Michael Koryta is aiming for Stephen King country but lands nearby with this baroquely plotted melodrama. Eric Shaw, who is making a documentary film about a mysterious old man and his Indiana childhood, becomes deranged by evil mineral water. The writing is often clumsy, but this production is a huge success. Robert Petkoff hits all the right notes of bewilderment, menace, and tension as the plot thickens. He delivers an especially effective voice transformation as one character is inhabited by his demon ancestor. But most effective are the marvelous sound effects—of rising winds, a hallucinatory railroad train, sloshing waters, and a ghost violin from the dark past. The page has to be a pale comparison to this wonderful audio storytelling.
Pub Date: June 9, 2010
Duration: 13 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781607883036
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
C.J. Box writes about life in wild Wyoming, short stories of people living a rugged life by choice or by circumstance. David Chandler narrates in a rough-edged whiskey voice that suggests summer heat, bitter winters, and windswept prairies, guiding the listener through 10 adventures of men like Fish and Game Officer Joe Pickett. Chandler brings the listener into this strange world where, more often than not, men have to create their own justice. His performance of the economical stories, some rarely seen, is perfect. The tale of the frozen body of a Native American basketball player turned speed freak, her arm reaching through the ice of a lake in a final jump shot, is one of the most fascinating in the collection.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 7 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781470392796
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Dirk Pitt, intrepid adventurer and master explorer, searches the Sahara for the deadly toxin that is killing marine life world wide. This audio, abridged by Harold Schmidt, lacks most of the adventure, as well as the humor, of Cussler's novels. Narrator Tom Wopat brings an unconventional vocal slant to the ever-cocky Pitt. Using lots of vocal characterization, Wopat brings across the smug brashness of Pitt and handles dialogue briskly. Enhanced by sound effects and small pieces of music, this is an interesting and perplexing mystery.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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