The rare books department of a Toronto university library is the setting for this intriguing mystery audiobook. When the chief librarian has a stroke, his second in command, Liesl Weiss, is called back from sabbatical to cover for him. It's a move not widely supported by her department. Narrator Hannah Cabell creates a cast of believable characters. She highlights Liesl's internally voiced concerns when she discovers that a rare Bible has disappeared from the library. She feels it's her responsibility to uncover what happened to it. Cabell's characterizations are so finely tuned that it seems as if the listener is in the room with the characters. Her timing helps keep the story moving toward its slightly inevitable conclusion.
Pub Date: Jan. 25, 2022
Duration: 9 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781705030875
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
For someone whose vocal palette contains so few colors, Edward Asner is a surprisingly effective narrator. His familiar, pleasant growl compels attention and bespeaks authority. He has his faults though. As an audiobook performer, he has but one personality, whatever the narrative voice of his text. One gets the impression that he enters the studio underprepared, taking his time to discover the book as he reads it. Thus it is with An Isolated Incident, a taut, suspenseful murder mystery set in Puget Sound. Other readers could better explore all the beats of this rich page-turner, but few could hold an audience as effortlessly.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: Time Warner AudioBooks
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Kay Scarpetta takes on more than routine investigations as her job of medical examiner involves her once again in a search for an unknown killer. The story is riveting from the opening chapters, and Sheila Hart never lets the intrigue subside. However Hart doesn't use enough vocal range, and male voices sound tinny and high-pitched. The dialogues with tough yet, endearing, Lt. Pete Marino have perfect cadence, accent and speech pattern, but sound somewhat thin and insubstantial. Telephone conversations and flashbacks are set off by effective sound enhancement, a useful addition. The overall presentation is very good driven strongly by the author's contribution.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 9 hrs
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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