Narrator Nicola Barber introduces listeners to Ritter's paranormal investigative team, R.F. Jackaby and his new assistant, Abigail Rook. They dog the footsteps of a serial killer who racks up an unsettling number of victims. In a race against time, Jackaby pits his encyclopedic knowledge against the killer's insatiable need for blood. Barber's narration illuminates Ritter's motley characters--from the enigmatic Jackaby to a banshee and a hospitable ghost. The personality that Barber creates for Jackaby is not entirely successful. While her decision to have Jackaby elongate his words and emphasize certain syllables is memorable, it may not accurately represent Jackaby's eerie prescience. Muddy production quality further distracts from this intriguing series opener.
(Paranormal mystery. 12-18)Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2014
Duration: 7 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781622314836
Publisher: HighBridge Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Themes of inheritance, identity, sacrifice, and belonging resonate through three voices.
This multigenerational family story comes to life through an ensemble performance. After high schooler Dawn receives an assignment to interview her grandmother, she begins uncovering a family history that stretches from 19th-century China to Taiwan and then New York. Eunice Wong, Katharine Chin, and Kenneth Lee shift among generations with careful attention to rhythm, pitch, and emotional texture, making the transitions easy to follow. Their performances capture the family's guardedness over its old secretsas well as Dawn's curiosity as a young woman seeking answers. As the layers of the Chin family history emerge, the narrators maintain a strong sense of continuity across time.
Themes of inheritance, identity, sacrifice, and belonging resonate through three voices. (Fiction. 13-18)Pub Date: today
Duration: 11 hrs, 42 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063238039
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Sept. 1, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2026
Lee captures the slow-burn romance as well as the heroes' fears of and fights against censorship.
Michelle H. Lee has narrated several of Hur’s books, and here she proves her talents once again. Her narration easily moves between the dual perspectives of novel-loving commoner Haewon and writer Lord Yu Seojun in 1792 Korea, during the Joseon Dynasty, a time when fiction has been banned. Lee clearly identifies the many secondary characters while she portrays the oil-and-water meeting of the protagonists. Seojun dismisses Haewon because of her lower class, while Haewon detests his arrogance. Listeners may realize sooner than the protagonists do that they have already revealed their true hearts while exchanging secret letters. Haewon is “Magpie,” a committed fan of “Black Lotus,” Seojun’s alter ego.
Lee captures the slow-burn romance as well as the heroes' fears of and fights against censorship. (Historical romance. 14-adult)Pub Date: May 26, 2026
Duration: 8 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217345687
Publisher: Listening Library
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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