2014 Favorite Audiobooks and Favorite Debuts

2014 brought about my entry into reviewing audiobooks for Audiofile Magazine. My organization--or rather lack thereof--for this year has been the main obstacle for me getting those reviews here on the blog. The reviews for Audiofile focus on the production and not the story, so I have wanted to add additional information into the reviews to cover my reactions to the stories as well. I am hoping to do better in 2015 in this area so I can include those reviews here as well. In the meantime, those audios listed below that I haven't reviewed here, but have appeared at Audiofile will be linked to their pages on the Audiofile site. I hope you'll visit the site if you don't already.

My choices for favorite audiobooks--from the 35 I listened to this year--are based solely on the audio production, so some of the books listed below may not be (in my opinion) the greatest stories but they were stellar performances. They were enjoyable to listen to. So if the story wasn't that great then the narrator was extra wonderful in order to overcome that disadvantage and keep me engaged for the entire book.

FAVORITE AUDIOBOOKS OF 2014 ARE:
 
5. Midwinterblood (written by Marcus Sedgwick; narrated by Julian Rhind-Tutt): this is a YA book, but can certainly be enjoyed by any listener. A strong atmosphere and Rhind-Tutt does a magical job with the irregular structure of this book. It's a collection of interconnected stories and he keeps the reader firmly entwined in that connecting thread. (Listening Library)

4. The Intern's Handbook (written by Shane Kuhn; narrated by Pete Simonelli): this particular book is showing up all over my lists this year. It's a wonderful, complete package. Simonelli didn't try to force drama into this book, he kept his reading dry to match the concept of the handbook--who's ever read a dramatic handbook?  This may at first seem like the audiobook would be a boring listen, but quite the contrary. His approach enhanced the sarcastic humor and the suspense of the genius plot. (Simon & Schuster Audio)

3. Wait for Signs (written by Craig Johnson; narrated by George
Guidall): I'm utterly convinced that there is nothing Guidall can't do when it comes to narration, but he still continues to amaze me in his depiction of Craig Johnson's world of Absaroka County. Johnson's short stories are especially powerful with huge helpings of passion and meaning in small packages. Guidall made the opening of these packages a joyous occasion. He juggles the spiritual, the humorous, the respectful and the heartfelt without dropping a single ball. Sometimes he has to perform a magic trick and juggle them so they merge and then reappear as separate entities. He does it all without breaking a sweat--or at least without letting us hear he's breaking a sweat. He also shows up the individual who reads the introduction to this collection...the person who couldn't be bothered to find out how to pronounce Absaroka even though it appears half a dozen times in the text. How lame!  (Recorded Books)

2. The Midnight Plan of the Repo Man (written by W. Bruce Cameron; narrated by George K. Wilson): This is a book I may very well have turned away from had I been reading it in print.  It deals with a ghost trapped in the main character's head. Not my normal fare, but the presentation was simply so engaging and fun I was disappointed when the book ended.  (Macmillan Audio)

1. The Morgue Drawer series (written by Jutta Profijt; translated by Erik J. Macki; narrated by Macleod Andrews): This is the only series this year that I started and HAD to continue to listen to--one right after the other. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get my  hands on the second book, so I'll still be anticipating that one. I listened to the first book, Morgue Drawer Four, then the fourth, Morgue Drawer: Do Not Enter!, then the third, Morgue Drawer for Rent. They were absolutely wonderful even out of order. I'll have a full review for you soon, but suffice it to say these blew me away. The story concept is fabulous; the translation is brilliant--there's tons of slang and made-up words and Macki did an incredible job taking them from the original German to English; finally at the delivery Macleod Andrews was astounding. His timing, his attitude, his energy and intensity, they were all award-worthy. I love this series and the audiobooks are pure gold. (Brilliance Audio)

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Debuts. I only read 11 debuts this year. I read books by 70 authors who were new to me, but only 11 of those were people writing their first books. So I'm leaving this list at only 3, which is still a large percentage of the total debuts, but I think these three deserve the kudos...and one you will see again tomorrow.

FAVORITE DEBUTS:

  

3. The Secret Wisdom of the Earth by Christopher Scotton. A stunning portrayal of the Appalachian region, beautiful writing and a wonderful coming of age story. I look forward to more from Scotton in the coming years.

2. The Intern's Handbook by Shane Kuhn. Geez, this book is like a bad penny, right? It keeps showing up everywhere. It's getting harder and harder to wow me with creative approaches to crime stories so when someone does, I celebrate it. Loved this book!

1. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. It continues to astound me that this book is a debut. I have recommended it to more people than any other this year and have had more people contact me about it than any other this year. It is beautifully written, funny, smart, heart-felt and it transcends time and place. It's set in Sweden but is relevant to anyone, anywhere, anytime. A Man Called Ove embodies why I love reading and love books.

The Last Man - Vince Flynn

First line: "The four dead men were lined up on the living room floor of the safe house."

In Vince Flynn's latest Mitch Rapp thriller, an operative in Afghanistan is kidnapped. The knowledge he has of the CIA and its secrets could prove fatal if dropped into the wrong hands. Rapp is deployed to try and recover the operative, but some unforeseen obstacles start pushing him off course: his nemesis, Louie Gould, has been hired to kill Rapp; a botched attempt by the Afghani police to kill him results in a minor memory loss; and the FBI want to arrest him for embezzling. Add to that the discovery that his mentor, Stan Hurley, is in the late stages of cancer, and Rapp has his hands full and his life on the line.

The audio of The Last Man is narrated by George Guidall. I believe I could listen to this man read the phone book and be completely engrossed. He, of course, narrates one of my favorite series, Craig Johnson's Walt Longmire series, and at first I heard Walt in this reading. It took less than two minutes to leave Absaroka County behind and take on the world of Mitch Rapp and the CIA.

One of the qualities I admire most about Guidall's narration is that he doesn't over dramatize. That's too common a characteristic in thriller novels and can leave them sounding unrealistic and absurd. The action scenes of The Last Man are read in such a way as to increase listeners' heart rates and maybe even catch their breath, but not so that they start rolling their eyes or envisioning a bad Arnold Schwarzenegger film.
 
Guidall tapped into the character of Rapp and related his calm, serious demeanor. Rapp is an assassin; in order to be good at his profession, he has dulled some of the feelings and emotions that the ordinary person experiences. And yet, he is still able to have some semblance of a relationship with other people. Walking that wire is tricky and a misstep can leave the character unbelievable. Flynn does a good balancing act with Rapp, and Guidall delivers it well.

Guidall did an equally fine job bringing out Irene Kennedy's personality. Kennedy is, of course, the CIA director. She's strong and serious and holds her own in a world dominated by men. But she also cares about her people and isn't without emotion. She's not a field operative whose been desensitized in order to remain sane. Her internal conflicts are crystal clear in Guidall's voice.

While there were some subtle political issues that arose that I shared different view points on, they were handled well and in a manner appropriate to the novel's context. They didn't come off as a sermon and fit the characters expressing them.

**WARNING: Minor Spoiler--for animal advocates**

If you're a person who under no circumstances tolerates the killing of an animal in a plot, this is not a book for you. There is an animal death in the book. I felt it was handled exceptionally well and appropriate to the context. Personally, I'm not one to tolerate the unnecessary inclusion of animal deaths and have criticized some books for it in the past, but in this particular one, I think Flynn wrote the scene perfectly. But if you are adamantly opposed to it at any time, be forewarned that it is included.

**end spoiler**

This was my first experience with a Vince Flynn novel. I had no problems following his long-standing series character and I enjoyed the energy and action of the novel. George Guidall's reading was exquisite and I looked forward to my walks and drives in order to hear more of the book.

The Last Man is available on unabridged audio (ISBN: 9781442355453) from Simon & Schuster Audio. It is just shy of 12 hours. The Last Man is available in print hardcover (ISBN: 9781416595212) from Atria/Emily Bestler Books.

The Alienist - Caleb Carr

First line: "Theodore is in the ground."

In 1896 New York City a serial killer is on the loose killing boy prostitutes. The corrupt police department has found ways to write off these killings, especially since these are boys no one cares about. But police commissioner Theodore Roosevelt is determined to stop the killings and bring the murderer to justice. He ventures outside the department, enlisting the help of a psychologist - also known then as an 'alienist' - Dr. Kreizler and a journalist, John Moore. Roosevelt charges them with putting together a psychological profile in an effort to find and stop the psychopath murdering the young boys.

One of the great joys of reading for me is discovering great works for the first time. THE ALIENIST was first published in 1994, so many of you will have already read this classic psychological thriller.

Carr does an exquisite job of balancing character and plot, neither outshines the other. Carr's eccentric cast of characters ranges from a mute housekeeper to a reformed felon to a grandmother who's convinced an imprisoned murderer on death row, whom she's never met, is going to come to escape and kill her. The reader sees all of these characters through the eyes of John Moore as the novel's narrator. John is able to empathize with those around him, making him an empathetic character as well. And when John faces a life-altering event, readers can't help but be affected by it as well.

I was especially fond of Carr's depiction of his female characters. They battle the barriers of their era, their positions, etc. And each still maintains her own person. Carr isn't unrealistic about the limits women had at this time; he illustrates those limits well. He also illustrates how women were fighting those limits each and every day.

Balanced perfectly with his robust characters was a suspenseful plot. The interplay of crime, politics, social status and science make for layers of development and intrigue. Part of that intrigue is built through Carr's use of his setting, New York City. The building rooftops, the shadier neighborhoods, even the restaurants and opera work to create the world where corruption, power, and position all had long-range effects.

Carr meticulously pieced this historical suspense novel together, much the way his infamous Dr. Kreizler pieced together the profile of a serial murderer. It's a great treat to experience the final result.

It is also a treat to experience a fine book read by an incredible narrator. George Guidall narrates the Recorded Books unabridged version of THE ALIENIST and I loved his narration as much in this book as I've loved his work with Craig Johnson's Walt Longmire series.

There have been quite a few occasions where I really enjoyed a narrator in one book but when I picked up another audiobook with the same narrator, it was a disappointment because I could only envision that narrator in the first book, the first role. With George Guidall, you can pick up a new audiobook and have a whole new listening experience. I did not see or hear Walt Longmire once through the duration of THE ALIENIST and I feel that's one of the strongest indicators of a great narrator.

Tied directly to that idea is the sense that you truly understand the characters of THE ALIENIST. It isn't just a man reading the words from the book. Instead it is a performer understanding the roles he's acting. That brings the characters to life in an audiobook.

Guidall's tone and pacing work with Carr's building suspense, and his understanding and appreciation of the setting allow for it to be a backdrop but at the same time a huge influence on the characters and the plot. Guidall always strikes me as the man behind the curtain. He knows all the controls to manipulate so that your imagination comes to life, but he as a narrator never gets in the way of the story. And THAT is a great audiobook experience.

THE ALIENIST is available from Recorded Books on audio (ISBN: 978-1-4025-8903-4). However, the version available through Audible downloads is the abridged version from Simon and Schuster. Your library may be a great place to look for Guidall's unabridged recording!

THE DARK HORSE - Craig Johnson

FIRST LINE: "It was the third week of a high-plains October, and an unseasonably extended summer had baked the color from the landscape and had turned the rusted girders of the old bridge a thinned-out, tired brown."

THE DARK HORSE finds Sheriff Walt Longmire in Absalom, Wyoming under cover. When Mary Barsad is brought to the Absaroka jail after murdering her husband, Walt questions her guilt. Mary confessed to the murder, but Walt isn't convinced; he wants to learn for himself what the facts of the case are, so he heads to Powder Junction disguised as an insurance inspector and finds an entire town full of folks with motives to kill Mary's husband, the despicable Wade Barsad.

THE DARK HORSE is Craig Johnson's fifth dance with the characters of Absaroka County, and he hasn't lost one iota of quality in those characters, in the plotting, in the dialogue, nothing. Johnson sets the leisurely pace of small town Wyoming and a sheriff on the verge of retirement. But the slower pace doesn't mean less adventure, and it definitely doesn't mean the book is easy to put down. What it does create is a richer setting and characters that penetrate your soul.

The dialogue is undoubtedly one of my favorite elements of a Craig Johnson novel. The turns of phrase and colorful idioms create not only humor in his characters, but also warmth.

"I started to climb into the driver's seat but stopped when he called out to me again. 'Hey youngster, I didn't catch your name.'

I paused for only a second, continuing to look down the valley at the small town. 'I didn't throw it.'"

It's that warmth that makes readers care about and want to befriend Walt, Henry, Vic, Ruby, Poncho, and especially Dog.

"By the time I got there, I discovered that Dog's idea of 'stay' was
disinterestedly springing a few western cottontails from the brush. He wandered back in my direction when I called him, marking each stand of sage as he came, and finally rested his muscled behind on my foot. I ruffled his ears, my hand stretching a full octave across his massive head. I peeled some fur back to look at the bullet furrow across his thick skull. 'Is that your idea of stay?' He smiled up at me, revealing rows of teeth that shone in the evening moonlight."

Another characteristic of the Walt Longmire novels I admire is Johnson's ability to find exactly the right balance. Every book is meticulously packed with adventure, mystery, intimacy, friendship and humor. What the Longmire novels lack in eye-rolling moments or "Oh-come-on" moments, they more than make up for in "I-know-that-feeling" moments. And if you haven't discovered the feeling in your own life experiences, you walk away from the books convinced you now have. Craig Johnson will often tell the stories of people asking for the phone numbers of Vic or Walt. And it's this perfect balance in his writing that creates the mirage. Certainly these people MUST exist. They are simply too real not to exist.

THE DARK HORSE is what Craig Johnson calls his "high plains noir" novel. I call it another astonishing work that blurs the genre lines. Part literary, part crime fiction, part western, all exemplary.

As I've done with the previous four Walt Longmire books, I listened to the audio book in addition to reading the print version. And once again it was read by my favorite narrator, George Guidall. George not only creates a voice that is perfect for the veteran sheriff, he also nails the nuances Johnson layers throughout the novel. He enhances the humor, Vic's and Henry's sarcasm, and especially the sentimentality. Guidall's pitch, tone and pacing are equally responsible for bringing these books to life. As I believe every crime fiction fan should experience a James Lee Burke novel narrated by Mark Hammer, I also believe every crime fiction fan should experience a Craig Johnson novel narrated by George Guidall. And you have not fully lived until you hear George Guidall sing "Ruby" or "Cattle Call" as Walt Longmire.

THE DARK HORSE is available from Viking Penguin in hardcover (ISBN: 978-0-670-02087-4). A trade paper version will be available in May of 2010. The audio book is published by Recorded Books.

A Very Special "You Have the Right to Six Words"

This week we are recognizing book bloggers for their tireless efforts in promoting and sharing their love of reading. So, this week's "You Have the Right to Six Words" is going to mirror that appreciation. I had planned initially to wrap the whole series up with these memoirs, but when the series continued on this long, I thought this would be the perfect week to celebrate these folks because they too do what they do because they love to promote and share books. So, please help me recognize them today.

First up is a lady you hear me mention regularly here on Jen's Book Thoughts. Most of us know Lesa Holstine as the wonderful blogger at Lesa's Book Critiques. But there's a blessed community of folks who know her as their Library Manager. She's forever organizing wonderful activities and events that celebrate the joys of reading, especially reading mystery books. And when she's not organizing them herself, she's off attending other ones or writing book reviews for mystery publications and websites. I find it especially fitting that Lesa even met her husband, Jim, at the library! These days Lesa and Jim call Arizona home, but Lesa's shared her love of books and the library with folks in both Florida and Ohio as well as the blog-o-sphere. In addition to her love of books, Lesa enjoys many sports and can often be found cheering on the Ohio State Buckeyes! Lesa is an integral part of the book community and especially the crime fiction community. It's a wonderful thing that she

Found life's passion in sharing books.

Lesa helps to spread the word about great crime fiction through her work in the library and on her blog. Jon Jordan and his wife Ruth help spread the word through CRIMESPREE Magazine. As co-publishers and authors of the magazine, they work to bring mystery lovers around the globe together. Jon also published an Anthony Award-nominated book called INTERROGATIONS. INTERROGATIONS is a collection of 25 interviews of people in the crime fiction community. Music, comic books, movies, and good tv are also on Jon's list of "good things in life." Jon says that sleep is optional but caffeine is not. That explains how he just keeps going and going and all because

I want everyone to read more.

Linda Brown, the assistant manager at The Mystery Bookstore in Los Angeles, helps us all do just that. Where would the crime fiction world be without enthusiastic book sellers like Linda? Not only is she a book seller, she's also a crime fiction fan. I know I feel reassured to know that I'm not the only one out doing the wide-eyed adoring fan bit. Need book recommendations? Linda's got plenty for you. Want to attend an event in L.A. but live in NYC? Linda will Tweet it for you. Gonna be in the L.A. area? I assure you that she and the entire staff of The Mystery Bookstore will make you feel right at home. Linda tells me that she's the mean one at home, but somehow I think her two cats, Lulu and Betty, may have Linda wrapped around their little paws.

Linda grew up moving from place to place since her father was in the military. After college she did some non-profit work and then about 15 years in the film industry before she discovered her calling in the mystery book world. Now she's firmly rooted in the crime fiction community, and I for one am glad to have her stability:

Took a while. Found my place.

In case you were unaware, this picture shows Linda moonlighting. When she isn't recommending books to customers and helping them feed their crime fiction addictions, she's Detective Linda in Robert Crais' CHASING DARKNESS! Get those bad guys, Detective Linda!

Most everyone who visits Jen's Book Thoughts regularly knows that I am a big fan of the audiobook as well as the printed book. I have now established some fairly regular narrators as my "favorites" much like I have the authors who are my favorites. So those audiobook narrators are essential to this industry for folks like me. And that is why I am absolutely over-the-mood giddy to introduce to you the man I would rate the greatest living audiobook narrator. He has recorded over 850 unabridged novels over the last 20 years and won 2 consecutive Audie Awards. George Guidall also spent 40 years in the theater and has appeared on television shows such as Law and Order and Spenser for Hire! George's narrations include the likes of CRIME AND PUNISHMENT, A WIDOW FOR ONE YEAR, and I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE. He has also narrated the novels of Tony Hillerman, John Grisham, and Lillian Jackson Braun. But probably his most endearing works for me are his narrations of Craig Johnson's Walt Longmire series. Bringing together my favorite narrator and one of my favorite authors and series created an explosive result. And while George's memoir is

So many books, so little time

I'm especially glad he made time for the Walt Longmire series! I'm also humbled that he made time to share a memoir with us today. I hope that you will join me in acknowledging all of the contributions each of these individuals make not only to the crime fiction community but to the entire book community. Thank you Lesa, John, Linda and George for being a part of this project and representing the folks that we maybe have a tendency to forget play such a vital role in this world we all love.

See, I told you this week was extra-special! And I still have more! So hang in with me and check back here same time next week for more fun with memoirs! And make sure you take some time this week - if you haven't already - to visit your favorite book bloggers and show them your appreciation! Happy Book Blogger Appreciation Week, everyone!

P.S. - As a little side note, I forwarded a flyer about an event that George Guidall does for libraries, if any of the libraries in my area host George, can you be sure to let me know? I'll promote here, but mostly I want to come myself!!! And if you would like the flyer but I didn't send it to you, let me know and I'll forward you a copy.