AudioFile Magazine

Mary Russell, Mrs. Sherlock Holmes, is a feisty little thing. Fearless, inventive, speaks about eight languages, some quite obscure, and is handy with guns and knives. Jenny Sterlin performs Russell’s parts of the story with as dazzling an array of skills as Russell’s. Read the full review.

In Tiddleton-Under-Lovey, Lady Georgiana lands a job as a social hostess. The idyllic Dickensian village seems to be the victim of a vile curse. Due to the author's light touch and Kellgren's humorous delivery, the many Yuletide deaths in this cozy do not become macabre. Read the full AudioFile review.

Not since THE POLAR EXPRESS have we had such an opportunity to believe in the mythological characters of childhood—the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and Santa. With Gerard Doyle’s captivating telling, we do envision Queen Toothiana and friends through Joyce’s glorious imagination. Read the AudioFile review.

Thomas Jefferson was a contradictory figure, to say the least, and Meacham’s point-counterpoint narrative is brisk, enlightening, never dull. Narrator Herrmann's skilled reading is a perfect match. Read the AudioFile review.

Each part of this novel about success, spiritualism, mental health, and the soul is expertly delivered by a different narrator who perfectly projects the story's tone and energy. Read the full AudioFile review.

Danish Red Cross nurse Nina Borg puts herself and her daughter in peril in a second novel from the authors of THE BOY IN THE SUITCASE.Kellgren’s narration is outstanding, with bright energy, sharp intonation, and the ability to move easily between a variety of ethnic accents. Read the full AudioFile review.

This stunning novel by the gifted McCormick centers on 13-year-old Lakshmi, who lives with her family in the mountains of Nepal and is tricked into a life of prostitution. Raw, bitter, honest, and unnerving, the story comes to life in a vivid and personal performance by Justine Eyre.

After their parents’ mysterious murder while they’re still in high school, David Hockmeyer and his older sister, Kate, spend decades attempting to untangle the web of their teenage years to discover the truth in the lies. Pete Larkin narrates in a deep, even voice that conveys the darkness and mystery. Read the full AudioFile review.

Children will enjoy the adventures of a cat named Won Ton as he makes the journey from animal shelter to his new home and from aloofness to caring. James Yaegashi is outstanding in delivering the haiku and in making this audio flow from poem to poem as a story. Read the full AudioFile review.

Jack Spayd is pulled by his passion for jazz from Toronto's Depression slums, crosses continents, and mixes Las Vegas gambling and African diamonds in a splendid saga that spans half a century. Humphrey Bower, the narrator of all of Courtenay's books, is joined at the hip with the author's storytelling. His mastery should put this and other works on listeners' “must' lists. Read the full AudioFile review.

Susan, a new widow, whose husband discovered her infidelity shortly before he was murdered, finds her life changes dramatically when she inherits a mansion from her uncle. Narrator Sands presents a complex character whose complaints are balanced by a quirky sense of humor and musings on the meaning of life. Read the full AudioFile review.

Jacky Faber is a spy, romantic, adventurer, and tomboy who’s also tough and tenderhearted. In book 10 of the series, as in all the others Narrator Katherine Kellgren captures each of Jacky’s personas to perfection.

Joan Aiken’s beloved children’s novel (50th year!) by her own explicit design contains all the elements of Victorian melodrama—parents presumed lost at sea, the two plucky cousins Bonnie and Sylvia, a scheming instructress, a loyal nursemaid and resourceful goose boy, and cross-England treks.

When twelve year old Will Sparrow runs away from his first master, he finds adventure and companionship amongst the “oddities and prodigies‚" of the traveling shows headed to Elizabethan market fairs. Read the AudioFile review.

The only trouble this 12-year-old heroine has is her struggle to create a new role for a girl in a farming family of seven brothers. Maria Dalbotten delivers Holm’s historical novel in a no-nonsense manner fitting for a traditional Finnish family and the life they lead in 1900 in Washington State. Ages 10+