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

Narrator Kim Fields pulls out all the stops portraying a sophisticated young jazz trumpeter and the many gnarly characters she meets in the urban jazz scene. Didi Herron is crisscrossing the country, looking for a tape of her father’s last jazz performance. The versatile Fields captures the heroine’s longing and determination, as well as the edgy dynamics of African-American jazz culture. It’s a story that reveals the challenges of making it in the music business, but the novel’s hook is the heroine’s quest, not only for the sound of her father playing his last gig but also for the piece of her musical soul that went missing when he died in a car crash in his mid-20s, just after that performance. This is a must-hear audiobook. Published by Punch Audio. Find the review of NOW'S THE TIME 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

This is a listen for anyone who's married, divorced, dating, and/or cares about women. It’s an outstanding audiobook delivered by an exceptional narrator, Allyson Ryan. By now, many have heard the buzz about this novel. Believe the hype. It's ostensibly about a recently divorced New York City doctor, but really it’s about the challenges women face in relationships—in working, in parenting, and in partnering during a time when women are told they can (and should) have it all while also being expected to be all things to all people. Ryan's performance is spot-on throughout. She captures the essence of each character and never misses a beat in expressing the author's insights into life as a woman in the 21st century. Published by Random House Audio. Find the review of FLEISHMAN IS IN TROUBLE 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

Dan Bittner and Peter Ganim shepherd listeners through the apocalyptic world Formerly Known As the USA. Bittner narrates as Truckee Wallace, a 16-year-old orphan who finds himself in the middle of an international incident. Ganim chimes in as the future editor of Trukee's memoir. Bittner gets to shout and go wild as Truckee, in addition to voicing a talking goat, an android, and multiple characters from all walks of life. As the voice of reason, Ganim reads footnotes and makes corrections to Truckee's story. While Bittner clearly gets to do the heavy lifting, it is Ganim's deadpan delivery that brings the most laughs to this inventive retelling of THE WIZARD OF OZ. Published by Macmillan Audio. Find the review of FKA USA 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

CJ Katsuyama has grown up hearing that “Katsuyamas never quit,” though she somehow always finds a way to disappoint her mother, a driven business executive. Joy Osmanski nails all the authentic emotions, especially 17-year-old CJ’s sarcasm and growing confidence. When CJ’s mother sells her family’s flower shop to the McAllisters, the same family who exploited her grandparents when they were sent to WWII internment camps, CJ finds a passion for activism. Perfect for fans of Sugiura’s first book IT’S NOT LIKE IT’S A SECRET or listeners looking for stories about speaking out against injustice. Published by Harper Audio. Read the full review of THIS TIME WILL BE DIFFERENT 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

Red and Blue are two agents fighting in a war through time — which makes them the unlikeliest of pen pals. Red, voiced by Cynthia Farrell, sneers as she sees her foe across a burning field. Her attempt at altering the future was foiled by Blue, cooly voiced by Emily Woo Zeller. When they start a cryptic correspondence as they sabotage each other’s missions, neither of them expects to fall in love. Listen, then listen again to unravel this intricate story co-written by two award-winning sci-fi authors. Published by Simon & Schuster Audio. Read the full review of THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR 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

Crickets and a crackling campfire greet listeners at the start of this children’s audiobook centered around otsaliheliga, “we are grateful.” Cherokee pronunciations and vocabulary are beautifully rendered for listeners as five narrators take turns telling the story of families celebrating and honoring ancestors throughout the year. Listening to the audiobook with the picture book is ideal to appreciate this charming and important work which will appeal to young listeners. Published by Live Oak Media. Read the full review of WE ARE GRATEFUL: OTSALIHELIGA 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. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Penguin Random House and Listening Library. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Known for her Africanfuturist fiction, Okorafor narrates a new memoir about the roots of her celebrated stories. She was a skilled athlete when she went into the hospital for spinal surgery to correct her scoliosis, but when she woke up, she discovered she was paralysed from the waist down. When her body broke, she discovered a passion and skill for writing about creative and fantastical worlds. Published by Simon & Schuster Audio. Read the full review of BROKEN PLACES & OUTER SPACES 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. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Penguin Random House and Listening Library. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD returns with a tale of America’s buried legacy of racism and violence. Elwood Curtis is an earnest high school student on his way to college classes when he’s picked up for hitching a ride in the wrong car. Elwood’s ideals are confronted by the harsh realities of Nickel Academy, the segregated reform school where he’s a “student.” JD Jackson’s deep, gravelly voice captures the haunting atmosphere of Whitehead’s novel inspired by true events. Published by Random House Audio. Read the full review of THE NICKEL BOYS 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. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Penguin Random House and Listening Library. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The story of two sisters who grew up in a Jewish household in Detroit takes us through the 1950s and up to 2016. The sisters’ paths are very different, but their shared experiences and relationship create an engaging tale that makes you feel their similarities more than their differences. In a great example of the dual voice performance, narrators Malone and Graynor narrate alternating chapters, bringing to life the sisters’ reflections with clear expression of their emotions. This long, lush story makes us think about how women move through all the challenges in their lives. Published by Simon & Schuster Audio. Read the full review of MRS. EVERYTHING 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. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Penguin Random House and Listening Library. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A scholarship student has trouble connecting with her rich female classmates, until—against her better judgment—she agrees to attend one of their parties. Falling down a rabbit hole, Samantha finds herself entangled in the lives of a group of women who call each other "Bunny." Narrator Sophie Amoss get an Earphones Award for her animated performance—she enhances the emotional punch of this genre-bending story for anyone who has ever felt out of place amongst people whose interests feel both alien and shallow. Published by Penguin Audio. Read the full review of BUNNY 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. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Penguin Random House and Listening Library. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After their company's CEO suddenly dies, four women are determined to make sure that a man known to sexually harass women isn't chosen for the position. Illuminating the feminine strength of the story’s "Me Too" message, narrator Almarie Guerra projects just the Southern accent and sassy tone needed. The narrator’s skill and energy ease this intense listen about women who triumph over injustice in the workplace. Published by Macmillan Audio. Read the full review of WHISPER NETWORK 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. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Penguin Random House and Listening Library. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you are a true crime podcast fan, you’ve probably listened to MY FAVORITE MURDER, which combines crime with a surprising amount of fun and laughs. In the dual memoir. the hosts have a lot to say, including a section recorded before a live audience. Kilgariff and Hardstark reflect on the life experiences that shaped them as women, led them to meet each other, and, ultimately, inspired them to create the hit podcast. Actor and special audio guest Paul Giamatti offers wise quips. Published by Macmillan Audio. Read the full review of STAY SEXY & DON'T GET MURDERED 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. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Penguin Random House and Listening Library. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Life as Anna knows it is well and truly over. She is betrayed by her best friend, who runs off with her husband and her children. Her solace is a true crime podcast —and then it triggers a surprising connection to her past life. Cathleen McCarron’s Scottish lilt is smooth and beautifully captures the darkly funny suspense. Published by Hachette Audio. Read the full review of CONVICTION 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. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Penguin Random House and Listening Library. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast host Holmes’s debut novel is the story of a widow who doesn’t miss her husband and how she builds a new life with a baseball pitcher who has lost his skill. Narrator Julia Whelan warmly explores changing relationships in this ideal summer listen. Published by Random House Audio. Read the full review of EVVIE DRAKE STARTS OVER 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. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Penguin Random House and Listening Library. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Epstein, a journalist who has written widely on performance science, wants to prove his thesis—Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World. His ideas get a passionate delivery with narrator Will Damron as he encourages broad learning, contrasting this with deep learning and super-focused skill building. He uses anecdotes and superstar examples—Roger Federer, Leonardo DaVinci, Vincent Van Gogh, and more, including musicians and Nobel Laureates. Published by Penguin Audio. Read the full review of RANGE 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. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Penguin Random House and Listening Library. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first Transcontinental Railroad was an amazing feat of planning and building. Thousands of Chinese immigrants building the western section of the link faced discrimination, daunting work conditions, and other dangers. This serious history shines a spotlight on the role of the “Railroad Chinese” in the building of modern America. Published by HighBridge Audio. Read the full review of GHOSTS OF GOLD MOUNTAIN 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. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Penguin Random House and Listening Library. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In six classic Greek myths retold, listeners encounter characters both famous (Odysseus, Icarus) and lesser known (Queen Lamia, Bellerophon). Derek Perkins deftly narrates these tales with a keen sense of storytelling—vivid and lively with a grand sense of drama and action. He’s equally adept at the “explained” parts—short essay after each tale with an overview of the myth. Listeners are reminded why the myths have endured through centuries of tellings and retellings. Published by Tantor Audio. Read the full review of GREEK MYTHOLOGY EXPLAINED 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. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Penguin Random House and Listening Library. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fans of Kate Atkinson’s private detective Jackson Brodie will love his 5th outing with the audiobook narrated by Jason Isaacs, who plays Brodie in the BBC series “Case Histories.” Isaacs knows all the characters well and conveys a sense of easy familiarity in his narration. Brodie investigates the grim crimes of human trafficking and child abuse, but Atkinson’s keen plotting and wry humor keep listeners fully engaged and lightens the dark topic. Some of the hapless secondary characters get clever vocal portraits. Published by Hachette Audio. Read the full review of BIG SKY 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. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Penguin Random House and Listening Library. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Revisit the classic WWII novel by Joseph Heller. Jay O. Sanders brings a friendly, earnest tone to a production that features a large cast of characters presided over by a paranoid and put-upon bombardier, Captain Yossarian. It’s an absurdist romp through the machinations of governmental bureaucracy. Published by Harper Audio. Read the full review of CATCH-22 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. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Penguin Random House and Listening Library. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A nuanced and masterful performance of a harrowing audiobook. Winner of an AudioFile Earphones award, Jacques Roy narrates Higginbotham’s recounting of the 1986 Russian nuclear disaster at Chernobyl. A compelling listen that’s perfect for those fascinated by the HBO miniseries CHERNOBYL. Published by Simon & Schuster. Read the full review of MIDNIGHT IN CHERNOBYL 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. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Penguin Random House and Listening Library. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Craig Wasson mans the mic like a jazz poet in this second installment of Ellroy’s L.A. WWII trilogy that began with PERFIDIA. The audiobook sizzles with the slang and accents of wartime Los Angeles in a story full of murder, missing gold, and fire set against a backdrop of war and racist paranoia. Wasson delivers Ellroy’s lyricism while also presenting the harsh language of humanity's underbelly. Published by Random House Audio. Read the full review of THIS STORM 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. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Penguin Random House and Listening Library. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Golden Voice narrator Bahni Turpin engages the listener with a complex biography of two luminaries of the Harlem Renaissance. Explore the friendship and collaboration of writers Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes in the 1920s and 1930s. Turpin’s narrative skills stand out in passages in which she gives voice to the boisterous Hurston and mercurial Hughes. Learn more about their friendship, and their falling out. Published by HighBridge Audio. Read the full review of ZORA AND LANGSTON 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. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Penguin Random House and Listening Library. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Listen as the beautiful yet brutal powers of author Mark Haddon and narrator Tim McInnerny collide in awesome display. In a retelling of Shakespeare’s PERICLES, we meet Chloe, a young woman whose harsh entry into the world merely foreshadows an even more disturbing life to come. Once you begin on the voyage of this novel, you won’t be able to stop. Published by Random House Audio. Read the full review of THE PORPOISE 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. Support for Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine comes from Penguin Random House and Listening Library. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Essential listening for teens. In this well-researched audiobook, Ann Bausum lays out the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and Vikas Adam narrates with the urgency and sincerity required to convey the story. Young listeners can listen to be informed about this devastating history and the continuing crisis. Published by Listening Library. Read the full review of VIRAL 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kyla Garcia skillfully steers listeners through a story that leaps across decades. Nedda Papas is on a mission to save humanity by colonizing a distant planet when her ship’s life support system starts to go haywire. In flashback chapters we hear an 11-year-old Nedda breathlessly anticipating the Challenger launch, then devastated by its explosion. Then Nedda discovers that her father’s invention to alter the fabric of time has triggered a catastrophe. An atmospheric science fiction audiobook that will appeal to fans of AREA X and SEVENEVES. Published by Audible, Inc. Read the full review of LIGHT FROM OTHER STARS 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A lyrical exploration love, pain, survival, and redemption. Ocean Vuong narrates his autobiographical novel with a poetic rhythm and a devastating delivery. The novel is written as a compellingly honest letter from a young Vietnamese immigrant to his mother, despite the fact that she cannot read. Vuong will keep listeners hooked as the main character, Little Dog, discovers what it means to be young, gay, and Vietnamese while growing up in America. Published by Penguin Audio. Read the full review of ON EARTH WE'RE BRIEFLY GORGEOUS 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Queer Eye’s resident fashion expert narrates his memoir with the perfect cheeky delivery. Tan France speaks openly about the difficulties of growing up South Asian in rural England, the importance of fashion to his self expression, falling in love with his husband in Salt Lake City, and getting cast for Queer Eye. Fans will love listening to his unique accent as they get to know more about his road to living life on his own terms. Published by Macmillan Audio. Read the full review of NATURALLY TAN 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Narrator January Lavoy was recently honored as a Golden Voice by AudioFile. January is a skilled narrator who draws listeners into whatever she's performing, whether it's a thrilling mystery or a compelling historical audiobook. We wanted to know more about January's journey to becoming an audiobook narrator, the differences between narrating in the booth and acting on stage, and all of the work that she does to inhabit so many dynamic characters. January has narrated hundreds of engaging audiobooks, including THE DIVINERS series by Libba Bray, Coretta Scott King's memoir MY LIFE, MY LOVE, MY LEGACY, and the L.A. Theatre Works production of NATIVE GUARD by Natasha Trethewey. Discover even more of January's audiobooks on her audiography page. For more audiobooks narrated by January LaVoy, browse her audiography at audiofilemagazine.com For more free audiobook recommendations, sign up for AudioFile Magazine’s newsletter. On today’s episode are host Jo Reed and Golden Voice narrator January LaVoy. Support for AudioFile’s Sound Reviews comes from Penguin Random House Audio and Listening Library.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dive into a perfect summer audiobook from bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert. Vivian is a 95-year-old seamstress who came of age during WWII. Blair Brown narrates with a remarkably friendly demeanor as she recounts Vivian’s youthful escapades in New York City during the summer of 1940. The conversational storyline works well on audio, and the many dynamic characters come to life with Brown’s lively range of voices and accents. Published by Penguin Audio. Read the full review of CITY OF GIRLS 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stefan Rudnicki is honored as a Golden Voice, AudioFile's lifetime achievement honor for audiobook narrators. Stefan’s deep baritone voice is distinctive and engaging. His many performances of literary work have a classic feel informed by his scholarship, yet are still approachable for listeners. His confident world-building in many fantasy and sci-fi audiobooks—from Ben Bova to BATTLEFIELD EARTH—is legendary. Browse his full audiography, and explore his AudioFile profile page. Essential Listens: THE WINDS OF ALTAIR REVOLUTIONARY SUMMER SPEAK, MEMORY 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. Support for AudioFile’s Sound Reviews comes from Oasis Audio, home to The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers, read by LeVar Burton and nominated for the 2019 Audie Awards Audiobook of the Year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Simon Vance is honored as a Golden Voice, AudioFile's lifetime achievement honor for audiobook narrators. Simon brings a sense of adventure and wonder to his work—he’s on the journey with us to discover new worlds, characters, ideas. His charming British voice fits naturally with so many different characters, and his pronunciation of names and places seems effortless. After many years of recording, THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO series cemented Simon’s fame. Browse his full audiography, and explore his AudioFile profile page. Essential Listens: THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO BRING UP THE BODIES JERUSALEM 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. Support for AudioFile's Sound Reviews comes from Oasis Audio, publisher of bestselling titles for all ages — soon to include the Classic Starts series: 36 beloved stories retold for young listeners.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jim Dale is honored as a Golden Voice, AudioFile's lifetime achievement honor for audiobook narrators. Jim, as the narrator of all the Harry Potter audiobooks, may be responsible for introducing audiobooks to generations of listeners. Jim’s ability to create whimsical, imaginative character voices brings out all the fun and entertainment of the audiobooks he performs. Browse his full audiography, and explore his AudioFile profile page. Essential Listens: HARRY POTTER series THE BEAST’S HEART THE SHOE BIRD 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. Support for AudioFile’s Sound Reviews comes from Oasis Audio, home to The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers, read by LeVar Burton and nominated for the 2019 Audie Awards Audiobook of the Year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices