Lori Roy has created a literary suspense novel about desperate housewives in a white working-class neighborhood in Detroit in 1957. The story has a tense, ominous feel as the homemakers react to forces affecting their community—closing factories, racial tensions, family secrets—and then face the disappearance of a mentally disabled young woman. Narrator Marguerite Gavin breathes life into the residents of Alder street, giving each a distinct voice and personality. She matches the tone of her narration to the emotional upheavals that are traumatizing the neighborhood. Depicting the characters’ pain and feelings of helplessness, she provides verisimilitude to the people, place, and time period of this richly detailed story.
Pub Date: June 13, 2013
Duration: 9 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781470881757
Publisher: Blackstone 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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