Marcus Sedgwick's creepy, foreboding fantasy centers around a magician's desperate search for a book against an approaching deadline--the new year. Valerian and his servant, Boy, comb an unnamed, fading European city, following clues and digging up graves, culminating their search in an underground city square. Roger Rees helps maintain the uneasy tone, differentiating the gruff Valerian from lower-class Boy and Willow and assorted secondary characters, and even managing some required Latin. The slow meting out of details might frustrate listeners--at times the book seems TOO mysterious. If the ending seems unresolved, listeners can at least hope that loose ends will be tied up in the sequel, THE DARK FLIGHT DOWN.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2004
Duration: 6 hrs
DD ISBN: 1400090520
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
This young adult audiobook is full of secrets and lies.
When they were 4, identical twins Aria and Caliste’s mother, Grace, disappeared, and the sisters were separated. Years later, Grace’s body is discovered in a lake haunted by the Ghoul. The two young women travel to Minnesota and uncover family secrets—including each other’s existence. Narrators Rebecca Ho and Chantria Tram capture the twins’ emotions as they discover what has been kept hidden from them. Carolina Do exquisitely performs the point of view of the Ghoul. However, audible pick-ups make this production sound uneven and may distract from the listening experience.
This young adult audiobook is full of secrets and lies.Pub Date: Dec. 9, 2025
Duration: 10 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217157983
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Feb. 10, 2026
Rebecca Soler makes action scenes impossible to pause as she narrates this romantic Bluebeard retelling. Mallory descends from witches, but her only magic is the ability to see ghosts. To earn a living she and her sister sell fake spells and artifacts and give tours of the mansion that once belonged to Count Bastien Saphir, who many believe murdered three wives. When Bastien's great-great-grandson, handsome Armand, offers a reward to rid his home of the murderous ghost of his ancestor, Mallory doesn't hesitate. When a new murder takes place, she investigates whether the murderer is truly the ghost of Bastien or someone who is part of the household. Soler's precise diction and intensifying pace ramp up the suspense in this story inspired by French folklore.
(Supernatural mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
Duration: 12 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781250411433
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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