Winter’s Bone by Daniel Woodrell

Reader: Emma Galvin
Short Review: A stark, beautifully written and expertly read novel about an overburdened girl in dire straits.

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

Reader: Simon Vance

Short Review: An intriguing, unusual gothic novel set in post-war England, read beautifully by Simon Vance. It’s intriguing and gorgeously written, and it asks more questions than it answers.

The Tiger in the Well by Philip Pullman

Reader: Anton Lesser
Short Review: The third Sally Lockhart mystery continues Pullman’s engrossing story of a young Victorian woman, expertly read by Anton Lesser. This book delves further into questions of women’s and children’s rights in Victorian Britain and also examines worker’s and immigrant’s rights and anti-semitism.

Warning! If you have not yet read The Shadow in the North, stop reading this review. There’s no way to review this book without giving spoilers for the previous book in the series.

The Shadow in the North by Philip Pullman

Reader: Anton Lesser

Short Review: The slightly-less brilliant sequel to The Ruby in the Smoke, read just as brilliantly by Anton Lesser.

The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman

Reader: Anton Lesser
Short Review: A beautifully read story about a resourceful young woman who finds herself orphaned and embroiled in a deadly mystery.

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

Readers: Jill Tanner and Bianca Amato

Short Review: A gothic novel of intrigue about family history, fame, women, writing, truth, and secrets. It is read gorgeously by two readers who both have velvety, rich voices and lovely diction.

Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde

Reader: John Lee

Short Review: The first book in a new series by Fforde, set in a world where people have very limited color perception and live according to strict rules set forth by the Colortocracy. Eddie Russett, our hero, has a strong ability to see red and a plan to marry a upperclass red-perceiving woman. And then everything changes.

Under the Dome by Stephen King

Reader:Raul Esparza

Short Review: A beautiful autumn day in the small town of Chester’s Mill, Maine is interrupted by a clear impenetrable dome which cuts it off from the outside world. Our story carries us along to meet a broad cast of local characters. Great reader and a captivating (but long) story.

Break No Bones (Temperance Brennan Novel) by Kathy Reichs

Reader: Dorothee Berryman

Short Review: A very average mystery delivered by a very average reader. I liked a lot of the characters, but it was really only my curiosity to know how the author would tie up the mystery that kept me listening.

Mystic River by Dennis Lehane

Reader: Scott Brick

Short Review: A well-read, strong mystery with one major flaw.

Rag and Bone Shop by Robert Cormier

Reader: Scott Shina
Short Review: Cormier’s final novel, published posthumously, read by the talented Scott Shina. It’s disturbing, and upsetting, and good despite its flaws.

The Precipice by Ben Bova (The Asteroid Wars)

Readers: Scott Brick, Amanda Karr, Christian Noble, Karesa McElheny and Stefan Rudnicki (with a cameo by Theodore Bikel)

Short Review: Well-woven story set in a not-too-distant-future full of corporate intrigue and environmental chaos, both on earth and in colonized outer space. The amazing readers bring our cast of characters to life – I highly recommend it and am scheming for when I can start the next book in the sequence.