April 2003 Audiobook Reviews

Alias #1: Recruited
by Lynn Mason, Amanda Foreman

Imagination Studio

ISBN# 0-8072-1040-4
Suggested Retail Price: $19.99 or as low as $12.49 from Amazon.com!

If you are a fan of the ABC television show "Alias," this is an opportunity to listen to some brand new episodes. These new tales are well read by Amanda Forman, who has had a regular role in the TV series "Felicity."

In our second visit with Sydney, we find her on a typical day in her life. Of course, her life is not typical at all. She is an agent for a top-secret division of the CIA. At least that is what she thinks she is doing. We will learn all about her employer soon.

In the two-hour reading of "Recruited," we are treated to an exciting story that reveals more information about the lovely Sydney as she is assigned her first mission. She is sent to Paris where she uses her first alias. In this story Sydney discovers that she is really working for the bad guys. She is trying to balance her very normal college life against the wild exploits in her life as a spy.

The third story finds Sydney playing the role of an heiress of the former Romanian royal family. The family is now mixed up in the black market. This time, however, something goes wrong and people start vanishing one by one. They are found dead, and it's possible Sydney will be the prime suspect in their murders.

I think that all of these new stories are well done, and are in some ways better then watching the television because the CD's are so portable and perfect for listening to in your car.

Nancy Drew #5: The Secret of Shadow Ranch
by Carolyn Keene, Laura Linney

Imagination Studio

ISBN# 0-8072-1555-4
Suggested Retail Price: $18.00 or as low as $10.99 from Amazon.com!

Do you remember the old days when these books were the first and best mystery reading for early teens? These titles are a real treat to find. Way back when, the schoolboys read all of the Hardy Boys books and the girls (like me!) never missed a new title of the Nancy Drew mysteries.

This mystery by Keene places Nancy in Phoenix, Arizona where she is on vacation. Nancy expects to have a quiet time, but we all know that she is going to find another of her mysteries that will keep us guessing right up to the end. The reader is a skilled actress who has appeared in many different venues of drama.

Then there are the Hardy Boys - the boys' equivalent of Nancy's mysteries. Boys did not read girls' mysteries, and of course, I never read any Hardy Boys books. So I listened to them now. Hey, not bad! Lots of excitement in the plot. There is a blizzard in the Rocky Mountains where the boys brave stuff like wolves and a cave that falls in on them. This mystery concerns the robbery of a big payroll.

These audiobooks make wonderful gifts for a new generation of budding mystery readers. Old memories return when adults listen to these beloved characters out of our youth. I think it is wonderful that we have the opportunity to enjoy these young detectives again and to share them with newcomers.

Ramona Forever
by Beverly Cleary, Stockard Channing

Listening Library

ISBN# 0-8072-1028-5
Suggested Retail Price: $18.00 or as low as $4.50 from Amazon.com!

This is another great pair of audiobooks for children. In this case the tales are newer and for an even younger crowd. Bunnicula contains stories like "It Came from Beneath the Bed!" and four more delightfully scary tales with happy endings. Completely unabridged, you will hear all about a puppy who saves the world. This one is so delightful that the listener will be pleased to hear all four of these adventures. The reader, Joe Grifasi, has a solid background of stage and film. He has also been on a few of the better shows on television. Ramona looks like a comic strip character, of a kind that most little girls can relate to. In this completely unabridged story, Howie Kemp's mysterious Uncle Hobart arrives from Saudi Arabia. It feels like everything around Ramona seems to be changing. Everyone talks only about Uncle Hobart. Ramona is now in the third grade and throughout this story, she tries to be good and brave. The resilliant Ramona does it right.