Audiobooks narrated by Rebecca Lowman

Brought to you by Penguin. Who is Mister Magic? Former child stars reunite to uncover the tragedy that ended their show - and discover the secret of its enigmatic host - in this dark supernatural thriller from the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of Hide. Thirty years after a tragic accident shut down production of the classic children's program Mister Magic, the five surviving cast members have done their best to move on. But just as generations of cultishly devoted fans still cling to the lessons they learned from the show, the cast, known as the Circle of Friends, have spent their lives searching for the happiness they felt while they were on it. The friendship. The feeling of belonging. And the protection of Mister Magic. But with no surviving video of the show, no evidence of who directed or produced it, and no records of who - or what - the beloved host actually was, memories are all the former circle of friends have. Then a twist of fate brings the castmates back together at the remote desert filming compound that feels like it's been waiting for them all this time. Even though they haven't seen each other for years, they somehow understand one another better than anyone has since. After all, they're the only ones who hold the secret of that circle, the mystery of the magic man in his infinitely black cape, and, maybe, the answers to what really happened on that deadly last day. But as the Circle of Friends reclaim parts of their past, they begin to wonder: Are they here by choice, or have they been lured into a trap? Because magic never forgets the taste of your friendship. . . . ©2023 Kiersten White (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Kiersten White (Author), Rebecca Lowman (Narrator)

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White Cat, Black Dog

Seven ingeniously reinvented fairy tales that play out with astonishing consequences in the modern world, from one of today's finest short story writers – MacArthur 'Genius Grant' Fellow Kelly Link, bestselling author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist Get in Trouble. Finding seeds of inspiration in the Brothers Grimm, seventeenth-century French lore, and Scottish ballads, Kelly Link spins classic fairy tales into utterly original stories of seekers – characters on the hunt for love, connection, revenge, or their own sense of purpose. In 'The White Cat's Divorce', an aging billionaire sends his three sons on a series of absurd goose chases to decide which will become his heir. In 'The Girl Who Did Not Know Fear', a professor with a delicate health condition becomes stranded for days in an airport hotel after a conference, desperate to get home to her wife and young daughter, and in acute danger of being late for an appointment that cannot be missed. In 'Skinder's Veil', a young man agrees to take over a remote house-sitting gig for a friend. But what should be a chance to focus on his long-avoided dissertation instead becomes a wildly unexpected journey, as the house seems to be a portal for otherworldly travelers – or perhaps a door into his own mysterious psyche. Twisting and winding in astonishing ways, expertly blending realism and the speculative, witty, empathetic, and never predictable – these stories remind us once again of why Kelly Link is incomparable in the art of short fiction.

Kelly Link (Author), Dan Stevens, Dominic Hoffman, Ish Klein, Kristen Sieh, Patton Oswalt, Rebecca Lowman, Tanya Cubric (Narrator)

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Scattered Showers

Rainbow Rowell has won fans all over the world by writing about love and life in a way that feels true. In her first short story collection Scattered Showers, she gives us nine beautifully crafted love stories. Girl meets boy camping outside a movie theater. Best friends debate the merits of high school dances. A prince romances a troll. A girl romances an imaginary boy. And Simon Snow himself returns for a holiday adventure. It’s a feast of irresistible characters, hilarious dialogue, and masterful storytelling, in short, everything you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell book.

Rainbow Rowell (Author), Euan Morton, Rebecca Lowman (Narrator)

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Vladimir

'This astonishing debut . . . I was utterly hooked . . . [by] this twisty, sexy, shocking treat of a novel . . . How on earth will Julia May Jonas better this?' Sunday Times A provocative, razor-sharp, and timely debut novel about a beloved English professor facing a slew of accusations against her professor husband by former students – a situation that becomes more complicated when she herself develops an obsession of her own . . . When I was a child, I loved old men, and I could tell that they also loved me. And so we meet our deliciously incisive narrator: a popular English professor whose husband, a charismatic professor at the same small liberal arts college, is under investigation for his inappropriate relationships with his former students. The couple have long had a mutual understanding when it comes to their extramarital pursuits, but with these new allegations, life has become far less comfortable for them both. And when our narrator becomes increasingly infatuated with Vladimir, a celebrated, married young novelist who’s just arrived on campus, their tinder-box world comes dangerously close to exploding. With her bold, edgy, and uncommonly assured literary debut, Julia May Jonas takes us into charged territory, where the strictures of morality bump up against the impulses of the human heart. Propulsive, darkly funny, and surreptitiously moving, Vladimir maps the personal and political minefield of our current moment, exposing the messy contradictions of power and desire.

Julia May Jonas (Author), Rebecca Lowman (Narrator)

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Sandy Hook: An American Tragedy and the Battle for Truth

Based on hundreds of hours of research, interviews, and access to exclusive sources and materials, Sandy Hook is Elizabeth Williamson's landmark investigation of the aftermath of a school shooting, the work of Sandy Hook parents who fought to defend themselves, and the truth of their children's fate against the frenzied distortions of online deniers and conspiracy theorists. On December 14, 2012, a gunman killed twenty first-graders and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Ten years later, Sandy Hook has become a foundational story of how false conspiracy narratives and malicious misinformation have gained traction in society. One of the nation's most devastating mass shootings, Sandy Hook was used to create destructive and painful myths. Driven by ideology or profit, or for no sound reason at all, some people insisted it never occurred, or was staged by the federal government as a pretext for seizing Americans' firearms. They tormented the victims' relatives online, accosted them on the street and at memorial events, accusing them of faking their loved ones' murders. Some family members have been stalked and forced into hiding. A gun was fired into the home of one parent. Present at the creation of this terrible crusade was Alex Jones's Infowars, a far-right outlet that aired noxious Sandy Hook theories to millions and raised money for the conspiracy theorists' quest to "prove" the shooting didn't happen. Enabled by Facebook, YouTube, and other social media companies' failure to curb harmful content, the conspiracists' questions grew into suspicion, suspicion grew into demands for more proof, and unanswered demands turned into rage. This pattern of denial and attack would come to characterize some Americans' response to almost every major event, from mass shootings to the coronavirus pandemic to the 2020 presidential election, in which President Trump's false claims of a rigged result prompted the January 6, 2021, assault on a bastion of democracy, the U.S. Capitol. The Sandy Hook families, led by the father of the youngest victim, refused to accept this. Sandy Hook is the story of their battle to preserve their loved ones' legacies even in the face of threats to their own lives. Through exhaustive reporting, narrative storytelling, and intimate portraits, Sandy Hook is the definitive book on one of the most shocking cultural ruptures of the internet era.

Elizabeth Williamson (Author), Elizabeth Williamson, Rebecca Lowman (Narrator)

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Scarlet in Blue: A Novel

A beautiful and gripping psychological novel about a mother and daughter who, after a lifetime on the run from a dark and dangerous past, land in a small Michigan town that may hold the key to ending their fugitive lifestyle. For Blue Lake's entire life, she and her mother, Scarlet, have been on the run from HIM-the man who Scarlet, a talented and enigmatic painter, insists is chasing them. But now, at fifteen years old, Blue has begun to resent the nomadic life that once seemed like an adventure, increasingly unsure what to make of the phantom pursuer she's never seen. She only yearns to settle down in one place, to live a normal life. When Scarlet and Blue arrive in the beachfront town of South Haven, Michigan, it seems that Blue's wishes might finally come true. She makes a good friend, is falling in love for the first time, and has found a piano teacher who recognizes her budding talent. But even as Blue thrives, she cannot shake her worry about her mother, whose eccentricities and art are only becoming increasingly difficult to understand. Scarlet, meanwhile, has very different intentions for their stay in South Haven. It was no accident that she brought them there and, with the help of the psychoanalyst she's sought out, Henry, she is determined to find a way to finally escape the shadow of her traumatic past, no matter the cost. Told through the alternating voices of Blue, Scarlet, and Henry, Scarlet in Blue is a page-turning story about the ramifications of past trauma, the way art can hold our lives together, and, most of all, the enduring bond between mother and child.

Jennifer Murphy (Author), Jennifer Van Dyck, Justis Bolding, Rebecca Lowman, Stephen Graybill (Narrator)

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Dead Woman's Revenge: Nearly Departed, Book 2

Flynn Dalton doesn’t want to be a hero. But for Genesis, she’ll do whatever it takes. After her first, deadly brush with the paranormal, Flynn just wants to get back to her life: construction work, semiprofessional bowling, and her fiancée, Genesis. Unfortunately, Flynn’s abilities have caught the attention of the National Psychic Registry, and they have their own agenda. Wherever Flynn goes, the registry follows, setting up tests of her abilities, hounding her to attend the conference in Atlantic City for evaluation and training. Flynn can handle the registry’s heavy-handed tactics, threats, and guilt trips. She’s even convinced herself she can deal with her own growing—and increasingly dangerous—powers. But the offer to heal the wounds she sustained in Dead Woman’s Pond, wounds that are making it almost impossible to do the work she loves, is much more tempting. And if the registry learns of Gen’s addiction to dark magic, agreeing to do whatever the registry wants might be the only bargaining chip Flynn has left. Unfortunately, the registry’s plans for her are much deadlier than a simple series of tests….

Elle E. Ire (Author), Rebecca Lowman (Narrator)

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Worn: A People's History of Clothing

Brought to you by Penguin. A finely spun history of clothes and where they come from Linen, Cotton, Silk, Synthetics, Wool: through the stories of these five fabrics, Sofi Thanhauser illuminates the world we inhabit in a startling new way, travelling from China to Cumbria to reveal the craft, labour and industry that create the clothes we wear. From the women who transformed stalks of flax into linen to clothe their families in 19th century New England to those who earn their dowries in the cotton spinning factories of South India today, this book traces the origins of garment making through time and around the world. Exploring the social, economic and environmental impact of our most personal possessions, Worn looks beyond care labels to show how clothes reveal the truth about what we really care about. © Sofi Thanhauser 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

Sofi Thanhauser (Author), Rebecca Lowman (Narrator)

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Dead Woman's Pond: Nearly Departed, Book 1

No matter how Flynn Dalton tries to avoid it, the supernatural finds her. At first it’s not so bad. Flynn’s girlfriend, Genesis, is a nationally known psychic, which makes Flynn uncomfortable for both paranormal and financial reasons, but she can handle it. As long as no one makes her talk about it. Then, on her way home from her construction job, Flynn almost ends up the latest casualty of Festivity’s infamous Dead Man’s Pond. And when her ex-lover’s ghost appears to warn her away, things get a whole lot weirder. Flynn might not like it, but the pond has fixated on her to be its next victim. If she wants to survive, she’ll have to swallow her pride, accept Gen’s help, and get much closer to the psychic realm—and her own latent psychic abilities—than she ever wanted.

Elle E. Ire (Author), Rebecca Lowman (Narrator)

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God, Human, Animal, Machine: Technology, Metaphor, and the Search for Meaning

A strikingly original exploration of what it might mean to be authentically human in the age of artificial intelligence, from the author of the critically-acclaimed Interior States. 'Meghan O'Gieblyn is a brilliant and humble philosopher, and her book is an explosively thought-provoking, candidly personal ride I wished never to end. . .This book is such an original synthesis of ideas and disclosures. It introduces what will soon be called the O'Gieblyn genre of essay writing." --Heidi Julavits, author of The Folded Clock For most of human history the world was a magical and enchanted place ruled by forces beyond our understanding. The rise of science and Descartes's division of mind from world made materialism our ruling paradigm, in the process asking whether our own consciousness--i.e., souls--might be illusions. Now the inexorable rise of technology, with artificial intelligences that surpass our comprehension and control, and the spread of digital metaphors for self-understanding, the core questions of existence--identity, knowledge, the very nature and purpose of life itself--urgently require rethinking. Meghan O'Gieblyn tackles this challenge with philosophical rigor, intellectual reach, essayistic verve, refreshing originality, and an ironic sense of contradiction. She draws deeply and sometimes humorously from her own personal experience as a formerly religious believer still haunted by questions of faith, and she serves as the best possible guide to navigating the territory we are all entering.

Meghan O'gieblyn (Author), Rebecca Lowman (Narrator)

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Eva and Eve: A Search for My Mother's Lost Childhood and What a War Left Behind

The author of the New York Times bestselling memoir Perfection returns with an unforgettable account of her late mother's childhood in Nazi-occupied Austria and the parallels she sees in present-day America. To Julie Metz, her mother, Eve, was the quintessential New Yorker. Eve rarely spoke about her childhood and it was difficult to imagine her living anywhere else except Manhattan, where she could be found attending Carnegie Hall and the Metropolitan Opera or inspecting a round of French triple crème at Zabar's. In truth, Eve had endured a harrowing childhood in Nazi-occupied Vienna. After her mother passed, Julie discovered a keepsake book filled with farewell notes from friends and relatives addressed to a ten-year-old girl named Eva. This long-hidden memento was the first clue to the secret pain that Julie's mother had carried as a refugee and immigrant, shining a light on a family that had to persevere at every turn to escape the antisemitism and xenophobia that threatened their survival. Interweaving personal memoir and family history, Eva and Eve vividly traces one woman's search for her mother's lost childhood while revealing the resilience of our forebears and the sacrifices that ordinary people are called to make during history's darkest hours.

Julie Metz (Author), Rebecca Lowman (Narrator)

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Brood

The coop houses no predators, but the chickens do not know this. A chicken knows only what it can see. A chicken’s life is full of magic. Lo and behold. Over the course of a single year, our nameless narrator heroically tries to keep her small brood of four chickens alive despite the seemingly endless challenges that caring for another creature entails. From the freezing nights of a brutal winter to a sweltering summer which brings a surprise tornado, she battles predators, bad luck, and the uncertainty of a future that may not look anything like the one she always imagined. Brood by Jackie Polzin is a darkly funny and startlingly original meditation on life and longing, full of sorrow, joy and unrelenting hope. It will stand beside such modern classics as H is for Hawk and Gilead.

Jackie Polzin (Author), Rebecca Lowman (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by Rebecca Lowman