Just as Hart evokes an authentic Irish ambience in this debut gothic suspense set in Galway, Jennifer McMahon uses a variety of accents to enhance the listener's visit to the British Isles. Cutting turf in Drumcleggan Bog, farmers discover a severed head. Irish archaeologist Cormac Maguire and American anatomist Nora Gavin are called in to investigate. Their investigation leads to connections between ancient and contemporary puzzles featuring the music, architecture, folklore, and history of Ireland. McMahon's female voices are lilting, low, and sensual, but she strains to produce acceptable masculine sounding characters. Nonetheless, a well-modulated and clear reading, with pacing modulations to enhance the suspense and drama, results in a pleasing experience.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2003
Duration: 13 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Books on Tape
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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