This enjoyable, if unconvincing, mystery is overstuffed with background details about its Martha’s Vineyard setting. It’s like trying to watch a movie while someone nearby talks excitedly about having visited the places where the film was shot. This puts all the more pressure on Davina Porter to rivet our attention on the characters she is bringing to life: Victoria, a nonagenarian poet and sleuth; her granddaughter, Elizabeth; a crackpot island Indian; and Domingo, the Hispanic harbormaster who drives a Rolls Royce (why?). . . Even when the plot wobbles or Victoria’s legendary pluckiness borders on the deranged, Porter gives it the skill and verve she would bring to high art, and it goes a long way.
Pub Date: March 1, 2006
Duration: 9 hrs
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
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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