The John Rebus mysteries are the perfect antidote for those who refuse to see Scotland as anything more than rolling brogues, luxuriously green hills, and men in quaint tartan skirts. The world of Edinburgh is altogether different, as menacing and unforgiving as the toughest streets of any American city. Inspector Rebus himself is a singular figure in the mystery genre, a man with little more than hard edges and obsessions, who is very hard to like. About the cases he pursues, he is single-minded to a fault, damn the consequences for anyone. Here the deaths of three men at the lowest echelons of Scottish life lead him to financial misdoings at the very highest. Samuel Gillies does a marvelous job of delivering an American audience to this exotic location without ever sentimentalizing it.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2001
Duration: 10 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Recorded Books/ Clipper
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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