THE LAMB by Lucy Rose, read by Emma Rydal

As readers of AudioFile Magazine know, we have a feature called “Listening With,” where AudioFile talks with top authors, narrators, and many others about how and why they listen to audiobooks. It's such a popular feature that we decided to expand it to the podcast, and our first guest for our Who's Listening bonus episode is Patti Callahan Henry, an award-winning and bestselling author of some 18 novels. She's known for books that combine historical detail with character driven storytelling, and her latest, THE STORY SHE LEFT BEHIND, narrated by Golden Voice Julia Whelan and Theo Solomon, is a perfect example of this. Patti Callahan Henry joins host Jo Reed to talk about her own audiobooks, and about how listening to audiobooks fits into her life—as Patti tells us, “I always have an audiobook going. Always.” Find reviews of Patti Callahan Henry’s audiobooks at AudioFile’s website Support for Behind the Mic comes from Hachette Audio and NIGHT WATCHER, by Daphne Woolsoncroft (of the Going West podcast), who read an audio-exclusive author's note before the stunning dual-narration by Will Collyer and Helen Laser. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alex Richey discuss Emma Rydal’s intense performance of this horror audiobook. Rydal’s portrayal of Margot, a child living with her cannibalistic mother (“Mama”), will remain with listeners long after the devastating climax of this audiobook. Throughout her childhood, lost and wayward travelers of all ages, people deemed “strays,” are lured inside their home, where they’re murdered and eaten. Rydal deepens the visceral experience of this must-listen production with her unsettling depiction of Mama’s mercurial temperament.   Read our review of the audiobook at our website Published by Harper Audio. Discover thousands of audiobook reviews and more at AudioFile’s website Support for Behind the Mic comes from Hachette Audio and NIGHT WATCHER, by Daphne Woolsoncroft (of the Going West podcast), who read an audio-exclusive author's note before the stunning dual-narration by Will Collyer and Helen Laser. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alex Richey chat about this horror audiobook about a Haitian American teen whose zombie abilities are grounded in Haitian folklore. Melinda Sewak primarily narrates with tender, sometimes sinister, delivery of food descriptions which enhances the story’s evocative language. Her narration smoothly transitions between Brielle’s American accent and her mother’s French Creole. Other narrators present as a cast, voicing Brielle’s sisters as a Haitian chorus.  Read our review of the audiobook at our website Published by Macmillan Audio. Discover thousands of audiobook reviews and more at AudioFile’s website Support for Behind the Mic comes from Hachette Audio and NIGHT WATCHER, by Daphne Woolsoncroft (of the Going West podcast), who read an audio-exclusive author's note before the stunning dual-narration by Will Collyer and Helen Laser. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Narrated primarily by Helen Laser, this fast-paced horror story starts with a bang. Jess, a struggling actress, finds a scared 5-year-old boy hiding outside her apartment. When the boy’s angry father attempts to retrieve him, a monstrous creature attacks Jess’s neighbors and roommate, leaving behind death and destruction. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alex Richey discuss Laser’s portrayal of the boy with a careful balance of youthful fear and sad resolution. Her authentic depiction of Jess thoughtfully shifts between solicitousness of the boy, slowly increasing dread, and acute fear.  Read our review of the audiobook at our website Published by Macmillan Audio. Discover thousands of audiobook reviews and more at AudioFile’s website   Support for Behind the Mic comes from Hachette Audio and NIGHT WATCHER, by Daphne Woolsoncroft (of the Going West podcast), who read an audio-exclusive author's note before the stunning dual-narration by Will Collyer and Helen Laser. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alex Richey explore this horror audiobook about a possessive orchid and the humans it wants to consume. Narrators Lauren O’Leary and Barry McStay deliver a chilling performance. O’Leary seamlessly delivers Irish and American accents. McStay voices Baby, the orchid, by adopting a callous, judgmental voice as he describes the thoughts and actions of the humans around him, speaking primarily in an Irish accent. An immersive, spooky overlap of voices near the end cleverly captures Baby’s slow exertion of influence upon another human. Read our review of the audiobook at our website Published by Macmillan Audio. Discover thousands of audiobook reviews and more at AudioFile’s website https://www.audiofilemagazine.com     Support for AudioFile’s Behind the Mic comes from HarperCollins Focus, and HarperCollins Christian Publishing, publishers of some of your favorite audiobooks and authors, including Reba McEntire, Bob Goff, Kathie Lee Gifford, Max Lucado, Lysa TerKeurst, and so many more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AudioFile’s Michele Cobb is joined by narrator Nile Bullock, producer Brian Ramcharan, and Penguin Random House Audio Senior Vice President of Content Production Dan Zitt for a conversation about Jason Reynolds’s SOUNDTRACK—an audiobook original about New York City teens whose talent and love of music lift them to unexpected heights. Listen as the group discusses capturing the feel of New York City through sound, Nile’s superbly relatable performance as main character Stuy, and how the incorporation of Justin Ellington's extensive and essential musical score gives SOUNDTRACK its soundtrack. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Listening Library. Discover thousands of audiobook reviews and more at AudioFile’s website. Today’s episode is sponsored by Penguin Random House. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb chat about Catherine Ho’s masterful performance of Susanna Kwan’s poignant debut novel. Set in a rain-drenched near-future San Francisco, the story follows Bo, a young elder-care worker who faces uncertainty after her mother’s disappearance. When Mia, Bo’s centenarian neighbor, offers the solitary Bo a job, she readily accepts. Ho blends dulcet tones and resonance to provide an impressive emotional range that captures Bo’s reluctance to live in Canada with her relatives and her transformative friendship with Mia. Read our review of the audiobook at our website  Published by Random House Audio. Discover thousands of audiobook reviews and more at AudioFile’s website       Support for AudioFile’s Behind the Mic comes from HarperCollins Focus, and HarperCollins Christian Publishing, publishers of some of your favorite audiobooks and authors, including Reba McEntire, Bob Goff, Kathie Lee Gifford, Max Lucado, Lysa TerKeurst, and so many more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AudioFile’s Michele Cobb and host Jo Reed discuss narrator Yu-Li Alice Shen’s delivery of a wild, bingeable listening experience in this fast-paced debut. Identical twins Julie and Chloe, who lost their parents at age 4, grew up worlds apart. Julie, who was raised by their miserable, greedy aunt, works a dead-end job, while Chloe, who was adopted by a wealthy family, lives a life of luxury and is a popular influencer. Shen masterfully captures the dark humor and keeps listeners entertained with a dynamic performance. Read our review of the audiobook at our website.  Published by Simon & Schuster Audio. Discover thousands of audiobook reviews and more at AudioFile’s website   Support for AudioFile’s Behind the Mic comes from HarperCollins Focus, and HarperCollins Christian Publishing, publishers of some of your favorite audiobooks and authors, including Reba McEntire, Bob Goff, Kathie Lee Gifford, Max Lucado, Lysa TerKeurst, and so many more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kristen Sieh's performance brings the listener into the life of a complicated woman whose sexual desire is fixated on commercial airliners. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb highlight how Sieh's voice captures Lisa's desires in a skillful delivery that never wavers. Lisa works as an online comment moderator in San Francisco. She's good at her job, but she reserves her passion for airplanes. She perceives flights as dates, turbulence as flirtation—and a smooth flight could lead to something more. Lisa's friends begin to suspect something when her vision board fills up with plane imagery.  Read our review of the audiobook at our website.   Published by Random House Audio. Discover thousands of audiobook reviews and more at AudioFile’s website       Support for AudioFile’s Behind the Mic comes from HarperCollins Focus, and HarperCollins Christian Publishing, publishers of some of your favorite audiobooks and authors, including Reba McEntire, Bob Goff, Kathie Lee Gifford, Max Lucado, Lysa TerKeurst, and so many more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ariel Blake narrates this story of nine-months-pregnant Annie, who must find a way to reach her husband and make her way home from crib-shopping after an earthquake hits Portland, Oregon. AudioFile’s Michele Cobb and host Jo Reed discuss how Blake’s dramatic narration captures Annie's fears and concerns as she talks to "Bean," her unborn child. Blake's voice quavers as she presents a mother-to-be who is full of emotion and self-reflection. Blake conveys Annie's worries, as well as the day-to-day details of her and her husband's lives while confronting the natural disaster.  Read our review of the audiobook at our website Published by Simon & Schuster Audio. Discover thousands of audiobook reviews and more at AudioFile’s website     Support for AudioFile’s Behind the Mic comes from HarperCollins Focus, and HarperCollins Christian Publishing, publishers of some of your favorite audiobooks and authors, including Reba McEntire, Bob Goff, Kathie Lee Gifford, Max Lucado, Lysa TerKeurst, and so many more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices