A time-travel trip to the ancient world is especially engaging in the company of narrator Simon Vance and author Ruth Downie. In this seventh installment in Downie’s excellent mystery series about medicus Ruso of Gaul and his wife, Tilla, from tribal Britain, we’ve left Roman England for the teeming metropolis of Rome itself. The action begins with the delivery of a dead body in a barrel, so we’re off to a great start. Vance’s vivid renderings of the city’s varied denizens, including charlatan faith healers, obfuscating officials, and freed slaves, are made accessible and revealing by his use of varied accents from the British Isles. As always, Downie’s deep research is coupled with an engaging plot and lively characterizations.
Pub Date: July 12, 2016
Duration: 9 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Tantor Media
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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