Behind the Mic With Kirkus Reviews

This heartfelt audiobook about four friends who are seeking revenge is a must-listen. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss Leesa Cross-Smith’s novel set in a small town. Mela Lee narrates as Kasey, who has returned home and is haunted by the truth of her mother’s death. She reunites with three friends, Ada, Rosemarie, and Caroline. Caroline has recently married the town’s richest bach...

Kristen Atherton’s excellent use of accents, inflection, and tempo brings Alison Goodman’s characters to life in a lively feminist Regency adventure. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss a story of single 42-year-old twin sisters, Augusta and Julia, who are way ahead of their time. They may be considered “on the shelf” by some, but others know them as determined deliverers of women an...

Jill Winternitz perfectly captures the strain of maintaining facades in her narration of four women forced to confront unearthed truths. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss Ashley Audrain’s suspenseful thriller about the bitter secrets, despair, and rage hidden away in a quiet neighborhood. From the first crack in the veneer at a neighborhood barbecue to a tragic incident befalling o...

This full-cast audio adaptation of Alison Bechdel’s classic comic strip about the messy lives of a group of queer women in the 1980s is absolutely flawless. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss this hilarious, heartfelt, and utterly compelling adaptation of a lesbian classic. Jane Lynch grounds the production as the narrator, and Carrie Brownstein gives a knockout performance as Mo, a...

Brittany Pressley captures a young woman’s fear as her world closes in on her. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb discuss Megan Abbott’s mystery about a family vacation gone wrong. Newly married Jacy and Jed are traveling to the wilds of Michigan to meet Jed’s parents. But soon things start to feel off, especially when Jed’s father, Dr. Ash, takes an uneasy interest in Jacy’s pregnancy. Pre...

Actor Christine Baranski and New York Times theater Jesse Green join host Jo Reed in a special bonus edition of Behind the Mic. The two joined forces to create the audiobook of SHY: The Alarmingly Outspoken Memoirs of Mary Rodgers, written by Mary Rodgers and Jesse Green. Listen to our interview to hear from Jesse Green about how this lively and memorable book was written, and how Christine Barans...

Katie Anvil Rich gives an engaging narration of a heartwarming middle grade audiobook that takes place over the course of a single day. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss Christine Day’s newest quiet, thoughtful audiobook exploring identity and belonging. Rich captures Wesley’s nervous excitement for this year’s Indigenous People’s Day. She’s publishing a poem on the holiday in he...

Bahni Turpin’s performance raises the emotional stakes in this claustrophobic space thriller. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss the Golden Voice narrator’s skilled narration of an intergalactic space voyage gone horribly wrong. Jacklyn Albright finds herself suddenly the acting leader of the CALYPSO, a ship voyaging back to Earth from a failed attempt at colonizing a distant plan...

Mara Wilson expertly narrates a queer horror novel about an evangelical religious community in Montana and the gay conversion therapy camp at its heart. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss this new audiobook from internet sensation Chuck Tingle, read with skill by Mara Wilson. Rose Darling is twenty, and while she never went to Camp Damascus, she knows people who have—they just won...

Dominic Hoffman fully inhabits the characters in McBride’s fresh, vital, and beautifully written historical novel. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss this latest audiobook from the National Book Award-winning author. The story takes place in the 1930s in Chicken Hill, a predominantly Black and Jewish neighborhood in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. Hoffman varies his accent and intonation...

Gisela Chípe’s skilled narration captivates in this immersive novel set in ‘90s Mexico City. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Emily Connelly discuss this thrilling mystery with a supernatural bent. Montserrat and Tristán have been friends since childhood, and now both are struggling in their film careers. When they meet a cult favorite horror director, Abel Urueta, he convinces them to help complete h...

Kevin Stillwell narrates an overdue biographical history like a reporter pursuing the story of a lifetime. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss this history of the 1975 Senate Committee that unearthed the multiple crimes and misdeeds of our nation’s secret agencies, ranging from assassination plots to wire taps to illegal intelligence gathering. Ultimately the Committee, chaired by I...

Alix Dunmore’s lilting voice and English accent capture the musicality of Deborah Levy’s audiobook. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss this fascinating portrait of a woman in crisis. Elsa, a virtuoso pianist, is at a standstill. She dyes her hair blue and sets about inventing a new persona. The pandemic is taking place as the plot moves around Europe. Elsa’s quest is aided by a dop...

Genevieve Gaunt performs this compelling audiobook of a near future pandemic. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss this story of a survivor, Neffy, who is portrayed with a vulnerable and youthful tone. Gaunt’s crisp English accent works well with this post-apocalyptic London setting. Neffy and four other 20-something survivors are living in a “biopharm” facility and coming to terms w...

Christine Baranski brings intelligence, energy, and impeccable timing to her narration of this tell-all memoir by Mary Rodgers. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss how Baranski captures the many Marys—the unliked daughter, the composer, the mother of six, the longtime companion of Sondheim and collaborator with Leonard Bernstein. Known for writing the musical ONCE UPON A MATTRESS, h...

Sophie Amoss does a neat turn narrating Lorrie Moore’s enigmatic novel. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alan Minskoff discuss Amoss’s subtle and compelling narration style. She smoothly switches between characters and from the diction of the 1870s to the world of 2016. Straightforwardly portraying two disturbed women—one an unlikely murderess, the other suicidal—she is convincing. This is fiction pac...

Eddie Ndopu performs his memoir, bringing his story to life with his thoughtful narration. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Kendra Winchester discuss how Ndopu tells his story of growing up, and his thrilling acceptance with a full scholarship at Oxford University. But when he tries discussing his needs as someone with spinal muscular atrophy, the university informs him their scholarship won’t cover h...

A talented ensemble performs Julia Franks's historical novel. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Kendra Winchester discuss this story of an unintended pregnancy in 1950s North Carolina. Edie Carrigan’s parents tell her she must keep her pregnancy a secret and send her to a house for unwed mothers where she’s expected to give the child up for adoption once she gives birth. Molly Secours beautifully captu...

Barrie Kealoha delivers an absorbing performance of Anne Berest’s stunning autobiographical novel exploring her family’s tragic yet resilient heritage. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Kendra Winchester discuss how the story begins when Anne’s mother receives a decades-old postcard in the mail, in 2003. The postcard lists four relatives who died in Auschwitz. Fifteen years later, Anne decides to inves...

Emily Woo Zeller narrates the story of the life of infamous Chinese pirate queen Shek Yeung. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Kendra Winchester discuss this historical fiction novel based on the fierce pirate. When Shek Yeung sees her husband slaughtered during a raid, she immediately sets into place plans to keep her unsteady pirate fleet together amid many challenges. She fights to protect her growi...

Cece Bell’s graphic memoir for kids is brilliantly adapted for audio with a full cast and thoughtful production. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Kendra Winchester discuss Cece’s story, which starts in her early childhood when she lost her hearing after an illness and continues through to middle school. Cece starts school with special earphones attached to a box around her neck, connected to a mic wor...

Imogen Church performs Ruth Ware’s suspenseful mystery with conviction. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss this thriller where Church once again makes each character distinct and memorable. Jack and her husband, Gabe, work in the security field. After a long night working on a test gone awry, Jack returns home to find Gabe dead, and she soon discovers she’s the leading suspect in t...

Four narrators coordinate their performances perfectly in Peter Swanson’s cleverly crafted audiobook about a flawed private detective who becomes involved in the machinations of a woman from his past. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss listening to this sequel to THE KIND WORTH KILLING, where Keith Szarabajka gives voice to detective Henry Kimball. Helen Laser delivers the backstor...

Jarrett J. Krosoczka’s second memoir, following HEY, KIDDO, recounts his experiences as a teen counselor at a summer camp for terminally ill children. At the camp, Jarrett uses his gift for drawing to document and access his feelings for fellow counselors, and most importantly, the campers. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten discuss this powerful adaptation of Krosoczka’s graphic memoir, w...

A series of introspective monologues is brought vividly to life in six stellar performances. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Robin Whitten talk about this collection of reflective first-person monologues by soldiers, slave owners, and free and enslaved women. The setting is Louisiana during the late days of the Civil War, and the narrators portray all manner of humanity, delivering deeply felt first-...