To convey the setting of this novel, narrator Bahni Turpin employs several regional Southern accents and a tone that reflects the oppressive heat and humidity of the Mississippi Delta. A mood of impending doom prevails as Billie James returns to claim a small inheritance from her late father, a renowned African-American poet who died in a mysterious accident when she was only 4. Adding to that mystery is her own unexplained disappearance on the same day--which she doesn't remember. Turpin lets a palpable sense of danger creep into her performance as the questions about what happened to Billie and her father unfold. Billie is engaging and curious, and Turpin reflects her developing maturity as secrets are revealed. Listeners may find fingernail imprints on their armrests at Billie's final confrontation.
Pub Date: 2019
Duration: 8 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780062917850
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
American colleges are favorable locales for ghastly event and hair-tearing circumstance. There is, for instance, a good deal of pleasure to be had out of professor and past-prodigy Grady Tripp's awful life, as portrayed by Michael Chabon in WONDER BOYS. There is a certain amount of slapstick here, but it's balanced by Chabon's superb portrait of a gale-force mid-life crisis, a soul-destroying albatross of an unfinished novel and the mind-numbing inconsequence of writers' conferences. David Colacci sounds a little starved for oxygen in his reading, but that's not exactly out of keeping with Grady Tripp's personal gestalt.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: N/A
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
As a group of men bring their own emotional baggage to their football-obsessed reunion, R.C. Bray delivers his usual solid narration. He shifts his tones slightly but enough to put the listener in the motel with the men, revealing their foibles as the story progresses. The narrator's role in this book is a descriptive one, and Bray is a good guide. His narration becomes extra important because this is a rare instance when there almost isn't a protagonist. The author's well-written story--which alternates between serious and laugh-out-loud funny--uses quarterback Joe Theismann's 1985 injury, a broken leg, as a McGuffin.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 5 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781681680057
Publisher: HighBridge Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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