Winspear's latest Maisie Dobbs mystery is delightfully narrated by Orlagh Cassidy, who has done several others in this series. Not only does she navigate nimbly through conversations featuring various British accents, but she also is skilled at capturing personalities through speech. Maisie, the self-employed private investigator, is smart, self-confident, and a little headstrong, and here she knocks heads with Scotland Yard inspectors over a threat of mass murder. This is 1931-32, and the horrors of WWI are still haunting those who fought. Between suspenseful episodes, Cassidy invests scenes like cooking a simple dinner with an almost- sensuous domesticity. Just when you think things are wrapping up, Winspear cranks the plot one more time.
Pub Date: Feb. 17, 2009
Duration: 9 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781427206060
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
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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