Audiobooks
Brooks, Geraldine. Year of Wonders. Viking, 2001. Books on Tape, 2001. Unabridged, 7 cassettes. Narrated by Josephine Bailey. HighBridge Company, 2001. Unabridged, 6 CDs. Narrated by Stina Nielsen. Anna Frith, a miner’s widow and housekeeper for the town’s minister, takes in a boarder newly arrived from London who unknowingly brings with him a deadly guest. Thus begins the decline of a tiny mountain town whose citizens follow the lead of their minister and isolate themselves after an outbreak of plague. Soon, there is no one left to bury the dead and superstition has run rampant. Family jealousies and illicit passions soon rend the town apart. Will Anna be strong enough to overcome the terrors of the plague and forge a new life? This is a wonderful historical fiction novel of a particularly nasty time in history. The version I first listened to was narrated by Stina Nielsen and her narration of the novel was a large part of what enchanted me in the first place. The distinctions of the characters are easy to follow and the tastes and smells, both good and bad, of this plague-ridden village are almost tangible. The edition narrated by Josephine Bailey is also very well done, but she does not capture the imagination as readily as Stina Nielsen.
Carter, Jimmy. Christmas in Plains. Simon & Schuster, 2001. Recorded Books, 2001. Unabridged, 2 Tapes. Narrated by the author. Jimmy Carter shares memories of the Christmas seasons beginning with his childhood. Family and religion have always been important to him and helped shape his life. Topics covered besides religion and family are friends and the town of Plains and how they helped form his character. Many of his reminiscences were of years at home, in the military and the White House. Even during their years in Washington, D.C., Jimmy and Rosalyn traveled home (Plains) for the holidays because that was where their values and beliefs were shaped and their friends and family there help keep them grounded. This is an enjoyable book and I will certainly look for his other titles, especially those read by him.
Chevalier, Tracy. The Lady & the Unicorn. Penquin Audio, 2004. (Dutton, 2004). Narrated by Robert Blumenfeld & Terry Donnelly. Unabridged. Bewitching art experts and enthusiasts alike for centuries, the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries hang today in the Cluny Museum in Paris. In each, an elegant lady and a unicorn stand or sit on an island of grass surrounded by a rich background of animals and flowers. Little is known about them except that they were woven toward the end of the fifteenth century and bear the coat of arms of a wealthy family from Lyons. Tracy Chevalier takes readers back to the tapestries’ creation, giving life to the men who designed and made them, as well as the wives, daughters, and servants who exercised subtle (and not so subtle) influences over their men. Like the many different strands of wool and silk that were woven together into one cloth, the lives and fates of these people entwine in complex patterns, crisscrossing as they seek desires sensual and spiritual, temporal and eternal. An extraordinary story exquisitely told, Tracy Chevalier’s The Lady and the Unicorn weaves history and fiction into a beautiful, timeless, and intriguing literary tapestry that rival in grace and grandeur the masterpiece that inspired it.
Coben, Harlan. Tell No One. Books on Tape, 2002. (Delacorte Press, 2001). Narrated by Ed Sala. Unabridged. David Beck has rebuilt his life since his wife's murder eight years ago, finishing medical school and establishing himself as a pediatrician, but he's never forgotten the woman he fell in love with in second grade. And when a mysterious e-mail arrives on the anniversary of their first kiss, with a message and an image that leads him to wonder whether Elizabeth might still be alive, Beck will stop at nothing to find the truth that's eluded him for so many years. A powerful billionaire is equally determined to make sure his role in her disappearance never comes to light, even if it means destroying an innocent man.
Cook, Thomas H. The Chatham School Affair. Recorded Books, 1996. (Bantam Books, 1996). Narrated by George Guidell. In 1926, the exotic Miss Elizabeth Channing arrives in Chatham, Massachusetts, to teach art at the Chatham School, a private school for the rebellious sons of well-heeled families. The headmaster assigns his son, Henry, to assist Miss Channing in getting settled into her new home, a cottage on Black Pond. To the dismay of the community, Miss Channing begins keeping regular company with another teacher at the school, Mr. Reed, a veteran of the Great War who is married and has a small daughter. The affair begins slowly, but it sparks unimaginable romance in young Henry's fervid teenage imagination and leads to murder, suicide, jail, and loneliness for those involved directly and indirectly. Cook's novel takes the form of Henry's memoir--an attempt to understand what led to tragedy at Black Pond. Like much of Cook's previous work, it is the story of how our secrets control our destinies. This is a powerful, engaging, and deeply moving novel.
Deveraux, Jude. Holly. Atria Books, 2003. Simon & Schuster Audio, p2003. 4 cassettes, unabridged. Narrated by Jennifer Wiltsie. Contrary to what the title may indicate, this is not a Christmas story. Holly is a rich Southern heiress who falls in love with what she thinks in a poor heavenly looking motorcycle rider from the wrong side of the tracks. She is on a mission to restore an old plantation home and marry the owner, her secret childhood sweetheart. A few plot twists and a fair amount of passion make this an entertaining and easy listening story.
Dorf, Fran. Saving Elijah. Recorded Books, 2001. (Putnam’s Sons, 2000). Narrated by Suzanne Toren. Unabridged. The clicks and beeps of cardiac monitors, the labored breathing of children struggling to survive--these are the sounds of a pediatric intensive care unit. They become the harsh counterpoint to the poignant melody of parental anguish that structures Fran Dorf's Saving Elijah. Dinah Rosenberg Galligan's 5-year-old son Elijah (whose young body is a cacophony of neurological glitches, learning disabilities, PDD, obsessive-compulsive disorder, a heart defect, and more) lies in a coma, and his parents must face the possibility of losing their beloved youngest child. But then Dinah hears a mysteriously familiar melody: a version of the lullaby she has always sung to Elijah. When Dinah tracks it to its source, she sees a ghost. Playing the guitar and perching on a couch in the ICU waiting room, the ghost--that of the appropriately named Seth Lucien, Dinah's first lover--both taunts Dinah in her grief and invites her to rescue Elijah from the angel of death. The novel is essentially a reworking of the archetypal Faustian bargain: to what extent will Dinah go to save her son? Is the ghost a means of salvation or an instrument of torment? It leads Dinah both backward and forward in time: she must explore the failings of her past, and tread uncertainly the various futures that lie before her, some of them truly horrifying. It will come as no surprise to any parent--or to any reader of Goethe--that Dinah accepts the ghost's proposition: her son will live, but she must live with the ghost forever within her. Elijah's stunning recovery from the coma grants him an uncanny ability to understand and empathize with the pain of others. He alone comprehends his mother's sacrifice as the rest of Dinah's life begins to disintegrate. Dorf (Flight, A Reasonable Madness) has crafted a moving testament to maternal grief, which is at its most powerful when Dorf sets forth, in spare and eloquent prose, Dinah's fears, her anxieties, her crippling sense that she is to blame for Elijah's illness... Saving Elijah is both delicately rendered and poignant.
Flagg, Fannie. A Redbird Christmas. (Random House, 2004) Random House Audio, 2004. Narrated by Fannie Flagg. Unabridged. Fannie Flagg’s latest charmer opens as Oswald T. Campbell, a divorcee in his middle 50’s, waits in a new doctor’s waiting room for his annual check up. Although his day is frustrating and he is trying unsuccessfully to warm up from having stepped in an icy puddle, he suspects the doctor’s report will be passable with no big surprises. He is shocked when the prognosis turns out to be a terminal case of emphysema. The doctor encourages him to relocate from Chicago to Florida or Arizona. When Oswald protests that he cannot afford to relocate on his measly disability check, the doctor offers him a brochure that his father (also a doctor) used to give his patients which promotes an affordable restorative live-in spa in Lost River, Alabama. Given his luck in life he is not surprised to learn that this facility no longer exists. He was reared in an orphanage – abandoned there as an infant in a basket with a can of tomato soup – thus the name "T. Campbell." Oswald "…always felt like a pair of white socks and brown shoes in a roomful of tuxedos." Desperate to hook up with some kind of help, he gets the number for the Lost River Community Center from a telephone operator in hopes that he can learn what happened to the spa. Lost River does turn out to be a solution for Campbell, but not through any official health care institution. Campbell relocates there and soon the reader and Campbell become acquainted with friendly, quirky, folksy small town locals in a rural area of Baldwin County. A country store, boats, fishing, bird-watching, country cooking, another orphan, a pet cardinal and a Creole community are all elements in the remainder of the story. To offer much more detail would lead to spoilers. Needless to say, given the content of the author’s previous novels laughter, sorrow, desperate situations and miracles combined with unforgettable characters make this slim novel an ideal candidate for a Hallmark Movie Special. Thankfully, Ms. Flagg’s skills as a storyteller and her use of lean prose keep this book from getting mired in syrupy saccharine sentimentality – which would be a likely fate in less capable hands. Her vocal presentation of her novel is surprisingly low key and undramatic. It is not irritating, but one might expect more liveliness from Ms. Flagg.
Gerritsen, Tess. Body Double. Ballentine Books, 2004. Books on Tape, 2004. 8 Tapes. Narrated by Kathe Mazur. Pregnant women play key roles in this bone-chilling fourth novel in Gerritsen's edgy, suspenseful series of thrillers featuring Boston Medical Examiner Maura Isles and Homicide Detective Jane Rizzoli. Both of the usually gritty crime fighters are uncharacteristically vulnerable. Rizzoli is carrying her first child, and Isles—divorced and alone at age 40 and suddenly, unsettlingly aware of her biological clock—is experiencing decidedly unspiritual feelings for her priest. As the novel begins, Isles—an adopted child who never knew the identity of her birth parents—is confronted by the corpse of a murdered woman who is apparently her identical twin. Another detective, Rick Ballard, comes forward to say that he knew the victim and is certain her killer is a powerful pharmaceutical baron known to have stalked her. Isles falls for the handsome Ballard, but she isn't convinced by his theory, and she launches an investigation into her sister's past, following the trail to a state correctional facility and a schizophrenic inmate who may be her mother. This opens the cobwebbed pages of a nightmarish family album and leads Isles to a remote cabin in Maine where the long-dead body of a pregnant woman is discovered buried in the woods. The killer, Isles discovers, has been murdering pregnant women for decades, making periodic sweeps of the country. Meanwhile, brief scenes chronicle the diabolical kidnapping of an affluent pregnant housewife who is kept buried in a crude coffin. An electric series of startling twists, the revelation of ghoulishly practical motives and a nail-biting finale make this Gerritsen's best to date.
Gleick, James. Faster. Pantheon Books, 1999. Random House Audiobooks, 1999. 5 compact discs, abridged. Read by the author. Does it seem to you that time is passing altogether too fast? Does Christmas comes around before the Easter holiday is over? This author has a plausible explanation. His reasoning takes us through the psychological and social changes from wagon train travel to computers that appear to make time fly.
Gulley, Philip. Home to Harmony. Recorded Books, 2002. (HarperSanFrancisco, 2000). Narrated by Norman Dietz. Unabridged. Harmony, Indiana. What a town. You will recognize some of the inhabitants of this town, home to a down to earth Quaker minister with parishioners as irritating as the ones at your church. (Not you, of course.) The book is written as a series of vignettes about the life of some of the most interesting characters you will likely read about anywhere. I was totally captivated with this first in a series of Harmony books. I went directly to the second title in the series Just Shy of Harmony as soon as I finished it.
Gulley, Philip. Just Shy of Harmony. Recorded Books, 2003. (HarperSanFrancisco, 2002). Unabridged. Narrated by Norman Dietz. Unabridged. The second title in the Harmony series with a continuation of the stories about the lives in this quaint and interesting town. A preacher you have come to know and understand, the elders and saints and sinners keep you reading and wanting more. I highly recommended it. Unfortunately I have not been able to get other titles in this series in audio editions.
Korman, Gordon. No More Dead Dogs. Hyperion Books for Children, 2000. Recorded Books, 2001. Unabridged Book on 4 CDs. Performed by various narrators. Wallace Wallace hates the book, Old Shep, My Pal because he thinks it’s boring and as with all stories about dogs, the dog dies at the end. In his book report he writes that his favorite part is on the last page where it says "The End." Scrupulously honest, Wallace refuses to change his opinion and write a new book report even to get out of detention and play football again. Forced to go to detention, Wallace has no choice but to watch rehearsals for the school play—which just happens to be Old Shep, My Pal. As he watches (with nothing else to do), he begins to take an interest in the production of this play and starts to make suggestions. Some of his suggestions include a Rollerblading dog catcher, a stuffed dog glued to a remote-controlled car, and some choreo-graphed dance numbers with live rock songs. Unfortunately, someone is sabotaging the play and Wallace is the first and most likely suspect. He says he didn’t do it but no one believes him and as a result he is banned from the play that he has become rather involved with. This book on CD was a pleasure to listen to and was read by a variety of narrators. The story was told from several different points of view, each picking up where the other left off. Each point of view (or character) has his own quirks and ways of speaking which are evidenced very well by the narrators. Funny and well read, I would recommend this book to anyone. Although it is a young adult or teen book, it plays very well and held my attention right up to the end.
Maxwell, Evan. All The Winters That Have Been. Recorded Books, 1997. (HarperCollins, 1995). Narrated by George Guidall. Unabridged. Twenty years ago, Dane Corvin went undercover for the Fish and Wildlife Service to trap fishermen who were illegally catching salmon in the Pacific Northwest. He fell in love with the sister of his main suspect, and, when her brother was arrested, Helen Raven cut Dane from her life because of his betrayal of her family. Now Dane is back to tend to the dying wishes of his only relative, Uncle Dewey, and to make peace with his past and Helen. But Helen has a secret kept from Dane for 20 years that may destroy their bittersweet reunion: they have a son. Reminiscent of The Bridges of Madison County, but much better written, Evan Maxwell's novel evokes a sense of timeless love and two people mated for life. The patrons at my library LOVE this book!!!
Maxwell, Evan. Season of the Swan. Recorded Books, 2003. (HarperCollins, 1997). Narrated by Richard Poe. Unabridged. Kate Saarinan, a brilliant violinist on the verge of stardom, feels compelled to return to a small town much like the one in which she grew up, to spend a week teaching young musicians. Upon arrival, she is instantly attracted to a rough-edged local craftsman, who represents the antithesis of her sophisticated Manhattan lifestyle. An unexpected series of events forces Kate to confront the secret she has kept hidden since her teenage years---the daughter she gave up at birth so she could pursue her career in music. This finely crafted love story set in the Pacific Northwest will appeal to readers for its themes of living with difficult choices, learning to forgive, and striking a balance between a successful career and a meaningful relationship. The love story is told with a refreshingly male bent, yet it is unlike most male romances (Love Story, and The Notebook) because it actually has a happy ending!
Patterson, James. Along Came A Spider. Recorded Books, A murderous serial kidnapper kidnaps the daughter of a Hollywood star and the son of the Secretary of the Treasury. His goal: to commit the crime of the century. In this novel, James Patterson introduces his star character, detective psychiatrist Alex Cross. Charles Turner's narration provides a depth that places the characters right alongside the listener. He superbly differentiates the cast while at the same time creating empathy for their situations. Both plot and atmosphere will keep you from putting this book down.
Patterson, James. Suzanne’s Diary For Nicholas. Time Warner Audiobooks, 2003. (Warner Books, 2001). Narrated by Talk about a change of pace! Renowned suspense writer and Edgar Award winner James Patterson, author of such bestsellers-turned-blockbuster-movies as Along Came a Spider and Kiss the Girls, exposes his sensitive side in his new novel, Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas. Katie Wilkinson's boyfriend Matt dumps her; not a total cad, he leaves her a gift, a diary kept by Suzanne, his first wife, for their son Nicholas. Though it's not exactly the diamond ring Katie was hoping for, she's unable to make herself destroy the diary--against her better judgment, Katie begins to read. Drawn against her will into the other woman's world, Katie learns of physician Suzanne's heart attack at age 35 and her decision to slow down, accomplished by a move to Martha's Vineyard and a new job as a simple country doctor. When love comes knocking, in the form of housepainter-cum-poet Matt Harrison, Suzanne is ready to listen to her newly repaired heart. Though painful for Katie, she begins to know and like Suzanne and her infant son Nicholas. Suzanne's devotion to Matt and their son shines through, as well as her plainspoken wisdom. While the journal helps Katie understand Matt, whether they can write a future together remains in question.
Patterson, James. 3rd Degree. Time Warner Audiobooks, 2004. (Little, Brown, 2004). Narrated by Carolyn McCormick. Unabridged. From the start, Patterson's Women's Murder Club series (1st to Die; Second Chance) has felt like high-concept TV with a smart edge, featuring an appealing and reliable cast of four female crime busters (a cop, a prosecutor, a medical examiner, a reporter) who race along Byzantine plot lines humming with blood and sex, romance and heartbreak. But Patterson is an author who will detonate readers' presumptions for the sake of story, and in the series' third installment, the prolific author, working with frequent collaborator Gross (The Jester, etc.), defies expectations in a shocking way. Readers will love him for it. San Francisco Homicide lieutenant Lindsay Boxer, who narrates most of the action, is jogging with assistant DA Jill Barnhardt when Lindsay notices two things: first, bruises on Jill's shoulder; then the explosion of a nearby townhouse, into which Lindsay rushes to save a child. With the juxtaposition of these two plotlines, Patterson jumpstarts this enjoyably convoluted tale. The townhouse, home to a greedy CEO and his family, was destroyed by members of a terrorist group calling itself "August Spies"; Lindsay's chase after the group, which commits further killings, brings her into close proximity to what promises to be a new series regular, Joe Molinari, deputy director of the Office of Homeland Security. Love blooms for Lindsay but, meanwhile, love has curdled at Jill's house, where Jill's husband is abusing her. Then comes the big surprise, and the story's remainder plays out at high emotion and warp speed. There's a calculated feel to all that happens, but clever manipulation of an audience serves Patterson as well as it served Hitchcock: his fans will only clamor for more.
Preston, Douglas and Lincoln Child. Brimstone. Warner Books, 2004. Time Warner Audiobooks, 2004. 4 cassettes, abridged. Narrated by Rene Auberjonois. Ever since Relic, the team of Preston and Child has created some of the best horror fiction of the genre and Brimstone continues their string of successes. Their main character, the mysterious FBI Agent Pendergast, is fascinating in his development. Although reader René Auberjonois is masterful at bringing a number of characters to life with his voice, he is especially adept when speaking in Pendergast's honeyed Southern accent. The story deals with the horrible deaths of three men, deaths that seem to have been caused by spontaneous combustion. Together with Detective Vincent d'Agosta, Pendergast follows a trail of deceptive clues that lead them to the conclusion that Satan is responsible for the murders. Only the skills of Preston and Child could tie together a Stradivarius violin, a Chinese ballistic missile, and a remote Italian villa to create a chilling, suspenseful thriller.
Pringle, Heather. The Mummy Congress. Hyperion, 2001. HighBridge Company, 2001. Abriged, 4 Cds. Narrated by Anna Fields. If you’ve ever wanted to know more about mummies, this is the book for you. There is actually a scientific conference on mummies and science journalist Heather Pringle has set out to investigate and her report reads more like fiction than scientific text. Egypt is not your standard fare here. You’ll learn about mummies across the globe from saints in Italy to the frozen Incan princesses. The discussions become quite graphic in some chapters so it would not be a recommendation for our non-gory patrons. Some nonfiction audio books I have listened to were rather dry and boring but this was definitely not the case here. Anna Fields’ narration of the book conveys the author’s fascination with what she is studying and brings forth the excitement of discoveries among the other scientists in the book. While not your typical vacation travel fare, this is an excellent nonfiction recommendation for the eclectic reader.
Slaughter, Karin. Blindsighted. Books on Tape, 2002. (William Morris, 2001). Narrated by Clarinda Ross. Unabridged. When pediatrician Sara Linton discovers the mutilated body of a local college professor, it sends shock waves through her small rural Georgia town. Chief of Police Jeffrey Tolliver, who is Sara's ex-husband and Detective Lena Adams, must investigate. A toxicology report reveals that the killer dosed his victim with belladonna, a volatile drug that renders users "blind sighted," that is, conscious but unable to process what they see; the autopsy reveals that the killer is also highly sadistic. Sara, who doubles as the town's coroner, must deal with her own fear as well as the palpable emotional tension that exists between her and her ex-spouse as they work together to expose the killer. This is an accomplished first novel that melds a riveting plot with a brutally graphic portrait of a sexual sadist. Sara and Lena are tough, complicated, and smart, and Jeffrey is a man who knows he has made mistakes but has found a way to live with them. Two sequels featuring this trio are in the works.
Slaughter, Karin. Kisscut. Books on Tape, 2002. (William Morris, 2002). Narrated Clarinda Ross. Unabridged. Slaughter's second novel picks right up where her acclaimed debut, Blind sighted, left off-with Grant County, GA, pediatrician/coroner Sara Linton fighting crime with Jeffrey Tolliver, her ex-husband and the chief of police. It all starts one hot night in the parking lot of a skating rink: teenager Jenny Weaver is threatening to shoot Mark Patterson, but before she can pull the trigger, Jeffrey is forced to kill her. Was Jenny the mother of the 23-week-old fetus that Sara finds in the skating rink bathroom? Was Mark the father? Had he jilted Jenny, earning her wrath? Sara's autopsy answers some of these questions; Jenny was most certainly not the mother, as she had been a victim of genital mutilation and had her vagina sewn shut. This first disturbing discovery leads to many others, and before the week is out many dark secrets involving child pornography, pedophilia, and incest are exposed. With the same graphic detail found in her first novel, Slaughter has again written a fast-paced thriller for those not faint of heart.
Stokes, Penelope J. The Treasure Box. W Publishing Group, 2001. Recorded Books, 2004. 6 cassettes, unabridged. Narrated by Margot Dionne. Vita Kirk is a travel writer who has never left her hometown. Vita has chosen isolation over vulnerability. But when Vita purchases and brings home a painted treasure box with the inscription "Love Is the Key That Unlocks Every Portal," strange things start to happen. While searching the World Wide Web for information about the box, her computer takes on a life of its own by showing Vita events from the past. The powers of these words prove to unlock a part of Vita she thought had died years ago. By the time the story of the treasure box disappears from Vita's computer, her life is turned upside down.
Weiss, Brian. Same Souls, Many Bodies: Discover the Healing Power of Future Lives Through Progression Therapy. 2004. (Free Press, 2004). Narrated by Brian Weiss. Abridged. Noted psychiatrist Brian Weiss made headlines with his pioneering research on the healing power of past-life therapy in his million-copy bestseller, Many Lives, Many Masters. Now, in his groundbreaking new book, Dr. Weiss reveals how our future lives can actually transform us in the present. Weiss’ premise is this: We all have lived past lives. We all will live future ones. What we do in this life will influence our lives to come as we evolve toward immortality. Dr. Weiss encourages this important recognition because recently he has not only regressed his patients into the past, but has progressed them into the future. And what they have discovered is that our futures are variable, so the choices we make now will determine the quality of life when we return. Using dozens of interesting case histories, Dr. Weiss demonstrates the therapeutic benefits of progression, just as he has proved that journeys into our past lives can alleviate or cure our physical and emotional wounds in the present. This abridgement was heavy on spiritual truths, and lighter on case histories. And unfortunately, Weiss decided to narrate his own material. He should stick to research and writing and leave the narration of his materials to professionals.
December 8, 2004
