News Blog @ Wellington City Libraries

This is a list of the newest fiction audiobooks we received in February. Enjoy!

The Good Children: A Novel of Suspense/ by Kate Wilhelm; read by Carrington MacDuffie
“It started with a promise, a pact. It became a secret that no one must tell: that their parents were dead and gone, including the one they’d buried in the backyard.
Now the McNair children are growing older, discovering love, college, and careers. But their lie haunts them. Their home holds them captive. Only the horrifying truth of their mother’s death can set the children free. And only the truth can destroy them all.” (Overdrive summary)

The Adventures of Sally/ by P. G. Wodehouse; read by Frederick Davidson
“Pretty, impecunious Sally Nicholas never dreamed a fortune could prove a disadvantage, until she becomes an heiress and watches in bewilderment as her orderly existence goes haywire. Coping first with her brother’s wild theatrical ambitions, then with the defection of her fiancé and his immediate replacement by a much more appropriate but strangely unattractive suitor, Sally finds that life in New York is becoming altogether too complicated and a trip to England only makes the whole situation worse.
But just as Sally was concluding that she has disastrously misplaced her bets, it looks as if a piece of speculation on an outsider might just give her adventures a happy ending…
P.G. Wodehouse is in sparkling form, in a story set on both sides of the Atlantic in the Roaring Twenties.” (Overdrive summary)

Ægypt: Ægypt Series, Book 1/ by John Crowley
“Is there more than one history of the world? This is the question Pierce Moffett is seeking to answer when, jilted and newly jobless, he gets off a bus by chance in the Faraway Hills and steps unawares into a story that has been awaiting him there. His search will bring him into contact with Rosie Rasmussen, another seeker marked by loss. And it will lead them both on a path toward the longed-for country of our oldest dreams and most unanswerable desires, toward a magnificent discovery. From the award-winning author of Little, Big comes this daring and great-hearted novel, which when first published was named a New York Times Notable Book of the year.” (Overdrive summary)

Other Kingdoms/ by Richard Matheson; read by Bronson Pinchot
“For over half a century, Richard Matheson has enthralled and terrified readers with such timeless classics as I Am Legend, Somewhere in Time, and What Dreams May Come. Now the grand master returns with a bewitching tale of erotic suspense and enchantment.
The year is 1918. Alex White, a young American soldier recently wounded in the Great War, comes to Gatford to escape his troubled past. The pastoral English village seems the perfect spot to heal his wounded body and soul, but the neighboring woods are said to be haunted by capricious, even malevolent, spirits. He is warned to steer clear of the woods, and the perilous faerie kingdom it borders, but Alex cannot help himself. Drawn to its verdant mysteries, he finds love, danger, and wonders that will forever change his view of the world. Other Kingdoms casts a magical spell, as conjured by a truly legendary storyteller.” (Overdrive summary)

The Pursuit of Lucy Banning: A Novel/ by Olivia Newport; read by Eleni Pappageorge
“She has a secret to keep. But will she give her heart away?
Lucy Banning may live on the exclusive Prairie Avenue among Chicago’s rich and famous, but her heart lies elsewhere. Expected to marry an up-and-coming banker from a respected family, Lucy fears she will be forced to abandon her charity work and squeeze herself into the mold of the well-dressed wife who spends most of her time and money redecorating.
When she meets Will, an unconventional young architect who is working on plans for the upcoming 1893 World’s Fair, Lucy imagines a life lived on her own terms. Can she break away from her family’s expectations? And will she ever be loved for who she truly is?
Get swept away into the lavish world of Chicago’s high society as Olivia Newport brings to life an age of glitz and grandeur, stark social contrasts, and one woman who dares to cross class lines for what she believes.” (Overdrive summary)

Willy and Alvirah/ by Mary Higgins Clark; read by Carol Higgins Clark
“Death at the Cape
Cynthia Lathern has come back to Cape Cod from prison to find out who really killed her stepfather, but neither she nor the real murderer counted on help from her lottery-winning neighbor Alvirah Meehan.
Plumbing for Willy
After a lottery win makes them famous, Willy and Alvirah Meehan are targeted by ex-cons, but the bad new for the bad guys is Alvirah’s quick changes into a cleaning woman and Willy’s love of plumbing.
The Body in the Closet
When state lottery winner Alvirah Meehan and her husband Willy return from London, she discovers the body of actress Fiona Winters in their New York apartment and begins a search for clues that may be too much for her own good.
SPECIAL BONUS RECORDING: Stowaway and Milk Run.” (Overdrive summary)

Get your headphones ready, there are new Audiobooks to be listened to courtesy of Wellington City Libraries. Our new additions include science-fiction, suspense, romance, and murder mysteries.

Absolution Gap – Revelation Space Series, Book 4 ; Edition: Unabridged/ by Alastair Reynolds, read by John Lee
“The Inhibitors were designed to eliminate any life-form reaching a certain level of intelligence—and they’ve targeted humanity. War veteran Clavain and a ragtag group of refugees have fled into hiding. Their leadership is faltering, and their situation is growing more desperate. But their little colony has just received an unexpected visitor: an avenging angel with the power to lead mankind to safety—or draw down its darkest enemy.
And as she leads them to an apparently insignificant moon light-years away, it begins to dawn on Clavain and his companions that to beat one enemy, it may be necessary to forge an alliance with something much worse.” (Overdrive summary)

Death Comes to Pemberley ; Edition: Unabridged/ by P. D. James, read by Sheila Mitchell
“P. D. James masterfully recreates the world of Pride and Prejudice, and combines it with the excitement and suspense of a brilliantly-crafted crime story.
The year is 1803, and Darcy and Elizabeth have been married for six years. There are now two handsome and healthy sons in the nursery, Elizabeth’s beloved sister Jane and her husband Bingley live nearby, and the orderly world of Pemberley seems unassailable.
But all this is threatened when, on the eve of the annual autumn ball while the guests are preparing to retire for the night, a chaise appears, rocking down the path from Pemberley’s wild woodland. As it pulls up, Lydia Wickham – Elizabeth’s younger, unreliable sister – stumbles out screaming that her husband has been murdered.
Death Comes to Pemberley – inspired by P. D. James’s lifelong passion for the work of Jane Austen – is a distinguished work of fiction from one of the best-loved and most-read writers of our time.” (Overdrive summary)

The House in Amalfi: A Novel ; Edition: Unabridged/ by Elizabeth Adler, read by Carrington MacDuffie
“Elizabeth Adler is a master at depicting lush scenery, gourmet food, and the joys of travel. Here she tells the story of Lamour Harrington, a recent widow. She’s immersed herself in landscape architecture, but even creating beautiful outdoor “rooms” can’t bring back her happiness. When she’s faced with a devastating truth about the husband she adored, Lamour returns to the house on the Amalfi coast where she’d lived with her father during the happiest years of her childhood. There, she finds dangerous secrets, breathtaking beauty, two mysterious and compelling men, and the courage to live life to the fullest.” (Overdrive summary)

Mr. Perfect ; Edition: Unabridged/ by Linda Howard, read by Laura Hicks
“The deliciously racy topic that Jaine Bright and her three girlfriends are pondering one night at their favorite after-hours hot spot: Mr. Perfect. Would he be tall, dark, and handsome? Caring and warmhearted–or will just muscular do? As their conversation heats up, they concoct a tongue-in-cheek checklist that becomes an overnight sensation, spreading like wildfire at work and sizzling along e-mail lines. But what began as a joke among friends turns deadly serious when one of the four women is murdered…Turning to her neighbor, an unpredictable police detective, for help, Jaine must unmask a killer to save her friends–and herself. Now, knowing whom to trust and whom to love is a matter of survival–as the dream of Mr. Perfect becomes a chilling nightmare.” (Overdrive summary)

Black Diamond – Bruno, Chief of Police Series, Book 3 ; Edition: Unabridged/ by Martin Walker, read by Bill Wallis
“France’s Périgord region is the home of the black truffle, and at five thousand euros a kilo, the exquisite ‘Black Diamond’ is a treasured local asset. When reports come in that this unique delicacy is being adulterated with a cheaper Chinese version, Captain Bruno Courrèges is asked to investigate the scam.
But matters take a much darker turn when a horrific murder occurs, and Bruno has his work cut out to find the connection between present crimes and long-buried ones that are linked to France’s colonial past.” (Overdrive Summary)

Warm your ears up because we have new Fiction Audiobooks that can’t wait to be downloaded! From crime, to introspection, the debating of religions, space opera, and behind the scenes of a family of geniuses, you won’t be disappointed by this month’s selection.

Thorn in My Side (Unabridged) / by Shelia Quigley, read by Tim Bruce
“DI Mike Yorke is coming home. After three months in London, he’s looking forward to being back in the north east – but he’s barely off the train before he’s deep into the most bizarre case of his career. A viciously flogged corpse. Children disappearing. Horrific new street drugs. And buried somewhere is a deadly secret that will lead him down paths so dangerous, he will question the very fabric of society. In the first in a new series set on Holy Island, an explosive secret going back to the dawn of time is unearthed by a young woman who, fearing for her life, goes on the run in the wilds of Northumbria.” – (Overdrive summary)

The Sweet-Shop Owner (Unabridged) / by Graham Swift, read by James Wilby
“The Sweet-Shop Owner’ is set during a single June day in the life of an outwardly unremarkable man whose inner world proves to be exceptionally resonant.
As he tends to his customers, Willy Chapman, the sweet-shop owner, confronts the specters of his beautiful and distant wife and his clever, angry daughter, the history through which he has passed, and the great, unrequited passion that has tormented him for forty years.” – (Overdrive summary)

Terminal World (Unabridged) / by Alastair Reynolds, read by John Lee
“This brand-new novel from “the most exciting space opera writer working today” (Locus) is equal parts steampunk, western, planetary romance, and far-future science fiction.” – (Overdrive summary)

The Judge (Unabridged) / by Randy Singer, read by John McLain
“When a brilliant billionaire is diagnosed with inoperable brain cancer, he realizes that all his considerable wealth cannot prepare him to meet his Maker. But he has an idea that might: he will stage the ultimate reality show. With his true agenda hidden, he auditions followers from all the world’s major religions, inviting them to the trial of their lives on a remote island, where they must defend their beliefs against spiritual challenges. Oliver Finney, a feisty old judge with his own secrets, is chosen to defend Christianity.” – (Syndetics summary)

The Fullness of Time (Unabridged) / by Kate Wilhelm, read by Marguerite Gavin
“Hiram Granville, a modern Leonardo, secured more than a thousand patents during his lifetime, often just ahead of others who had already been working the same ideas. His son John, an economics genius, never lost a cent in the stock market—or any other financial deal—and was investigated for insider trading on more than one occasion. Now Cat, a documentarian; her researcher, Mercy; and Cracker Jack, an electronics whiz, are doing a film about the Granville clan. What they find as they research the family is madness, suicide, a seemingly total seclusion, and a frightening glimpse about what it means to peer into the future.” – (Overdrive summary)

We’ve recently added a good mixutre of fiction and non-fiction to our eAudiobook collection. Take a look at what you can listen to!

Non-fiction

Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different / Karen Blumenthal and Sean Runnette
“From the start, his path was never predictable. Steve Jobs was given up for adoption at birth, dropped out of college after one semester, and at the age of twenty, created Apple in his parents’ garage with his friend Steve Wozniack. Then came the core and hallmark of his genius—his exacting moderation for perfection, his counterculture life approach, and his level of taste and style that pushed all boundaries. A devoted husband, father, and Buddhist, he battled cancer for over a decade, became the ultimate CEO, and made the world want every product he touched. Critically acclaimed author Karen Blumenthal takes us to the core of this complicated and legendary man while simultaneously exploring the evolution of computers. Framed by Jobs’ inspirational Stanford commencement speech, this is the story of the man who changed our world.” – (adapted from Syndetics summary)

The Story of Captain Cook / John Lang and Simon Vance
“Captain James Cook FRS RN (1728-1779) was an English explorer, navigator and cartographer, ultimately rising to the rank of Captain in the Royal Navy. Cook was the first to map Newfoundland prior to making three voyages to the Pacific Ocean during which he achieved the first European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands as well as the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand. This audio edition includes the full text of John Lang’s biography, plus additional material from Captain Cook’s journals, giving a unique personal perspective on the narrative.” – (adapted from Syndetics summary)

One Year to an Organized Life: From Your Closets to Your Finances, the Week-by-Week Guide to Getting Completely Organized for Good / Regina Leeds
“From professional organizer Regina Leeds comes the organized way to get organized: a week-by-week plan to forever streamline all aspects of your life.” – (adapted from Syndetics summary)

A Hare With the Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance / Edmund De Waal and Michael Maloney
“Winner of the 2010 COSTA Biography Award264 wood and ivory carvings, none of them larger than a matchbox: potter Edmund de Waal was entranced when he first encountered the collection in the Tokyo apartment of his great uncle Iggie. Later, when Edmund inherited the ‘netsuke’, they unlocked a story far larger than he could ever have imagined…The Ephrussis came from Odessa, and at one time were the largest grain exporters in the world; in the 1870s, Charles Ephrussi was part of a wealthy new generation settling in Paris. Marcel Proust was briefly his secretary and used Charles as the model for the aesthete Swann in Remembrance of Things Past. Charles’s passion was collecting; the netsuke, bought when Japanese objets were all the rage in the salons, were sent as a wedding present to his banker cousin in Vienna.Later, three children – including a young Ignace – would play with the netsuke as history reverberated around them. The Anschluss and Second World War swept the Ephrussis to the brink of oblivion. Almost all that remained of their vast empire was the netsuke collection, smuggled out of the huge Viennese palace (then occupied by Hitler’s theorist on the ‘Jewish Question’), one piece at a time, in the pocket of a loyal maid – and hidden in a straw mattress. In this stunningly original memoir, Edmund de Waal travels the world to stand in the great buildings his forebears once inhabited. He traces the network of a remarkable family against the backdrop of a tumultuous century. And, in prose as elegant and precise as the netsuke themselves, he tells the story of a unique collection which passed from hand to hand – and which, in a twist of fate, found its way home to Japan.This download edition also features an interview with Edmund De Waal from the Vintage podcast.” – (adapted from Syndetics summary)

Fiction

Nature Girl / Carl Hiaasen
“Honey Santana is determined to set up her own tour business, paddling tourists around the Florida Everglades in ocean kayaks. Theresult is a kayaking trip from hell, and an unplanned overnight stay on Dismal Key – one of the Everglades’ islands.” – (adapted from Syndetics summary)

Unlocked: A Love Story / Karen Kingsbury
“Before You Take a Stand … You Got to Take a Chance. Holden Harris is an eighteen-year-old locked in a prison of autism. Despite his quiet ways and quirky behaviors, Holden is very happy and socially normal —on the inside, in a private world all his own. In reality, he is bullied at school by kids who only see that he is very different. Ella Reynolds is part of the ‘in’ crowd. A cheerleader and star of the high school drama production, her life seems perfect. When she catches Holden listening to her rehearse for the school play, she is drawn to him … the way he is drawn to the music. Then, Ella makes a dramatic discovery —she and Holden were best friends as children. Frustrated by the way Holden is bullied, and horrified at the indifference of her peers, Ella decides to take a stand against the most privileged and popular kids at school. Including her boyfriend, Jake. Ella believes miracles can happen in the unlikeliest places, and that just maybe an entire community might celebrate from the sidelines. But will Holden’s praying mother and the efforts of Ella and a cast of theater kids be enough to unlock the prison that contains Holden? This time, friendship, faith, and the power of a song must be strong enough to open the doors to the miracle Holden needs.” – (adapted from Syndetics summary)

Circle Of Friends / Maeve Binchy
“Big, soft-featured Benny, an adored only child, and Eve, the poor, birdlike orphan brought up by nuns, are best friends in the small Irish town of Knockglen. On their first day at University College, Dublin, a fatal road accident brings the pair together with fellow students Nan Mahon and Jack Foley, and new friendships are quickly struck. Jack and Nan introduce Eve and Benny to a life of excitement and sophistication. But beneath their carefree existence trouble is brewing for the circle of friends. Warmth and laughter are interwoven with sadness in this compassionate and absorbing tale of friends whose lives, over a period of ten years, become entwined in a bizarre triangle.” – (adapted from Syndetics summary)

Frozen Tracks / Ake Edwardson
“It’s autumn in Gothenburg and an anxious mother calls the police; her little boy was lured into a car by a man offering sweets. The child is returned unharmed but then the same thing happens with a little girl, and then another. Each child attends a different nursery, and each parent contacts a different police station, so, at first, no connection is established between the incidents and the reports are filed and forgotten. Meanwhile DCI Winter is investigating a series of random attacks on strangely uncooperative university students, but when a a four-year-old boy is abducted and found injured, the forgotten files resurface and a link between the stories becomes apparent. As Gothenburg prepares for Christmas, Winter is in a race against time to prevent a horrific catastrophe.” – (adapted from Syndetics summary)

OverDrive is a digital media platform where library customers can download eBook and audio titles onto Mac or PC and transfer them to portable devices e.g. eReaders (Kobo, Sony Reader). Choose from a growing collection of contemporary fiction, non-fiction, classics, young adult and children’s titles. You can download for free, 24/7, from the comfort of your own home and never have to pay overdues!

Try the quick start guide or take a guided tour to get started now.

We’re adding new eAudiobooks to our eLibrary all the time, this month we’ve added an especially murderous, mysterious and chilling selection. Download and listen on the go, if you dare…

Blood Line (unabridged) / Lynda La Plante, read by Kim Hicks
“In the seventh book of the internationally bestselling series by crime queen Lynda La Plante (Prime Suspect), newly promoted DCI Anna Travis takes charge of an investigation for the first time. But is it purely a missing person’s case—or a full blown murder inquiry? An ominous pool of blood and no victim lead Anna on a desperate hunt for a man who has disappeared without a trace. As Anna becomes obsessed with seemingly irrelevant details, her superintendent fears that she is losing control. With no body there is no case, and Anna is under increasing pressure to make an arrest.” – (adapted from Syndetics summary)

The Maltese Falcon (unabridged) / Dashiell Hammett, read by William Dufris
“A treasure worth killing for. Sam Spade, a slightly shopworn private eye with his own solitary code of ethics. A perfumed grafter named Joel Cairo, a fat man name Gutman, and Brigid O’Shaughnessy, a beautiful and treacherous woman whose loyalties shift at the drop of a dime. These are the ingredients of Dashiell Hammett’s coolly glittering gem of detective fiction, a novel that has haunted three generations of readers.” – (adapted from Syndetics summary)

Dead Scared (unabridged) / S. J. Bolton, read by Lisa Coleman
“When a Cambridge student dramatically attempts to take her own life, DI Mark Joesbury realizes that the university has developed an unhealthy record of young people committing suicide in extraordinary ways. Against huge personal misgivings, Joesbury sends young policewoman DC Lacey Flint to Cambridge, with a brief to work undercover, posing as a depression-prone, vulnerable student. Psychiatrist Evi Oliver is the only person in Cambridge who knows who Lacey really is – or so they both hope. But as the two women dig deeper into the darker side of university life, they discover a terrifying trend And when Lacey starts experiencing the same disturbing nightmares reported by the dead girls, she knows that she is next.” – (adapted from Syndetics summary)

The Danger (unabridged) / Dick Francis, read by Tony Britton
“A beautiful Italian girl driving home in an open top sports car, a little boy playing on a south Coast beach and the Senior Steward of the Jockey Club on his way to a press reception in Baltimore. One after the other they suffer the same nightmare ordeal – kidnapping. But there is one thing connecting these particular cases. For the Italian girl is a jockey and the little boy an only son of a racehorse owner. A picture of the person behind this international chain of crime starts to emerge – a lover of Verdi, a man with a cool and calculating brain and an aficionado of the racing world. Andrew Douglas, brought in to advise and help the victims and their families, proceeds with all his customary diplomacy and courage. Only to find himself playing a dangerous part: the role usually reserved for his clients…” – (adapted from Syndetics summary)

Peculiar Treasures (unabridged) / Robin Jones Gunn
“Katie Weldon catches more than just the bouquet at the wedding of her best friend, Christy Miller. She also snags a job offer that launches her into an adventure she never imagined. Katie eagerly accepts the job as resident assistant at Rancho Corona University only to find herself in a community of conflict. She thought this was where God wanted her, but how can God use her —love her —when everything is falling apart? Especially with her boyfriend, Rick. Katie turns to the women in her life for solace. In the safety of their love and encouragement she finally allows herself to spill her heart about her relationship with Rick. But even their advice can’t postpone the decision Katie must face, a decision that will define who she is and the woman she’s becoming. The first book in the Katie Weldon Series, Peculiar Treasures follows Katie as she struggles to believe that God can love her, faults and all.” – (adapted from Syndetics summary)

Short Stories by Katherine Mansfield / Katherine Mansfield, read by Emma Hignett
“A collection of Katherine Mansfield finest short stories including Miss Brill, The Garden Party, The Singing Lesson and Bank Holiday.” – (adapted from Syndetics summary)

The Daughter of Time / Josephine Tey, read by Derek Jacobi
“Truth is the Daughter of Time’ is an old proverb. And The Daughter of Time is Josephine Tey’s search for the truth about the murder of the Princes in the Tower. Was the hunchback, Richard III, the monster that Shakespeare and the history books have made him out to be? With real brilliance she conducts her search in the form of a crime novel, and her investigator is none other than her famous detective, Inspector Alan Grant, who starts to examine the centuries-old scandal.” – (adapted from Syndetics summary)

OverDrive is a digital media platform where library customers can download eBook and audio titles onto Mac or PC and transfer them to portable devices e.g. eReaders (Kobo, Sony Reader). Choose from a growing collection of contemporary fiction, non-fiction, classics, young adult and children’s titles. You can download for free, 24/7, from the comfort of your own home and never have to pay overdues!

Try the quick start guide or take a guided tour to get started now.