New DAISY audio
This issue contains DAISY audio books added to the collection since the last issue of Sound and Touch in September 2011.
Abbreviations:
BA: Blackstone Audio Inc
CD: DAISY audio CD ordering number
RNIB: Royal National Institute of Blind People
RNZFB: Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind
VAILS: Vision Australia Information and Library Service
Adult Non-Fiction
Biographies
Combat swimmer: memoirs of a Navy SEAL by Robert A. Gormly. The U.S. Navy SEALs created a legend that would grow throughout the Vietnam War. Captain Robert A. Gormly tells of some hair-raising missions that earned them a bounty on their heads. After a career including two tours of duty in Vietnam and top-secret missions in the Persian Gulf, Gormly examines war from a strategic point of view as well as from his own personal experience. Read by Adams Morgan in 9 hours, 57 minutes. BA.
CD63755
Memoirs of an aesthete by Harold Acton. Methuen, 1948. During the first thirty-five years of the author's life he lived in Florence, Oxford, Paris and particularly Peking. That city became his spiritual home and was where he discovered the old culture of the Chinese, so much in keeping with his own aesthetic style. Read by Robin Holmes in 20 hours, 3 minutes. RNIB.
CD46856
Mune: an autobiography by Ian Mune. Nelson: Craig Potton, 2010. The author's resonant growl and his characteristic face are an institution of New Zealand theatre, film and TV. Recognised by generations of New Zealanders, he has been a central figure of screen and stage since the 1960s. This is an insightful look into the personal process, the challenges and rewards of the acting and directing life. Read by Merv Smith in 12 hours, 59 minutes. RNZFB.
CD62731
The secret war against Hitler by William Casey. Simon and Schuster, 1989. The author reveals the critical role of allied intelligence and covert operations, and the tragic blunders and international clashes that marred the record from Normandy to Hiroshima. Read by George Hagan in 12 hours, 47 minutes. RNIB.
CD50888
What's it all about? by Michael Caine. Century, 1992. This autobiography of one of Britain's most versatile and best loved screen actors moves from his impoverished Cockney roots in London's East End to his Hollywood life. He talks with astonishing candour about his childhood, his family and his hard fought journey from London to Hollywood. Strong language. Read by Michael McStay in 17 hours, 11 minutes. RNIB.
CD47692
Drama
The pohutukawa tree by Bruce Mason. Wellington: Victoria University Press, 1963. This classic of New Zealand theatre dramatises the Maori coming to terms with the European settlers after a century of occupation and the transplanted Europeans coming to terms with being New Zealanders. Sponsored by Netta Memorial and Jack Shortt Trust. Read by Kevin Keys in 2 hours, 37 minutes. RNZFB.
CD55373
History and Travel
Aphrodite's island: the European discovery of Tahiti by Anne Salmond. North Shore, N.Z.: Penguin/Viking, 2009. This is a new account of the European discovery of Tahiti, the Pacific island of mythic status in Western imaginings about sexuality, the exotic, and the nobility or bestiality of 'savages'. The author explores Tahitian history, providing rich insights into their perceptions of the visitors while illuminating the full extent of European fascination with Tahiti. Read by Madeleine Lynch in 30 hours, 11 minutes. RNZFB.
CD59889
A local habitation by Richard Hoggart. Chatto and Windus, 1988. This is a perceptive history of the author's early life in a working class district of Leeds until he entered the Army on the outbreak of the 2nd World War. Raised by his grandmother along with aunts and an uncle, he describes the world he inhabited and the fascinating characters he encountered. Read by Simon Haslam in 10 hours, 25 minutes. RNIB.
CD46069
Turn around and run like hell: amazing stories on unconventional military strategies that worked by Joseph Cummins. Sydney: Pier 9, 2007. A collection of stories about amazing deceptions, unique tactics and cunning generals, succeeding against all odds as they exploit enemy's weak spots, fashion handy weapons and fake retreats. The narratives range from King Cyrus diverting a river to attack Babylon, to Napoleon with identical soldiers, to dropping opium-laced cigarettes on the Turks in World War One. Violence. Read by Francis Greenslade in 10 hours, 11 minutes. VAILS.
CD53053
Nature and Animals
Kakapo: rescued from the brink of extinction by Alison Ballance. Nelson: Craig Potton Pub., 2010. The fascinating and inspiring story of how New Zealand's eccentric parrot was saved from extinction. Read by Rosemary Ronald in 10 hours, 15 minutes. RNZFB.
CD63051
Making the rounds with Oscar by David Dosa. London: Headline Review, 2011. Oscar has an almost psychic sensitivity to human beings, he knows when people are at the end of their lives. As the resident cat in an old people's nursing home, his mere presence at the bedside is viewed by staff as an almost absolute indicator of impending death. A blessing really because it allows staff to notify families that the end is near. Oscar gives comfort and companionship to many. Read by Jim McLarty in 6 hours, 32 minutes. RNZFB.
CD63353
New Age
Dreamland's celebrity book of dreams: dreams of the famous and what your dreams mean to you by Migene Gonzalez-Wippler, Charles Alverson and others. Quiller, 1989. Dreams are fascinating yet one of the most neglected parts of the total consciousness. This book provides the knowledge to begin positive dream analysis and interpretation. The interpretation dictionary is interspersed with a galaxy of diverting dreams and nightmares remembered especially for this book by a host of celebrities. Read by Erica Grant in 6 hours, 20 minutes. RNIB.
CD48121
Poetry
A Dylan Thomas treasury: poems, stories and broadcasts selected by Walford Davies. London: Dent, 1991. This anthology of poetry and prose will appeal to all admirers of Dylan Thomas. It contains thirty-six of his poems, from all periods of his life as well as ten stories and five broadcasts. Read by Sion Probert in 5 hours, 35 minutes. RNIB.
CD46047
The nation's favourite poems, foreword by Griff Rhys Jones. London: BBC Books, 1996. This anthology brings together the results of a nationwide poll to discover Britain's 100 best-loved poems. Among the selection are popular classics, such as poems from Tennyson and Wordsworth, alongside contemporary poets such as Alan Ahlberg and Jenny Joseph. Read by Cameron Stewart in 4 hours, 37 minutes. RNIB.
CD47414
Science
50 physics ideas you really need to know by Joanne Baker. London: Quercus, 2007. The author unravels the complexities of twentieth-century scientific theory for a general readership; making them comprehensible and accessible to everyone. Read by Tony Porter in 9 hours, 59 minutes. VAILS.
CD57604
Adult Fiction
Adventure stories
Djibouti by Elmore Leonard. Dara, an ambitious documentary filmmaker and her right-hand man, an aged seafarer, get more than they bargained for when filming modern-day pirates around the Horn of Africa. A hijacked natural gas tanker is a prize for an aspiring terrorist and a mob of colourful characters who patrol the seas. Read by Tim Cain in 7 hours, 52 minutes. BA.
CD60237
Emperor by Colin Thubron. Heinemann. Written in the form of extracts from the Emperor's own journal and letters, this recounts Constantine's story in 312 AD as he crosses the Alps to take Rome from the tyrant Maxentius. It summons up the everyday life of soldiers on campaign, intrigues at court and of a man's loss of faith in love and God. Read by Michael Tudor Barnes in 7 hours, 36 minutes. RNIB.
CD48178
Flying hero class by Thomas Keneally. Hodder and Stoughton, 1991. Hijackers representing a Palestinian faction take over an airliner flying between New York and Frankfurt. Onboard is an Australian aboriginal dance troupe and their white tour manager. The tension builds when terrorists' leader accuses the manager of exploiting the dancers. As the crew and passengers become brainwashed they begin to turn against the scapegoats. Strong language. Read by Nigel Graham in 10 hours, 30 minutes. RNIB.
CD46604
The hut builder by Laurence Fearnley. Rosedale, North Shore: Penguin Books, 2010. The first time young Boden sees the vast snow covered plains of the Mackenzie Country his life is changed forever. He discovers a love of landscape and fascination with words. He attends university, works as a butcher and poet until one joyous summer he helps build an alpine hut on Mount Cook. He develops relationships with the members of his working party from Walter, a conscientious objector from the Second World War, to Edmund Hillary. Strong language. Read by Francis Mountjoy in 9 hours, 19 minutes. RNZFB.
CD62721
The last place God made by Jack Higgins. Collins, 1971. In the 1930s British pilot Neil Mallory would have crashed his plane into the South American jungles if Sam Hannah had not appeared to guide him to safety. In a remote village Neil's passport and money are stolen forcing him to work for Sam. He becomes tangled in local problems helping a missionary outpost where two very different women need him. Read by Jon Cartwright in 6 hours, 11 minutes. RNIB.
CD49096
Shadow country by Peter Matthiessen. An epic story inspired by horrific events in the wild Florida frontier at the turn of the twentieth century. Everglades sugar planter and notorious murdering outlaw E. J. Watson was gunned down by two dozen of his neighbours. His son, obsessed with his father's murder, searches for answers. He reunites with a lost brother and learns a horrible family secret. His father's violent world is revealed in this dramatic historic saga. Read by Anthony Heald in 40 hours, 20 minutes. BA.
CD60180
The Family
Fall on your knees by Ann-Marie Macdonald. London: Cape, 1996. This early twentieth century saga is of five generations from coal mining communities of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. War, religion, incest and family secrets swirl around the relationships of four surviving sisters. Strong language. Read by Crawford Logan and Jacqueline King in 19 hours, 28 minutes. RNIB.
CD46568
Hand me down world by Lloyd Jones. North Shore, N.Z.: Penguin, 2010. A quiet, mysterious woman comes from Africa on an impassioned quest to find her baby son who was stolen away to Berlin by his father. She must rely on strangers, some generous, some exploiting, to guide her passage north. Each stranger has a different view of their encounter with the woman. Read by Elisabeth Easther and Kevin Keys in 9 hours, 14 minutes. RNZFB.
CD62900
House rules by Jodi Picoult. Crows Nest, N.S.W.: Allen & Unwin, 2010. Teenager Jacob Hunt has Asperger's syndrome and an obsessive interest in forensic analysis. He normally helps the police solve crimes, but when he becomes the prime suspect in a murder, they interpret his AS symptoms as a sign of guilt and cast a very public spotlight on him and his family. Strong language. Read by Brianna Roberts and David MacRae in 16 hours, 43 minutes. VAILS.
CD63699
General Fiction
Air and angels by Susan Hill. Sinclair-Stevenson, 1991. Set in Imperial India and academic Cambridge, this is the story of a middle aged cleric who is destined to become the Master of his college, due to his irreproachable lifestyle. That is until he comes across a young girl whilst walking along a river. His life is changed beyond belief with the beauty and joy of a love never previously imagined. Read by Frances Jeater in 7 hours, 32 minutes. RNIB.
CD46148
Born in exile by George Gissing. London: Dent, 1993. Godwin leaves his lowly Midlands home to carve out a career as a journalist in London. His poverty and origins hamper him but finally one of his articles, attacking the hypocrisy of the Victoria Church, is accepted. Then catastrophically, he falls in love with devout, well-born young lady. To be acceptable to her, both socially and ideologically, he must enter the Church. Read by Crawford Logan in 18 hours, 5 minutes. RNIB.
CD46351
A rose for every month by Sally Stewart. Corgi, 1992. In 1920s England a woman flees her domineering father who is planning to bind her into a loveless marriage. She flees to Italy where she finds a new life working for an aristocratic family. The family is a fascinating challenge to her, and to them she is a revolution. Read by Eva Haddon in 14 hours, 31 minutes. RNIB.
CD46098
The women by T.C. Boyle. The story recounts the life of the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright, as told through the experiences of the four women who loved him. Wright's life was one long, howling struggle against the bonds of convention, whether aesthetic, social, moral or romantic. These women reveal different sides to this creative genius in all its complexity and grandeur. Read by Grover Gardner in 18 hours, 35 minutes. BA.
CD59730
Historical Novels
The angel's cut by Elizabeth Knox. Wellington: Victoria University Press, 2009. Boomtown Los Angeles, 1929, is a world of movie lots and speakeasies. Xas, stunt flier and wingless angel, arrives in LA nursing a broken heart and determined only to live in the air. Conrad Cole, movie director and glory-seeking king of the grand splash, has other ideas for Xas. Flora McLeod, film editor and maimed former actress, sees something unique in Xas, something even God hasn't seen. Sequel to: The vintner's luck, CD55768. Read by Elisabeth Easther in 12 hours, 21 minutes. RNZFB.
CD57876
The conductor by Sarah Quigley. Auckland: Vintage, 2011. In 1941 Nazi troops prepare to starve Leningrad into submission. The famous composer Dmitri Shostakovich stays on to defend his city and compose a new work. When Shostakovich is forced to evacuate, the radio orchestra is left behind to face an unendurable winter and start rehearsing Shostakovich's Leningrad Symphony. Strong language. Read by Paul Barrett in 11 hours, 8 minutes. RNZFB.
CD62996
The Larnachs by Owen Marshall. Auckland: Vintage, 2011. William Larnach is a politician and self-made man whose third wife is a much younger woman. The marriage that started with such happiness is to end in tragedy. William's younger son finds his deepening love for his stepmother leads to disaster. While William's domineering personality slowly disintegrates, leading him to ruin. Read by Fiona Samuel and John Leigh in 7 hours, 42 minutes. RNZFB.
CD63167
Horror and Supernatural Fiction
Handling the undead by John Ajvide Lindqvist; translated from the Swedish by Ebba Segerberg. Melbourne: Text Publishing, 2009. After a freak power surge in Stockholm, the dead come alive and walk from morgues and cemeteries. This horrific scenario creates a painfully ambivalent situation for bereaved loved ones. The state bureaucracy must puzzle out the legal status of its formerly dead citizens and a slightly absurd group of suburban churchgoers form an Armageddon cult. A zombie tradition turns into a wrenching examination of loss, grief and deluded hope. Violence. Read by Taylor Owynns in 12 hours, 46 minutes. VAILS.
CD57658
The tale of Halcyon Crane by Wendy Webb. Halcyon was sure her mother was long dead so she is shocked to discover her mother has just died leaving her a fortune and an isolated island in Lake Superior. Visiting the island estate she discovers a ghastly family history full of ghosts, witches, graveyards and a twisted mystery of her parents she never imagined. Read by Cassandra Campbell in 9 hours, 52 minutes. BA.
CD59729
Humour
Antic hay by Aldous Huxley. Theodore is a mild young Oxford tutor, who is thoroughly dismayed by the staid British institutions of learning. He and his bohemian companions embark on wild and daring 'bacchanalian' adventures that steer them resolutely away from stifling conventions, charging them for the first time with an exuberant vitality and lust for life. Read by Robert Whitfield in 9 hours, 12 minutes. BA.
CD59839
Girl meets ape by Chris Manby. Oxford: Isis. This is a light-hearted story of the perils of relationships between the sexes. An uptight young zoologist works at an animal sanctuary where the chimps are uncontrollable but the keepers are even wilder. Read by Julia Franklin in 11 hours, 2 minutes. RNIB.
CD48260
Plucking the apple by Elizabeth Palmer. London: Arrow, 1994. An English comedy about modern manners or, the lack of them. At a Chelsea dinner-party, despite the presence of his long-suffering wife, an artist slips the host's vampish sister his business card, promising future exchanges of a more intimate nature. Strong language. Read by Nicolette McKenzie in 10 hours, 15 minutes. RNIB.
CD47071
Modern Women’s Fiction
Dolci di love by Sarah-Kate Lynch. Pymble, N.S.W.: HarperCollins, 2011. The Tuscan town of Montevedova is famous for its rolling green hills, long lazy lunches and delectable cantucci biscuits. Manhattan workaholic Lily is not interested in any of that, she just wants to find her cheating husband. She is taken in by two ancient, widowed sisters who are famous for their cantucci. They also plot love affairs and are determined that Lily will find love, happiness and baking. Read by Susan Ronn in 9 hours, 24 minutes. RNZFB.
CD61868
Knit two by Kate Jacobs. Dakota, is now an eighteen-year-old freshman at New York University, running the knitting store part-time with the help of the members of the Friday Night Knitting Club. Drawn together by their love for Dakota and the sense of family that the club provides, each knitter is struggling with new challenges. Divorce, newborn twins, an elderly mother needing care and romance keep unravelling the knitters' lives. Sequel to: The Friday night knitting club, CD63865. Read by Carrington MacDuffie in 10 hours, 43 minutes. BA.
CD63870
Roadside sisters by Wendy Harmer. Sydney: Allen & Unwin, 2009. Three very different girlfriends are reluctantly approaching middle age and facing the ups and downs of their lives. They embark on a road trip in an enormous mobile home up the east coast of Australia. Their lives may never be the same, as along the journey they struggle with fights and friendship, tears and laughter, not to mention the possibility of finding Mr Right. Explicit descriptions of sex and strong language. Read by Jane Clifton in 9 hours, 42 minutes. VAILS.
CD57692
Mystery and Detective Stories
The cranefly orchid murders by Cynthia Riggs. Ninety-two-year-old sleuth Victoria Trumbull, with her eleven-year-old assistant, search for a plant that could provide clues in the investigation of the murder of a local attorney. Sequel to: Deadly nightshade, CD58324 and has sequel: The cemetary yew, CD63781. Read by Davina Porter in 8 hours, 29 minutes. BA.
CD58391
Crooked by Camilla Nelson. Sydney: Random House, 2008. Gus is transferred to a new crimes branch and now works for a charismatic cop with an unorthodox way of getting results. A series of violent killings escalate with a spectacular execution-style murder. When a black book with names of prominent politicians and police officers is discovered among the dead man's things, the case is blown wide open. Explicit descriptions of sex and strong language. Read by Dane Carson in 5 hours, 25 minutes. VAILS.
CD57618
Jump by Tim Maleeny. When the most hated landlord in San Francisco takes an unexpected jump off the roof of his own building, it isn't too hard to find suspects. Ex-cop Sam McGowan lives in the building and knows it was murder. He gets to know his neighbours and as more bodies surface the mystery deepen. Read by Tom Weiner in 7 hours, 14 minutes. BA.
CD58347
Live bait by P.J. Tracy. London: Michael Joseph, 2004. An elderly man is found dead on the lawn by his wife. When she finds a bullet-hole in his skull, the blood washed away by heavy rain, sadness turns to fear. It looks like an execution. Soon the entire city is fearful as new victims are found murdered with the same cold precision. Strong language and violence. Read by Laurence Bouvard in 10 hours, 20 minutes. RNIB.
CD48408
The mapping of love and death: a Maisie Dobbs mystery by Jacqueline Winspear. New York: HarperPerennial, 2011. London investigator Maisie Dobbs must unravel a case of wartime love and death. It is an investigation that leads her to a doomed affair between a young cartographer, listed as missing in action when World War I ends, and a mysterious nurse. Sequel to: Among the mad, CD61879. Sponsored by the Dunedin Rotary Club. Read by Barbara Cartwright in 13 hours, 22 minutes. RNZFB.
CD61881
The shadow walker by Michael Walters. London: Quercus, 2007. As winter falls upon the streets of Ulan Bataar, Mongolia, a serial killer is just getting warmed up. His fourth victim's mutilated body is found in one of the city's most expensive hotels. Political pressure has Nergui working with Doripalam and they are joined by Senior British CID officer, Drew McLeish. The murders continue, leading them out into the Gobi and then McLeish is kidnapped. Explicit descriptions of sex, strong language and violence. Sequel to: The adversary, CD53015. Read by Lewis Fitz-Gerald in 10 hours, 25 minutes. VAILS.
CD53035
Stripped by Brian Freeman. In Las Vegas a celebrity is assassinated during a fling with a prostitute and a young boy is killed in a brutal hit-and-run incident. When the cases converge Lieutenant Jonathan Stride must race the clock against a determined serial killer. There seems to be some connection to the unsolved murder of a showgirl years earlier. Explicit descriptions of sex, strong language and violence. Read by Joe Barrett in 13 hours, 29 minutes. BA.
CD58389
Romance Novels
In the highlander's bed by Cathy Maxwell. To claim victory for his clan, highland warrior Gordon Lachlan must retrieve the legendary sword of the MacKenna from the hands of his mortal enemies. One thing stands in his way, a headstrong beauty named Constance Cameron. Explicit descriptions of sex. Read by Anne Flosnik in 8 hours, 1 minute. BA.
CD63756
The music of love by Kay Gregory. Richmond, Surrey: Mills & Boon, 1990. Belinda avoided relationships with men until Hal Blake came jogging into her life. There was something almost lyrical about Hal which made Belinda feel she would be able to trust him, if only she could forget what had happened in their pasts. Read by Franceen Brodkin in 5 hours, 41 minutes. RNIB.
CD49118
The private wing by Claire Rayner. Sutton: Severn House, 1996. Student nurse Tricia Oxford is utterly dismayed when she is posted to the Private Wing, which seems to her little more than a hotel. The Registrar, Dr Adam Kidd, is determined she will find out just how wrong she is. Read by Nicolette McKenzie in 5 hours, 11 minutes. RNIB.
CD49145
The Provence cure for the brokenhearted by Bridget Asher. Mourning her husband's death, Heidi travels with her obsessive-compulsive eight-year-old son and her intolerably jaded sixteen-year-old niece, to spend the summer repairing their family home in a small village in the south of France. As three generations collide over family secrets an enigmatic Frenchman helps them through their journey of love, loss and healing. Read by Kate Reading in 11 hours, 42 minutes. BA.
CD63780
The Spanish bride by Georgette Heyer. London: Mandarin, 1992. Brigade Major Harry Smith, a veteran campaigner, is reputed to be the luckiest man in Lord Wellington's army. Trusting on the same luck Harry dives headlong into marriage. In his beautiful child bride, he finds a kindred spirit with a temper to match. For Juana, a long year of war must follow. Read by Jon Cartwright in 14 hours, 30 minutes. RNIB.
CD49194
The villa girls by Nicky Pellegrino. London: Orion, 2011. Four young women meet every few years for a holiday, somewhere sunny. Rosie finds her life is changed the most by these stolen days. Enzo is the heir to an Italian olive estate, his destiny is clear. When he stumbles upon a secret that tears his family apart, he has to make some of the toughest choices of his life. Read by Jo Crichton in 8 hours, 27 minutes. RNZFB.
CD62716
Virgin mistress by Kay Thorpe. Richmond: Mills & Boon, 1999. Young Samantha had fallen in lust with Nick the moment she set eyes on him. She knew he wanted her regardless of their age difference and his preference for older women. She was determined to do whatever it took to get him. Read by Becky Hindley in 5 hours, 31 minutes. RNIB.
CD50807
The winds of autumn by Janette Oke. On the brink of manhood Josh lives with his Aunt Lou and spends all his time studying or fishing. When a new teacher arrives at his school, Josh prospers under his tutelage. Meanwhile, the teacher's beautiful daughter begins to stir new feelings in Josh. Sequel to: Once upon a summer, CD58377 and has sequel: Winter is not forever, CD58385. Read by Marguerite Gavin in 6 hours, 39 minutes. BA.
CD58384
Science Fiction
Earthborn by Orson Scott Card. High above the planet orbits the starship Basilica. On board the huge vessel is a sleeping woman. Only she has survived the hundreds of years since the Children of Wetchik started their journey to their home of forty million years ago, Earth. She will find a much-altered world in which two intelligent races challenge the humans. This is the conclusion to this religious science fiction saga. Sequel to: Earthfall, CD60027. Read by Stefan Rudnicki in 14 hours, 14 minutes. BA.
CD59566
Mars by Ben Bova. Man's first mission to Mars. Half-Navajo geologist Jamie Waterman joins an international team of astronauts and scientists as they encounter the dangers of space. They must survive travelling an incredible distance, the alien landscape, and the personal and political conflicts that arise when the team must face a most shocking discovery. Read by Stefan Rudnicki in 18 hours, 51 minutes. BA.
CD59583
Sea Stories
The nutmeg of consolation by Patrick O'Brian. London: HarperCollins, 1997. Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin, stranded on an uninhabited island of the Dutch East Indies, are attacked by ferocious Malay pirates. Having contrived their escape they are subsequently embroiled in the conflicts of the penal settlements of New South Wales. Sequel to: The thirteen-gun salute, CD61976 and has sequel: Clarissa Oakes, CD46394. Read by Graham Padden in 11 hours, 16 minutes. RNIB.
CD49126
Passage to mutiny by Alexander Kent. Hutchinson, 1976. In 1789 Captain Bolitho arrives in his frigate Tempest at Sydney, hoping to be ordered back to England. He finds instead that he has been dispatched to the islands of the great south sea. There he meets danger and an involvement both personal and tragic. Sequel to: Command a king's ship, CD61825 and has sequel: With all dispatch, CD49352. Read by Malcolm Ruthven in 12 hours, 22 minutes. RNIB.
CD48560
Run afoul by Joan Druett. Crows Nest, N.S.W.: Allen & Unwin, 2008. As the US Exploring Expedition heads into Rio de Janeiro it collides with a trading ship. Wiki Coffin is astonished to discover that its commander is his estranged father, an incorrigible adventurer. Their reunion is overshadowed by two mysterious deaths and soon, his father's trial for a murder he didn't commit. Wiki must unmask the real killers before the Expedition sails on. Sequel to: Shark Island, CD53011 and has sequel: Deadly shoals, CD52957. Read by Stephen Pease in 8 hours, 33 minutes. VAILS.
CD52999
Seafire: a Webb Carrick story by Bill Knox. Long, 1970. As soon as he takes over his fishery protection vessel, Carrick finds himself battling against unknown and ruthless enemies. Read by Stanley Pritchard in 6 hours, 30 minutes. RNIB.
CD48688
Short Stories
The collected short stories of Sean O'Faolain, vol. 3 by Sean O'Faolain. Constable, 1982. While many of the stories are set in Ireland, their themes are universal. They include love, the longings of adolescence, the secret abysses of marriage, devotion and loss of faith. Read by Kate Binchy in 13 hours, 38 minutes. RNIB.
CD47247
Flappers and philosophers by F. Scott Fitzgerald. This is a collection of eight tales. Read by William Dufris in 6 hours, 47 minutes. BA.
CD63785
Injury time by Catherine Aird. London: Macmillan, 1994. A selection of sixteen stories about the phlegmatic D.I. Sloan and his enthusiastic constable, Crosby, in the police station down in the not so sleepy county of Calleshire. Has sequel: After effects, CD47826. Read by Jon Cartwright in 4 hours, 52 minutes. RNIB.
CD48351
The trouble with fire by Fiona Kidman. Auckland: Vintage, 2011. The author explores, with her customary subtlety and insight, how we are all touched and sometimes scarred, by the flames of emotion. Read by Alison Quigan in 9 hours, 17 minutes. RNZFB.
CD63159
Thrillers
Rogue element by Terence Strong. Oxford: Isis, 1998. When Roddy refuses a favour to MI5, his world collapses. He is accused of murder and only his brother-in-law, a retired SAS tracker, believes in his innocence. The tracker and a female lawyer team up to take on the police, government and legal system in a harrowing attempt to prove Roddy's innocence. Read by Peter Wickham in 21 hours, 41 minutes. RNIB.
CD48660
The sergeants' tale by Bernice Rubens. Oxford: Isis, 2004. In Palestine in 1947 the political pressure is rising. Avram is a member a terrorist group fighting to end the occupation while his daughter works for a group peacefully campaigning for a Jewish state. Intertwined in their story are two British sergeants recently transferred from Intelligence. Strong language. Read by Stephen Greif in 6 hours, 55 minutes. RNIB.
CD49171
The Sirius crossing by John Creed. Oxford: Isis. Jack Valentine, investigating the presence of American Special Forces in Ireland twenty-five years ago, becomes the quarry in a pitiless chase for the information that he possesses. Read by Sean Barrett in 8 hours, 21 minutes. RNIB.
CD50804
War Stories
Fallen skies by Philippa Gregory. London: HarperCollins, 1993. Lily wants to forget the war and enjoy the world of the 1920s. When she meets Captain Winters, a hero back from the Front, she's drawn to his wealth and status. In Lily he sees his salvation; from the past, from the nightmares and from the guilt of surviving. Will their dream last? Explicit descriptions of sex. Read by Marie McCarthy in 17 hours, 53 minutes. RNIB.
CD46570
Leaves from the valley by Joanna Trollope. London: Hutchinson, 1980. Captain Edgar Drummond innocently invites his two sisters to accompany him to the Crimea. On board ship they meet a young war correspondent who is very aware of the disturbing war rumours. When they arrive they discover that danger surrounds them and each must cope in their own way. Read by Ann Kenton-Barker in 9 hours, 57 minutes. RNIB.
CD48393
The severance by Elliott Sawyer. The rehabilitation platoon is made up of troublemakers and misfits who take on missions no one else wants. Platoon leader Captain Jake Roberts and his men, fighting in the Afghan mountains, discover a hoard of American dollars which they hide, planning to smuggle it out of the country as their severance pay package. They have an unknown adversary who is trying to kill them to grab the package. Read by Kirby Heyborne in 6 hours, 17 minutes. BA.
CD63784
Under an English heaven by Robert Radcliffe. Oxford: Isis. In 1943 a sleepy Suffolk village is jerked into the harsh reality of war when an American bomber base and its thousands of inhabitants arrive, but for fourteen-year-old evacuee Billy the swarm of US airmen is heaven sent. Read by Peter Wickham in 12 hours, 55 minutes. RNIB.
CD49297
Westerns
A desperado by Tom Anson. London: Robert Hale, 1996. Ash needed someone to take revenge against a terrible desperado. Jowett needed the money but it meant leaving Emily with only an old man to help. While Jowett faces constant danger in his pursuit of the desperado Emily is threatened by the repulsive Charlie Craik. Read by John Chancer in 4 hours, 30 minutes. RNIB.
CD47757
The pursuers by Justin Ladd. Gunsmoke Westerns, 1990. Jake Walsh's gang hold up a train outside Abilene and a wave of violence begins. When Marshal Luke Travis is wounded in an ambush, Walsh kidnaps the beautiful Dorothea Stockbridge and demands a hefty ransom. Read by Adam Henderson in 6 hours, 20 minutes. RNIB.
CD50795
The rawhide men by Lee Floren. Bath: Gunsmoke Westerns, 1988. When Jennie's team bolts Will Cooper rides to her rescue, and she decides to hitch her team to his. Their trail is dogged by two men who threaten their livelihoods and their lives. Read by Ian Craig in 4 hours, 54 minutes. RNIB.
CD49151
The ten sleep murders by Billy Hall. London: Robert Hale, 1996. Detective Levi Hill has faced death many times but something about the Ten Sleep murders seems ominous. He faces an impossible decision between upholding the law and rescuing the only woman he has ever loved. Read by John Chancer in 4 hours, 35 minutes. RNIB.
CD49213
Young Adult Fiction
The bone tiki by David Hair. Auckland: HarperCollins, 2009. What do you do when you meet a tohunga makutu? You run. When reality dissolves and myths and legends come alive? You run faster. Matiu Douglas steals a tiki that his father's important new client wants, badly. Suddenly Matiu is running for his life with beings from another world and time. He faces a terrifying ordeal with nowhere to hide. Read by Zee Monsalve in 7 hours, 33 minutes. RNZFB.
CD63163
The Burnhope wheel by Susan P Gates. Oxford University Press, 1989. Twice in one day Ellen had heard the name Burnhope, and both times she had been hit by the same dizzy shock of unreality. She felt herself slipping as if her familiar world of her home, school, shopping and telly was being pulled out from under her feet. Strange mental images are tempting her to re-enact a century old tragedy. Read by Marlene Sidaway in 3 hours, 9 minutes. RNIB.
CD48910
The divorce express by Paula Danziger. Heinemann, 1986. Phoebe was slowly adjusting to living with her father after her parent's divorce. Away from her mother, best friend and boyfriend, Rocky the racoon seemed to be the only friend Phoebe had. So what if he kept knocking over the garbage? Read by Laura Brook in 3 hours, 5 minutes. RNIB.
CD48961
Ebony Hill by Anna Mackenzie. Dunedin: Longacre Press, 2010. Vidya, a city in ruins and Ebony Hill are two halves of a community trying to move forward from their tragic past. As conflict rages, Ness and her fellow islander Ronan must come to terms with themselves, with each other and with their attitudes towards violence and belonging. Will they be strong enough to survive the decisions they must make? Sequel to: The sea-wreck stranger, CD51140. Read by Zee Monsalve in 5 hours, 15 minutes. RNZFB.
CD60786