Gritty would be a mild description for this original and tensely plotted story set in the seamiest corners of Glasgow and London. It would also be gripping, but for a very bad choice on the part of the talented narrator. Instead of reading only the appropriate dialogue in a Glaswegian accent, Katy Anderson gives us the entire text in a brogue so thick it’s like listening to Middle English. This might be quite wonderful in smaller doses, but it here includes in every sentence a repetitive upswing of the voice that in standard English would indicate intense surprise or dismay, but in Glasgow apparently means nothing. The effect is like a text marred by very frequent?! but random question marks and exclamation points, distracting and badly distorting the sense of the story.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2005
Duration: 13 hrs
Publisher: ISIS Audio Books
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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