Behind the Mic With Kirkus Reviews

AudioFile’s Michele Cobb is joined by Golden Voice narrator Cassandra Campbell to chat about the sixth and newest audiobook in the Shady Hollow Mystery series, MOCKINGBIRD COURT. Vulpine reporter Vera Vixen finds herself the prime suspect in what looks to be a murder. Cassandra Campbell is the voice behind all six of the Shady Hollow mysteries, and AudioFile listeners may also recognize her from h...

AudioFile contributor Stephen Cummings is on Behind the Mic this week with host Jo Reed. This week’s theme is all about dark academia—suspenseful and often fantastical audiobooks that take place in a campus or school setting. Two graduate students descend into hell to get a recommendation from their professor in KATABASIS by R.F. Kuang, read by Morag Sims and Will Watt; affairs are revealed in a c...

British narrator David Timson has recorded numerous audiobooks for Naxos AudioBooks, including the complete Sherlock Holmes stories, five Charles Dickens novels, and a complete unabridged reading of Edward Gibbon’s DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE. During his time working with Naxos as actor, director, and writer, David has also directed five of the successful audio series of Shakespeare’s pla...

AudioFile publisher Michele Cobb is on Behind the Mic this week with host Jo Reed. Together they dig into three True Crime audiobooks that tell haunting stories and that take place in three distinct institutions. THE FORT BRAGG CARTEL by Seth Harp, read by Dan John Miller, is a frightening tale of murders and drug trafficking at a military base; THE SLEEP ROOM by Jon Stock, read by Richard Armitag...

AudioFile Editor and Founder Robin Whitten joins host Jo Reed this week to discuss three gripping new mystery audiobooks that share a dark wit and anti-establishment protagonists. Martin Cruz Smith’s HOTEL UKRAINE, narrated by Jeremy Bobb, is a compact suspense about Detective Arkady Renko and the early days of the invasion of Ukraine; CLOWN TOWN by Mick Herron is the ninth installment of the popu...

AudioFile awards Earphones to exceptional audio experiences—it’s our version of a starred review, specifically for the audiobook. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Laura Rossi discuss three recent Earphones Award-winning audiobooks that delve deeply into the human experience. Laura and Jo discuss the controversial, posthumously published NOTES TO JOHN by Joan Didion, read by Julianne Moore; CRY FOR ME,...

This week, host Jo Reed and AudioFile contributor Leslie Fine review three new audiobooks that harbor family secrets and feature excellent character development. A woman grapples with her roles as wife, mother, and more in SAME AS IT EVER WAS by Claire Lombardo, read by Emily Rankin; a father and daughter are living off the grid in WHAT KIND OF PARADISE by Janelle Brown, read by Peter Ganim and He...

This week, host Jo Reed and AudioFile contributor Alan Minskoff review three new audiobooks, both fiction and nonfiction, that revolve around diverse types of turbulence a family might encounter: The tragic American family saga of THE SPINACH KING by John Seabrook, read by Dion Graham; ON ISABELLA STREET, a historical novel set in a pre- and post-Vietnam War Toronto, by Genevieve Graham, read by L...

This week, host Jo Reed welcomes AudioFile contributor Kendra Winchester to chat about three new sci-fi/fantasy audiobook gems: MODERATION, written and read by Elaine Castillo, a cautionary tale that dives into tech, class, and immigration; SUNBIRTH by An Yu, a character-driven story in which slices of the sun start disappearing, read by Mei Mei Macleod; and a historical horror-romance with elemen...

This week, host Jo Reed welcomes AudioFile contributor Alex Richey. Together, they’ll chat all about vampires, monsters, and witches in three sci-fi/fantasy/horror audiobooks: BURY OUR BONES IN THE MIDNIGHT SOIL, a multiple-POV sapphic vampire story by V.E. Schwab, read by Julia Whelan, Katie Leung, and Marisa Calin; the “bonkers” genre-bending OF MONSTERS AND MAINFRAMES by Barbara Truelove, read...

Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Stephen Cummings discuss three audiobook biographies in which the New York City of the 1970s and ’80s plays a key role. This week, they’ll highlight LORNE by Susan Morrison, read by Kristen DiMercurio and the author, about the Saturday Night Live creator; YOKO by David Sheff, read by Max Meyers, an intimate look at the avant-garde artist; and I REGRET ALMOST EVERYTHING...

Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss three audiobooks that have two or more narrators in the cast. Together they’ll speak about: Taylor Jenkins Reid’s queer love story set in the 1980s space race, ATMOSPHERE read by Julia Whelan and Kristen DiMercurio. A thriller complete with kidnappings and a mysterious house in THE OTHER PEOPLE by C.B. Everett, read by Heather Long and Kaffe Keatin...

Adriana Trigiani is an award-winning playwright, television writer, producer, filmmaker, podcaster, and the bestselling author of some twenty books both fiction and nonfiction, including THE SHOEMAKER’S WIFE, the BIG STONE GAP series, and LUCIA, LUCIA. Adriana’s latest book is THE VIEW FROM LAKE COMO, narrated by Academy Award-winner Mira Sorvino. As with all of her titles, THE VIEW FROM LAKE COMO...

AudioFile awards Earphones to exceptional audio experiences—it’s our version of a starred review, specifically for the audiobook. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Laura Rossi discuss three recent Earphones Award-winning audiobooks. Laura and Jo highlight WHALE EYES: A Memoir About Seeing and Being Seen written and read by documentarian James Robinson; WHERE THE RIVERS MERGE, Mary Alice Monroe’s novel...

AudioFile’s Michele Cobb is joined by author Cadwell Turnbull and Golden Voice narrator Dion Graham to talk about TRANSMENTATION | TRANSIENCE, the first installment in a sprawling and ambitious multiverse filled with adventure and political intrigue. Graham’s intense yet soft-spoken presentation of the narrative sets the background for the dialogue, which he delivers with a masterful use of tone,...

AudioFile’s Robin Whitten and host Jo Reed discuss this gripping audiobook. Colter Shaw—tracker and survivalist—is hired to locate a missing family trapped after a levee collapses during a catastrophic storm. As he searches, Shaw uncovers a sinister plot that suggests the disaster may not have been entirely natural. Narrator Kaleo Griffith delivers a masterful performance, giving each character a...

Golden Voice Rupert Degas returns to transport listeners to New Zealand and Indonesia in the fourth Yoga Mat mystery. Fans will recognize returning characters, while listeners new to the series will find enough backstory to follow along. Australian secret agent Ric Peters wrestles with the dangers of his job and his need to protect his fiancée, a lawyer and yoga instructor. A visit to Ric’s parent...

Narrator Adam Lazarre-White once again immerses listeners in a dark, complex world crafted by S.A. Cosby. Join AudioFile’s Robin Whitten and host Jo Reed as they discuss this gripping story which explores identity, justice, and long-buried family trauma. When Roman Carruthers returns to his hometown to care for his dying father and support his sister, he’s drawn into rescuing his troubled brother....

Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss Peter Swanson’s intriguing mystery, superbly delivered by Steven Weber. The audiobook’s structure goes backwards from 2023 to 1982—telling a story that’s like a giant jigsaw puzzle. Thom and Wendy Graves have been married for 25 years. When Wendy discovers Thom is about to reveal a terrible secret, she decides she must kill him. With timing, keen...

AudioFile’s Michele Cobb is joined by Golden Voice narrator Bahni Turpin to talk about THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO SASHA RENEE, the first entry in THE GOSPEL OF GRACE WOMEN trilogy. Turpin’s masterful performance breathes relatability into the character of Sasha Renee Billingsly as she navigates her views on herself, love, and spirituality. Listen as Turpin discusses how she engaged aspects of her cra...

AudioFile’s Leslie Fine and host Jo Reed discuss Annie B. Jones’s essay collection, which she also narrates, about all the ways an ordinary life can feel extraordinary. An independent bookstore owner and host of the popular podcast “From the Front Porch,” Jones narrates with confidence, a lively intonation, and expert pacing. The Florida native has a sweet voice with an audible smile that welcomes...

Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Leslie Fine dive into the latest novel by the talented Swedish novelist Fredrik Backman. Golden Voice narrator Marin Ireland grandly performs this story of art, friendship, and what it means to be a teen. Ireland replicates the snarky tone of Louisa, who has just released herself from foster care to go see the work of art that is the fulcrum of the plot. Backman has cr...

AudioFile’s Leslie Fine and host Jo Reed explore Brian Nishii’s exceptional performance of this touching, well-documented personal growth audiobook. The author, a psychology professor and native of Japan, explains through vivid personal stories and accessible research that a psychologically rich life can be ours by nurturing our curiosity, exploring the novel and unfamiliar, and becoming open to e...

Join host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Leslie Fine as they discuss John Kenney’s latest novel, which successfully walks a tightrope between dark humor and genuine warmth. Sean Patrick Hopkins’s narration provides the necessary balance. Bud Stanley is a newspaper writer who one night drunkenly writes and publishes his own obituary, setting in motion a grimly amusing series of events. Together, author an...

In celebration of Jane Austen’s 250th birthday, host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Margaret Pinard take a deep dive into one of Austen’s later novels, PERSUASION, marvelously narrated by Golden Voice Juliet Stevenson. Stevenson’s vocal interpretations make the characters pop with life, and her narration enhances the text so beautifully that one thinks the author must have coached her. It’s the perfect t...