January LaVoy energetically narrates this 1920s saga--based on fact--set in Harlem and Portland, Oregon. Alice "Nobody" James has always blended into any setting. As the story begins, LaVoy's gutsy Alice is aboard a train, running from the Mafia after being shot. Black porter Max Burton--exceptionally rendered--takes Alice to Portland's all-black Paragon Hotel to recuperate. LaVoy excels with Alice's revealing and entertaining asides and with varied accents and 1920s vocabulary and speech patterns. Evocative descriptions of both locales propel listeners into the settings. Because she feels a kinship with her new friends, it's terrifying and inspiring to hear white Alice challenge the brutal Oregon KKK after a man is lynched and a child is kidnapped. Audio helps listeners with frequent shifts in time and place.
Pub Date: Jan. 8, 2019
Duration: 13 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9780525527657
Publisher: Penguin 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
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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