Professor Wilson Bledsoe, an African-American biologist who teaches at Dartmouth College, is on his way home from a party celebrating his receipt of an international prize when he is abducted and brutally killed. The crime appears to have been committed by white supremacists. But when Professor Bledsoe's brother Sterling, an FBI agent, arrives on the scene, new and even more sinister motives begin coming to light. THE BLACKBIRD PAPERS is an excellent first novel by a young physician and medical journalist. Unfortunately, actor Brent Jennings renders the recording of this Ivy League thriller in a way that is more Harlem than Dartmouth. Jennings lacks the professorial tone of Smith's novel, which is well delivered in Smith's own narration of the abridged adaptation.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2004
Duration: 12 hrs
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
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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