Listen to Faithful Place

Tim Gerard Reynolds' narration of Faithful Place by Tana French is captivating. The subtleties of each character's voice are perfectly timed and cadenced. Frank Mackey, a Dublin undercover cop, comes home to his hard-scrabble neighborhood of violence, alcoholism and ignorance after a hiatus of 20+ years to deal with the deaths of both his former girlfriend and his brother. He gets sucked back into a life he desperately tried to put behind him. French's writing is brilliant and the dialogue is often searing and brutally funny. Try this audiobook and you won't want to put it down.

-DB

Megan recommends: Cairo Time

If you like slow-moving art house films, Cairo Time is a good pick for you. Set in - where else - Cairo, it's a beautifully shot film. The plot is slim. Juliette, a magazine editor, goes to Cairo for a vacation. She's supposed to meet up with her husband there, but the husband, a UN employee, is stuck working in Gaza. He sends his former co-worker, Tareq, to meet Juliette at the airport and show her the city until he can get to Cairo. The film centers on the interaction between Juliette and Tareq and the connection the two form.

Sue Recommends Secret Soldier by Alex Berenson

Berenson's newest John Wells novel, Secret Soldier, is published as the real time political unrest in the Middle East and Africa is taking place.

This fifth title in the series has John Wells working and utilizing his CIA skills as a freelancer for King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. Abdullah suspects his brother is plotting against him to bring about his overthrow with the use of terrorists so he can take the throne in his stead. Wells, with the help of a partner and his former CIA contacts, moves undercover throughout the region , tapping his background as an Islamist and undercover Osama Bin Laden follower. His mission is to break apart the puzzle of the plot that involves kidnapping, torture, and gunfire to turn the entire Middle East against the King and the United States.

George Guidall is the narrator of the audiobook. He is a well regarded actor and has narrated books by Vince Flynn, Brad Thor, Wally Lamb, Elie Wiesel, and John Connolly. The audio recording will keep you in suspense waiting for what will happen next.


SH

Mike wonders why you don't like Dylan

Bob Dylan in America by Sean Wilentz

I picked this one up because I'm a rabid Dylan fan, have appreciated Sean Wilentz's writings in the Bootleg Series books & on bobdylan.com, and had run out of audiobooks to listen to on my daily 2 1/2 hour commute to and from work. For casual listeners of Dylan, or of music in general, the book will probably frustrate you if it doesn't bore you. For those of us who would rather take five essential albums rather than books to a deserted island, this work will thrill you. Not only does the author make masterly demonstrations of how Dylan weaves an intricate tapestry with and within American music, but only Sean Wilentz has the ability to make you believe "Masked & Anonymous" wasn't only a decent movie, but one that demonstrates a key point in Dylan's canon. Most highly suggested as an audiobook, with its inclusion of snippets of tunes that demonstrates Wilentz's points.

Rob Recommends the Afghan

I keep waiting for Frederick Forsyth to write another book as good as Day of the Jackal. The Afghan is not that book, but there should be enough there of the suspense/political thriller elements to satisfy fans of Robert Ludlum, Daniel Silva, Stephen Coonts or even Tom Clancy. The plot involves a monstrous plot (of a different sort) by al-Qaeda and a retired British SAS colonel recruited to infiltrate the terrorists. Al-Qaeda is notoriously difficult to infiltrate, but Col. Martin speaks Arabic (and some Pashtun) knows Afghanistan and may be able to pass. An identity is created for him and...
(Read the book.)

Deb likes 'I Shall Not Hate'

Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish's heartbreaking but hopeful memoir, I Shall Not Hate : A Gaza doctor's journey on the road to peace and dignity, is a must read for anyone wishing to begin to understand daily life in the Gaza Strip. Rising above his impoverished life in Gaza, Dr. Abuelaish becomes the first Palestinian doctor on staff at an Israeli hospital. He strives on a human level to bridge the divide between the Palestinian community and his Israeli counterparts, many of whom have become like family to him. His message of coexistence, essential for all humanity, is critical in this bubble of war and hatred which he has occupied his entire life. After the unimaginable loss of three of his children when an Israeli tank mistakenly shells his house in Gaza, Dr. Abuelaish's subsequent torment is matched only by his wish to insure that his daughters are the last sacrifice on the road to peace.

Sue Recommends Dead Zero by Stephen Hunter

My first encounter with Stephen Hunter's character Bob Lee Swagger was watching Shooter, a popular feature film with Mark Wahlberg. The film was based on Hunter's first book in the series entitled Point of Impact. Shortly after I saw a review of a new novel in the series and it had great reviews. That began my quest to read Hunter's books.

Dead Zero is the newest and seventh entry in the Bob Lee Swagger series. Swagger is a former Marine sniper who is known for his shooting skills but also his ability to assess situations and outwit the enemy. He was retired with a medical disability but the U.S. government hires him as a special consultant to assist them in solving conspiracies and preventing assassinations.

With the newest title in the series, Hunter joins the bevy of titles based on global terrorism. Dead Zero begins in Afghanistan and brings the terror to our own shores. A Marine sniper, Ray Cruz, is sent to assassinate a cruel Afghan politician, Ibrahim Zarzi, but finds himself being hunted by a group of Americans. He wants to find out who in the U.S. government is the traitor responsible for the death of his spotter and the failure of his mission. Swagger is brought in to help find Cruz and prevent him from completing his assassination mission on U.S. soil as the U.S government now supports Zarzi. As Swagger performs his role in stopping Cruz, he discovers that he has a personal stake in this quest.

If you enjoy adventure, plot twists, and a smart, likable, down-to-earth character, Bob Lee Swagger novels are for you.

SH