Here is the last of the three entries I have written about my favorite narrators of Books on Tape. 

Lisette Lecat
Lisette Lecat was born in South Africa. This accounts for the wonderful accent she lends the characters as she narrates Alexander McCall Smith‘s the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency mystery series. Her voice has a melodious quality which brings a humanity to all of the novels’ characters. It is truly a delightful experience to listen to Lecat’s narrations.

Nadia May, Wanda McCaddon, Donada Peters
Wanda McCaddon is an audio book narrator who has won many awards. She has a tremendous ear for accents, and is able to take the audio book listener to distant locations using her incredible mastery of accents. Elizabeth George, Ruth Rendell, Agatha Christie, and Ngaio Marsh are just a few authors whose mystery books have been brought to life by May/McCaddon/Peters

Stephen Thorne
If you are an Ellis Peters audio book fan, then no doubt you have heard the wonderful work of Stephen Thorne. He has performed in television, movies, radio, and on stage, as well as his accomplished performances in well over 300 audio books.

Colin Buchanan
Actor Colin Buchanan is probably best known for his portrayal of Pascoe in the television productions of Reginald Hill‘s Dalziel & Pascoe mysteries. This Scottish graduate of the London Drama Centre has narrated several of Reginald Hill’s audio book mysteries.

Len Cariou
Tony Award winning actor Len Cariou has had a long and distinguished dramatic career in both the USA and Canada. He has appeared in movies as well as on stage. He has also garnered high praise for his audio book narrations, which include books by best-selling authors Michael Connelly and James Patterson.

Boyd Gaines
Boyd Gaines joined the television cast of “One Day at a Time” years before becoming a mystery audio book narrator. He has brought Caleb Carr‘s mysteries to life, and has also won Tony Awards, as well!

James Saxon
James Saxon is a very distinguished British actor who has also leant his talents to audio books. Ngaio Marsh, P. G. Wodehouse, and Agatha Christie are amongst the authors for whom he has narrated.

Brian Glover
Glover is memorable in Margery Allingham’ Albert Campion television productions, where he portrays Campion’s butler, Lugg. He has lent his acting skills to Reginald Hill‘s Dalziel & Pascoe mystery audio books. (I have to admit that some people find his accent a little difficult to understand…)***I just corrected this… I got my sleuths all mixed up! Thanks, Carol!

These are just several of the audio book narrators who I feel a particular allegiance to. Do any of you have favorite audio book narrators who you wouldn’t mind sharing with us?

Part 1 of Audiobook Narrators

Part 2 of Audiobook Narrators

I know I have touched on this subject before >>>I’m hoping it wasn’t too recently! The previous entry has me thinking about how much enjoyment I have gotten from listening to books on tape.

Every time I drive somewhere in my car (alone!), I listen to a mystery book. Both of my children went to the University of Texas in Austin, which is about an hour and a half from our home, but I never balked at having to deliver a book they had left at home (or clean clothes!)… this just meant that not only would I be able to treat them to lunch, but I would also have at least three hours in the car to enjoy my current Cozy Mystery.

I have a few narrators who I absolutely love to hear. These are people who are able to take some of my favorite 3-D characters, and flesh them out even more. (Let’s face it, one of the wonderful things about being addicted to Cozy Mysteries is that MOST of the mystery books have 3-D characters!)

In this entry, as well as the next two entries, I am going to name some of my favorite narrators. I know I have named several of them before – but they’re so good they deserve another mention! (I also know that not all of the authors I mention are Cozy Mystery book authors…)

Barbara Rosenblat
There is a reason that Barbara Rosenblat has won more Audie Awards than any other audio book narrator: She is terrific! Rosenblat is a narrator, as well as an actress. If you have ever had the privilege of hearing Rosenblat’s work, you would probably be hard-pressed to decipher where she lives (New York!) Her characterizations are so believable that it truly is difficult to pin her native accent down. She has narrated for such distinguished authors as: Elizabeth Peters, Linda Fairstein, Lisa Scottoline, Kathy Reichs, Diane Mott Davidson, Nevada Barr, and Dorothy Gilman.

Derek Jacobi
Sir Derek Jacobi is not only a very accomplished actor; he is also a very talented audio book narrator. He has narrated a vast amount of books – from Homer’s Odyssey to Peter Graves’ I Claudius, to Ellis Peters‘ Brother Cadfael Mysteries. It is no wonder that he has won so many awards for his work in audio book narrations.

Part 2 of Audiobook Narrators

Part 3 of Audiobook Narrators