Jennifer Gerbyshak

Fans of Agatha Christie's fastidious Belgian, and particularly fans of the PBS Mystery! series, will love this audiobook version of Curtain: Poirot's Last Case. Many are the reasons, but primary are the excellent plot (of course, it's Agatha Christie), and the choice of narrator. Hugh Fraser played Captain Hastings in the PBS television series, and Curtain is written as a deposition from Hastings' point of view. Fraser does an excellent job of pacing and inflecting in his own right, but listening to "the voice of Hastings" take me through the story was more than icing on the cake--it was Julia Child cream cheese frosting on a red velvet cake. I loved it so much, I'm buying it for my mom!

Kitty Norville is not for those seeking sweeping landscapes, epic drama or poetic prose. It is, however, most decidedly for those looking for a quick jaunt on the lupine side. With plenty of winking sarcasm (well, the point-of-view character is a werewolf named Kitty), Kitty and the Midnight Hour offers up a little mystery, a little paranormal, a little romance, and lots of light entertainment. If that's what you're in the mood for, this is where you want to be. The audio-book format works particularly well in this instance because Kitty, the protagonist, is a radio DJ and talk show host. Marguarite Gavin is a great voice for The Midnight Hour.

If you like intricate and well-planned magic systems, brilliant plots, exciting pacing, well-developed characters, and a perfect dose of stuff blowing up, Larry Correia's Hard Magic is for you. I love this story. It is mentally and emotionally completely satisfying, yet maintains a quick, light feel. It's fun to listen to. And even better: it's narrated by Bronson Pinchot, who is, without doubt, the best narrator I've encountered thus far. He does all the voices, not just distinctly, but vividly. The life that he breathes into each and every one is, well, just plain delicious. It's so good that I'm buying every book in this series both in hardback and as an audiobook--as long as Pinchot continues as narrator!