Narrator Lucy Paterson's smart pacing and subtle applications of intensity and tone guide listeners through Icelandic author Sigurdardottir's two seemingly unconnected plots and characters. Both are masterfully entwined at the denouement. The separate threads of an ill-advised winter visit to a remote Icelandic island and the unresolved search for a missing child, presumed dead, lend the story irresistible mystery and foreboding. Paterson's light touch with accent and volume immediately establishes distinct identities for the author's singular characters, who rapidly lose their grip on normalcy as they struggle for physical and emotional survival. Tempers flare, lies and secrets are unearthed, and through it all there are glimpses of ghosts. This intriguing mix of understated horror and mystery offers listeners a unique audio experience.
Pub Date: April 17, 2018
Duration: 11 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781250304988
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
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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