There can be few pleasures as reliable as a well-made British murder mystery read by Simon Prebble. This one concerns a widowed van driver named Bob who writes slight but funny doggerel and is persuaded by his teenaged daughter to join a writer's circle. Bob finds the circle much upset because a publisher who recently addressed the group and offended most members has been murdered. Detective Henrietta Malin arrives late to the case, but the reader is long since completely suckered by Prebble's renditions of the prissy high churchman's widow, the slacker who writes fantasy novels, the kindly twittering secretary of the circle, and so on, all suspecting each other. Prebble has a pitch-perfect feel for the vocal detail that will bring each to life.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2006
Duration: 10 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: BBC Audiobooks America
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
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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