Narrator Penelope Freeman does a stellar job with this sixth Deputy Chief Inspector Monika Paniatowski mystery. The confident detective is also a nurturing mother who is helping her 13-year-old daughter recover from being kidnapped. When two girls are murdered, Paniatowski takes it personally as she embarks on the painful case. Freeman also excels at distinctly portraying the numerous cops in the story, deftly reflecting their personalities and backgrounds. The most interesting is George Baxter, Paniatowski's driven boss and former lover, who is on a difficult assignment involving the suicide of an imprisoned pedophile. Fascinating interviews with long-term prisoners take listeners into a believable setting. The two investigations--perhaps a bit unbelievably--converge in a complicated conclusion.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2013
Duration: 8 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: ISIS Audio Books
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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