Behind the Mic With Kirkus Reviews

In honor of FRANKENSTEIN’s 200th birthday, YA author White has cooked up a grand retelling that focuses on his companion/fiancée, Elizabeth. If Gothic tales are your listening pleasure, this audiobook is for you. And what’s better than hearing the twisted tale? Imagine all the film adaptation of the Frankenstein story, and plug in for British actress Katharine McEwan’s smooth and chilling performa...

JK Rowling writing as Galbraith has created detective Cormoran Strike, war veteran turned private eye and new darling of gritty British crime fiction. In Cormoran’s fourth outing, his partner Robin Ellacott is now a partner in the agency, and they are faced with another brutal murder—this time a Cabinet Minister. Narrator Glenister is perfecting his command of the audiobook series, and listeners a...

David Grann (author of KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON) originally published an account of one man’s extraordinary trek across Antarctica in The New Yorker. The isolation and fortitude of Henry Worsley’s solo expedition to cross the freezing landscape of Antarctica is both fascinating and terrifying. The ghost of Ernest Shackleton haunts and inspires the British explorer. It’s hard not to admire the de...

Follow Sheriff Walt Longmire across the remote Mexican desert as he pursues the kidnappers of his beloved daughter Cady. Baddest of bad, drug lord Tomas Bodarte unleashes a landslide of challenges for Walt to overcome. Signature quirky characters of Craig Johnson’s long-running series abound, and the smart dialogue entertains throughout. Golden Voice George Guidall delivers each character and hare...

How did SOPRANOS veteran Michael Imperioli come to write and perform his first novel—a coming-of-age drama about a young man and his friendship with rock god Lou Reed? Michael chats about his 30-year acting career, his evolving life as a writer, and his involvement with the audiobook process to create THE PERFUME BURNED HIS EYES. Chatting with host Jo Reed, Michael shares his story, including the...

This posthumous memoir from the beloved NEW YORK TIMES fashion photographer chronicles his early life as a milliner in New York City, long before he was capturing street style and covering high society. Arthur Morey’s performance brims with Cunningham’s enthusiasm, high spirits, and sweetness as he turns setbacks and deprivations into hilarious triumphs. For more free audiobook recommendations, si...

This portrait of Holocaust survivor Ludwig Sokolov, based on his own account revealed to the author, becomes a mesmerizing account for listeners. Sokolov was sent to Auschwitz in 1942 as a prisoner and assigned the role of tattooing Jewish prisoners. His spirit and courageous works to help other prisoners are captured. British narrator Richard Armitage (“The Hobbit,” “North and South”) will sweep...

Booker Prize-winning novelist Pat Barker, known for her powerful WWI history in the Regeneration trilogy, enters the world of reimagined myths. Homer’s ILIAD is the basis for this account of warriors gods and the women swept up in the conflict of the Greek and Trojans. A pair of British narrators, Kristin Atherton and Michael Fox, connect to this dramatic story and bring it home to listeners. For...

In her first memoir, as she always has with her film and television work—from “Norma Rae” to “Gidget”—actress Sally Field connects to her audience with a strong sense of narrative voice. She gives a sensitive and earnest account of the obstacles and successes in her life, the abuse of her stepfather, and her relationship with the late Burt Reynolds—delivering it all with grace and honesty. Both th...

Root for the unlikely heroes of this high adventure who escape by hot air balloon from an 1830s Caribbean plantation to the arctic plains of Canada. Narrator Dion Graham pulls out the stops to sweep listeners along with the eleven-year-old enslaved boy and his master. Beautiful, evocative writing has put this historical novel on the shortlist for the 2018 Man Booker Prize. For more free audiobook...

Discover an enlightening explanation of what meditation is—and what it is not. Author and narrator Jon Kabat-Zinn uses quiet encouragement to reveal that mediation is simpler and more fluid that many expect, and therefore less intimidating. He tells listeners that meditation is about awareness of mind and emotions, but not the content of those thoughts and emotions. Kabat-Zinn has written and narr...

Golden voice narrator Robin Miles narrates a biography of Richard Durham, an African-American radio broadcaster who was posthumously inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame. Durham rose as an intellectual during a period when African-American writing was getting increased attention after WWII, and his story is good listening for history buffs. Robin Miles narrates with smooth transitions, an...

The perfect listen for a road trip. Richard Ratay’s audiobook looks at how travel, cars, and roads have evolved in the U.S. It’s a lighthearted listen about the “joys” of family road trips in the 1970s, and narrator Jonathan Todd Ross delightfully handles the history, both of American travel and of Ratay’s family adventures. Listen for a fascinating history lesson about the development of the car...

This moving audiobook is written and narrated by two siblings who were in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School when a classmate shot and killed 14 students and 3 faculty members, and injured 17 others. Leaders of the #NEVERAGAIN movement, both David and Lauren Hogg have become outspoken advocates for gun safety reform and gun control measures, and this audiobook voices their shock at the event...

Do you like science? If so, you’re in luck. THE TANGLED TREE is a deep dive into what makes us—us. Science writer David Quammen introduces the study of molecular phylogenetics, which completely changed our understanding of what we often think of as the evolutionary “tree of life.” Narrator Jacques Roy’s fluid and engaging style combined with Quammen’s mix of science and stories makes this audioboo...

A cast of narrators presents this anthology from YA lit stars published in partnership with We Need Diverse Books. Stories from Jason Reynolds, Nicola Yoon, Melissa de la Cruz, and Daniel José Older and more are brought to life by narrators including Guy Lockard, Bahni Turpin, Dion Graham, and Kim Mai Guest. Listen to a sample from Reynolds’s bittersweet romantic story “Eraser Tattoo,” and don’t m...

The perfect audiobook for Jane Austen lovers who are willing to think past those tidy Happily Ever After endings. Marisa Calin brings a refreshing voice to the much beloved PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, this time with the focus on the plain and “unlovely” middle Bennet sister, Mary. Listeners will be charmed as Mary develops a rich inner life for herself as a writer, and a romantic. Author Katherine J. Che...

Discover the wholly satisfying conclusion to Tim Federle’s Odyssey honor middle-grade series. As both author and narrator, Tim Federle fully embodies Nate, making sure that we understand him and his vibrant and dynamic personality — and his insecurities. Nate’s just come off of a summer of performing on Broadway, and now has to handle going back to high school, where he hasn’t yet come out as gay....

“Kate Atkinson has no match for atmosphere,” says narrator Fenella Woolgar, and we wholeheartedly agree. Eighteen-year-old Juliet Armstrong has been recruited by MI5 to transcribe recordings of fascist sympathizers — they don’t know it, but they are telling their traitorous secrets to an MI5 agent, not to the Gestapo. Things get more complicated when Juliet is asked to take on a fake identity hers...

This inspirational audiobook for middle-grade listeners gracefully explores what life was like for African Americans after WWII and celebrates the magic of books. Narrator Dion Graham gives an immersive performance, reading with a light Southern drawl. In 1943, 11-year-old Langston and his father move Alabama to Chicago as part of the Great Migration, and Langston is having a hard time adjusting....

William Shatner loves to write, and narrate, his memoirs --his newest has all the trademark humor and candor. Here he talks Star Trek, aging, and his Hollywood world. Great listening fun. This humorous and down-to-earth audiobook will entertain, and who doesn’t love to hear Shatner talk! For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter on our website. On today’s...

This mystery recommendation follows Frieda Klein, a consulting psychologist who becomes a serial murderer’s obsession. Narrator Beth Chalmers hits the pacing and the interesting secondary characters beautifully in this audiobook written by a husband-and-wife team who go by Nicci French. For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter on our website. On today’s...

Are you ready for the ultimate audiobook mash-up? A blend of science fiction, mystery, military strategy, humor--all with a ton of momentum. This audiobook follows Colonel Carl Butler, a retired war hero, called to another planet to investigate the disappearance of a VIP’s son. Science fiction fans and sci-fi skeptics alike will enjoy PLANETSIDE as it offers something for every listener. For more...

In this episode, we talk about one of the audiobooks that the popular BBC TV series “Shetland” is based on. This title is the conclusion of an eight-book series featuring DI Jimmy Perez. If you saw this BBC miniseries, we promise these audiobooks will offer you an even richer world exploring the bleak, windswept beauty of the Shetland Islands. Don’t be worried if you haven’t listened to other audi...

Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club, Hello Sunshine, selected this thriller, and Reese calls it “the ultimate mystery… the suspense will keep you up all night.” AudioFile editors listened to this mystery set in the flashy, sinister Los Angeles art world and recommend it to you. Narrator Tavia Gilbert is a two-time Audie winner and calls this one of her favorite projects. If you enjoy listening to audiob...