Cassandra Campbell has a melodic voice and fine, fluid Italian, both important attributes for the narrator of Donna Leon’s first stand-alone mystery. THE JEWELS OF PARADISE focuses on Caterina Pellegrini, a scholar of Baroque opera who returns to her native Venice to examine the contents of two eighteenth-century trunks belonging to a forgotten Baroque composer. Will the trunks contain real jewels, as their odious owners hope, or do they hide something else? As Caterina delves into the mystery, much of the action is in research libraries and involves passages of untranslated Italian. Campbell’s pacing honors the novel’s andante tempo, and her characterizations are fine, albeit somewhat uniform. This is a literary departure for Donna Leon, which will please some, but not all, of her fans.
Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2012
Duration: 9 hrs
Publisher: AudioGo
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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