Maisie Dobbs is a complicated and appealing investigator, here on her ninth outing. She has risen from the mean streets of Lambeth through England’s social strata, becoming a psychologist and heiress to her late mentor’s fortune. All this upward mobility makes voicing her tricky—do we hear her rough origins in her speech? Orlagh Cassidy thinks not; her Maisie’s diction is veddy refined, though the suspicious death of her childhood acquaintance, sweet, slow horse-whisperer Eddie Pettit, draws her back to the Lambeth of her roots. The plotting covers a canvas of England between the wars, with horses being phased out and Hitler gathering strength, and even a dispirited Winston Churchill doing a cameo. Cassidy makes it a rich riot of voices, vivid, convincing, and delightful.
Pub Date: March 27, 2012
Duration: 10 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9780062187536
Publisher: Harper 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
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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