Medical Examiner Maura Isles is called to a cloistered abbey, where a young novice has been murdered and an elderly nun attacked and left for dead. Jane Rizzoli, the homicide detective on the case, has personal issues that are making her life miserable. The discovery that the beautiful young murder victim had secretly given birth turns the investigation to finding the infant and the identity of the father. Anna Fields's deeply resonant voice makes the graphic details easier to take. Her perfect pacing and the voices she creates for Isles and Rizzoli add depth to Gerritsen's well-drawn characters. The only quibble with Fields's performance is that dialogue delivered by male characters sometimes sounds contrived and artificial. D.T.H.
(c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2003
Duration: 10 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Books on Tape
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
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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