I have been working to clear up my backlist on Netgalley and these three audiobooks are all from 2023. I did enjoy them all, but The Curious Kidnapping of Nora W was my favourite.

The Last List of Mabel Beaumont by Laura Pearson, Penelope Freeman (Narrator)

Published August 4th 2023 by Boldwood Books

4 Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Mabel and Arthur Beaumont live in a small Surrey town and have been married for sixty-two years. They are friends, and maybe in love at one time, but they are comfortable with one another. When Arthur dies, Mabel is adrift. I know exactly how Mabel felt. Arthur was a lover of lists, he made them all the time and worked his way through them. After his passing, Mabel finds the last one that Arthur had started, but it only contains one thing and it was not complete, “Find D” was all it said. Mabel can only think of her best friend from before she and Arthur were married, Dot, whom she hasn’t seen since before her wedding Did he want her to find Dot again? Mabel and Arthur were childless, so she is entirely alone, that is until Julie knocks on her door. Julie is a carer, who Arthur had arranged for before he died. Mabel didn’t want anyone coming into her home and helping her, but eventually, she comes to look forward to their time together. Through Julie, and her own newfound courage, Mabel meets other friends. A teenager who works at the local market. A seventy year old dance instructor, and a young mother with a tiny daughter. Suddenly Mabel doesn’t feel so alone and she opens up to her new friends. They decide to help her find Dot, and while doing that they develop wonderful friendships and new beginnings for each of them, in spite of Mabel’s meddling that almost costs her those new friends.

I really enjoyed this book with it’s quirky characters, multi-generational friendships, shared secrets and new beginnings. Mabel was an interesting character who had a huge secret, that had affected her own life. Her marriage to Arthur was comfortable, but they weren’t really in love. I know a lot of people who live together, married and comfortable, very happily, but could they both have been happier. I loved how she interfered in her friend’s lives. Although it almost cost her their friendship, she did it with good intentions, and it worked out in the long run. The way the friends went about finding Dot was interesting. There was some detective work, meetings with some people from Mabel’s past and some dead ends, but they did it together and had fun. The secondary characters were all wonderful. They were all dealing with things in their own lives and these friendships helped the to make decisions and move on, all with some success. I enjoyed this story and recommend this one if you enjoy multi-generational stories. I listened to The Last List of Mabel Beaumont, narrated by Penelope Freeman. There were a lot of characters of different ages and genders and I enjoyed the voices she gave them. Her voice and expression added to the story and I very much enjoyed listening to this one.

The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer, Jennifer Pickens (Narrator)

Published May 9th 2023 by St Martin’s Press, Macmillan Audio

4 Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Clover Brooks is a ‘death doula’. She has a master’s degree in thanatology, the study of death and the losses brought about as a result. She lives alone in a brownstone in the West Village of New York, and has only one friend, her eighty-seven year old neighbour. She is a loner, with a dog and two cats. She loves to read, but not socialize. She was raised by her grandfather after her parent’s death and she loved him dearly. When he died while she was away, she became a death doula, to help others on their final journey, so they would not be alone. Clover is hired by Claudia’s grandson, Sebastian, but the family is having a hard time dealing with her cancer, and they won’t talk about it. Claudia has regrets and asks Clover to help her with one of her biggest regrets, so she heads off on a cross country trip and re-examining her life, her regrets and how to move forward in a less cautious way. Sebastian and Clover become attracted to one another, and there might be love in the air. There is also a new tenant in the building, and it looks like Clover might have a friend. with all this going on, it looks like Clover’s life might be changing.

This was an interesting book, one that I really liked at time, and was ambivalent about at others. Clover was a character that I had a hard time liking. She was a confident twenty year old, traveling the world, then became a mid thirties recluse with no self-esteem. I know she was devastated by her grandfather’s death, but she became really annoying at times. Her role as a death doula also had her recording the last conversations with the dying and found they were often regrets, but also secrets or accomplishments. Clover grows a lot in this story and decides she needs to open up to others and live. I really liked Sebastian’s character, he was my favourite and I loved how he helped Clover come out of her shell. This is Mikki Brammer’s debut book and I will watch for more of her work. I enjoyed the story overall, I just wish I had liked Clover more. The narration was performed by Jennifer Pickens and she did a nice job with the story. It was the first time listening to this narrator and I will listen to others.

The Curious Kidnapping of Nora W by Cate Green, Narrated by Sarah Agha, Deryn Edwards, & Katherine Press 

Published July 20th 2023 by One More Chapter

5 Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I want to start by saying I absolutely loved The Curious Kidnapping of Nora W. Nora is 18 days from her 123rd birthday. She will be in the record books as the oldest ever person. Nora is living in a care home and her family is planning a huge birthday bash being planned by her great granddaughter, Debs. Nora doesn’t want a party, in fact, she doesn’t want to live there anymore. Nora’s son David is also living in the same care home, but he has dementia and doesn’t recognize his mother. She convinces one of her workers, Arifa Hashmi, to let her stay with her and take her around the East End where she used to live and own a store with her husband. She gets signed out of the home by a relative, guess who, and goes to live with Arifa and her son, Nasir. Her family are livid, thinking Arifa is a gold digger and had no business taking her out of the residence. Nora, is still of sound mind and she has no desire to go back. The story of what happens with Nora, Arifa, Nasir and Nora’s family moves forward with tears, anger, frustation, secrets revealed and more.

This was such a wonderful story. Nora and her family were part of the Holocaust and she, her husband Henry and son David somehow survived and moved to the U.K. Arifa is also a survivor, she lost her husband and daughter in the Syrian war and escaped to England to start a new life. She is a doctor, but is working as a caretaker in a nursing home/care home. As Nora resides with Arifa, we learn a lot of her history and what her life was like after WW2. The relationship between Nora and Arifa was wonderful. They were friends and spent a lot of time together. Nora’s family were not all that likable at the beginning of the story. Besides Debs, who visited regularly, the rest of the family didn’t see Nora much. Her granddaugher-in-law, was quite selfish and was more worried about what they would get when Nora was gone. When tragedy strikes the family, it makes them re-examine their lives and values. This is a story of motherhood, family, friendship, loss, found family, aging and more. This is a book that I definitely recommend. The audiobook was very well narrated by the team of Sarah Agha, Deryn Edwards and Katherine Press. I loved that the three main females each had their own voice and all the secondary characters were also recognizable. They made the story even more enjoyable for me.