Jane Oppenheimer provides a tone of truthfulness to this historical novel highlighting the friction between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr as they seek to defend a murder suspect in 1800s America. Levi Weeks is accused of murdering Emma Sands, a lively young woman who disappeared from her boardinghouse. Lawyers Hamilton and Burr have political aspirations as each tries to outdo the other in defending Weeks, while Sands is all but forgotten. Oppenheimer's diction recalls the period, while her seamless slipping in and out of "thou" and "thee" perfectly reflects Quaker speech. Oppenheimer's delivery of Lauren Willig's superb storytelling turns the novel into a courtroom drama, a murder mystery based on an actual case, and an investigation of the motives behind two of history's most famous rivals. Entertaining, intelligent listening.
Pub Date: 2025
Duration: 12 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063306141
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Leighton Pugh's resonant baritone and evenly paced performance help orient listeners in this detail-packed novel. The alternate-history story posits that famed WWII mathematician Alan Turing invented a machine that he used to influence the location of the Normandy Invasion after the fact. The time machine is then passed to his son (born of a one-night stand with a female friend who knew that Turing was gay), and thence to his granddaughter. Each must wrestle with how to use the machine to influence history. Pugh's authoritative English voice and skill with accents lend verisimilitude to the premise. Some audible animation might have made the story sound more action-packed, but in truth, his equable delivery suits the writing in this imaginative debut.
Pub Date: 2025
Duration: 9 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780063485105
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
George Blagden's pleasant performance of William Boyd's second suspense novel about occasional spy Gabriel Dax floats equably along like a story told over a glass of postprandial whiskey. It's an adventure set in 1963 England and Berlin, where, between conducting MI5 jobs, Dax and his compatriots savor many cocktails and cigarettes. Blagden's vocal register rarely varies from mid-tenor, a range that risks sounding uninflected but seems right for our hero, who is a young man, a young man caught up in the Cold War and world-changing events, including President Kennedy's famous Berlin visit. Blagden's command of American, Russian, and Latin accents adds to the verisimilitude. While indistinguishable females all murmur softly, it makes them sound mysterious and of another era.
Pub Date: 2025
Duration: 8 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781668157763
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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