A comic novel is a great challenge for an actor. The performer must get the joke, but just barely. Nothing is more offensive than a reading in which the narrator is having so much fun that the listener feels left out. Raymond Todd does a superb job. Mackerel Plaza is a comedy of manners, P.G. Wodehouse in Connecticut. Andrew Mackerel (not Holy Mackerel, please!) is a clergyman, the sort who hates piety. He’s thrown into a rage by a sign reading “Jesus Saves.” Explaining his anger, he quotes Oscar Wilde: “While crime is not vulgar, vulgarity is a crime.” All of which might be all right for the Reverend Mackerel, since the zoning laws of Avalon, Connecticut, support him. Then he falls in love.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2000
Duration: 7 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Blackstone 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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