Penelope Keith returns to narrate Book 30 in M.C. Beaton's Agatha Raisin series. Keith provides the perfect voice, tone, and tempo for the delightfully flawed Agatha Raisin, who solves crimes in the Cotswolds. This time Agatha's private detective agency is hired to investigate industrial espionage. Before long, she and her crew are involved in a murder supposedly committed by a bad-tempered, flatulent donkey. Keith differentiates the voices of the many men in Agatha's life with varying British accents and other class distinctions. Listeners new to the series will quickly pick up on the backstories. Overall, Keith delivers an Agatha who is sassy, totally self-involved, and endearing, making for an engaging and genuinely funny listening experience.
Pub Date: Dec. 3, 2019
Duration: 6 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781538451892
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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