2013 Audiobook Favorites

Today's list of favorites is audiobooks. As I mentioned yesterday, I listened to fewer audiobooks this past year. Now that I'm not driving to work, my audiobook time has gone down a bit. So I'm going to limit my list a bit this year. As with my previous lists, these come from audios I listened to this year, they may not have been published this year. Given that, here are my seven favorite audiobooks of 2013:

Reconstructing Amelia (written by Kimberly McCreight; narrated by Khristine Hvam) Hvam sent chills up my spine as she sent me back to the brutal world of high school. The fact that I felt my heart being ripped apart by the evil children can do to one another speaks volumes for the performance Hvam put forth on this production. Harper Audio

Point and Shoot (written by Duane Swierczynski; narrated by Pete Larkin) This is the final book and audio in Swierczynski's trilogy and all three have been exceptional listening experiences. They are fun stories and Larkin simply has fun narrating them. His humor and energy mesh with Swierczynski's style and the listener reaps the rewards. Hachette Audio/AudioGo

Gun Machine (written by Warren Ellis; narrated by Reg E. Cathey) Cathey had a great book to work with here, but he wove his interpretation into the very fibers of the story. I was especially impressed with his range of character. Gritty, hardboiled and fun! Hachette Audio


Dare Me (written by Megan Abbott; narrated by Khristine Hvam) I haven't had an opportunity to review this one as I listened to it late this year, but Hvam is quite masterful with the high school world as she took the narration lead on this one as well but gave it its own unique sound. I didn't make the connection that she had narrated Reconstructing Amelia until looking back later. She nails the attitude, the energy and most especially the perspective of the novel. Hachette/AudioGo

The October List (written by Jeffery Deaver; narrated by January LaVoy) If my list would have been longer than 7, the eighth audio would have been Killer Instinct. It introduced me to January LaVoy and she knocked my socks off, but I had to choose The October List first because she was as important in the surprise of the plot twist for me as the writing itself.  She knew and understood the story and played it perfectly. Hachette Audio

The Goldfinch (written by Donna Tartt; narrated by David Pittu) I'm still finishing this one up, but have been transfixed for more than 20 hours already (the full audio is over 30) and have run the gamut of emotions. Pittu's easy transitions between the many dialects is stellar and I'm especially enamored by his portrayal of females. What a great listening experience this has been. Hachette Audio

The Graveyard Book (written and narrated by Neil Gaiman) Can I just say, "wow! This one blew me away!"? Is that sufficient? I felt like I was there in the graveyard with Bod. And Gaiman's sound made me feel safe there. I'm always skeptical of an author performing his/her own audiobooks, but this one was flat out amazing. So thankful I finally listened to it. Harper Audio


And that does it for the favorite audiobooks of 2013! How about you? What were your favorites?

THE OCTOBER LIST - Jeffery Deaver

First line: "She stood at the window of the Manhattan apartment, peering through a slit in the drapes."

Jeffery Deaver opens this novel with a quote from Kierkegaard: "Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forewards." Then it proceeds to Chapter 36. Listening to this on audio, the chapter caught me off guard. Have you ever had an audiobook on your iPod and for some mystical reason it starts in the middle somewhere? I thought that had happened, but then I put the opening quote together with the chapter number and realized this was going to be a different experience.

Gabriela's daughter has been kidnapped and in order to get her back, Gabriela must find something called the "October List" and half a million dollars. Over the course of two days, she and her new boyfriend Daniel race to beat the 30-hour deadline...backwards.

The story is told in reverse order, much the way the film Memento occurs.  As Deaver deals out the story, chapter by chapter, the curiosity of the story builds and the book's narrator, January LaVoy, plays into this format beautifully. She understands the characters and portrays them with confidence while giving away NOTHING. The suspense builds as the plot seems to be more and more illogical. Something is obviously missing and it's this quest for the final clarity that keeps you riveted to the chase. Which is a very good thing because I almost wanted to stop listening due to a dislike of a major character. Had I stopped, I would never have experienced the first chapter and realized the ingenuity in this plot. I wouldn't have realized that Deaver and LaVoy wanted me to cringe at this character, lose respect. It ultimately made the conclusion (or beginning) that much greater.

I wanted to listen to this audio because I experienced January LaVoy for the first time this year with Marcia Clark's Killer Ambition and I very much enjoyed her work there. But then I worried that I would hear only Rachael Knight through this new audio. LaVoy proved herself the utmost actress and immediately carried me away into Gabriela's world.

The October List was recorded by Hachette audio and as with all my previous Hachette audio experiences, the production is stellar. Extraneous and distracting sounds such us loud breaths are non-existent. Shifts in volume or noticeable edits are nowhere to be found. Listeners focus on the story and LaVoy narrates so that they can forget they're listening to an audiobook, they're simply immersed in the plot.

The October List is a top-notch book narrated by a superb performer. Kudos to Deaver for stepping outside the norm on this one and putting a new twist on the suspense novel. It completely caught me off guard and what I started out thinking I wouldn't like is going to be on my favorite audiobooks of 2013 list.

A small side note: there are photos throughout the novel and the audiobook comes with a pdf file of those photos, so listeners don't miss out on the visual element of the book.

The October List is available on unabridged audio (ISBN: 978-1478953975) from Hachette Audio, narrated by January LaVoy. It is also available in hardcover (ISBN: 978-1455576647) from Grand Central Publishing.   .

Killer Ambition - Marcia Clark

First line: "Rocky mountain peaks glowed lonely and austere under the nearly full moon."

Special Trials ADA Rachel Knight is determined to tackle one of the trickiest types of high-profile cases in Killer Ambition, Marcia Clark's third book in the legal thriller series. This time around she has the power of Hollywood working against her.

A super-star movie director's daughter has been kidnapped. The director attempted to pay the ransom before turning to the police for help. But his efforts were too little, too late. The young woman is found stabbed to death and left in the trunk of her kidnapper's car at LAX.

When the suspected kidnapper makes the mistake of using the dead girl's iPad to charge airline tickets in New York City, Rachel and her best friend, Detective Bailey Keller, are set to head to New York and drag him back.  But then the prime suspect shows up dead in Los Angeles and they learn he and the director's daughter were the one's who cooked up the kidnapping scheme. So who's charging tickets in New York? And more importantly, who killed the two victims?

As the case takes curve after curve, Rachel and Bailey lean into the turns, determined to find the killer and see that justice is done. If they have to fight all of Hollywood to accomplish that feat, then bring it on.

This isn't my first time with Marcia Clark's Rachel Knight series, but it is the first time I've experienced it on audio, narrated by January LaVoy. I'm sure that LaVoy is a great performer in all that she does, but she just may have been born for the Rachel Knight role.

Killer Ambition employs all the attributes that hooked me on Rachel Knight from the start: sharp dialogue, strong female characters, dynamic relationships, a swift plot, and a believable presentation of both the law and Los Angeles. Clark indubitably gives LaVoy strong content to work with. LaVoy then reaches deep in the characters and turns them inside out for her audience.

Rachel Knight is an assistant district attorney because of her passion for justice. She is able to empathize with victims, no matter how forgotten they may be. And in Killer Ambition, the whole world seems to forget about the victims. LaVoy puts a powerful sound to that empathy. LaVoy also balances Rachel's insecurities well, so that she comes across as human and fallible yet still incredibly determined, smart as a whip and ready to hold her own with the "big boys." Rachel Knight is a capable, modest woman in the land of self-exaltation.

A new addition to the cast is "baby ADA" Declan Shackner, and he stole the show for me in this novel. Again LaVoy zeroed in on his core and subtly highlighted it every time he appeared on the page. His genuineness and compassion complemented Rachel's. His awkwardness and desire to please are charming, and he quickly worked his way into the good graces of both Rachel and Bailey. However, the uncertainty of his character adds an element of suspense as well. He's the son of a Hollywood mogul. So is he a mole with excellent acting skills or the real deal?

There are plenty of wonderfully idiosyncratic characters peppering this novel: from Dorian the crime scene tech, to Dr. Legs the hacker informant to Terry Fisk the small, yet powerful defense attorney. LaVoy's performance convinces the reader that she enjoyed every last one of them.  Dorian's sarcasm rips and Fisk's need for control stifles, all courtesy of Clark and LaVoy.

The novel starts off with the typical crime investigation, evidence collection and testing, etc. But the bulk of the plot takes place in the courtroom, which doesn't seem to be that common in legal thrillers anymore (or maybe I'm just reading the wrong books). However, Clark's depiction of the courtroom is authentic without being dull. And granted, a high-profile Hollywood case is not your run-of-the-mill scenario. However, Clark makes the legal process thrilling, without throwing in a dramatic Perry Mason courtroom confession. The complexity behind choosing a jury, the weird way chance could be the deciding factor in a trial, how certain tactics and people can affect jurors. The dissection was as fascinating as the multi-layered plot.

Killer Ambition is a captivating novel; the audiobook is an auditory fireworks display. It erupts with the colorful characters and explosive story. It leaves the audience oohing and aahing. It's memorable even after it's over. And be careful. It's also hot, hot, hot!

Killer Ambition is available as an unabridged audio (ISBN: 978-1619696341) on 13 CDs from Hachette Audio and in hardcover (ISBN: 978-0316220941) from Mulholland Books.