Audio

Lord John Grey first appeared in New York Times best-selling author Gabaldon's ongoing, multivolume time travel/fantasy/romance "Outlander" series. In this work, it is 1758, and Lord John's widowed mother is about to remarry. He and his older brother, Hal, meet with the bridegroom and his stepson, Percy Wainwright. Lord John realizes he has met the stepson before at a homosexual brothel. Percy is interested in joining the army and is persuaded to buy into Lord John's regiment, as was common practice at that time. They are off to fight in Prussia as part of the Seven Years' War, a global conflict of which the French and Indian War was a small part. Lord John is wounded and returns to England, where he begins to suspect that a series of street attacks might be related to his father's questionable suicide. How Lord John remains mostly in the closet yet pursues his sexual and other interests in an impeccable 18th-century melodrama makes for "don't-want-to-stop" listening! Actor Jeff Woodman brings an experience of dialects and accents to this novel. The English shadings he employs can fool the American ear into believing he was born near London. Listeners will appreciate that each CD begins and ends with an announcement indicating the number of each CD in the book, so accidental mix-ups can be avoided. Recommended for libraries with historic mystery collections.—David Faucheux, Louisiana Audio Information & Reading Svc., Lafayette

Gibson, author of the award-winning archetypal cyberpunk novel Neuromancer, has returned with a book that demonstrates yet again his ability to select from the trends of tomorrow's artifacts that will grab us today. In Spook Country, characters collide—seemingly at random—and interact in a multilayered fashion that has become Gibson's signature style. Hollis Henry, a former singer with a defunct indie rock band, has been hired by Node, a shadowy British version of Wired magazine, to write an article on locative art, an artistic innovation that uses virtual reality environments placed via GPS-tagging into the real world. She crosses paths with a Cuban Chinese Santerìa-worshipping martial artist, various hackers, conceptual artists, and several spooks whose loyalties are complex and sometimes nebulous. This slow unfolding of motive and plot may annoy those who dislike being lost for several minutes as it titillates others. Robertson Dean brings a sonorous, classically disciplined bass-baritone voice to the reading; his ability to read the narrative passages with precise diction and careful pacing is contrasted by his use of accents and inflection when conveying conversations. Recommended for public and academic libraries with medium to large collections of speculative fiction.—David Faucheux, Louisiana Audio Information & Reading Svc., Lafayette

Like the oil desperately needed during the Great Depression, Stormy Weather is a slow gathering of hope underneath the surface. The Stoddard women's story coalesces after the death of the sole male in the family, who has left them little besides a wild racehorse named Smoky Joe, a tenuous belief in wildcat oil wells, and the ability to fend for themselves in the dustbowl of East Texas. Daughter Jeanine is the true heroine of the tale, but her mother and sisters provide a strong portrait of the diverse women of the era. Well read by Colleen Delany, the novel straddles romance and history and is recommended for audiences who prefer those genres.—Joyce Kessel, Villa Maria Coll., Buffalo, NY

Tess Monaghan, a former reporter for a Baltimore newspaper, is working as an investigator for a city lawyer, hoping to get her professional license as a PI. Business magnate Wink Wynkowski is trying to bring professional basketball to Baltimore. The editors of the local Baltimore Beacon-Light newspaper decide not to run a story about Wink because of his grimy past and his current financial troubles. They don't want the distasteful details of his past to jeopardize the chances of getting a basketball team, but someone without authorization hacks into the newspaper's computer, and the story runs anyway. Almost simultaneously, Wink is found dead in his car, an apparent suicide. Tess is hired by the paper to investigate the article and Wink's death. Rosita Ruiz, an unscrupulous reporter for the Beacon-Light, has been known to fabricate stories to suit her own agenda. After being fired, she is also found dead. Another suicide? Tess doesn't think so and sets out to prove her assumptions. Best-selling author Lippman's writing style here seems random and inconsistent, though the plot holds some interest. Read by Deborah Hazlett, this mildly entertaining mystery, first published in paperback in 1997, won the Edgar and Shamus awards. It is being reissued this December in hardcover. Purchase upon request or for libraries collecting Lippman's works.—Carol Stern, Glen Cove P.L., NY

Immediately following her honeymoon, newlywed Samantha Rainford learns that her husband, Douglas Cosmo Rainford III, has filed for divorce. Eventually, Sam locates three more of Douglas's ex-wives, and the four women are recruited by the supersecret Americans for Justice (AFJ), an agency whose purpose is to correct judicial, legal, and moral wrongs that cannot be corrected through the justice system. Vowing revenge on their mutual ex, the women discover there are really 11 Mrs. Rainfords, with a 12th wedding in the works. Similar to the "Sisterhood" series, this humorous tale has more characters than are usually found in Michaels's stories. Laural Merlington does an admirable job of keeping the individual voices straight, but the sheer number of characters is a bit of a stretch for even her wide vocal range, particularly with the male voices. This light story will appeal to Michaels's fans and those enjoying humorous revenge and female empowerment tales. Recommended.

Convinced her parents don't care about her, 15-year-old Trinity Henderson, in Up Close and Personal, runs away from home. She changes her name, finishes high school, and goes to college. Now 15 years later, hearing a rumor that an old friend is trying to find her, Trinity prepares to run again, but this time to the one place she doesn't expect him to look—her old hometown. Once there, Trinity learns that the people who raised her were unofficial foster parents; her real mother is the town's wealthy widow. Trinity searches for answers to questions she didn't know existed and ends up with a fiancé and a family fortune. This wicked Southern belle heiress saga will appeal to those who like family tales. Reader Laural Merlington's speech is clear, distinct, and accent-free. Her voice range enables the listener to keep track of the various characters. Recommended.—Laurie Selwyn, formerly with Grayson Cty. Law Lib., Sherman, TX

Moore's disturbing look at the lives of people personally and professionally incarcerated in an upstate New York women's prison is not for the faint of heart. The novel weaves through the stories of four main characters: the prison's chief of psychiatry, a corrections officer, a convicted murderer, and a rising actress. Performances by a superb ensemble cast—Robin Miles, Tom Stechschulte, Elizabeth S. Rogers, and Jenny Burleson—add another dimension to the author's already powerful characterizations. The print version of Big Girls creates necessary buffers between the reader and the eye-averting turbulence that permeates the characters' lives. However, the audio program provides rapid-fire sensory assaults that are hard to escape. The plot and performances are compelling, but libraries should be forewarned that some patrons might find the graphic violence in this format overwhelming.—Gwendolyn Osborne, Evanston, IL

Reader Bernadette Dunne captures the mesmerizing pace of Oates's prose in an almost hypnotic rhythm as the novel unwinds in past and present time. The daughter of a family that escaped Nazi Germany only to land in America in a situation well beneath their previous status, Rebecca tells a story of violence, betrayal, secrets, forced silences, and misperceptions. She will suffer the deflected and intentional slurs directed at her father and his new profession, carrying her shame into her unfortunate marriage, her escape, and her uncertainty about her true identity as she attempts to secure a chameleon's invisibility throughout her life. A harsh and demanding book but recommended for libraries whose clientele favor serious fiction.—Joyce Kessel, Villa Maria Coll., Buffalo, NY

Reilly's third novel in his "Shane Schofield" series will not disappoint listeners who have come to relish the author's violent, action-packed books. From the very first page, where Shane leads his team to Siberia in an effort to keep Islamic terrorists from detonating rusting Soviet missiles, the story hits the ground running, wasting little time on character development or plot nuance. Shane and his team, including the fascinating Gena "Mother" Newman, find themselves targeted by an international group of bounty hunters chasing after an $18.6 million prize. Their goal is to bring the heads of 15 individuals (intelligence officers, military personnel, and terrorists) to a French-headquartered group known as the Majestic-12, the world's most powerful businessmen. Reader Sean Mangan, a veteran of Reilly novels, knows when to emphasize the tension and suspense, but his overall delivery is a bit on the bland side. No worries; Reilly captures listeners from the beginning and hurtles them toward a shocking and unexpected conclusion. Recommended for public and military library collections.—Joseph L. Carlson, Allan Hancock Coll., Lompoc, CA

This fourth Isabel Dalhousie novel may be Smith's best so far. Like his popular "No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" stories, the Dalhousie tales explore complex relationships among engaging characters along with intriguing mysteries involving subtle moral issues. Here, Isabel faces several new challenges. A single mother with a much younger boyfriend, she is adjusting to parenthood while dealing with an overstepping housekeeper, a resentful adult niece, and an unethical attempt to wrest from her the editorship of Review of Applied Ethics. Meanwhile, her interest in a suspicious painting credited to a deceased artist takes her to a remote Scottish island and a surprising discovery that raises unexpected ethical questions. All issues are resolved with the gentle grace that typifies Smith's fiction. Davina Porter brings just the right amount of emotional involvement to her narration. Strongly recommended for general collections.—R. Kent Rasmussen, Thousand Oaks, CA

Doug Parker is having a bad year. After the death of his wife in a plane crash, the 29-year-old freelance magazine writer withdraws from family and friends and rarely leaves the home he shared with his wife and stepson in the New Radford suburb of New York. There, he medicates with alcohol, produces a much-lauded monthly column about his grief, and wages war on a band of insurgent neighborhood rabbits. With his life in shambles and the specter of his dead wife haunting every waking thought, Doug struggles to hold off the world—his dysfunctional family, a nagging agent hoping to cash in on the success of his magazine column, and his troubled teenage stepson in need of a surrogate father figure—while he navigates an unfamiliar landscape of pain and hopelessness. Eric Ruben's sometimes uneven reading captures well the jarring moments when Doug's seemingly impenetrable self-absorption is pierced by genuine compassion for and understanding of those around him—most notably his stroke-afflicted father, his domineering mother, and his two sisters—all of whom conspire at different moments to draw him out of his paralyzing grief. Ruben also deftly handles Doug's sexual misadventures with the right combination of passion, humor, and despair, as the wounded and irresistible widower agonizes over his longing for his dead wife and his growing need for companionship and love. Recommended for all general fiction collections.—Philip Bader, Pasadena, CA

As with Big Fish and The Watermelon King, Wallace offers here a Southern novel full of whimsy and folklore. Clearly influenced by Flannery O'Connor and Eudora Welty, Wallace tells the story of Henry Walker, a magician with Jeremiah Musgrove's Chinese Circus in the 1950s South. As a boy in Albany, NY, Henry learned magic from the pasty-faced Mr. Sebastian, believing his mentor to be the devil, and lost his beloved sister as a result. Through his travels, Henry constantly loses those he cares about. As Wallace slowly reveals that the supernatural has less to do with Henry's fate than he thinks, the story grows more powerful. This captivating morality tale is told from multiple points of view well narrated by Norman Dietz, L.J. Ganser, Katherine Kellgren, T. Ryder Smith, Tom Stechschulte, and, especially, Alyssa Bresnahan, whose character's unrequited love for Henry is particularly poignant. Highly recommended for all collections.—Michael Adams, CUNY Graduate Ctr.

The aftermath of radio personality Don Imus's verbal assault on the Rutgers University women's basketball team graphically illustrates the life-altering power of words. Washington Post editor and syndicated columnist Asim examines one of the most powerful words in the American lexicon. He continues the discussion begun by Harvard law professor Randall Kennedy in his 2003 book Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word. The author's approach is balanced as he discusses the connotation of the "N" word in both black self-hatred and racist applications. Narrator Mirron E. Willis's smooth, articulate reading complements Asim's text as he chronicles the historical, political, social, and linguistic use of the epithet without being pedantic. Asim's hypothesis on who should and shouldn't use the term will undoubtedly remain a topic for debate, fueled in part by discussions of this book. Recommended for most adult libraries.—Gwendolyn Osborne, Evanston, IL

It's very possible that olives were one of the first fruits cultivated by man. Several Mediterranean countries have olive groves dating back thousands of years, when they sprouted amidst the ruins of ancient cities. Drinkwater has been entertaining listeners with her personal experiences with the always colorful if sometimes challenging olive farm that she and her husband purchased in France's Provençal region. In this book, she takes a trip back in history in an effort to locate the earliest olive groves. Some in Lebanon date back as far as 5000 years, but she wants to be certain that there is none older. Her travels take her to impoverished countries, such as Libya, where oil income has yet to improve the lives of ordinary citizens. Yet in every country she finds warm, friendly people willing to help her in her quest. The author is an accomplished British actress, and her stylish reading helps to transport listeners back to ancient cultures that often clash with contemporary realities. Her works have built up a devoted audience, and this latest is recommended for large public libraries.—Joseph L. Carlson, Allan Hancock Coll., Lompoc, CA

New books about Abraham Lincoln appear so often that the unique merits of each demand scrutiny. Ferguson's book is not so much a study of Lincoln as it is a study of modern American attitudes toward the 16th President. It is also a voyage of self-discovery by a former Lincoln buff and skilled journalist who crisscrossed America to visit museums and memorials, to observe pro- and anti-Lincoln gatherings, and to interview Lincoln impersonators, collectors, and others, all while striving to assess Lincoln's legacy. The result is an engaging and frequently witty confrontation between past and present that reveals as much about modern culture as it does about Lincoln himself. Patrick Lawlor's narration is adequate but often seems rushed. This is a book that might be better read—especially in an illustrated edition. Recommended with reservations.—R. Kent Rasmussen, Thousand Oaks, CA

Frank, Wall Street Journal senior special writer, created a stir in popular culture when he began his weekly WSJ column and daily blog called The Wealth Report, which discussed the way of life of "Richistanis," residents of the unique world of "Richistan," who have realized tremendous wealth. In 2003, the author learned that the number of American millionaire households had more than doubled since 1995 to over eight million and that these newly affluent were beginning to cluster and create their own universe. In 2003, WSJ assigned Frank to focus full time on the life and times of the nouveau riche, which led to his popular Wealth Reporter column and, ultimately, to this fully fleshed work, which provides a fascinating analysis of the life and the culture of the ultra-rich. He digs deep, analyzing their high-end investing patterns and business savvy, charitable giving, and purchase of luxury goods and services. Frank describes their own personalized health-care system, specialized transport system, unlimited, customized travel network, household managers, and much more. He also provides an understanding of the paradoxical nature of many of the newly rich that explains why so many are as common as ordinary middle-class Americans, even though they have more money than they could ever spend and are nothing like the select few among this subculture who attract a media frenzy, like Warren Buffett, Donald Trump, and Bill Gates. The lively narration by Dick Hill helps maintain interest throughout this material, which provides an important contribution to the fields of economics and demography. Highly recommended for university and larger public libraries.—Dale Farris, Groves, TX

Recently diagnosed with breast cancer, Roberts, coanchor of ABC's Good Morning America and former anchor of ESPN's Sports Center, has written a compelling book revealing the secret to her success. She reflects on Hurricane Katrina, recounting her ordeal on the Gulf Coast; her 15 years at ESPN; growing up in Pass Christian, MS; her faith; and much more. As a young woman, tennis was her first true passion, but she didn't realize her dream of becoming a professional. Roberts's rules include "Position yourself to take the shot; never play the race, gender, or any other card; venture outside your comfort zone; and keep faith, family, and friends close to your heart." She concludes by advising her listeners to break her rules and write their own: "live your life, let it happen, enjoy the ride." With musical interludes and the author's lively presentation, this moving program is highly recommended for most libraries.—Ann Burns, Library Journal