[Editor's Note: The following is a combined review with the Putnam abridged version of ORCHID BLUES.]--Weddings don't always go as expected, but police chief Holly Barker's couldn't get worse. With a stunning opening chapter, author Woods sends Holly off on a chilling investigation of robbery, murder, and treason in central Florida. The abridgment is taut and intense and narrator Jan Maxwell captures Holly's moods and grit beautifully. She portrays an array of male characters--Holly's father, retired Army chief master sergeant, the gun fanatics, FBI agents--with confident style. The dual narration by Dick Hill and Susie Beck of the unabridged version lacks some of the tension of Maxwell's version. The two-voice narrative occasionally breaks the flow of the suspense although the integration of the two voices is flawless. Even Hill, a master at the thriller genre, doesn't seem fully connected with this story. The single narrator proves the better choice.
Pub Date: Oct. 29, 2001
Duration: 7 hrs
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
This audiobook is initially daunting. Sixteen hours long and constructed of subtle—at times, even confusing—shifts in point of view, it may feel overwhelming in the first hour. But sticking with George Newbern’s narration and Gilbert’s prose yields great rewards. Newbern’s performance is funny, thoughtful, heartrending, and utterly engrossing. When the famous, now aging, author A.N. Dyer calls his distant sons to his side, Newbern is provided ample characters to animate, and he does so with perfect pacing and what seems like an innate understanding of the novel. He creates a rhythm that makes the changing perspectives easy to follow and Gilbert’s details accessible. & SONS is a perfect example of how a skilled narrator can make a good book even better.
Pub Date: July 23, 2013
Duration: 16 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9780385359566
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Following multiple lives over six decades, this is a story of cultural shifts, the effects of racial prejudice, and family secrets. Joy Osmanski's narration is engaged and easy to listen to. There are times when her narration is uneven and character accents are inconsistent, but she moves the story along at an excellent pace. Will Damron capably narrates a few descriptive paragraphs at the beginning to set the scene. During the '50s, as bombs are explode in Nevada's deserts to entertain Las Vegas tourists, four sets of characters experience the destruction caused by prejudice and social upheaval in their lives. The author skillfully integrates the lives of vivid and realistic characters, bringing them to a satisfying and surprising denouement in the final chapters.
Pub Date: May 2, 2017
Duration: 11 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9781508234715
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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