turner, but few could hold an audience as effortlessly.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: Time Warner AudioBooks
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Kay Scarpetta takes on more than routine investigations as her job of medical examiner involves her once again in a search for an unknown killer. The story is riveting from the opening chapters, and Sheila Hart never lets the intrigue subside. However Hart doesn't use enough vocal range, and male voices sound tinny and high-pitched. The dialogues with tough yet, endearing, Lt. Pete Marino have perfect cadence, accent and speech pattern, but sound somewhat thin and insubstantial. Telephone conversations and flashbacks are set off by effective sound enhancement, a useful addition. The overall presentation is very good driven strongly by the author's contribution.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 9 hrs
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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