Ari Fliakos has narrated 56 audiobooks on Listento.it by 57 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.4★ across 3,161 ratings. The most-rated is The Rooster Bar.
The Middleman
Summary
"Steinhauer once again demonstrates his mastery in creating suspense.... Ari Fliakos calmly narrates while capturing colorfully the array of characters in this multilayered book." (Washington Post) In The Middleman, Olen Steinhauer, New York Times best-selling author of 10 titles, including The Tourist and The Cairo Affair, delivers a compelling portrait of a nation on the edge of revolution, and the deepest motives of the men and women on the opposite sides of the divide. One day in the early summer of 2017, about 400 people disappear from their lives. They leave behind cell phones, credit cards, jobs, houses, families - everything - all on the same day. Where have they gone? Why? The only answer, for weeks, is silence. Kevin Moore is one of them. Former military, disaffected, restless, Kevin leaves behind his retail job in San Francisco, sends a good-bye text to his mother, dumps his phone and wallet into a trash can, and disappears. The movement calls itself the Massive Brigade, and they believe change isn't coming fast enough to America. But are they a protest organization, a political movement, or a terrorist group? What do they want? The FBI isn't taking any chances. Special Agent Rachel Proulx has been following the growth of left-wing political groups in the US since the fall of 2016, and is very familiar with Martin Bishop, the charismatic leader of the Massive Brigade. But she needs her colleagues to take her seriously in order to find these people before they put their plan - whatever it is - into action. What Rachel uncovers will shock the entire nation, and the aftermath of her investigation will reverberate through the FBI to the highest levels of government.
©2018 Third State, Inc. (P)2018 Macmillan Audio
Promises in the Dark
Summary
The young girl pushes against the backseat of the family sedan, fighting to free herself from the crude ties restricting her hands and feet. As the car speeds towards the edge of town, she looks back at her family home and watches in horror as it is suddenly engulfed in a mass of flames. Trembling with fear, she turns toward the driver and hears only laughter. She knows that the worst is yet to come.... Detective Jenna Alton surveys the charred remains of the large suburban home, stopping to pause at the three lifeless bodies of the Woods family. Jenna knows she’s looking for a serial killer, but her priority is finding the missing teenage daughter last seen on the night of the inferno. Days later, Sophie Woods’s body is discovered floating in a shallow pool of crystal-clear water - known locally as Dead Man’s Drop - but Jenna still doesn’t know who would target the quiet family in such a brutal attack. Delving into the family’s past, she makes a shocking discovery - a link between the killer and someone connected to her deputy David Kane. If Jenna is right and the killer is back and seeking revenge, then she must act fast to keep her deputy safe. When another girl is taken, Jenna and David follow the trail into a network of underground caves on the outskirts of town. With little time before the killer claims his next victim, they race into the pitch-black tunnels, unsure whether they have just walked into the killer’s trap. Can they find the girl in time and escape the caves without the killer chasing them down? Each Kane and Alton book can be listened to as part of the series or as a stand-alone.
©2020 D.K. Hood (P)2020 Bookouture, an imprint of Storyfire Ltd.
Setting Free the Kites
Summary
From the author of the "lyrical and compelling" (USA Today) novel A Good American comes a powerful story of two friends and the unintended consequences of friendship, loss, and hope. For Robert Carter, life in his coastal Maine hometown is comfortably predictable. But in 1976, on his first day of eighth grade, he meets Nathan Tilly, who changes everything. Nathan is confident, fearless, impetuous - and fascinated by kites and flying. Robert and Nathan's budding friendship is forged in the crucible of two family tragedies, and as the boys struggle to come to terms with loss, they take summer jobs at the local rundown amusement park. It's there that Nathan's boundless capacity for optimism threatens to overwhelm them both, and where they learn some harsh truths about family, desire, and revenge. Unforgettable and heartbreaking, Setting Free the Kites is a poignant and moving exploration of the pain, joy, and glories of young friendship.
©2017 Alex George (P)2017 Penguin Audio
O's Little Guide to Finding Your True Purpose
Summary
An engaging mix of inspiring advice and real-life stories of self-discovery, O's Little Guide to Finding Your True Purpose will captivate anyone who's ever been beckoned by a dream. Featuring some of the best work to have appeared in O, The Oprah Magazine, this rousing collection is all about helping listeners to hear and heed their calling. From the beginning, O has been a catalyst for women seeking to become who they're meant to be. O's Little Guide to Finding Your True Purpose continues this tradition by combining practical wisdom and relatable tales of trial, error, and triumph. Contributors include Edwidge Danticat on getting past the need to please; Martha Beck on charting your own course; Patti Smith on staying true to yourself; Elizabeth Gilbert on getting unstuck; Robin Black on thriving as a late bloomer; and many more. Whether you're still searching for your passion or summoning the courage to pursue it, this one-of-a-kind collection will set you on your way. The full list of narrators includes Cynthia Hopkins and Helen Litchfield.
©2015 Hearst Communications (P)2015 Macmillan Audio
All the Old Knives
Summary
Nine years ago terrorists hijacked a plane in Vienna. Somehow a rescue attempt staged from the inside went terribly wrong, and everyone onboard was killed. Members of the CIA stationed in Vienna during that time were witness to this terrible tragedy, gathering intel from their sources during those tense hours, assimilating facts from the ground with a series of texts coming from one of their agents inside the plane. So when it all went wrong, the question had to be asked: Had their agent been compromised, and how? Two of those agents, Henry Pelham and Celia Harrison, were lovers at the time, and in fact that was the last night they spent together. Until now. That night Celia decided she'd had enough; she left the agency, married, and had children, and is living an ordinary life in the suburbs. Henry is still an analyst, and has traveled to California to see her one more time, to relive the past, maybe, or to put it behind him once and for all. But neither of them can forget that long-ago question: Had their agent been compromised, and how? And each of them wonders what role tonight's dinner companion might have played in the way things unfolded. All the Old Knives is Olen Steinhauer's most intimate, most cerebral, and most shocking novel to date - from the New York Times best-selling author deemed by many to be John le Carré's heir apparent.
©2015 Third State, Inc. (P)2015 Macmillan Audio
Shotgun Lovesongs
Summary
Welcome to Little Wing. It’s a place like hundreds of others, nothing special, really. But for four friends—all born and raised in this small Wisconsin town—it is home. And now they are men, coming into their own, or struggling to do so. One of them never left, still working the family farm that has been tilled for generations. But others felt the need to move on, with varying degrees of success. One trades commodities, another took to the rodeo circuit, and one of them even hit it big as a rock star. And then there’s Beth, a woman who has meant something special in each of their lives. Now all four are brought together for a wedding. Little Wing seems even smaller than before. While lifelong bonds are still strong, there are stresses—between the friends, between husbands and wives. There will be heartbreak, but there will also be hope, healing, even heroism as these memorable people learn the true meaning of adult friendship and love. Seldom has the American heartland been so richly and accurately portrayed. Though the town may have changed, the one thing that hasn’t is the beauty of the Wisconsin farmland, the lure of which, in Nickolas Butler’s hands, emerges as a vibrant character in the story. Shotgun Lovesongs is that rare work of fiction that evokes a specific time and place yet movingly describes the universal human condition. It is, in short, a truly remarkable audiobook—a novel that once listened to will never be forgotten.
©2014 Nickolas Butler (P)2013 Macmillan Audio
Maggie Brown & Others
Summary
In this powerful and virtuosic collection of interlocking stories, each one "[A] marvel of concision and compassion" (Washington Post), Peter Orner, a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist and "[M]aster of his form" (New York Times), takes the short story to new heights. Through 44 compressed gems, Peter Orner, a writer who "[D]oesn't simply bring his characters to life, he gives them souls" (NYT Book Review), chronicles people whose lives are at inflection points, gripping us with a series of defining moments. Whether it's a first date that turns into a late-night road trip to a séance in an abandoned airplane hangar, or a family's memories of the painful mystery surrounding a forgotten uncle's demise, Orner reveals how our fleeting decisions between kindness and abandonment chase us across time. These stories are anchored by a poignant novella that delivers not only the joys and travails of a 40-year marriage, but an entire era in a working-class New England city. Bristling with the crackling energy of life itself, Maggie Brown & Others marks the most sustained achievement to date for "[A] master of his form" (New York Times). A New York Times Notable Book Longlisted for the Simpson/Joyce Carol Oates Prize An Oprah Magazine Best Book of 2019 Kirkus "Best Short Fiction of 2019"
©2019 Peter Orner (P)2020 Random House Audio
O's Little Book of Love and Friendship
Summary
An evocative and heartwarming collection of essays and anecdotes from great writers and celebrated thinkers, O's Little Book of Love & Friendship will captivate anyone whose life has ever been touched by a lasting friendship or an unforgettable romance. With essays and anecdotes from some of the best contributors to O, The Oprah Magazine, this charming collection warms the heart and stirs the soul. Among the highlights: a frank, funny, and freewheeling conversation between two of the world's great BFFs, Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King; Abigail Thomas on the ecstasy and agony of a first date; Elizabeth Strout on sharing the words that made her heart crack; Susanna Sonnenberg on reconnecting with her adored sister; Walter Kirn on love lessons learned the hard way; and more. A perfect gift for anyone's nearest and dearest, O's Little Book of Love & Friendship is a treasure box that listeners will turn to again and again.
©2016 Hearst Communications (P)2016 Macmillan Audio
The War Before the War
Summary
"Excellent...stunning." (Ta-Nehisi Coates) The devastating story of how fugitive slaves drove the nation to Civil War. A New York Times Notable Book Selection Winner of the Mark Lynton History Prize Winner of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award A New York Times Critics' Best Book A New York Times Critics' Best Book For decades after its founding, America was really two nations - one slave, one free. There were many reasons why this composite nation ultimately broke apart, but the fact that enslaved black people repeatedly risked their lives to flee their masters in the South in search of freedom in the North proved that the "united" states was actually a lie. Fugitive slaves exposed the contradiction between the myth that slavery was a benign institution and the reality that a nation based on the principle of human equality was in fact a prison-house in which millions of Americans had no rights at all. By awakening Northerners to the true nature of slavery, and by enraging Southerners who demanded the return of their human "property", fugitive slaves forced the nation to confront the truth about itself. By 1850, with America on the verge of collapse, Congress reached what it hoped was a solution - the notorious Compromise of 1850, which required that fugitive slaves be returned to their masters. Like so many political compromises before and since, it was a deal by which white Americans tried to advance their interests at the expense of black Americans. Yet the Fugitive Slave Act, intended to preserve the Union, in fact set the nation on the path to civil war. It divided not only the American nation, but also the hearts and minds of Americans who struggled with the timeless problem of when to submit to an unjust law and when to resist. The fugitive slave story illuminates what brought us to war with ourselves and the terrible legacies of slavery that are with us still.
©2018 Andrew Delbanco (P)2018 Penguin Audio
Killer Chef
Summary
Eat, drink, and be murdered. Someone is poisoning diners in New Orleans' best restaurants. Now it's up to chef and homicide cop Caleb Rooney to catch a killer - who has an appetite for revenge. BookShots Lightning-fast stories by James Patterson Novels you can devour in a few hours Impossible to stop listening All original content from James Patterson
©2016 James Patterson and Jeffrey J. Keyes (P)2016 Hachette Audio
Arcady's Goal
Summary
In Arcady's Goal, by Newbery Honor author Eugene Yelchin, for 12-year-old Arcady, soccer is life. Sent to live in a children's home after his parents are declared enemies of the state, he plays to win his dinner, and to maintain his sanity. When a visiting inspector decides to adopt him, Arcady questions his motivations. Who could want an enemy of the people as a son? In his new life, Arcady will come to discover the power of believing in and loving another person - and himself. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©2014 Eugene Yelchin (P)2014 Macmillan Audio
The Island
Summary
CIA operative Dewey Andreas is America's last line of defense when terrorists take over Manhattan, targeting the UN and the President himself in the latest in this New York Times best-selling series. America is about to face the deadliest terrorist attack on its soil since 9/11. Iran has been planning a revenge attack for years, with three goals in mind. Bring America to its knees. Assassinate the popular US President J. P. Dellenbaugh. And neutralize their most successful agent, Dewey Andreas. The first pre-emptive attack against Dewey Andreas fails but it worries the head of the CIA enough that he sends Dewey out of town and off the grid. But as intelligence analysts work as fast as they can to unravel the chatter on terrorist networks, Muhammed el-Shakib, head of Iran's military and intelligence agency, launches a bold strike. When the President arrives in New York to address the UN, embedded terrorist assets blow up the bridges and tunnels that connect Manhattan to the mainland. Taking control of the island with its hidden forces, they race to the UN in search of Dellenbaugh and to launch an even deadlier attack that will wreak unimaginable destruction on the country itself. While a shocked country struggles to mount a counter-attack, a hopeless, outmanned, and outgunned Dewey Andreas sneaks onto the island of Manhattan to fight a seemingly impossible battle. A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press
©2021 Ben Coes (P)2021 Macmillan Audio
O's Little Guide to Starting Over
Summary
An inspiring collection of personal stories and wise words that celebrate the power of a fresh start. Some of us start over willingly, and others are forced by circumstance - but everyone who finds herself back at square one could use a dose of courage and comfort. Listeners will discover both in O's Little Guide to Starting Over, a collection of stirring pieces on the topic of beginning again. Just a few of the compelling writers and astute thinkers in the mix: Martha Beck, who advises us that embracing failure may lead to our greatest successes; Kelly Corrigan, who writes that accepting our lack of control can be both freeing and healing; and Junot Diaz, who offers reassurance that pushing ahead, even when it feels impossible, is the way to become the person we were meant to be. With moving stories, practical insight, and unforgettable voices, O's Little Guide to Starting Over is an essential road map for those who are breaking free, rising above, and making their way forward.
©2015 Hearst Communications Inc. (P)2016 Macmillan Audio
The Nine
Summary
Hannah Webber fears she will never be a mother, but her prayers are finally answered when she gives birth to a son. In an era of high-stakes parenting, nurturing Sam’s intellect becomes Hannah’s life purpose. She invests body and soul into his development, much to the detriment of her marriage. She convinces herself, however, that Sam’s acceptance, at age fourteen, to the most prestigious of New England boarding schools, overseen by an illustrious headmaster, justifies her choices. When he arrives at Dunning, Sam is glad to be out from under his mother’s close watch. And he enjoys his newfound freedom - until, late one night, he stumbles upon evidence of sexual misconduct at the school and is unable to shake the discovery. Both a coming-of-age novel and a portrait of an evolving mother-son relationship, The Nine is the story of a young man who chooses to expose a corrupt world operating under its own set of rules - even if it means jeopardizing his mother’s hopes and dreams.
©2019 Jeanne Blasberg (P)2019 Silverton Agency
What Sammy Knew
Summary
"Laskin's narrative captures it all - the fervor, the drugs, the sex, the politics, the magic, the tragedy of the 60s and 70s and most of all the angst of that wonderful, terrible time. A fun, transporting, and evocative read." (Daniel James Brown, New York Times best-selling author of The Boys in the Boat) A turbulent coming-of-age novel about a young man who loses his innocence and finds his soul in the ferment of New York City in 1970 On the brink of a new decade, as the radical 1960s turns to the 1970s, 17-year-old Sam Stein is about to grow up in a hurry. Raised in a cushy Long Island suburb where his parents consign him to the care of Tutu Carter, their live-in housekeeper, Sam is learning uncomfortable truths about his place and privilege in his relationship with Tutu and in the world. When he stumbles into a New Year's party and meets firebrand Kim Goodman, his life is changed forever. In short order, he falls in love and flees with her to the drug-soaked East Village of Manhattan, and gets swept up in the revolutionary political movements of the time. An aspiring writer, Sam bears witness to the seismic upheavals of the day while remaining utterly blind to a high-stakes plot that Kim and her comrades are executing right under his nose. As seemingly unrelated events click into place, what Sammy knew and what Sammy didn't know become matters of life and death - not only for himself and Kim, but for Tutu and her grandson, Leon, in Harlem, and for the radical protest movement teetering between disillusion and revolution. Compulsively listenable, peopled by unforgettable characters, crackling with wit and suspense, What Sammy Knew brilliantly evokes a chaotic, dangerously polarized, and historically important moment in America.
©2021 David Laskin (P)2021 Penguin Audio
Her Rebel Heart: A Completely Irresistible Historical Romance
Summary
Caroline sighed. She longed to be away from here, from the rain and barren hills and bitter winds, with nothing ever happening. It was as if she’d spent her whole life waiting for something truly exciting.... 1832, Scotland: When Caroline Reid is offered the chance to travel to America to live with her estranged uncle, she has only two things on her mind: to become the belle of Boston society and to make an enviable - and financially advantageous - match. But from the moment her journey begins, things do not go as she expects. From the seasickness on her Atlantic crossing, to the unexpected friendship she strikes up with a young widow named Eleanor, the Caroline who set sail for the New World isn’t quite the same person who arrives there.... Then she meets Eleanor’s brother, Ian Campbell, and her rebel heart cannot help but beat faster. Even though he doesn’t have a fortune, Caroline’s feelings overwhelm her earlier ambitions. However, her uncle - who had so gallantly invited her to live in his house - has other plans. And he will stop at absolutely nothing to get what he wants.... An unmissable story about friendship, courage and impossible choices for fans of Diana Gabaldon, Tamera Alexander and Poldark. Previously published as Another Country.
©2012 Kate Hewitt (P)2020 Bookouture