The Audiobook Shelf

An Unwanted Inheritance
Imogen Clark, author
Bronwen Price, narrator
Brilliance Audio
www.brillianceaudio.com
9781713647454, $19.99, MP3-CD

https://www.amazon.com/Unwanted-Inheritance-Imogen-Clark/dp/1713647451

Synopsis: When their father dies unexpectedly, siblings Max, Ellie and Nath=
an can't even contemplate emptying his house -- not least because he spent = his last decade curating what feels like a museum to his polished public im= age. So it is Max's wife, Caroline, who finds the suitcase under a bed. A s= uitcase stuffed full of an awful lot of cash!

The source of the money is a mystery to them all, and each has a strong opi= nion about what to do with it. Ellie and her husband James have an expensiv=
e lifestyle to maintain and could do with their share of the windfall -- Ja= mes in particular, for reasons he doesn't dare reveal. Nathan can't be trus= ted with money, as the others all know; he's desperate to get his hands on = some (or all) of the cash. But Caroline is the one guarding the suitcase, a=
nd she's insisting to Max that they take it to the police.

The three siblings have always been close. But now, with this money from no= where threatening to rewrite what they thought they knew about their father=
and their family, nothing seems certain. Could it really tear them apart?

Critique: A cleverly crafted and impressively original story by gifted nove= list Imogen Clark and, in a superbly produced, complete and unabridged audi=
o book from Brilliance Audio, "An Unwanted Inheritance" is brought to life =
by the storytelling talents of Bronwen Price. "An Unwanted Inheritance" (of= fers 11 hours and 32 minutes of of listening pleasure) is unreservedly reco= mmended for personal and community library audio book collections.

Editorial Note #1: Imogen Clark (https://imogenclark.com) writes contempora=
ry fiction about families and secrets. Her books have topped the Amazon kin= dle chart eight times and Where the Story Starts was short listed in the UK=
for Contemporary Romantic Novel of the year 2020.

Editorial Note #1: Bronwen Price (https://www.bronwenprice.co.uk) is a mult=
i award nominated voice actor based in London. She works in genres as varie=
d as audiobooks and corporate narration, video games and IVR, and radio dra=
ma and commercials.

Hard Fire
J. B. Turner, author
Jeffrey Kafer, narrator
Brilliance Audio
www.brillianceaudio.com
9781799798415, $19.99, MP3-CD

https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Fire-Jon-Reznick-Thriller/dp/1799798410

Synopsis: Jon Reznick is not a man to cross. A brutally effective black-ops=
veteran, Reznick has a history of taking the law into his own hands. So wh=
en a group of masked men murders his closest friend, he swears to exact ven= geance. The now-deceased Bill Eastland had been Reznick's last living tie t=
o his father, leaving him devastated -- and furious. Whether or not the FBI=
approves, he swears to hunt down whoever issued the hit on his friend.

With the help of hacker Trevelle Williams, Reznick tracks the masked murder= ers from Maine to Texas to New York, quickly becoming embroiled in the shad= owy world of the Aryan Brotherhood and the Mafia. As Reznick's own body cou=
nt begins to climb, clues lead him to one of the most dangerous crime famil= ies in New York, headed by the infamous Paul Moretti. But FBI Assistant Dir= ector Martha Meyerstein has just learned a crucial secret that could derail=
Reznick's quest for revenge -- Moretti is a high-level FBI informant.

Reznick faces a stark choice: take on the FBI and risk severing ties with M= artha, or inflict his own form of rigorous justice no matter the possible f= allout. How far will he go (and how many government agencies will he underm= ine) to get retribution for his best friend's death? He might just have to = create his own set of rules.

Critique: A riveting novel by author J. B. Turner that will have a strong a= ppeal to fans of Conspiracy Theories and riveting Action-Adventure stories,=
"Hard Fire" is the stuff of which block-buster movies are made. Deftly and=
effectively narrated by the vocal storytelling talents of narrator Jeffrey=
Kafer, "Hard Fire" will prove to be an immediate and enduringly appreciate=
d addition to personal and community library complete and unabridged audio = book collections. (7 Hours, 25 Minutes).

Editorial Note #1: J. B. Turner (https://jbturnerauthor.com) is a former jo= urnalist and the author of the Jon Reznick series of action thrillers (Hard=
Road, Hard Kill, Hard Wired, Hard Way, Hard Fall, Hard Hit, Hard Shot, Har=
d Target, and Hard Vengeance), the American Ghost series of black-ops thril= lers (Rogue, Reckoning, and Requiem), and the Deborah Jones political thril= lers (Miami Requiem and Dark Waters).

Editorial Note #2: Jeffrey Kafer (https://www.jeffreykafer.com) is an exper= ienced vocal actor who has done commercial voice overs and multiple audio b= ook narrations.

Hidden In Snow
Viveca Sten, author
Marlaine Delargy, translator
Laura Jennings, narrator
Brilliance Audio
www.brillianceaudio.com
9781799784388, $14.99, MP3-CD

https://www.amazon.com/Hidden-Snow-%C3%85re-Murders-1/dp/179978438X

Synopsis: On the day Stockholm police officer Hanna Ahlander's personal and=
professional lives crash, she takes refuge at her sister's lodge in the Sw= edish ski resort paradise of Are. But it's a brief comfort. The entire vill= age is shaken by the sudden vanishing of a local teenage girl. Hanna can't = help but investigate, and while searching for the missing person, she lands=
a job with the local police department. There she joins forces with Detect= ive Inspector Daniel Lindskog, who has been tasked with finding the girl. T= heir only lead: a scarf in the snow.

As subzero temperatures drop even further, a treacherous blizzard sweeps to= ward Are. Hanna and Daniel's investigation is getting more desperate by the=
hour. Lost or abducted, either way time is running out for the missing gir=
l. Each new clue closes in on something far more sinister than either Hanna=
or Daniel imagined. In this devious novel by the bestselling author of the=
Sandhamn Murders series, discover what it will take to solve a case when t=
he truth can be so easily hidden in the coming storm.

Critique: Of special appeal to listeners with an interest in Police Procedu= ral Mysteries and the adventures of Women Sleuths, "Hidden In Snow" by nove= list Viveca Sten is masterfully narrated by the impressive storytelling tal= ents of Laura Jennings in this 11 Hour, 6 Minute complete and unabridged au= dio book edition from Brilliance Audio. A true delight for fans of riveting=
suspense thriller fiction, "Hidden In Snow" is especially recommended for = personal and community library audio book collections.

Editorial Note #1: Viveca Sten (www.vivecasten.com) is the author of the Sa= ndhamn Murders series, which includes Buried in Secret, In Bad Company, In = the Name of Truth, In the Shadow of Power, In Harm's Way, In the Heat of th=
e Moment, Tonight You're Dead, Guiltless, Closed Circles, and Still Waters.=
Since 2008, the series has sold more than seven million copies, establishi=
ng her as one of Sweden's most popular authors. Set on the island of Sandha= mn, the novels have been adapted into a Swedish-language TV series shot on = location and seen by ninety million viewers around the world.

Editorial Note #2: Marlaine Delargy lives in Shropshire in the United Kingd= om. She has translated novels by many authors and the nine books in Viveca = Sten's Sandhamn Murders series. (https://www.audiobooksnow.com/narrator/Mar= laine%20Delargy)

Editorial Note #3: Laura Jennings (https://www.laurajenningsnarrates.com) h=
as narrated titles for major publishers but is just as proud of her work wi=
th independent authors. She is also the Coordinator for The Podcast Academy=
and the Communications Manage for Eljin Productions Inc..

A Light in the Forest
Melissa Payne, author
Kay Eluvian, narrator
Brilliance Audio
www.brillianceaudio.com
9781978694453, $19.99, MP3-CD

https://www.amazon.com/Light-Forest-Novel-Melissa-Payne/dp/1978694458

Synopsis: Vega Jones escapes an abusive relationship with nothing but her t= wo-month-old baby and the van she grew up in. Her destination is a small Oh=
io town her late vagabond mother left years ago. It's one full of nobodies,=
her mother warned. That makes it the ideal refuge for Vega to lie low, fee=
l safe, and maybe learn more about a past her mother never spoke of.

Vega warms to the town and to new acquaintances like Heff, the young deputy=
and artist who prefers his yard art to actual policing, and empathetic Eve=
, a local farmer whose near-death experience gave her more than just her li=
fe back. But even in this welcoming community, there's an undercurrent of s= omething unsettled, talk of a tragedy that unfolded in the woods years ago,=
and a mystery connected to Vega in ways she couldn't have anticipated.

As a mother on the run and following a path of mounting risks and illuminat= ing secrets, Vega discovers that even during the darkest of times, there's = light in unexpected places.

Critique: A riveting novel by author Melissa Payne that is brought vividly =
to life in a true 'theatre of the mind' experience by the narrative storyte= lling skills of Kay Eluvian, "A Light In The Forest" offers 12 Hours and 11=
Minutes of riveting entertainment. This complete and unabridged audio book=
from Brilliance Audio is a welcome and fully recommended addition to perso= nal and community library audio book collections.

Editorial Note #1: Melissa Payne (www.melissapayneauthor.com) is the author=
of The Secrets of Lost Stones, Memories in the Drift, and The Night of Man=
y Endings. For as long as she can remember, Melissa has been telling storie=
s in one form or another -- from high school newspaper articles to a gradua=
te thesis to blogging about marriage and motherhood. But she first learned = the real importance of storytelling when she worked for a residential and d=
ay treatment center for abused and neglected children, where she wrote spee= ches and letters to raise funds. The truth in those children's stories was = piercing and painful, written to invoke a call to action in the reader: to = give, to help, and to make a difference. Melissa's love of writing and shar= ing stories in all forms has endured.

Editorial Note #2: Kay Eluvian (https://www.kayeluvian.com) is a versatile,=
quirky, funny and friendly British transgender female (woman) voiceover ac= tor / actress (voiceactor) with years of experience working in audiobooks, = drama, games and commercials. She is a trained actor with an unusual voice =
- not quite a girl, not quite a guy and it grabs the listener with a smile.=
She has a massive vocal range (measured at 3 3/4 octaves!) and plenty of p= layful attitude.

The Union
Leah Vernon, author
Alaska Jackson, Sisi Johnson, Kirby Heyborne, narrators
Brilliance Audio
www.brillianceaudio.com
9781713667766, $14.99, MP3-CD

https://www.amazon.com/Union-Leah-Vernon/dp/1713667762

Synopsis: A thousand years in the future, a Black elite class reigns. The l= ower classes toil in the fields or scrape by in blighted cities, serving th= eir rulers in a cruel, divided world.

Among the Elites is eighteen-year-old Avi Jore, born to a powerful father a=
nd destined to rule. But as she comes of age, Avi cannot help but notice th=
e injustices in her world -- the treatment of enslaved workers, the oppress= ion of the lower classes. Her disillusionment grows when she meets Saige Wi= lde, a mixed-race enslaved girl whose only goal is escaping beyond the bord= ers of their brutal nation.

When Saige saves Avi from an assassination attempt, their paths become inte= rtwined in ways they never imagined. As Saige plots her path to freedom, Av=
i tries to enact change from the inside. But it's a complicated endeavor, f= raught with danger and malice.

Together, their efforts could spark a revolution -- and underscore the stag= gering power of friendship.

Critique: This complete and unabridged audio book edition of "The Union" by=
Leah Vernon is skillfully narrated by the team of Alaska Jackson, Sisi Joh= nson, and Kirby Heyborne. Carefully crafted science fiction with an underly= ing social message, "The Union" is certain to be a prized addition to both = personal and community library audio book collections. (10 Hours, 43 Minute=
s)

Editorial Note: Leah Vernon (www.LeahVernon.com) is an author, body-positiv=
e activist, and the first international plus-size Hijabi model. During her = double master's program, she started a blog about being a fat Black Muslim =
in Detroit experiencing everything from eating disorders to anti-Blackness.=
She's been featured in ads from Target to Old Navy and even made it to the=
New York Times and HuffPost. She currently resides in New York City. She c=
an be followed on Instagram (@lvernon2000).

EDITOR'S NOTE:

The Midwest Book Review is an organization of volunteers committed to promo= ting literacy, library usage, and small press publishing. We accept no fund=
s from authors or publishers. Full permission is given to post any of these=
reviews on thematically appropriate websites, newsgroups, listserves, inte= rnet discussion groups, organizational newsletters, or to interested indivi= duals. Please give the Midwest Book Review a credit line when doing so.

The Midwest Book Review publishes the monthly book review magazines "Califo= rnia Bookwatch", "Internet Bookwatch", "Children's Bookwatch", "MBR Bookwat= ch", "Reviewer's Bookwatch", and "Small Press Bookwatch". All are available=
for free on the Midwest Book Review website at www (dot) midwestbookreview=
(dot) com

Anyone wanting to submit books for review consideration can send them to:

James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129

To submit reviews of any fiction or non-fiction books, email them to Frugal= muse (at) aol (dot) com (Be sure to include the book title, author, publish= er, publisher address, publisher website/phone number, 13-digit ISBN number=
, and list price).

James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review

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