Following Mosse’s successful historical fictions, LABYRINTH and SEPULCHRE, this third in her trilogy takes us to the days before WWII and the Nazi occupation of France. Also, through shifting time lines, the story reaches even further back to 342 A.D., when war is raging and a young monk searches for a safe place to hide a vitally important document. Narrator Finty Williams provides a wild ride from Vichy (code name: Citadel), France, to ancient Carcassonne and the revelation of a heretical parchment that allows the bearer to bring forth an army of ghosts. Williams delivers Nazi goons, Resistance good guys, a fourth-century holy man, and some intrepid young French women with just the right amount of understated drama. Williams’s low-key performance allows Mosse’s crisp prose to shine in this well-researched historical thriller.
Pub Date: March 18, 2014
Duration: 27 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780062308962
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Intricate, textured weirdness rewards listeners throughout this sprawling, gloriously strange epic.
Colin Mace and Emma Spurgin Hussey narrate a generations-spanning tale of grief, conspiracy, and horror that takes its haunting premise deadly seriously. Hussey voices Maur, desolate after her son's mysterious death and desperate for answers, with a restrained intimacy, tracking her slide from mourning into obsession through shifts in pace and breath. Mace brings weathered gravel to Allerdyce, a veteran undeterred by the grim, often gross underbelly of those answers, letting long silences land before revelations. The author's interjections add an eerie texture. Both narrators keep the dense, allusive prose clear across a century of violence, building dread without tipping into melodrama.
Intricate, textured weirdness rewards listeners throughout this sprawling, gloriously strange epic.Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2026
Duration: 40 hrs, 43 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217020959
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2026
Maarleveld’s smooth, dark narration makes this murder mystery hard to pause.
Saskia Maarleveld narrates this dark academia audiobook about five mage healers whose final test is interrupted by the death of their classmate. Ysabel was a talented healer, and despite what others conclude, her cohort is certain she didn’t take her own life—she was murdered. As the healers are put to the test during the five-day exam, they come together despite their differences to solve Ysabel’s murder. Maarleveld masterfully differentiates among the main cast, crafting distinct personalities. Banter between characters shifts as the cohort combats their prejudices, warms up to each other, and even enters into romances. Maarleveld pronounces French names and terminology with a refined air that elevates the setting.
Maarleveld’s smooth, dark narration makes this murder mystery hard to pause.Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2026
Duration: 14 hrs, 18 mins
DD ISBN: 9781250472182
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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