This audiobook is evidence that a delightful whodunit is best consumed through the ears.
Set in the glitzy 1970s New York gourmet restaurant scene, this story of food critic Bernice Black’s mystery-solving escapades is well performed by Mozhan Navabi. The novel opens as Navabi affectionately recounts Bernice’s introduction to fine dining through the generosity of her mentor, an over-the-top French chef whom Navabi gives appropriate flair. When Bernice discovers her beloved chef’s severed head in a batch of perfectly prepared aspic, she has the food expertise to find the only other chef capable of making an aspic that divine—and hence, to identify the killer. A sultry writer for a competing magazine tries to beat Bernice to the story, and Navabi delivers the twisty narrative without losing a beat.
This audiobook is evidence that a delightful whodunit is best consumed through the ears.Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2026
Duration: 12 hrs
DD ISBN: 9798217285181
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: March 10, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 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
C.J. Box writes about life in wild Wyoming, short stories of people living a rugged life by choice or by circumstance. David Chandler narrates in a rough-edged whiskey voice that suggests summer heat, bitter winters, and windswept prairies, guiding the listener through 10 adventures of men like Fish and Game Officer Joe Pickett. Chandler brings the listener into this strange world where, more often than not, men have to create their own justice. His performance of the economical stories, some rarely seen, is perfect. The tale of the frozen body of a Native American basketball player turned speed freak, her arm reaching through the ice of a lake in a final jump shot, is one of the most fascinating in the collection.
Pub Date: N/A
Duration: 7 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9781470392796
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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