Gail Shalan narrates this psychological suspense featuring five aspiring authors who are participating in a writing retreat held at an isolated mansion in the Adirondacks. The five attendees are all women under 30, though they seem younger. The leader of the retreat is Roza Vallo, a renowned feminist horror writer much admired by the young writers. Shalan gives Roza, who is Hungarian by birth, a voice that sometimes sounds warm and sometimes sinister. The story is told by Alex, who hopes the month-long retreat will overcome her writer's block. It does just that but in a way that is terrifying. The plot includes secret passages, underground dungeons, mind-altering drugs, odd sexual undertones, and murder. Shalan makes each writer distinctive and interesting.
Pub Date: Feb. 21, 2023
Duration: 11 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781797151762
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
This quirky audiobook is both profoundly nonsensical and nonsensically profound.
In an impassioned voice, narrator Kimberly Wetherell tells the surreal, offbeat story of Dinah, a self-absorbed Vermont woman who is unable to process reality. She is fixated on her adolescence, bears, creatures of the night, various rules and codes of conduct, and fairy tales. Most of all she is haunted by memories of Rex, the charismatic but manipulative leader of the Nobodies, a group of vigilante teens, including Dinah, whoonce meted out punishment to bullies. Twenty years later, Dinah returns to her hometown to solve a mystery. What follows are riveting suspense, mystical revelations, and talking bears and cats. Wetherell makes one really hear Dinah, even if understanding her proves challenging.
This quirky audiobook is both profoundly nonsensical and nonsensically profound.Pub Date: Aug. 11, 2026
Duration: 13 hrs, 35 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668657041
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: today
A wild ride from the opening to the heart-pounding conclusion.
Narrator Alison McGirr is a perfect match for this thriller set in Melbourne, Australia. She masterfully conveys characters, including a terrified 10-year-old boy, through tone, accent, and pace. Listeners are introduced to Detective Sergeant Judith Lee, who is smart, brave, and carrying the burden of a dramatic backstory that influences her every decision. She meets with a university student who reports a psychologist’s inappropriate behavior. When mysterious packages with enigmatic messages are delivered to three seemingly unrelated people, Detective Lee is determined to find the connections between them and the student she met with. For the listener, letters from the past that are interspersed between certain chapters are confusing, but it all makes sense by the end.
A wild ride from the opening to the heart-pounding conclusion.Pub Date: July 21, 2026
Duration: 10 hrs, 28 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063042322
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: June 9, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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