Audio Reviews: 7/27/2009

Connolly's latest thriller sees a depressed, soul-searching Charlie Parker stripped of his private investigator's license, tending bar in Maine and still tormented by the dark secrets in his past: the murder of his wife and daughter and the mysterious suicide of his policeman father, Will. He returns to New York to investigate the circumstances of his father's death and is contacted by a woman who claims to be haunted by an unseen and deadly presence. Jay Sanders does full justice to Connolly's taut narrative, relying on an approach that is colorful yet restrained, edgy yet traditional in a perfect interpretation of this novel that combines elements of classic noir with the supernatural. An Atria hardcover (Reviews, May 4). (June)

Howe's novel moves back and forth between the summer of 1991 in Salem, Mass., and the 17th-century witch trial era, as college student Connie Goodwin chances upon a mysterious book written by the elusive Deliverance Dane. The characters are thin and the plot predictable, but Katherine Kellgren does her best with the material. Her voice is pleasing, her pacing and emphasis good, her diction clear but conversational. Most of her characters are distinguishable and reasonably represented, but the exaggerated British accent she adopts for the villain makes him more comical than terrifying. A Hyperion/Voice hardcover (Reviews, May 25). (June)

It is a truth universally acknowledged that an anthology of women writers must be in want of Jane Austen. “The Watsons,” a precursor to Emma, is the obligatory entry, but it is lesser Austen. The selection veers off the beaten path, by choosing other relatively obscure works by well-known authors (e.g., Mary Shelley and Virginia Woolf) along with compelling tales by noncanonical writers (L.M. Montgomery). Harriet Walter performs competently, but her range is narrow. She is clueless about the New Orleans accents and rhythms that should enliven Kate Chopin's “A Pair of Silk Stockings.” She does best when parsing the innuendos of class in Britain, as in Winnifred Holtby's “The Wronged Woman.” The result is a mixed bag inferior to the Selected Shorts series produced by Symphony Space. (June)

Actor Jeremy Northam (Gosford Park, Tristram Shandy) has himself a ball with Greene's comic suspense novel, its Cuban setting and panoply of international characters. He downplays the religious and political undertones of the book in favor of Greene's comedy of a vacuum-cleaner salesman turned secret agent. Greene's array of Germans, Brits and native Cubans allows Northam to trot out some of the choicest examples from his stable of voices, all cleverly done. The brief bits of salsa music that punctuate the breaks between chapters underscore Northam's jaunty reading. This is one classic novel meant to be enjoyed for entertainment, not self-improvement. (June)

James Saxon delivers a memorable and absolutely masterful performance of Christie's first Miss Marple mystery. When the wildly unpopular Colonel Protheroe is found murdered in the vicar's study, it seems that everyone—his unhappy wife, his daughter, a visiting artist, an embittered poacher, the vicar—has a motive in a mystery that confounds the authorities, consumes the village and can only be untangled by observations and deductions of our heroine: the elderly gossip-cum-sleuth Miss Marple. Saxon's artful and enthusiastic portrayal of a host of characters—male and female, guilty and innocent, young and old—will delight Christie fans, mystery lovers and anyone lucky enough to listen. (June)

For a novel with two main characters, logic dictates that each performer should take one of the leading roles to create a mini-cast production, but this audio proceeds the old-fashioned way, in tag-team style. Anne Flosnik, performing the first section set primarily in Germany after the Great War, has a brittle voice that takes some getting used to. Her range is dwarfed by the talented Michael Page, who picks up the story in London in 1944. Though narrating in a slightly British accent, Page captures the American cadences and personality of Charles/Claus with all his yearnings and ambivalence, and his Kate, the British-born woman at the heart of the first section, outshines Flosnik's interpretation. Despite the unevenness of the performances, Page's galvanizing narrative makes this well-researched historical novel worth sticking with. A Houghton Mifflin Harcourt hardcover (Reviews, Apr. 27). (June)

Veteran Evanovich narrator Lorelei King seems perfectly at home when in command of bounty hunter Stephanie Plum and her colorful Garden State band of relatives and colleagues. The action here centers on the mysterious death of a prominent cable television barbecue master. As a witness to the crime, Plum's larger than life office assistant Lula lands in the center of the drama, and King delivers a deliciously over the top performance of her antics, especially the reformed prostitute's convoluted plot to solve the case by entering a barbecue cook-off. The abridgment seems a bit choppy, as the details surrounding the motives and methods of the cast of villains seem lost in the shuffle. Yet King's talent and Evanovich's beloved characters still make for an entertaining summer escape. A St. Martin's hardcover (Reviews, May 25). (June)

These four unabridged mini-chillers culled from King's 1993 short story collection, Nightmares & Dreamscapes, provide their celebrity readers with the chance to show off a different, darker side. Whoopi Goldberg delivers a crisp, straightforward rendition of “Suffer Little Children” that pits an aging teacher against a class she fears is being possessed by monsters. Tim Curry sheds his trademark arch tone to play “Crouch End” solemnly and sympathetically. And in the book's best surprise, Rob Lowe's rendition of the title story wrings every ounce of suspense from the grim revenge yarn. The only clunker is Yeardley Smith's reading of “Rainy Season”; her childlike nasal voice, so marvelous when playing TV's animated Lisa Simpson, is completely at odds with the material. (June)

After Leonard's boyfriend and the biker he has run off with are gruesomely murdered, Leonard turns to his (straight) buddy Hap for help clearing his name. So begins this fast and funny East Texas shoot-'em-up tall tale that brims with very adult (strong language, raunchy sex, sadomasochistic violence and pornography) and absurd (bizarre squirrel attack) themes. As Leonard and Hap soon realize that they are more prey than investigators, the plot grows increasingly complex and hilarious, heightened by Phil Gigante's pacing and performance that spans a masterful range from Hap's twangy narration to Leonard's basso and night nurse Brett's sassy purr. A Vintage paperback. (June)

Jennifer Wiltsie's warm, emotionally expressive voice immediately draws listeners into Giffin's story and makes them sympathize with Rachel, whose growing attraction to her best friend's fiancé eventually develops into a guilt-ridden affair. Wiltsie handles the other characters deftly; Rachel's best friend, Darcy, is especially vivid (and hilariously shallow and self-centered), and Rachel and Dex's romance is portrayed with exceptional sensitivity. This is definitely one to bring along in the beach bag this summer. A St. Martin's hardcover. (May)

Connelly hits it out of the park with one of the best thrillers of the year. Seasoned reporter Jack McEvoy has just been laid off from his job at the Los Angeles Times and—to add insult to injury—is assigned to train his replacement, a precocious young woman who will work for half his salary with none of his experience. But McEvoy will not go gently into the land of the downsized: he still has one last story to cover featuring a killer who dumps his victims in the trunk of a car. Peter Giles brings a skilled and intimate feel to his reading without losing the chilling momentum; at one point he relays a beautifully built scene that contains one of the best “gotcha” moments in some time. A Little, Brown hardcover (Reviews, Mar. 30). (May)

A smooth and stylish performance by Peter James goes a long way in resurrecting three of Leonard's most famous characters for this latest novel. Jack Foley, bank robber extraordinaire partners up with Cundo Rey while serving time in a Miami prison. With some help from Cundo's lawyer, Foley is soon out of his cell and hanging out at Venice Beach with Cundo's girlfriend, Dawn Navarro. As with all of Leonard's books, each of these characters will do whatever to whomever to get whatever they're after. James slides easily between the book's eclectic roster of characters, giving each of them clear and distinctive voices. Whether it's Cundo's Cuban-accented gangsta riff, Dawn's cold sensuality or Jack's unflappable cool, he handles it with aplomb. Leonard continues to write the hippest crime fiction in town, and James's reading fits well with the author's cooler than cool prose. A Morrow hardcover (Reviews, Feb. 2). (May)

Max Bloomquist brings his considerable talents to Crawford's meditation on the meaning of work and disparity between “blue collar” and “white collar” occupations. Crawford draws on his own experience—he quit a miserable think tank job and has found joy and meaning working as a motorcycle mechanic—to question the presumed value of the cubicle working world, deplore society's disconnection from the material world and vividly convey the reward of working with one's hands. Bloomquist reads with authority and erudition; his steady, everyman narration makes Crawford's well-founded arguments even more persuasive. A Penguin Press hardcover (Reviews, Apr. 20). (June)

Veteran narrator David Colacci delivers an evenhanded, workmanlike performance of De Botton's philosophical exploration of the joys, pains and meaning of work. The erudite and frequently amusing meditation on vocation is accompanied by profiles of a broad spectrum of workers—employed in everything from biscuit manufacturing to rocket science, fishing to career counseling—with Colacci deftly capturing the text's perfect mix of sly humor and gravity and allowing listeners an opportunity to reflect on and question his or her own working life. A Pantheon hardcover (Reviews, Apr. 13). (June)

“Average everyday American” Beck compiles his favorite anti–government- and –liberal-fueled outrages from his popular radio show. The slickly produced three-minute segments are closer to standup routines than political editorials; jaunty parade music underscores Beck's sarcastic, gallows-humor jibes at fiscal recklessness, global warming and entitled college students. Beck has a morning DJ's deft patter and an impressive array of voices—many of which are intended as commentary to his own commentary, or straw men to be clambered over on the march to right-wing populist nirvana. The technique is admirable; the political content, significantly less so (one of Beck's rants is actually in praise of the statesmanship of... Mark Sanford). (June)

Kiyosaki draws upon the counsel of 21 of his closest big business pals to prepare his audience to properly assess property values, locate foreclosures, lower taxes and even find hidden investment opportunities. The book couldn't come at a more appropriate time, given the rising number of home foreclosures, and luckily seasoned narrators Jim Bond, Sandra Burr and Bruce Reizen make listening an enjoyable and personable experience. Many such guides fail to reach listeners because of their less than inspired narrations; this talented cast not only injects life into their respective readings, but also manage to get the point across without sounding the least bit robotic. A Vanguard paperback (Reviews, May 25). (May)

In this memoir of a fashion-conscious life, Lancaster revisits her misadventures—and outfits over the years (from Girl Scout sash to Gucci purse)—with characteristic snarky humor. You have to hand it to Lancaster: you could find her younger self utterly insufferable, if it weren't for the fact that her present-day self is so clear-eyed about and obviously amused by her past behavior. Jamie Heinlein reads with just the right amount of confident, bubbly obliviousness inflected with a dash of wry knowingness. As is typical in the best professionally read audio memoirs, Heinlein recreates Lancaster so perspicaciously, it's easy to become convinced that Heinlein is Lancaster. An NAL hardcover. (May)

From the opening ultrasound scene, in which Spelling frets that her unborn son's nose is too big, through her two bouts coping with baby weight and numerous shopping sprees, the memoir focuses heavily on appearances. What rescues the book from complete narcissism are Spelling's sense of humor—which is truly fun and alive to irony—and her obvious love for her small children. Listeners will respond to her desire to create a “real” life for them, even as they raise eyebrows at her decision to have their childhoods broadcast on reality television. Spelling narrates with a chatty Valley Girl style and loads of inflection and drama—whether or not the circumstances warrant it. (A scene about showing up with the wrong Halloween costume at a party is delivered with the same agitation as one in which her baby loses consciousness from a seizure.) A Simon Spotlight Entertainment hardcover. (May)

Mathews's sprawling narrative traces the birth and early development of the controversial Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) through the eyes of its charismatic young founders, Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin. J. Paul Boehmer captures both the fiery idealism and initial naïveté in the voices of the two protagonists as they parlay their postcollege Teach for America stint in inner-city Houston into a bold national experiment in classroom instruction and school governance. Boehmer provides an especially memorable portrayal of Feinberg and Levin's early mentor Harriett Ball, a veteran educator whose commanding presence conveys both maternal warmth and tough determination. Boehmer only misfires once, when he fails to provide a cue that he is shifting from storytelling into an expository section analyzing the KIPP track record. An Algonquin hardcover (Reviews, Oct. 13). (Apr.)

Regular readers of O magazine might already be familiar with Welch's straightforward 10 minutes–10 months–10 years philosophy for making major life decisions. The former editor of the Harvard Business Review and current Business Week contributor expands on these guidelines, mixing in her own epiphanies. She has a winning reading manner and a pleasant voice, and while her tone clearly conveys an unmistakable confidence in the set of tools she's offering listeners, she never sounds like she's preaching (this is also helped by plenty of self-deprecating anecdotes that illustrate why she needed the system she developed and now shares with readers). The production is very clean and suits the material nicely; there's just a little music, and the direction of the reading feels perfectly paced. A Scribner hardcover (Reviews, Mar. 30). (Apr.)