Robert Bathurst performs this 18th Inspector Gamache mystery with the assurance of one who knows the village of Three Pines and its (mostly) gentle residents well. Years after Gamache and Beauvoir investigated the murder of a mother, her two adult children arrive in the village. Their surprise arrival triggers Gamache's and Beauvoir's remembrances of things past. Penny's clever plotting is enhanced by Bathurst's ability to make even the smallest details relevant. A hidden attic room containing a duplicate of a seventeenth-century painting with small anachronistic items hidden within the images provides clues to solving a series of brutal murders. Bathurst weaves several timelines together seamlessly to create an exciting tapestry revealing crimes against women, child abuse, revenge, and murder. Fans are in for a treat.
Pub Date: 2022
Duration: 15 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781250887399
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Narrator Kristen Sieh is exceptional in this entertaining audiobook. The second in the Play the Fool series, it's equally enjoyable as a stand-alone story. Katie True is a tarot card reader who uses intuition and observation to solve murders on the side. She's also nursing some worry that she's behind in life as she approaches age 30. As Katie, Sieh's voice is relatable and conversational--like a stream-of-consciousness voicemail from your best friend. For the rest of the colorful characters who populate Katie's Chicago suburb, Sieh delivers a range of voices that are aurally distinct without being distracting. Listeners can focus on Katie's latest mystery and her heart-before-head approach to life.
Pub Date: 2025
Duration: 10 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9780593668696
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Peter Noble coolly performs this twisty crime novel. Using a narrative tone that is distant and objective, he still manages to inhabit each character, providing credible male and female voices while instilling each with appropriate emotion. In this story filled with betrayals, secrets, and stunning surprises, he handles the Scandinavian pronunciations with ease. The investigation of the murders of two young people in December 1999 reveals the darkness and bitterness hidden behind the facade of a Swedish town. Despite police efforts, the murders go unsolved. Twenty years later, another murder with connections to the earlier case lures one of the original detectives out of retirement to investigate the cold case. Noble offers an especially effective performance of this deftly written mystery by criminologist Carlsson.
Pub Date: 2025
Duration: 12 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217159284
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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