Winner of the Booker Prize (1970) and author of 23 novels, Bernice Rubens explores the secrets buried deep in the minds of each of her central characters. NINE LIVES is not about plot. The revelations, when they come, are predictable. The story is imposing because of Rubens’s understanding of human psychology. Characters are developed with subtlety by what they do; their loneliness hinted at in what they say. For reasons known only to Donald Dorricks, he’s garroting psychotherapists with guitar strings. Narrator Di Langford is convincing as Verine, Donald’s pathetic wife, bewildered by a life long out of her control. When Langford reads from Donald’s diary, she recounts the gruesome murder details with chilling ordinariness. Although she sometimes loses a character’s voice in mid-scene, her reading is smart and engrossing.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2002
Duration: 7 hrs, 15 mins
Publisher: ISIS Audio Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
In the latest Kinsey Millhone mystery, Kinsey is hired by an aged, wealthy man to retrieve his daughter from prison, where she has served time for embezzlement. Kinsey quickly figures out that the girl isn’t an embezzler but instead has done time for her money-laundering boss. All heck breaks loose. Judy Kaye has a warm, rich voice that seems just right for Grafton’s P.I. Her delivery mirrors the smart-aleck tenor of much of Kinsey’s dialogue. Strangely though, when Kaye is interpreting a male character (and there are many), she raises her voice to a higher register, so that many of the men sound like adolescents with changing voices, or worse, like chipmunks. It may be Kaye’s subtle social comment, though. For once the listener adapts, this odd gender reversal seems natural.
Pub Date: July 13, 2004
Duration: 10 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Benedict Juliard, forced from steeplechase racing, becomes increasingly involved in politics and protecting his father's life. Prebble's relaxed but masterful command of characters allows an easy flow during conversations, as well as the sudden transformations from narrative to action scenes. His clear, precise speech; polished style of delivery; and sense of timing give a steady consistency and excellence to his reading. Prebble carries the main characters with ease, but he seems to delight in performing the secondary characters, who feature a great variety of accents to match their roles. Another polished performance by a master of reading.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 1998
Duration: 7 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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