Death Dance
by Linda A. Fairstein
Published 2006 by Simon & Schuster Audio

Compact Disc, English. ISBN: 0743550145

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Jacket Notes:

The bestselling author of "Entombed" takes listeners behind the scenes of New York City's theater world--from Broadway to Lincoln Center--in this riveting Alexandra Cooper thriller rich with authenticity, history, and suspense. Abridged. 5 CDs.

REVIEW: Publisher's Weekly 03/06/2006

The dramatic talents of Blair Brown, widely displayed on stage, film and television, add some important depth and energy to this generally shrewdly abridged audio version of Fairstein's latest. Brown catches the feisty wisdom of Alexandra Cooper, Manhattan's assistant DA in charge of the sex crimes prosecution unit (a job Fairstein herself had for 25 years before turning to writing full time), and also brings to sharply edged life Cooper's old colleagues, crime scene investigators Mike Chapman and Mercer Wallace. Particularly interesting are Brown's takes on denizens of New York's Metropolitan Opera-a manipulative agent, a strange producer and his troubled niece, an ambiguously motivated artistic director-as Cooper and her team investigate the murder of a leading Russian ballerina found dead in one of the Met's cooling units. Other plots (a rape involving an elusive Turkish doctor and an unsolved urban assault case) sometimes seem a bit tacked on and confusing-perhaps a result of the abridgment. But bestseller Fairstein's growing band of enthusiasts should have few complaints-especially if they love opera as much as the law.Simultaneous release with the Scribner hardcover (Reviews, Nov. 7). (Jan.)

The Year of Magical Thinking
by Joan Didion
Published 2005 by HighBridge Audio

Compact Disc, English. ISBN: 159887005X

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Jacket Notes:

In this intensely personal, deeply moving account?part memoir, part journalism?the author of Slouching Towards Bethlehem exposes the layers and facets of her life over a year of dramatic and unexpected events.

REVIEW: Publisher's Weekly 12/05/2005

After her husband's fatal heart attack, which came at a time when their daughter Quintana was in intensive care for complications after pneumonia, Didion was labeled "a pretty cool customer" by a social worker because she seemed to be handling these shocks so calmly. Caruso's reading certainly reflects this aspect of Didion's reaction - sometimes her clear, elegant voice seems downright cold, making the listener wish for a little more emotion. The slightly eerie sounds of bells and cello that swell in at occasional breaks in the narration help in this respect, but mostly the audiobook is as straightforward a production as Didion wanted her life to be in that horrible year. Throughout those months, Didion immersed herself in the literature of grief and quotes frequently from poets and writers who helped her come to terms with her pain. Caruso does a good job with these passages, lingering on and highlighting certain phrases that Didion returns to time and again, shifting their meaning slightly as she progresses. Despite trying to write in an almost clinically detached way, Didion's sorrow and anger do break through at times in the book. Unfortunately, Caruso's cool reserve never cracks, so this audio ends up making less of an impact than the National Book Award- winning print edition. Simultaneous release with the Knopf hardcover (Reviews, June 27) (Oct.)

Dark Tort: A Novel of Suspense
by Diane Mott Davidson
Published 2006 by HarperAudio

Compact Disc, English. ISBN: 0060898305

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Jacket Notes:

The "New York Times" bestselling author of "Double Shot" cooks up a knockout treat featuring irrepressible caterer Gold Schultz. Abridged. 5 CDs.

Whose Body?: The First Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery
by Dorothy L. Sayers
Published 2006 by Mystery Masters

Compact Disc, English. ISBN: 1572705213

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Jacket Notes:

Dorothy L. Sayers, long considered one of the top mystery authors of our day, has excelled herself in this delightfully macabre tale which centers around the disappearance of a wealthy financier and the discovery of a nude corpse, wearing a golden pince-nez, in a bathtub. Sayer's most renowned amateur detective, the engaging and amusing Lord Peter Wimsey, sets out to unravel this puzzling case under the jealous eye of Scotland Yard. Needless to say he succeeds in solving things to everyone's ultimate satisfaction, but only after a series of bloodcurdling and hair-raising episodes that will hold you spellbound with anticipation.

Here is a truly rare find for anyone who is interested in top-flight crime fiction. The New York Times said of this book "the tale is better written, and has a good deal more characterization than one finds in the average detective story".