As an audiobook production, THE GRAVE TATTOO is wonderfully managed. Kate Reading (a narrator who's mastered Jane Austen and Patricia Cornwell) combines history and mystery while performing spot-on voicing and accents? this time capturing the characters of Northern England. McDermid's novel is ambitious--modern-day researchers are racing to make a link between a body discovered in a bog and Fletcher Christian, one of the mutineers who took part in the Mutiny on THE BOUNTY. At times, some of the plot points seem stretched. Particularly odd is the subplot about a teenaged mixed-race woman with a penchant for William Wordsworth. Though well written and well told, readers may still wish some of the story lines were more clearly focused.
Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2007
Duration: 14 hrs
Publisher: Audio Renaissance
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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