(Read by Harriet Walter, Brilliance Audio, 12 CDs, 14 hours and 24 minutes)
Ruth Rendell, writing as Barbara Vine, starts her story in 1905 London. Asta, an unhappy Danish immigrant, keeps a secret diary, which is published to great acclaim by her daughter, Swanny. Years later the diaries help Ann, Asta’s granddaughter, solve a mystery. This historical whodunit is meticulously detailed. Narrator Harriet Walker – in a plausible Danish accent – underscores the novel’s emotion. Grade: A–
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4 audiobooks with a sense of place
From N.J. to Japan, here are four stories rich in ambience.
2. "Asta’s Book," by Barbara Vine
