From Heartfelt to Historical: More Audiobook Musings

After two weeks of Anne Perry, I needed a break from intense listening and looked for some lighter, funnier audiobooks. Naturally, I turned to two of my favorite humorous authors, David Rosenfelt and Donna Andrews before I moved on to some historical fiction audiobooks.

Humorous Mystery

Holy Chow by David Rosenfelt. Performed by Grover Gardner. Book 25 in the Andy Carpenter series.

America’s favorite dog-loving attorney is back, lured out of retirement once again by the sad plight of a chow named Lion. Andy Carpenter may be a brilliant lawyer, but he hates to work. Fortunately, being independently wealthy, he can afford to devote all his time to the Tara Foundation, a dog rescue group named after the smartest, most amazing golden retriever in the world. However, when a dog might suffer, Andy gives up his determination to stay away from work and comes out of retirement to defend a dog-lover for the sake of the beloved pet.

Now for the official book description:

Retired lawyer Andy Carpenter’s calling has always been running the Tara Foundation. The dog rescue organization places hundreds of dogs in new homes every year. It’s added up to so many dogs and new owners that Andy can’t even do the math. But there’s one dog—and one owner—Andy will always remember.

About a year ago, Rachel Morehouse came to the foundation looking for a companion. In her sixties and recently widowed, Rachel wanted a senior dog that also needed someone. Andy took a liking to her, Rachel took a liking to Lion, an older Chow Chow, and the rest is history.

That is, until Rachel calls Andy begging for a favor: If Rachel dies, will Andy take care of Lion if her stepson cannot? Andy agrees, no questions asked, and promptly forgets about it… until he receives a call from Rachel’s estate to attend her will reading. Which is where he meets Rachel’s stepson, Tony, who is promptly arrested for his stepmother’s murder. And he wants Andy to prove his innocence.

Andy has continued to learn more about the woman he so greatly admired and the businesses she ran, and holy chow, was this woman impressive. The person who killed her deserves to be held accountable, and if Tony is to be believed, they’re still out there. And that possibility is too much for Andy to remain on the sidelines.

I love this series, which has great plots, incredible humor, and a delightful set of characters. And, of course, dogs! Today, I want to tell you about some of my favorite characters.

In a twist on stereotypes, Andy’s chief detective, who also serves as his chief of security when he’s on a case (and he needs it because bad guys always try to kill him) is his wife, Lori. She used to be a police chief in a small town after having served as a detective in their city of Patterson, New Jersey. Lori handles herself well, but no one can beat Marcus Clark at bad-assery (Is that even a word? If it isn’t, it should be!). He’s kind of Superman on steroids, except that Superman works at a newspaper as Clark Kent, and Marcus doesn’t seem capable of actual speech. He merely grunts.

The final human member of the K-Team, as the security team calls itself, is Corey, a recently retired police detective, whose main asset is Simon Garfunkel, a German shepherd police dog whose retirement Andy secured in a previous book. The K-Team has its own spin-off series, but that lacks some of the wit displayed in Andy’s voice as he narrates the books.

Audiobook Performer: Grover Gardner

I love the way one reviewer from AudioFile Magazine described Grover Gardner, who has performed all the books in the series: “Listening to Grover Gardner narrating a David Rosenfelt novel is like sliding into favorite slippers at the end of a long day: One feels the joyful gratification of a perfect fit.” Read through Gardner’s resume, and you will see major award after award. I really can’t even imagine wise-cracking Andy Carpenter without hearing the voice of Gardner. How can I better honor him?

Cockatiels at Seven by Donna Andrews. Performed by Bernadette Dunne. Book 9 in the Meg Langslow series.

Whenever I am feeling sick, depressed, or just blah, there is one author to whom I inevitably turn: Donna Andrews. Her great mystery plots, unique characters, and delightful sense of humor never fail to make my day just a little bit better. So since I’ve lately been sick, just for some variety, I pulled up one of Andrews’s books that I have listened to least. That means I’ve heard Cockatiels at Seven maybe only two dozen times instead of the four or five dozen times I’ve listened to most of her books. Yes, I love Donna Andrews that much.

But let me give the official description:

When her old friend Karen drops by with her two-year-old son, Meg Langslow reluctantly agrees to babysit. But when night falls, the toddler is still in residence, and Karen isn’t answering her phone. Concerned, Meg spends the next morning retracing her friend’s steps – and what she discovers makes her begin to suspect that Karen has either been killed or kidnapped or is on the run. Since the police don’t seem to care, Meg once again plays sleuth – this time with a toddler in tow and with her extended family, as usual, complicating everything.

In this outrageous book of feathered fun, Donna Andrews once again proves her skill as one of the funniest, most entertaining mystery authors around.

As you might have guessed from the paltry number of times I have listened to this book in comparison to other Meg Langslow books, I view this book as one of Andrews’s weaker books, but even Donna Andrews’s weakest books are better than most authors’ strongest books. I still got many a smile even though I didn’t get as many belly laughs. But if you haven’t listened to other Donna Andrews’s books, start with book one, Murder with Peacocks, and go through the series in order.

Audiobook Performer: Bernadette Dunne

Bernadette Dunne is one of my very favorite narrators. That makes the combination of my favorite author and one of my favorite narrators especially irresistible. Dunne embodies each character delightfully, highlighting the quirkiness of each one without making any seem ridiculous. As always, Dunne never ceases to bring the book to life and make us enjoy the audiobook more thoroughly.

Historical Fiction

Lately I have put aside most of my cozy mysteries and turned to historical fiction, mostly from the 20th century. Even better, i love to combine the two genres and listen to historical mysteries. Thus, this book seemed to fit the bill. The current trend among historical fiction splits its narrative between the era to be studied and the present, or at least recent, day. The contemporary main character, who is virtually always a young adult, finds some evidence that spurs a search into the past based upon some newly uncovered clue to an as-yet-unsolved mystery. So the remaining three audiobooks in this column will examine some historical fiction.

One Lavender Ribbon by Heather Burch. Performed by Emily Sutton-Smith.

Let me look now at the official book description:

Can a stack of long-hidden love letters from a WWII war hero inspire a heartbroken woman to love again?

Reeling from a bitter divorce, Adrienne Carter abandons Chicago and retreats to the sun, sand, and beauty of Southern Florida, throwing herself into the restoration of a dilapidated old Victorian beach house. Early into the renovations, she discovers a tin box hidden away in the attic that reveals the emotional letters from a WWII paratrooper to a young woman who lived in the house more than a half-century earlier.

The old letters – incredibly poetic and romantic – transcend time, and they arouse in Adrienne a curiosity that leads her to track down the writer of the letters. William “Pops” Bryant is now an old man living in a nearby town with his handsome but overprotective grandson, Will. As Adrienne begins to unravel the secrets of the letters (and the Bryants), she finds herself not yet willing to give up entirely on love.

This audiobook began with so much promise. It caught my attention quickly and made me eager to keep listening. However, it didn’t take long before the audiobook devolved into a mere romance novel, with the historical plot getting overshadowed more and more until, with three hours left to go in the nearly 11 hour audiobook, I gave up. There seemed to be little of historical significance left to cover, and I had already guessed most of the main plot developments, both historical and romantic, long before the audiobook revealed them. So I was disappointed in this book.

 

 

Audiobook Performer: Emily Sutton-Smith

In her performance, Emily Sutton-Smith doesn’t use as much expression as I would have liked. Her gentle, smooth tones served to relax me when I was ready to be stimulated by an exciting audiobook. Sutton-Smith would not be my first choice of narrators for books in the future.

 

 

 

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline, performed by Jessica Almasy and Susan Toren.

The official description:

Orphan Train is a gripping story of friendship and second chances from Christina Baker Kline, author of Bird in Hand and The Way Life Should Be.

Penobscot Indian Molly Ayer is close to “aging out” out of the foster care system. A community-service position helping an elderly woman clean out her home is the only thing keeping Molly out of juvie and worse….

As she helps Vivian sort through her possessions and memories, Molly learns that she and Vivian aren’t as different as they seem to be. A young Irish immigrant orphaned in New York City, Vivian was put on a train to the Midwest with hundreds of other children whose destinies would be determined by luck and chance. Molly discovers that she has the power to help Vivian find answers to mysteries that have haunted her for her entire life – answers that will ultimately free them both.

Rich in detail and epic in scope, Orphan Train is a powerful novel of upheaval and resilience, of unexpected friendship, and of the secrets we carry that keep us from finding out who we are.

This audiobook had a lot of promise too, but though I was not fully satisfied, at least I finished this audiobook. I’m afraid that I’ve become something of an audiobook snob and easily move on from a book if I’m not captivated by it because there are so many books out there. Why should I waste time on a book that I don’t love?

The Orphan Train was not a five star book, but I’d give it four stars and liked it enough to conclude the audiobook. However, I didn’t think the author did enough to tie the two plot lines together. It tends to leave the connection up to the listener to make. I did, though, learn about the Orphan Train and what a venue for abuse it offered to people wanting a slave and what a source of hope it served for families craving a child. The topic caught my attention and made me curious to learn more about this piece of American history.

Audiobook Performers: Jessica Almasy and Susan Toren

In her performance, Jessica Almasy convincingly portrays the two eras, especially the negative attitude of Molly, the troubled teen in 2011. Listeners will clearly recognize a difficult teenager in this character. Almasy also makes listeners connect with the 1929 Vivian, narrator of her own story, and listeners will hear the despair in her voice as she faces abuse, yet resilience as she stays determined to fight for her rights. I don’t know where Susan Toren fits into this audiobook. I didn’t notice a second narrator. But anyway, Almasy gives a strong performance.

Wrap Up

So these are four of the audiobooks I listened to, with greater or lesser enjoyment, this week. I listen to more, but who can keep track of them all?

Stay tuned next week for a trip around the world and eras of time.