This collection is packed with entertaining nuggets, and the narrators are all on target, but the Elmore Leonard stories themselves--most of them early, unpublished works--use styles and techniques that Leonard would later abandon or refine. For example, Will Patton starts the collection with the right mix of cynicism and fatalism in "One, Horizontal," a noir-ish first-person tale with an O. Henry ending, all elements that Leonard later shunned. This formula--great narration and unexpected stylings from Leonard--makes CHARLIE MARTZ an oddity among Elmore Leonard's 40+ audiobooks. The thematic seeds are there--the underestimated man, women and men as partners, the battle against social injustice--but the stories are missing the twinkling dialogue and light pacing of the mature Leonard. Kudos to all the narrators, especially Tish Hicks.
Pub Date: June 16, 2015
Duration: 7 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9780062395443
Publisher: Harper 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
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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