Narrator Marcus Lamb's sterling delivery enhances this historical fiction based on fact. Listeners are riveted after Queen Victoria's death in 1901 and the nine days leading up to her state funeral. Irish Detective Chief Superintendent William Melville learns there are plans by anarchists and terrorists to strike and kill world leaders during the ceremony. The story is told in Melville's melodious voice. The other memorable voice is that of his German counterpart and assistant, Gustav Steinhauer. The countdown to the funeral is filled with action--and much needed humor--as well as fascinating historical details. Highlights include brave informant Angela Minetta, whose Italian accent and charm are irresistible, and Melville's touching speech, which spurs on his team after two of them are murdered.
Pub Date: July 13, 2021
Duration: 9 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9780593395332
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Leighton Pugh's resonant baritone and evenly paced performance help orient listeners in this detail-packed novel. The alternate-history story posits that famed WWII mathematician Alan Turing invented a machine that he used to influence the location of the Normandy Invasion after the fact. The time machine is then passed to his son (born of a one-night stand with a female friend who knew that Turing was gay), and thence to his granddaughter. Each must wrestle with how to use the machine to influence history. Pugh's authoritative English voice and skill with accents lend verisimilitude to the premise. Some audible animation might have made the story sound more action-packed, but in truth, his equable delivery suits the writing in this imaginative debut.
Pub Date: Dec. 2, 2025
Duration: 9 hrs
DD ISBN: 9780063485105
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
George Blagden's pleasant performance of William Boyd's second suspense novel about occasional spy Gabriel Dax floats equably along like a story told over a glass of postprandial whiskey. It's an adventure set in 1963 England and Berlin, where, between conducting MI5 jobs, Dax and his compatriots savor many cocktails and cigarettes. Blagden's vocal register rarely varies from mid-tenor, a range that risks sounding uninflected but seems right for our hero, who is a young man, a young man caught up in the Cold War and world-changing events, including President Kennedy's famous Berlin visit. Blagden's command of American, Russian, and Latin accents adds to the verisimilitude. While indistinguishable females all murmur softly, it makes them sound mysterious and of another era.
Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
Duration: 8 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781668157763
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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