THE WYCHERLY WOMAN is a classic noir puzzle, and Grover Gardner is ideal as the iconic Lew Archer, Bay Area gumshoe of the hard-boiled kind. Almost nothing is as it seems when Lew is hired by Homer Wycherly to find his college-age daughter, who has disappeared following her ill-matched parents’ messy divorce. Gardner gives distinctive voice to each of Macdonald’s many hussies, blackmailers, wackos, and minor characters with colorful quirks by using subtle shifts of pitch and timbre, so you always know who is speaking. The genre is dated, and the MacGuffin is strictly unbelievable, but you won’t care; Gardner keeps it tense, dramatic, and thoroughly entertaining, his performance a perfect match for Macdonald’s pace and style.
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2009
Duration: 8 hrs
Publisher: Blackstone Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
In this fascinating coming-of-age portrait, Thomas Black Bull's journey from the child, Bear's Brother, to the fearsome rodeo rider, Killer Tom Black, is painted with compassion and insight. Forced to learn the White Man's ways, Tom reaches adulthood consumed by rage. Read with great vigor by Norman Dietz, the recording bursts with the energy of rodeo circuit and transports the listener to the southwest. The accurate portrayal of Tom's Ute ancestry and way of life, the sorrow and frustration of losing his heritage, and his angry retaliation at the world make this an excellent listening choice for adults and teenagers. It would also be a wonderful addition to high school units on the Native American experience.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 10 hrs
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
George S. Irving adopts Patrick McManus's characters with gusto. Sit back and listen to yarn after yarn. Irving relishes each story, whether it's fishing stories, such as "Claw of the Sea-Puss" or "To Filet or Not to Filet," or the escapades with McManus's wary but vulnerable neighbors. Irving has the jocular chuckle down pat, and the low comedy satire comes off without a hitch. Listeners can imagine Irving tipping back a chair at the country store swapping lies with cronies and entertaining any comers with these hilarious tales. His repertoire of more than eight collections of McManus stories encourages this kind of ownership!
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 3 hrs
Publisher: DH Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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