Good to Hear: Audio Reviews of Tiny Little Thing, Bradstreet Gate & Once Upon A Time In Russia

Here at Readerly we love to listen to books while we commute, clean, run, garden, and generally live our lives. Now that the weather is warm and the days are long we find more time to listen, but that means we need to get more audiobooks in our queue. If you, like us, are always looking for your next great listen, here are a few titles to get you started.

Tiny Little Thing by Beatriz WilliamsTiny Little Thing by Beatriz Williams, narrated by Kathleen McInerney (Penguin Audio) Since the day she was born, Christina (Tiny) Hardcastle has been groomed to be an important woman by virtue of being married to an important man. In the summer of 1966, it seems Tiny’s destiny is about to be fulfilled as her husband seems to be on the verge of a meteoric political rise. When a past lover – her husband’s cousin – returns to Tiny’s life alongside an incriminating picture and blackmail Tiny’s perfect little world is threatened. Kathleen McInerney has a patrician voice that perfectly fits the upper-crust New Englanders who populate Williams’ story, but she also manages to break down and allow the emotional reality of Tiny’s newfound problems to become manifest in her voice. A sensational listen.

Bradstreet Gate by Robin KirminBradstreet Gate by Robin Kirmin, narrated by Cassandra Campbell (Random House Audio) We already recommended this one to you in print, the twisty story of three Harvard students and the murder of a classmate that changed their lives. Cassandra Campbell is perennially one of our favorite narrators, and she is a lovely fit for Kirmin’s story. Campbell differentiates nicely between the three point of view characters without creating any voices that sound forced. This is an engrossing listen that we just can’t recommend enough.

Once Upon A Time In Russia by Ben MezrichOnce Upon a Time in Russia by Ben Mezrich, narrated by Jeremy Bobb (Simon Audio) Mezrich’s impeccably researched look at the rise and fall of the post-Communism Russian oligarchs is both intensely educational and absolutely fascinating. Mezrich focuses primarily on Boris Berezovsky the “Godfather of the Kremlin” and those around him, including Alexander Litvinenko who was famously murdered with radioactive polonium in England after fleeing Russia. Bobb’s narrates in a way that makes is very comfortable with the story, almost making it seem that he was the one who did meticulous research for the story. Mezrich’s very narrative (rather than scholarly) approach plus Bobb’s extremely competent narration make this a great option for those interested in recent Russian history.

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