It's a challenge for narrator Kate Reading to engage listeners with the 21st Kay Scarpetta novel. Reading is a veteran of many Scarpetta audiobooks, and the first half of this one muses fondly about Scarpetta's former colleague Marino, techie niece Lucy, and FBI profiler husband, Benton. However, Reading can't enliven the unnecessary details and repetition in the story, and the continual upward lilt of her cadence is distracting. A woman's body covered with curious dust sets an investigation in motion, which predictably involving the straw man Benton, the tough-sounding Marino, and the brainy Lucy. Listening carefully for clues to identify the murderer is fruitless because all the elements needed to solve the case appear magically during the last hour of this disappointing Scarpetta installment.
Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2013
Duration: 14 hrs
Publisher: Penguin 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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