Behind the Mic With Kirkus Reviews

January LaVoy makes this an A+ listen. AudioFile Publisher Michele Cobb and Jo Reed discuss the ways in which January’s performance beautifully finds the sadness, desperation, and humor in the audiobook. These Colorado parents are willing to do anything to get their kids recognized as gifted, landing them a spot in the exclusive Crystal Academy. January creates distinct voices and personalities for both children and adults, particularly the four friends at the novel’s center. The only question we’re left with is which parent we identify with most, for good or ill. Published by Penguin Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. Join New York Times bestselling author Patti Callahan for a seven-part original podcast – Behind the Scenes of Becoming Mrs. Lewis – and explore in depth the improbable and beautiful love story between C.S. Lewis and Joy Davidman. Learn more at www.becomingmrslewispodcast.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A highly anticipated adult fiction novel with a multivoice cast. Join Jo Reed and AudioFile publisher Michele Cobb discussing the emotionally connective reading by five narrators, including the author. Meet three generations of an African-American family. Bahni Turpin narrates as sixteen-year-old Melody, whose mother Iris is rarely around. She was a teen mother, and narrator Shayna Small fills in Iris’s complexities. The rich voices of Quincy Tyler Bernstine and Peter Francis James evoke the age, devotion, and authority of Melody’s grandparents. Author Jacqueline Woodson’s third-person narrative connects the protagonists. Published by Penguin Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. Join New York Times bestselling author Patti Callahan for a seven-part original podcast – Behind the Scenes of Becoming Mrs. Lewis – and explore in depth the improbable and beautiful love story between C.S. Lewis and Joy Davidman. Learn more at www.becomingmrslewispodcast.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join host Jo Reed as she talks with one of the greats in the world of audiobooks, George Guidall. Hear what drew him to the world of audiobooks, highlights from his impressive career, and what he's loved about narrating the series that listeners adore. He has won accolades including AudioFile Earphones Awards, Audie Awards, and the APA Special Achievement award. George has narrated more than 1,700 audiobooks over his long career. He has come to appreciate the depth of the narrator-listener connection through talks at local libraries, where he hears from listeners the impact his narration has had on them. For more reviews of audiobooks narrated by George Guidall, visit audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. Join New York Times bestselling author Patti Callahan for a seven-part original podcast – Behind the Scenes of Becoming Mrs. Lewis – and explore in depth the improbable and beautiful love story between C.S. Lewis and Joy Davidman. Learn more at www.becomingmrslewispodcast.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The new “Downton Abbey” film inspired our choice of this contemporary story about three very different women who form a lasting friendship as they watch weekly screenings of the TV series. We chat about how much narrator Orlagh Cassidy’s marvelous accents add to the listening experience. Published by Penguin Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. Join New York Times bestselling author Patti Callahan for a seven-part original podcast – Behind the Scenes of Becoming Mrs. Lewis – and explore in depth the improbable and beautiful love story between C.S. Lewis and Joy Davidman. Learn more at www.becomingmrslewispodcast.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listen to our conversation about the author of classic gothic and supernatural tales, master storyteller Arthur Conan Doyle. Think of the creator of Sherlock Holmes as the great-great-grandfather of pulp fiction and binge-worthy television and it all makes sense. Irish narrator Gary Furlong adds the right fresh approach to the tales and handles myriad accents. Perfect for Halloween. Published by Tantor Media. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. Join New York Times bestselling author Patti Callahan for a seven-part original podcast – Behind the Scenes of Becoming Mrs. Lewis – and explore in depth the improbable and beautiful love story between C.S. Lewis and Joy Davidman. Learn more at www.becomingmrslewispodcast.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Enjoy the conversation about this charming story of two sisters, Edith and Helen, as podcast host Jo Reed and editor Robin Whitten highlight what makes this a great listen. Narrator Judith Ivey delivers a tone of Midwestern pragmatism as the women bake pies, brew beer, nurture unlikely friendships, and find redemption. Published by Penguin Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. Join New York Times bestselling author Patti Callahan for a seven-part original podcast – Behind the Scenes of Becoming Mrs. Lewis – and explore in depth the improbable and beautiful love story between C.S. Lewis and Joy Davidman. Learn more at www.becomingmrslewispodcast.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fans of spy stories—as podcast host Jo Reed and editor Robin Whitten are—like nothing better than talking about the details of the classic tradecraft of spies. We can’t give the details away, but we share just enough to get you listening to the short and satisfying audiobook from British author Mick Herron and Golden Voice Gerard Doyle. A fortuitous pairing. Published by Recorded Books. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. Join New York Times bestselling author Patti Callahan for a seven-part original podcast – Behind the Scenes of Becoming Mrs. Lewis – and explore in depth the improbable and beautiful love story between C.S. Lewis and Joy Davidman. Learn more at www.becomingmrslewispodcast.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The newest literary drama from the author of ROOM takes listeners on a trip to the French Riviera. Host Jo Reed and editor Robin Whitten chat about the appeal of listening to unlikely traveling companions Noah—a 79-year-old retired professor—and Michael, his 11-year-old grand nephew he barely knows. How does narrator Jason Culp nail the dialogue, bickering, and self-discovery? Our podcast discussion sheds some light on his skilled performance. Published by Hachette Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. Join New York Times bestselling author Patti Callahan for a seven-part original podcast – Behind the Scenes of Becoming Mrs. Lewis – and explore in depth the improbable and beautiful love story between C.S. Lewis and Joy Davidman. Learn more at www.becomingmrslewispodcast.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens to the “chosen one” after the big bad guy’s gone? Join host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly as they talk about this highly anticipated sequel to Rainbow Rowell’s CARRY ON, and the exceptional skills of narrator Euan Morton. Simon Snow defeated the Insidious Humdrum, and now he’s flunking out of university, has lost his magic, and feels very glum. His best friend Penelope hatches a plan for a good old-fashioned road trip in America, so Simon, his vampire boyfriend Baz, and energetic Penelope head off. Morton smoothly shifts between distinct voices and emotions for every character they encounter on the road. Published by Macmillan Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. Join New York Times bestselling author Patti Callahan for a seven-part original podcast – Behind the Scenes of Becoming Mrs. Lewis – and explore in depth the improbable and beautiful love story between C.S. Lewis and Joy Davidman. Learn more at www.becomingmrslewispodcast.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A smashing start to a new mystery series from Ann Cleeves. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly take listeners to charming North Devon, England, where DI Matthew Venn’s team has just found the body of a dead man on the beach. Ben Aldridge narrates with a cool and easy pace, mirroring Matthew’s calm demeanor as he leads his team on the investigation. The clues all point toward Matthew’s own past with his estranged religious community, and his sweet husband. Aldridge’s smoothly shifting accents introduce listeners to a new team of investigators in a community that has many secrets to uncover. The perfect next listen for fans of Cleeves’s Vera Stanhope and Shetland series. Published by Macmillan Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. Join New York Times bestselling author Patti Callahan for a seven-part original podcast – Behind the Scenes of Becoming Mrs. Lewis – and explore in depth the improbable and beautiful love story between C.S. Lewis and Joy Davidman. Learn more at www.becomingmrslewispodcast.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

January LaVoy’s breathtaking narration shines in this historical fantasy. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly marvel at LaVoy’s ability to bring dynamic and diverse characters to life. January Scaller is a daring young girl who feels trapped in the country home of her guardian, Mr. Locke, while her dad is off on adventures. When she finds a Door that leads to another world, and a book that points to the existence of thousands of doors, everything changes. Published by Hachette Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. Join New York Times bestselling author Patti Callahan for a seven-part original podcast – Behind the Scenes of Becoming Mrs. Lewis – and explore in depth the improbable and beautiful love story between C.S. Lewis and Joy Davidman. Learn more at www.becomingmrslewispodcast.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emotionally and culturally authentic teen listening. AudioFile’s Emily Connelly tells host Jo Reed all the many reasons she loved listening to David Yoon’s new YA bestseller. Franki Li is a sweet, nerdy high school junior falling in love with his classmate. Only trouble is, she’s white, and his Korean parents only want him dating Korean girls. Narrator Raymond J. Lee’s empathetic performance captures everything in Frank’s life from the disconnect between first- and second-generation immigrants and the hilarious and heartfelt conversations between Frank and his friends. Published by Listening Library. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. Join New York Times bestselling author Patti Callahan for a seven-part original podcast – Behind the Scenes of Becoming Mrs. Lewis – and explore in depth the improbable and beautiful love story between C.S. Lewis and Joy Davidman. Learn more at www.becomingmrslewispodcast.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This impressive sequel is even more dramatic on audio. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly recommend Margaret Atwood’s sequel to her dystopian classic, THE HANDMAID’S TALE. Set fifteen years after Offred fled Gilead, the story focuses on the lives of Aunts, Wives, and children in that society. The imposing Aunt Lydia is a central player in Gilead, and her secretive diary entries are narrated by Ann Dowd, known for her role as Aunt Lydia on the television adaptation. Witness testimonies are narrated by Bryce Dallas Howard and Mae Whitman, whose voices reflect the divergent lives they live as children in Gilead and Canada. Published by Random House Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Paperback Classics, a new imprint from Oasis Family Media, bringing the best vintage pulp paperbacks to audio, including the 1960s cult-classic series Dark Shadows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A compelling tale of scientific discoveries at sea. AudioFile’s Jonathan Smith and host Jo Reed learn about H.M.S. Challenger, which made the first scientific explorations of the sea in the 1870s. Sean Runnette’s steady voice suits the spirit of the narrative written by an esteemed oceanographer. Hear of the biological riches dredged up from the ocean floor and the legacy the voyage left for our ongoing study of the ocean. Published by Tantor Media. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Paperback Classics, a new imprint from Oasis Family Media, bringing the best vintage pulp paperbacks to audio, including the 1960s cult-classic series Dark Shadows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get up close and personal with one of humankind’s fiercest enemies. Join host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Jonathan Smith to hear how mosquitoes have changed the course of human history and still impact us today. Mark Deakins’s skillfull narration holds listeners’ attention as we learn how mosquitoes could have been the downfall of King Tut and the reason the Magna Carta was signed. Published by Penguin Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Paperback Classics, a new imprint from Oasis Family Media, bringing the best vintage pulp paperbacks to audio, including the 1960s cult-classic series Dark Shadows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listen as Peter Berkrot captures all of ghostwriter Stewart Hoag’s wit, wisecracks, and warmth. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Jonathan Smith discuss this latest mystery from David Handler. The down-on-his-luck Hoag is penning celebrity memoirs, but he might finally have a handle on his own second novel. Literary mischief and mayhem ensue when he’s called upon to investigate a missing manuscript, and Berkrot has a lot of fun bringing the story to life. Published by Harper Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Paperback Classics, a new imprint from Oasis Family Media, bringing the best vintage pulp paperbacks to audio, including the 1960s cult-classic series Dark Shadows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Her words are candy on my tongue,” says narrator Hillary Huber of author Cathleen Schine. AudioFile’s Jonathan Smith tells host Jo Reed about this fiction audiobook perfect for lovers of words — and great narration. Twin girls are born with a love of language, honed with their parents’ encouragement and centered around the family’s dictionary. Their shared love for the English language draws them ever closer together until a fierce rivalry tears them apart. This is a fun, captivating audiobook, and Huber is the perfect voice for it. Published by Macmillan Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Paperback Classics, a new imprint from Oasis Family Media, bringing the best vintage pulp paperbacks to audio, including the 1960s cult-classic series Dark Shadows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dive into the world of art theft with the Met’s former Chief Security Officer. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Jonathan Smith discover the history of famous art heists and discuss how narrator Mark Sanderson’s deep voice lends an authoritative tone to John Barelli’s memoir. Being responsible for the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s vast collection meant not only guarding against thieves but also working to secure the large institution against acts of terrorism. If watching THE GOLDFINCH makes you wonder who would steal priceless works of art — have we got a listen for you! Published by Blackstone Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Paperback Classics, a new imprint from Oasis Family Media, bringing the best vintage pulp paperbacks to audio, including the 1960s cult-classic series Dark Shadows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The perfect audiobook if you need a laugh. This 2012 Audie winner for Audiobook of the Year is a great example of how an author narrating their own work can bring that extra something. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile Publisher Michele Cobb chat about how Tina Fey’s challenges as a busy working mother are relatable and her comedy amplified through her perfectly delivered performance. It’s one of AudioFile’s favorites, and on the top of our recommended listening list. Published by Hachette Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Paperback Classics, a new imprint from Oasis Family Media, bringing the best vintage pulp paperbacks to audio, including the 1960s cult-classic series Dark Shadows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An audiobook you absolutely have to hear. Jo Reed and AudioFile Publisher Michele Cobb express their admiration for the author’s poetic performance of her own work, one of AudioFile’s favorites and a National Book Award and Carnegie Medal winner. Xiomara is a 15-year-old first-generation Dominican-American girl who finds her voice through poetry. Acevedo’s performance chops pull the listener into Xiomara’s world, making this audiobook the ideal way to experience this novel. Published by Harper Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Paperback Classics, a new imprint from Oasis Family Media, bringing the best vintage pulp paperbacks to audio, including the 1960s cult-classic series Dark Shadows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Robin Miles’s narration brings out the heart in a story built on incredible science. Michele Cobb, AudioFile Publisher, and host Jo Reed discuss an AudioFile favorite that went on to become a hit movie. Forget about breaking the glass ceiling — these four black women worked for NASA as “computers” and were instrumental in breaking the sound barrier and paving the way for space exploration. Published by Harper Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Paperback Classics, a new imprint from Oasis Family Media, bringing the best vintage pulp paperbacks to audio, including the 1960s cult-classic series Dark Shadows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Hamilton: the Musical” is a cultural phenomenon, and the audiobook is a must-listen. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile Publisher Michele Cobb discuss their delight at this Audie Award Audiobook of the Year winner. It’s an AudioFile favorite packed with behind-the-scenes insights into how a Broadway musical gets made. Narrated by superfan Mariska Hargitay along with Lin-Manuel Miranda himself reading the libretto footnotes. Published by Hachette Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Paperback Classics, a new imprint from Oasis Family Media, bringing the best vintage pulp paperbacks to audio, including the 1960s cult-classic series Dark Shadows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Pulitzer Prize-winning modern classic narrated by author Toni Morrison herself. Jo Reed and AudioFile publisher Michele Cobb start a week of episodes of AudioFile Favorites—audiobooks we love to recommend. BELOVED is a compelling and complicated tale with an emotional punch, where the wounds of slavery run deep. It has controversial characters and a musical pace that will stay with the listener. Published by Random House Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Paperback Classics, a new imprint from Oasis Family Media, bringing the best vintage pulp paperbacks to audio, including the 1960s cult-classic series Dark Shadows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With so many historical mysteries to choose from, why does Alan Furst’s WWII noir make the AudioFile Favorites list? Host Jo Reed and Robin Whitten talk about the appeal and compare two versions of the audiobook. In Paris in the late 1930s, journalist Carl Weisz takes over an antifascist newspaper and is swept deeper into the international émigré community and the increasing danger of work for the Resistance. This 2007 spy novel has two audiobook versions—unabridged read by celebrated narrator George Guidall and a powerful abridgment, narrated by Alfred Molina. Published by Simon & Schuster (Alfred Molina version) & Recorded Books (narrated by George Guidall) Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Paperback Classics, a new imprint from Oasis Family Media, bringing the best vintage pulp paperbacks to audio, including the 1960s cult-classic series Dark Shadows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The host of “The Daily Show” gives a candid, unflinching look at his South African childhood. Editor Robin Whitten and host Jo Reed talk about why this author-read memoir is one of AudioFile’s go-to recommendations. Trevor Noah injects his candor and uses his wry humor with his innate storytelling and mimicry to leaven the story commenting on the absurdities of apartheid while giving a stark portrait of the repressive lives of Black South Africans. Published by Audible. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com, For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Paperback Classics, a new imprint from Oasis Family Media, bringing the best vintage pulp paperbacks to audio, including the 1960s cult-classic series Dark Shadows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The charm of the Italian coast, movie star glamour, hope, and heartbreak are wrapped in a magical narration by Edoardo Ballerini. Editor Robin Whitten and host Jo Reed talk about why this audiobook performance makes the novel one of AudioFile’s Favorites. Listeners start with an Italian innkeeper in the 1960s and and move all the way through present-day Hollywood with dozens of unforgettable characters: husbands and wives, lovers and dreamers, superstars and losers, all warmly and vividly portrayed by Ballerini. An Earphones and Audie Award winner. Published by HarperAudio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Paperback Classics, a new imprint from Oasis Family Media, bringing the best vintage pulp paperbacks to audio, including the 1960s cult-classic series Dark Shadows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gaiman’s fantastic worlds are an absolute delight on audio, and listeners are especially lucky to get to experience this Newbery Award-winning middle grade fantasy in Gaiman’s own voice. Host Jo Reed and Editor Robin Whitten chat about why THE GRAVEYARD BOOK is an AudioFile Favorite. Fans of AMERICAN GODS or GOOD OMENS may not know about Gaiman’s children’s audiobooks.This story of an orphaned boy—“Bod,” short for Nobody—who is raised by ghosts in the local graveyard also features an array of mythological and supernatural characters. The storytelling is as good as it gets. There is a full-cast version of THE GRAVEYARD BOOK with Derek Jacobi and other well known actors, but Gaiman’s single-voice performance has an intimate warmth and conveys a certain safety for young listeners during the scarier parts of the story. Published by HarperAudio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Paperback Classics, a new imprint from Oasis Family Media, bringing the best vintage pulp paperbacks to audio, including the 1960s cult-classic series Dark Shadows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A window into Philip Pullman’s fantastic universe is the way many listeners first entered the audiobook world. Editor Robin Whitten and host Jo Reed start a week of episodes of AudioFile Favorites—the audiobooks we always recommend. The first in the His Dark Materials trilogy sets the stage with miraculous creatures—daemons, armored bears, and witches—who join 12-year-old Lyra Belacqua in her quest for truth. The multi-actor cast of this audiobook version engages listeners from the opening scenes. THE GOLDEN COMPASS has stayed at the top of our favorites list for more than 20 years! The BBC/HBO TV adaption “His Dark Materials” arrives later this fall, as does the second audiobook in Pullman’s new series, THE BOOK OF DUST: THE SECRET COMMONWEALTH, narrated by Michael Sheen. Published by Penguin Random House/Listening Library. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Paperback Classics, a new imprint from Oasis Family Media, bringing the best vintage pulp paperbacks to audio, including the 1960s cult-classic series Dark Shadows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Take a road trip around America with Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile reviewer Jonathan Smith discuss a new American history audiobook. Josh Hamilton narrates the story of Ford, Edison, John Burroughs, and their ten years of summer road trips across the United States in the 1910s and 1920s. But they weren’t simply adventuring—they were working to transform the way we travel. Published by Simon & Schuster Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Paperback Classics, a new imprint from Oasis Family Media, bringing the best vintage pulp paperbacks to audio, including the 1960s cult-classic series Dark Shadows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An audiobook devoted to the semicolon? Hear host Jo Reed and AudioFile reviewer Jonathan Smith discuss this unlikely yet lively audiobook. Narrator Pam Ward’s expressive narration delights as she recounts the history of grammar’s most misunderstood punctuation mark, the semicolon. It’s a listen that’s brisk, witty, and provocative; a genuine pleasure for the ear. Published by Harper Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Paperback Classics, a new imprint from Oasis Family Media, bringing the best vintage pulp paperbacks to audio, including the 1960s cult-classic series Dark Shadows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brace yourself for a roller coaster of a story. AudioFile reviewer Jonathan Smith tells host Jo Reed why NEVER HAVE I EVER is such a captivating thriller. When a newcomer to Amy’s neighborhood starts blackmailing her, she finds herself in a battle to conceal her deepest, darkest secret. Author Joshilyn Jackson is also a skilled narrator—she breathes life into her characters, setting the scene in the Florida Panhandle. Published by Harper Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Paperback Classics, a new imprint from Oasis Family Media, bringing the best vintage pulp paperbacks to audio, including the 1960s cult-classic series Dark Shadows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dive into a sprawling, incandescent historical novel. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile reviewer Jonathan Smith share an audiobook recommendation that will see you through any road trip. DEEP RIVER is an engrossing and commanding historical epic about one immigrant family’s shifting fortunes in Washington state. Bronson Pinchot’s extraordinary ear for language and his nuanced delivery enliven the prose and capture the heart of the listener. Published by Blackstone Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Paperback Classics, a new imprint from Oasis Family Media, bringing the best vintage pulp paperbacks to audio, including the 1960s cult-classic series Dark Shadows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Journey to Beijing with this fast-paced thriller. Join host Jo Reed and AudioFile reviewer Jonathan Smith as they recommend BEIJING PAYBACK. This is an audiobook for anyone who likes a great crime novel performed by a truly talented narrator. Ewan Chung smoothly narrates the story of Victor, a Chinese-American college student whose father was just murdered. Published by Harper Audio. Find more audiobook recommendations at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Paperback Classics, a new imprint from Oasis Family Media, bringing the best vintage pulp paperbacks to audio, including the 1960s cult-classic series Dark Shadows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Xe Sands creates a gritty and entirely believable voice for Ivy Gamble, a P.I. who is recounting the investigation of a gruesome murder case at Osthorne Academy for Young Mages. Sands captivates listeners with a fatigued yet steady delivery of the first-person story and creates an atmosphere of intrigue with masterful pacing. Ivy’s anxiety about taking on her first murder case is amplified by the fact that she’s the non-magical twin sister of a powerful mage who teaches at Osthorne. Sands wraps listeners in the tension of discovering who murdered a much loved teacher, along with Ivy’s hopes of reconciliation with her sister and a promising romance with a husky-voiced physical magic teacher. A compulsively engaging mystery full of magic and liars. Published by Macmillan Audio. Find the review of MAGIC FOR LIARS at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. On today’s episode are host Jo Reed and AudioFile Magazine Assistant Editor Emily Connelly. HarperCollins Leadership feed your inner drive to grow as a leader, with audiobooks that activate the leadership potential inside everyone. Learn more at www.harpercollinsleadership.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Narrator Nicholas Boulton’s rich baritone amplifies the drama and intrigue in this intense medieval romance. Gryff is a Welsh prince in hiding who is captured by violent thieves and kept alive simply because he knows how to care for his valuable hunting falcons. A small, nearly silent, and deadly woman slays his captors, and the pair form an alliance as they travel together. Boulton’s talents are impressive as he smoothly transitions between the many characters and their Norman and Welsh accents. He skillfully highlights the growing trust and passion between Gryff and Nan, his enigmatic savior. Listeners just discovering this detailed historical romance series will be delighted to hear that Boulton also narrated the two earlier and equally compelling titles. Published by Hedgehog Inc. Find the review of DESIRE LINES at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. On today’s episode are host Jo Reed and AudioFile Magazine Assistant Editor Emily Connelly. HarperCollins Leadership feed your inner drive to grow as a leader, with audiobooks that activate the leadership potential inside everyone. Learn more at www.harpercollinsleadership.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bursting with winsome charm, this audiobook whisks listeners to the cozy coastal community of Port Coral, Florida, where Cuban-American Rosa Santos lives with her abuela, the neighborhood healer. Everyone in Port Coral knows about the curse on Rosa: Since the sea claimed the lives of her father and grandfather, anyone who dates her risks a similar fate. Yet smart, pragmatic Rosa can't help falling for Alex, a tattooed baker with a boat, anymore than she can help dreaming of college in Havana. Switching smoothly between English and Spanish, Almarie Guerra narrates with down-to-earth sweetness, her voice providing a welcome throughline for listeners as Rosa's story shifts from breezy rom-com to a deeper look at how pain and love can resonate through generations. Published by Dreamscape. Find the review of DON'T DATE ROSA SANTOS at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. On today’s episode are host Jo Reed and AudioFile Magazine Assistant Editor Emily Connelly. HarperCollins Leadership feed your inner drive to grow as a leader, with audiobooks that activate the leadership potential inside everyone. Learn more at www.harpercollinsleadership.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fourteen stellar narrators each read one short story in this anthology by a diverse group of authors. The fictional stories all feature ordinary young people performing extraordinary acts of kindness and friendship. Some are large and heroic, and some are seemingly small but still meaningful. Most memorable is “Reina Madrid” by R.J. Palacio, in which narrator Frankie Corzo brings 1970s Queens to life with New York accents and exquisite Spanish pronunciation. The stories cross genres from contemporary to fantasy to mystery, so there is something for every listener. Each story is about 25 minutes long, making it great for short car trips. Listeners will be inspired to spread kindness and help make the world a better place. Published by Listening Library. Find the review of THE HERO NEXT DOOR at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. On today’s episode are host Jo Reed and AudioFile Magazine Assistant Editor Emily Connelly. HarperCollins Leadership feed your inner drive to grow as a leader, with audiobooks that activate the leadership potential inside everyone. Learn more at www.harpercollinsleadership.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Simply put, this audiobook is extraordinary. Narrator Karen Chilton portrays Autumn Spencer, whose twin sister, Summer, has disappeared from the roof of their building without a trace. As Autumn attempts to find out what happened, she becomes obsessed with the way that society treats black women—as if they are invisible and the violence perpetrated against them doesn’t matter. As her mental health deteriorates, Autumn reevaluates her trauma. Chilton provides an outstanding narration. Her pace and tone match Autumn's emotional experiences—her bewilderment and anger at the lack of results in the search for her sister, her frustration and fear about what happens to many women just like her, and her uncertainty over what comes next. Topical, timely, and beautifully written—this is a must-listen. Published by Recorded Books. Find the review of SPEAKING OF SUMMER at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. On today’s episode are host Jo Reed and AudioFile Magazine Assistant Editor Emily Connelly. HarperCollins Leadership feed your inner drive to grow as a leader, with audiobooks that activate the leadership potential inside everyone. Learn more at www.harpercollinsleadership.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a remarkable performance, Steve West becomes Dr. John Watson, Jr., husband of Joanna Blalock, daughter of Sherlock Holmes. West also gives dozens of other characters honest and convincing personalities. In this third adventure John, Joanna, and Dr. Watson, Sr., are called upon to find Alistair Ainsworth, a missing cryptographer who has access to secret government information. It’s 1915. The Germans have abducted Ainsworth and are holding him prisoner, torturing him for sensitive British war plans. With only his voice, West makes each person vivid. Listeners can clearly picture young Johnny, Joanna’s precocious son. Lestrade of the Yard and Dunn of Naval Intelligence persist in jumping to wrong conclusions, and West makes their embarrassment palpable. A top-notch mystery filled with clever twists and winning characters. Published by Macmillan Audio. Find the review of THE DISAPPEARANCE OF ALISTAIR AINSWORTH at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. On today’s episode are host Jo Reed and AudioFile Magazine Founder and Editor Robin Whitten. HarperCollins Leadership feed your inner drive to grow as a leader, with audiobooks that activate the leadership potential inside everyone. Learn more at www.harpercollinsleadership.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This audiobook is a perfect example of the popular Nordic noir genre. Listeners will be transported to a small fishing village ominously named the Devil’s Fjord on a remote island in the Faroe Islands. It’s a place, as one resident describes it, where you don’t belong unless you can kill. Narrator Saul Reichlin, who is English (as is the author), tells this gritty story in a cordial voice that makes its human savagery all the more terrifying. Reichlin’s character portrayals are vivid and convincing. The narration begins with a graphic description of a whale hunt, and soon it’s not only whales that are cut open. This story is dark but enlightening—although not for the squeamish. Published by Recorded Books. Find the full review of DEVIL'S FJORD at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. On today’s episode are host Jo Reed and AudioFile Magazine Founder and Editor Robin Whitten. HarperCollins Leadership feed your inner drive to grow as a leader, with audiobooks that activate the leadership potential inside everyone. Learn more at www.harpercollinsleadership.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s as much about the language in Saul Bellow’s 1970 novel as it is about the philosophical, and what better narrator to handle Bellow’s complex characters, ideas, and luscious layering of words than AUDIOFILE Golden Voice George Guidall? Arthur Sammler is a Polish refugee—a Holocaust survivor with only one good eye. But that doesn’t keep him from seeing. Guidall portrays the septuagenarian Sammler as an observer of the human condition. He calls himself a “registrar of madness.” He worries about everything from human optimism to human suffering. He is “sorry for all and sore at heart.” Sammler’s encounter with a pickpocket, his anxiety about his daughter, his other familial concerns—Guidall recounts them all. But it’s Bellow’s language that resonates in his expert performance. Published by Blackstone Audio. Find the full review of MR. SAMMLER'S PLANET at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. On today’s episode are host Jo Reed and AudioFile Magazine Founder and Editor Robin Whitten. HarperCollins Leadership feed your inner drive to grow as a leader, with audiobooks that activate the leadership potential inside everyone. Learn more at www.harpercollinsleadership.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lyrical, evocative writing is matched with a top-shelf performance in this book of vignettes on how some of the jazz greats practiced their art. With his wide range of dialects and exceptional ability to immerse himself in a story, Dion Graham delivers the kind of listening experience that you’ll want to hear in one sitting and in the dark—a slowly unfolding tableau of moody characters and difficult times. The collection of semi-fictional stories provide an authentic-sounding picture of how legends like Charles Mingus and Thelonious Monk lived and worked. The dialogue-rich scenes of how they coped with life, managed their personal demons, and pushed the limits of a musical genre are unforgettable. Lifted by Graham’s performance, this is an incomparable window onto the world of jazz in mid-century America. Published by Tantor Media. Find the review of BUT BEAUTIFUL at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. On today’s episode are host Jo Reed and AudioFile Magazine Founder and Editor Robin Whitten. HarperCollins Leadership feed your inner drive to grow as a leader, with audiobooks that activate the leadership potential inside everyone. Learn more at www.harpercollinsleadership.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Imogen Church narrates Ruth Ware’s unsettling update of Henry James’s THE TURN OF THE SCREW. Nanny Rowan Caine arrives for her first day at what seems like a dream job to find that things are not as perfect as they first seemed. The house’s “smart” system malfunctions in the middle of the night, and the children hate her for no apparent reason. Church ably handles the children’s voices and the range of accents, including the Scottish housekeeper’s. Her increasingly hysterical performance captures Rowan’s slow unraveling, upping the creepy factor as the novel’s heavily foreshadowed tragedy draws near. This outstanding listen should delight Ware’s many fans. Published by Simon & Schuster Audio. Find the review of THE TURN OF THE KEY at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. On today’s episode are host Jo Reed and AudioFile Magazine Founder and Editor Robin Whitten. HarperCollins Leadership feed your inner drive to grow as a leader, with audiobooks that activate the leadership potential inside everyone. Learn more at www.harpercollinsleadership.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Acclaimed memoirist Alexandra Fuller (DON’T LET’S GO TO THE DOGS TONIGHT) contemplates the life of her boisterous, adventurous father Tim, whose motto was "travel light, move fast." The story revisits her childhood, her experience of watching her father die in Budapest, and her journey carrying his ashes back to Zambia, where she spent much of her childhood. Published by Recorded Books Read the full review of TRAVEL LIGHT, MOVE FAST at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. On today’s episode are host Jo Reed and AudioFile Magazine Publisher Michele Cobb. HarperCollins Leadership feed your inner drive to grow as a leader, with audiobooks that activate the leadership potential inside everyone. Learn more at www.harpercollinsleadership.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A beautifully written debut novel about grant writer Billie James, who returns to the Mississippi Delta, where she spent her early years. Her father died under mysterious circumstances when she was just 4 years old, and she went missing on the same day. Narrator Bahni Turpin smoothly moves through the excellent dialogue and the interesting characters. Published by Harper Audio. Read the full review of THE GONE DEAD at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. On today’s episode are host Jo Reed and AudioFile Magazine Publisher Michele Cobb. HarperCollins Leadership feed your inner drive to grow as a leader, with audiobooks that activate the leadership potential inside everyone. Learn more at www.harpercollinsleadership.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A collection of 14 poetic essays about the flowers, creatures, people, and the landscape of the American Southwest—first published in 1903. Ellen Parker does a wonderful job subtly bringing the listener into the small details. The descriptions are specific, and Parker narrates with a sense of reverence and enjoyment. That tone perfectly matches the author’s own reverence for her subjects. Published by Silver Hollow Audio. Read the full review of THE LAND OF LITTLE RAIN at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. On today’s episode are host Jo Reed and AudioFile Magazine Publisher Michele Cobb. HarperCollins Leadership feed your inner drive to grow as a leader, with audiobooks that activate the leadership potential inside everyone. Learn more at www.harpercollinsleadership.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The National Book Award-winning author of STAMPED FROM THE BEGINNING brings his treatise to readers. An important book for today, this is a stirring, personal look at the concept of antiracism, which requires us to change our thinking as individuals within society and to take action. The author narrates his own work with understanding and passion. Published by Random House Audio. Read the full review of HOW TO BE AN ANTIRACIST at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. On today’s episode are host Jo Reed and AudioFile Magazine Publisher Michele Cobb. HarperCollins Leadership feed your inner drive to grow as a leader, with audiobooks that activate the leadership potential inside everyone. Learn more at www.harpercollinsleadership.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This new novel from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of EMPIRE FALLS is the story of three men who met in college and are now in their sixties. They have come together on Martha’s Vineyard, where in 1971 a woman whom they all loved disappeared. Fred Sanders does a subtle and strong job narrating the past and present of their lives and their friendship. Published by Random House Audio. Read the full review of CHANCES ARE... at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. On today’s episode are host Jo Reed and AudioFile Magazine Publisher Michele Cobb. HarperCollins Leadership feed your inner drive to grow as a leader, with audiobooks that activate the leadership potential inside everyone. Learn more at www.harpercollinsleadership.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ari Fliakos is one of those talented narrators who suits his tone, pace, and style to the subject. Here it is well matched to the tumultuous world of the truffle market. He narrates with the assured attitude of a documentary voice-over. His simple imitations of Italians and French people strike the right balance. This prized fungus, especially the highly sought after Italian white and French black, have inspired an underground of thieves, dog killers, and dishonest purveyors who regularly mislabel provenance to jack up prices. The listener enters a demimonde of intense competition and extraordinary profit. The audiobook also provides an outstanding history of the truffle's culinary uses. Published by Random House Audio. Find the review of THE TRUFFLE UNDERGROUND at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. On today’s episode are host Jo Reed and AudioFile Magazine contributor Jonathan Smith. HarperCollins Leadership feed your inner drive to grow as a leader, with audiobooks that activate the leadership potential inside everyone. Learn more at www.harpercollinsleadership.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The winning combination of George Newbern’s engaging narration and Rick Atkinson’s vivid new work of history—the first in a planned trilogy about the American Revolution—brings to life what could have been a dry account of Revolutionary battles. While this is primarily a military history, Newbern is also adept at voicing the stories of ordinary colonists, most of whom did whatever was necessary in a fraught time, including confronting their own divided loyalties between the lofty ideals of independence and the security of British rule. Though the book is not without humor, Atkinson shares minute details of life during that period, including graphic descriptions of battlefield medicine and wartime atrocities. Published by Macmillan Audio. Find the review of THE BRITISH ARE COMING at audiofilemagazine.com. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. On today’s episode are host Jo Reed and AudioFile Magazine contributor Jonathan Smith. HarperCollins Leadership feed your inner drive to grow as a leader, with audiobooks that activate the leadership potential inside everyone. Learn more at www.harpercollinsleadership.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices