Random House Audio

Library Bookwatch, August, 2005

Random House Audio

1745 Broadway, New York NY 10019

www.randomhouse.com/audio

Random's excellent selection of fiction and nonfiction audios geared to general listening audiences provides a wide variety of topics and approaches, assuring powerful readers and authors who translate well to audio format. Jane Fonda's My Life So Far (0739319841, $34.95) offers a reading by Fonda herself as it probes her life from childhood to her current work inspiring others from her experiences. Whether it's details about her acting career or life philosophy you seek, My Life So Far is a winner. Susan Casey's Devil's Teeth (0739320440, $26.95) is also read by the author and tells of her exploration of sharks and the scientists who study them. Her encounters with two such biologists brings her face to face with the sharks themselves in this thrilling account. There's many to choose from in the leisure fiction/thriller genre. Among the best of recent releases: Jonathan Kellerman's Rage (0739309722, $26.95), narrated by Broadway actor John Rubinstein and providing another wonderful Alex Delaware mystery. Rubinstein brings to life the story of young adults facing a sordid killing of their teen years when murder catches up to them. Dean Koontz's Velocity (0739315-560, $44.95) receives actor Michael Hayden's fine vocal abilities--you might recognize his voice from either TV or the movies--as it captures the drama and ironies in Koontz's latest story of a quiet, hardworking guy faced with murder and the police. What seems a prank turns all too serious--and deadly--in this gripping story with its fast-paced acceleration of plot and tension. Iris Johansen's Countdown (0739308890, $25.00) tells of a kidnapping and orphan Jane's involvement in one of the greatest archaeological finds in history. Someone is trying to destroy her new life and great discovery--something from the past, which is driven to kill. Outstanding tension is captured by narrator Kate Burton, whose Broadway skills bring Countdown to life. A full cast gives a Broadway feel to Chuck Palahniuk's Haunted (0739302868, $39.95): an unusual story consiting of twenty-three connected tales offering a satire on reality TV. Ad answerers find themselves isolated in a deadly theater with diminishing supplies and their writing skills the only key to survival. Steve Berry's The Third Secret (0739320084, $29.95) is enhanced by veteran narrator L.J. Ganser's recording skills and is set in 1917 Portugal as it tells of a miracle appearance and three secrets revealed; one of which is sealed in the Vatican. A modern-day Pope's distress over the sealed document in modern times leads to the search for a priest and murder in this tense thriller.