Winter comes early to rural Wisconsin in 1907, and its bite is already in the air when Catherine Land arrives to become the "reliable wife" whom businessman and widower Ralph Truitt has advertised for. They both have their hidden motives—Catherine wants Ralph's riches; he wants her to facilitate a reconciliation with his estranged son. The surgical precision of Robert Goolrick's language lays bare the tangled threads of love, hate, revenge, and redemption in this debut novel. Mark Feuerstein's performance is spellbinding. His crisp delivery matches the staccato rhythm of Goolrick's declarative sentences. Further, he brings each character's unique voice to life with modulated tones that convey layers of personality and emotions.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2009
Duration: 9 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781456109844
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Ayla, one of the "others," is adopted by a clan of Neanderthal cave people. She struggles to conform to their ways, but her advanced human traits overwhelm and threaten their primitive culture in this initial installment of an immensely popular series. Although the story might benefit from abridgment, Rowena Cooper easily carries out the formidable task of enlivening the mostly silent and stereotypical characters with consistent, diverse personalities and human dimension. Through skillful phrasing and inflection, she maintains the reader's interest and suspense, especially with Ayla and her plight, throughout this rambling and imaginative story.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 22 hrs
Publisher: BBC Audiobooks America/ Chivers
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
This lyrical, sensual novel of woman's lot in Manchu, China, is as well researched as it is well written. Authentic in tone, it's nonetheless written for Westerners by a Western expert on China. Moreover, Susan Clark performs the demanding text superbly, with only occasional signs of fatigue. For the most part she not only sustains the quaint diction and Asian atmosphere, but also, creates whole worlds with her voice. She acts the book, rather than reads it, and, in so doing, turns a pretty trifle into a stupendous beauty.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 4 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Audio Literature
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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