Mama Ruby is a highly unconventional mother--a five-hundred-pound Bible-thumping African-American who buries the bodies of the men she has murdered in her own back yard. Mama’s history is just as unusual. After another woman delivered a stillborn daughter, Mama Ruby miraculously brought the baby to life--and stole her, fleeing to the Everglades. As the story follows this usurper mother from the girl’s birth to adulthood, one of the most bizarre, and chilling families in contemporary fiction comes to life. As daughter Maureen approaches adulthood, two conflicting forces converge: Mama’s emotional dependence on her daughter and Maureen’s natural desire for romance and independence. Kevin Free is so skillful that the listener will forget the narrator of this dark comedy is a man.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2002
Duration: 9 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Recorded Books/ Griot Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Reader Michael Prichard delivers a convincing rendition of Archie Goodwin, the burly right hand of the portly Nero Wolfe, world-renowned gourmand and detective. Prichard preserves the 1970s setting and 1950s origins of the story, bringing listeners a well-paced narration of murder and politics--a combination of elements that usually guarantees an exciting listen. This audio entertainment is as well formed and fragrant as one of Wolfe's hothouse orchids (the stout sleuth cultivates them by the hundreds in his town house greenhouse) as Goodwin walks us through an explosive murder investigation and political wheeling and dealing in a tough yet intelligent read.
Pub Date: Jan. 15, 2006
Duration: 5 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Audio Partners
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
This collection of eight short stories contains gentle tales of fantasy and magic--not the magic of wizards and wands, but of wishing mats and enormous cats and gifts brought by the winds. In a lovely English accent, Lizza Aiken quietly narrates these stories in which magic and good fortune often come to those who deserve it. Although her pitch changes little, she registers a range of emotions--from the sadness of a girl whose necklace of raindrops has been stolen to the joy of a child who moves from a hard life and a ramshackle trailer to a happy home amid the clouds. A NECKLACE OF RAINDROPS would make a soothing choice for a family car trip after a long day.
Ages 6+Pub Date: Jan. 5, 2016
Duration: 1 hr, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781101915721
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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