Exit Strategy, Audio Book (2018) Martha Wells narrated by Kevin R. Free (The Murderbot Diaries #3) (Deleting memories like that doesn’t work. I can delete things from my data storage, but not from the organic parts of my head.) I “liked” these clothes. Maybe I actually liked them enough to remove the quotation marks around […]

Rogue Protocol, Audio Book (2018) Martha Wells narrated by Kevin R. Free (The Murderbot Diaries #3) (The good thing about pretending to be an augmented human security consultant instead of a construct SecUnit is that you can tell the humans to shut up.) (A)nybody who wanted to hang around and live on a deteriorating terraforming […]

Twilight Falls, Audio Book (2023) Juneau Black narrated by Cassandra Campbell (A Shady Hollow Mystery #4) And everywhere, you hear the sound of water flowing. It begins with tiny trickles from melting icicles and the rivulets running down the slopes. Whether seeping or meandering or tumbling madly, they all meet at the rivers running through […]

All Systems Red, Audio Book (2017) Martha Wells narrated by Kevin R. Free (The Murderbot Diaries #1) I don’t know why, because it’s one of those things I’m not contractually obligated to care about. But the company would access all those recordings and data mine them for anything they could sell. No, they don’t tell […]

Battle Hill Bolero, Audio Book (2017) Daniel José Older narrated by Daniel José Older (Bone Street Rumba #3) It’s almost over. Kia is back in town and now an Iyawo, Sasha and Reza have become friends, and Kia, Jimmy, Kris, and Redd–one of the ghosts from the Burial Grounds–have become friends. “Him and Damian and […]

Swordheart, Audio Book (2018) T. Kingfisher narrated by Jesse Vilinsky One of the grimmer realizations of Sarkis’s youth had been the discovery that knowing you were being an ass did not actually stop you from continuing to be an ass. “Well,” she admitted, looking at the pile of potatoes, “you’re good at that.” “I have […]

Midnight Taxi Tango, Audiobook (2016) Daniel José Older narrated by Daniel José Older (Bone Street Rumba #2) A textbook lies open on the counter in front of me; I don’t even remember taking it out. It’s trig, some shit I already know how to do, and can’t be bothered answering a bunch of mindless questions […]

Half-Resurrection Blues, Audiobook (2015) Daniel José Older (Bone Street Rumba# 1) (A)nother little guy is definitely Indian/Pakistani or maybe Puerto Rican. Or half-black. Whatever he is, he gets randomly searched every time he’s within twenty feet of an airport. “Row seven, bin A.” I walk down the aisles, peering at the numbers like I’m using […]

Salsa Nocturna, Audiobook (2012) Daniel José Older narrated by Daniel José Older (Bone Street Rumba #2.5) Nothing marginalizes marginalized people like a dead white guy talking sympathetically. A child’s excitement is its own force of nature. ‘Simpático’ is the best word for him. It means ‘nice’ in English, but nice is such a pathetic word. […]

The Main Corpse, Audiobook (1996) Diane Mott Davidson narrated by Barbara Rosenblat (Goldy Bear Culinary Mystery #6) There is a LOT going on here, and a lot of it is WTFery. Some of the things Goldy did should have gotten her locked up–not only because they were illegal, but because they were stupidly illegal. There […]

Mirror Lake, Audio Book (2022) Juneau Black narrated by Cassandra Campbell (Shady Hollow #3) At the base of the great elm tree that Heidegger called home, Vera pulled the bell rope to alert the owl. In response, a basket attached to a thin rope dropped from above. “Ah, but now you have the important phrase […]

Killer Pancake, Audiobook (1995) Diane Mott Davidson narrated by Barbara Rosenblat (Goldy Bear Culinary Mystery #5) Poor Julian. He has the worst things happen to him. This time, it’s his girlfriend that is murdered. Which reminds me of something that really bothers me. 1. Marla never really seemed bothered by the death of her sister. […]

The Last Suppers, Audiobook (1994) Diane Mott Davidson narrated by Barbara Rosenblat (Goldy Bear Culinary Mystery #4) Goldy and Tom are supposed to be getting married, but as she waits at the church she gets a call–Father Olsen was murdered and Tom was the one who discovered him. Characters: Goldy Bear, Archibald Korman, Julian Teller, […]

Cold Clay, Audio Book (2022) Juneau Black narrated by Cassandra Campbell (Shady Hollow #2) A skeptic with an eye for minutiae may even ask why a rat requires a visit to the haberdasher. In turn, we ask such skeptics to look to their own hat collections before passing judgment on another. ‘Grey’s School of Etiquette,’?” […]

Dying for Chocolate, Audiobook Diane Mott Davidson narrated by Barbara Rosenblat (Goldy Bear Culinary Mystery #2) This one I hadn’t actually read before. Determined to take control of her life, Goldy moves her business and her son to ritzy Aspen Meadow Country Club, where she accepts a job as a live-in cook. But just as […]

Catering to Nobody, Audiobook (1990) Diane Mott Davidson narrated by Barbara Rosenblat (Goldy Bear Culinary Mystery #1) It’s been a long time since I read this series. Probably the late 90s and early 2000s. And I read them out of order back then, since I was picking them up used. I’m listening to this on […]

The Last Devil to Die, Audiobook (2023) Richard Osman narrated by Fiona Shaw (Thursday Murder Club #4) The young man they have just interviewed is called Thomas Murdoch. He said “no comment” to every question except when Jill asked who had sold him the heroin and he said “five pensioners,” but even his solicitor looked […]

The Bullet That Missed, Audiobook (2022) Richard Osman narrated by Fiona Shaw (Thursday Murder Club #3) At one point they walked past a house on Trafalgar Street that Bogdan told her was a crack den, and then past an old forge on London Road where a Lithuanian was buried. Bogdan would make a very good […]

The Man Who Died Twice, Audiobook (2021) Richard Osman narrated by Lesley Manville (Thursday Murder Club #2) That twinkle in his eye was undimmed. The twinkle that gave an entirely undeserved suggestion of wisdom and charm. The twinkle that could make you walk down the aisle with a man almost ten years your junior and […]

Shady Hollow, Audiobook (2015) Juneau Black narrated by Cassandra Campbell (A Shady Hollow Mystery #1) I still love the story, but the narration isn’t my favorite. After finishing Blitz, this became the listen-in-the-car book. When I previously suggested Michael might enjoy this series, he scoffed and said it wasn’t for him. He ended up enjoying […]

The Thursday Murder Club, Audiobook (2020) Richard Osman narrated by Lesley Manville (Thursday Murder Club #1) Elizabeth admires suspicion above all else and invited Ron to flick through the file of a scoutmaster found burned to death in 1982 in woodland just off the A27. She soon spotted his key strength—namely, he never believes a […]

Blitz, Audiobook (2022) Daniel O’Malley narrated by Moira Quirk (Checquy Files #3) And then there were no more shots, only the unmistakable sound of someone having run out of bullets. Responsible for supernatural security throughout the British Empire, the executives of the Checquy were all horrendously busy and had been even before the nation entered […]

Speculations in Sin, Audiobook (2024) Jennifer Ashley narrated by Anne-Marie Piazza (Below Stairs Mystery #7) Set in London in 1883 “Do you know much about them?” I asked hopefully. “Of course not. Most of these grand establishments of the City won’t let a lady walk into them—at least not one unaccompanied by her father, uncle, […]

The Secret of Bow Lane, Audiobook (2022) Jennifer Ashley narrated by Anne-Marie Piazza (Below Stairs Mystery #6) Set in London in 1882 Characters: Mrs. Kat Holloway, Mr. Davis, Mrs. Redfern, Mrs. Bywater, Mr. Bywater, Tess, Lady Cynthia Clifford, James McAdam, Daniel McAdam, Mr. Errol Fielding, Caleb Constable Greene, Mr. Thanos, Grace Holloway, Nettie, Bobby Lady […]

Death at the Crystal Palace (2021) Jennifer Ashley narrated by Anne-Marie Piazza (Below Stairs Mystery #5) Set in London in 1882 Characters: Mrs. Kat Holloway, Mr. Davis, Mrs. Bywater, Mr. Bywater, Mrs. Redfern, Tess, Mrs. Millburn, Mr. Elgin Thanos, Mr. Errol Fielding, James McAdam, Daniel McAdam, Lady Clifford, Lord Clifford, Lady Cynthia Clifford, Bobby Lady […]

Murder in the East End, Audiobook (2020) Jennifer Ashley narrated by Anne-Marie Piazza (Below Stairs Mystery #4) Set in London in 1882 “Daniel and I were raised together, and he tells me you know under what circumstances. We refer to each other as brother, but we were no such thing, though as close as. After […]

Death in Kew Gardens, Audiobook (2019) Jennifer Ashley narrated by Anne-Marie Piazza (Below Stairs Mystery #3) Set in London in 1881 I always met the beggars exactly between the streetlamps, where the darkness was greatest. The poor things feared the light, knowing they could be arrested for being unemployed and hungry. “Why didn’t you tell […]

Scandal Above Stairs, Audiobook (2018) Jennifer Ashley narrated by Anne-Marie Piazza (Below Stairs Mystery #2) Set in London in 1881 I renewed my conviction that he was not married as I viewed his rumpled frock coat and noted a missing button on his waistcoat. No wife would let her husband be seen like that unless […]

Death Below Stairs, Audiobook (2018) Jennifer Ashley narrated by Anne-Marie Piazza (Below Stairs Mystery #1) Set in London in 1881. I’d completely forgotten I had several of these audiobooks. Since historicals and mysteries are mostly what I’m in the mood for, I was delighted to start listening to a series I know I enjoy. The […]

The Masquerades of Spring, Audiobook (2024) Ben Aaronovitch narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (Rivers of London) Set in New York City in 1926 I do love Kobna Holdbrook-Smith. But most of his American accents are just the slightest bit off and not quite right. Otherwise, I utterly adore everything about this novella. the show, which was […]

Confounding Oaths, Audiobook (2024) Alexis Hall narrated by Nneka Okoye (The Mortal Follies #2) Set in London in 1814 I really love Nneka Okoye’s narration. And of course Alexis Hall’s snark. And whereas in the enlightened twenty-first century the marriage of a British aristocrat to a Person of Colour is a wholly unremarkable thing that […]

Posthumous Education, Audiobook (2022) Drew Hayes narrated by Kirby Heyborne (Fred the Vampire Accountant Book 8) “I’m surprised you even want to step back.” “It’s more that I have to, for the good of the company overall.” I struggled to find the right words for my concerns. They were difficult to explain to anyone who […]

Mortal Follies (2023) Alexis Hall narrated by Nneka Okoye (The Mortal Follies #1) Set in Bath in 1814 I am that knavish sprite that frights the maidens of the villagery. I am Oberon’s jester—was Oberon’s jester, that’s rather the issue. I am called hobgoblin by some and, contrary to what certain people might have told […]

System Collapse, Audiobook (2023) Martha Wells narrated by Kevin R Free (Murderbot Diaries #7) I still felt radically off my game and I was hoping for reassurance rather than statistics that confirmed that I was correct in thinking that everything sucked right now. (According to Martyn, ART is of course capable of doing its own […]

Out of House and Home, Audiobook (2021) Drew Hayes narrated by Kirby Heyborne (Fred the Vampire Accountant Book 7) “My apologies for the presumption. I knew this only as Deborah’s number.” “It is, but no one picks up their damn phones anymore unless they know the number.” “I called you here to discuss the employment […]

Fugitive Telemetry, Audiobook (2021) Martha Wells narrated by Kevin R Free (The Murderbot Diaries #6) I guess if you were really determined, you could find a way to get yourself killed by exposing the power connectors under the panels and shielding and, I don’t know, licking them or something, “What controlled circumstances?” I said, “Isolated […]

Deadly Assessments, Audiobook (2018) Drew Hayes narrated by Kirby Heyborne (Fred The Vampire #5) This seems as apt a moment as any for a brief digression, wherein I explain that my employee was neither insane nor joking, as we were both proud Undead Americans—specifically, vampires. “Did the vampire give you a name?” “She called herself […]

The Fangs of Freelance, Audiobook (2017) Drew Hayes narrated by Kirby Heyborne (Fred The Vampire #4) Characters: Fredrick Frankford Fletcher, Krystal Jenkins, Neil, Albert, Bubba Emerson, Amy Wells, Richard Alderson, Gideon, Lillian, Arch Davenport, Charlotte Manor, Sally Alderson, September Windbrook, Roderick Knox, Josiah Fenmoore, Lonnie, Grand Mage Cyndi Gussoff, Quinn Thames, Beauregard, Wallace, Paula, Harris, […]

Bloody Acquisitions, Audiobook (2016) Drew Hayes narrated by a full cast: Christopher Walker, Nora Achrati, Marni Penning, Yasmin Tuazon, Shanta Parasuraman, Steven Carpenter, Carolyn Kashner, Christopher Graybill, Anthony Palmini, Laura C Harris, Danny Gavigan, Matthew Bassett, Scott McCormick, Alejandro Ruiz, Bradley Smith, Colleen Delany, Holly Adams, Michael John Casey, Terence Aselford and Zeke Alton(Fred, the […]

Undeath & Taxes, Audiobook (2015) Drew Hayes narrated by a full cast: Christopher Walker, Nora Achrati, Danny Gavigan, Scott McCormick, Marni Penning, Alejandro Ruiz, Bradley Smith, Carolyn Kashner, Shanta Parasuraman, Elizabeth Jernigan, Terence Aselford, Zeke Alton, Henry Kramer, Matthew Schleigh, Michael John Casey, Ken Jackson, Matthew Bassett, Colleen Delany and Chris Stinson (Fred, the Vampire […]

The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant, Audiobook (2014) Drew Hayes narrated by a full cast: Christopher Walker, Nora Achrati, Scott McCormick, Alejandro Ruiz, Bradley Smith, Carolyn Kashner, Ken Jackson, Terence Aselford, Richard Rohan, Rose Elizabeth Supan, Mort Shelby (Fred, the Vampire Accountant #1) “Well, if it sweetens the pot any, […]

Lady Ambition’s Dilemma, Audiobook (2022) Jane Steen and Elizabeth Klett narrator (Scott-De Quincy Mysteries #3) Set in Sussex in 1883 “In any case, we’re not discussing me. Are you trying to tell me Dederick . . .” I searched for the right words, “prefers the company of other men?” “A little in love with him […]

A Fatal Grace, Audiobook (2006) Louise Penny narrated by Ralph Cosham (Chief Inspector Gamache #2) No one liked CC de Poitiers. Not her quiet husband, not her spineless lover, not her pathetic daughter—and certainly none of the residents of Three Pines. CC de Poitiers managed to alienate everyone, right up until the moment of her […]

Still Life, Audiobook (2005) Louise Penny narrated by Ralph Cosham (Chief Inspector Gamache #1) Characters: Frederica Potter, Peter Morrow, Jane Neal, Jean Guy Beauvoir, Clara Morrow, Philippe Croft, Matthew Croft, Suzanne Belanger-Croft, Gabriel Dubeau, Olivier Brulé, Ruth Zardo, Ben Hadley, Myrna Landers, Yvette Nichol, Dr. Sharon Harris, Yolande Fontaine, Andre Malenfant, Bernard Malenfant, Isabelle Lacoste, […]

Lady Odelia’s Secret, Audiobook (2022) Jane Steen and Elizabeth Klett narrator (Scott-De Quincy Mysteries #2) Set in Sussex in 1882 I felt Michael—who hated to touch, or be touched by, other people—flinch as I rested my fingertips as lightly as possible on his arm. “I enjoy reading about people who are real to me for […]

Fugitive Telemetry, Audiobook (2021) Martha Wells narrated by Kevin R Free (The Murderbot Diaries #6) Characters: Dr. Mensah, Pin-Lee, Lutran, Dr. Ratthi, Gurathin, Senior Officer Indah, Tech Tural, Officer Doran, Officer Aylen, PA Supervisor Gamila, Officer Farid, Officer Tifany, Tellus, Balin, JollyBaby, Soire, Mish, Matif, Fenn, Miro Publisher: Recorded Books Rating: 9.5/10

Network Effect, Audiobook (2020) Martha Wells narrated by Kevin R Free (The Murderbot Diaries #5) Characters: Dr. Arada, Overse, Dr. Thiago, Dr. Mensah, Dr. Ratthi, Dr. Bharadwaj, Amena, Pin-Lee, Farai, Tano, Copilot Mihail, Specialist Rajpreet, Pilot Roa, Adjat, Remy, Hanifa, Kanti, Perihelion/ART, Eletra, Ras, Officer Tifany, Senior Officer Indah, Supervisor Leonide, Martyn, Karime, Turi, Seth, […]

Exit Strategy, Audiobook (2018) Martha Wells, narrated by Kevin R. Free (The Murderbot Diaries #4) Ship’s drones gathered to watch me, confused as to why I was going out the wrong door and beeping sadly about it. (Humans never think to tell their bots things like, say, don’t respond to random individuals wandering the outside […]

Rogue Protocol, Audiobook (2018) Martha Wells, narrated by Kevin R. Free (The Murderbot Diaries #3) Or Miki was a bot who had never been abused or lied to or treated with anything but indulgent kindness. It really thought its humans were its friends, because that’s how they treated it. I signaled Miki I would be […]

Artificial Condition, Audiobook (2018) Martha Wells, narrated by Kevin R. Free (The Murderbot Diaries #2) (Constructs sometimes fall under the same category as bots, sometimes under the same category as deadly weapons. (FYI, that is not a good category to be in.)) How the hell was I supposed to know there were transports sentient enough […]