The five novellas by Frederick Forsyth are filled with intrigue, investigation, and that special twist in the last paragraph that jolts the listener with a surprise ending. Patrick MacNee and Christopher Cazenove read the first four tales in a matter-of-fact manner, crisply enun-ciating the words but never interacting with the plots or characters. Their voices drone on and on, making the stories dull and forgettable. In the fourth tale, THE ART OF THE MATTER, the production is marred by chair-squeaking and page-rustling just when the tale starts to grab the listener's attention. The fifth tale, WHISPRING WIND, performed by Bruce Boxleitner, is worth the wait as he tells in breathless wonderment of the only survivor of Custer's Last Stand, Ben Craig. As the tale gains in momentum, Boxleitner wraps the listener into the suspense of Craig's experience. Unfortunately, one tale follows the next, and because there is no way to tell which story is on what tape, the listener is fored to experience them all.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2001
Duration: 13 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: New Millennium Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
A series of terrifying accounts of the macabre is brought to life through David Ledoux's splendid reading. Ledoux offers a straightforward approach, making Hill's startling tales as believable as they are frightening. As narrator, Ledoux understands these stories—be it the dazzlingly imaginative "Pop Art" or the tense "Best New Horror," in which the central character is a horror editor who finds himself entrapped in one of his stories. Hill is a master at creating a high-tension atmosphere that never ceases to pay off with a scare. This innate ability is perfectly realized by Ledoux, who knows precisely when to increase his tone and pitch, or let his voice accelerate to increase the stakes. Dark, brooding, and realistic, Ledoux's performance is underplayed where it could go over the top.
Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2007
Duration: 12 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9780061554667
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Ottessa Moshfegh, author of several audiobooks, one of which she narrates, steps in to deliver this new production of the late Leonard Cohen's early fiction, written in the 1950s. The 16 short stories and a novella are a snapshot of the period and the artist's development of his voice. Cohen focuses on themes of violence, deeply intimate sex, rejection, the betrayals of old age, and more violence. Moshfegh's voice may be unexpected, given Cohen's many first-person male characters, but, curiously, it works. Moshfegh meets the moments of sexual intimacy, and of shocking violence, straight on, conveying a reverence for these early works.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2022
Duration: 7 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781696609784
Publisher: HighBridge Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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