It’s been August since I shared What I’ve Been Listening To. My apologies for depriving you! And you know that I listen to audiobooks every single day: Work, home, car, walking, bedtime: I’m constantly listening to them.

I am set up with two library systems here in Columbus now, so I’m borrowing some listens with Libbby, and Hoopla. The first entry today was a borrow.

And I am typing this after watching my Dodgers win the first NL back-to-back World Series’ since 1975/76. 50 years ago! I have seen the Dodgers play in 10 World Series’ in my lifetime, and they’re now 5-5, having won the last three. It’s a good time to be a Dodgers fan.

CONSPIRATA/LUSTRUM (Robert Harris)

I loved Robert Harris’ Fatherland. It’s an alternate history mystery novel in which the Nazis won (similar to Len Deighton’s terrific SS-GB). HBO made a really good version with Rutger Hauer. I’m going to watch it again soon.

If you read my column regularly, it’d be hard for you to not know I LOVE John Maddox Robert’s SPQR mysteries, set in Ancient Rome. This is the most recent time I talked about these superb audiobooks. Click over and discover them, if you haven’t.

I wanted to read some more in this vein (Maddox Roberts sadly passed in 2024), and I was pleased to discover that Harris had written a trilogy in this milieu. Imperium is a story of young Roman lawyer Marcus Sullius Cicero. Yes, THAT Cicero. It’s told in the first person by his secretary, Tiro.

The novel takes place in two parts, over a decade apart. My love of the SPQR series will forever cause me to weigh and compare subsequent Ancient Rome series’ with it. Cicero is obviously characterized differently here than in the SPQR books (as is Julius Caeaser, Pompey, etc). That’s fine.

I enjoyed the book, and Bill Wallis was a good choice as narrator. Conspirata (original title is Lustrum) followed three years later. It begins with Cicero on the cusp of starting his consulship, and finishes with his Exile. This is history folks, not a spoiler. Interestingly, a core part of this book is the real-life Catilinarian Conspiracy – which was the subject of Maddox Roberts’ second SPQR book. I liked both looks.

I really enjoy these Ancient Rome books. The SPQR books are mysteries. These Cicero books involve his legal career, but I wouldn’t call them mysteries. I’m trying to find Steven Saylor’s Roma Sub Rosa audiobooks. Those are mysteries, and I liked the first one. But what makes all three so appealing, is the depiction of Roman politics, and how it governed the society, and the culture.

I will be completing Harris’ Cicero trilogy.

The trilogy was adapted into six plays of an hour each, and performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Man, I’d love to see them!

Due to rights issues, apparently, this isn’t available on Audible, but I am listening to it via my library system.

ALL IN ALL (Stacy Keach)

Stacy Keach is Mike Hammer to me. I like his TV show much more than I do Mickey Spillane’s super-hard boiled novels. Keach is a well-known face and voice. If you like him – or are intrigued that Shakespeare on stage is his true love – you are gonna enjoy him reading his autobiography. I was fascinated with the twists and turns his acting life took.

OTHER  RE-LISTENS

GIDEON LOWRY (John Leslie)

I did a pretty in-depth post on this four book series of Key West mysteries. I re-listened to the entire thing, and it remains an excellent hardboiled PI series. When somebody asks me to recommend something they might not know about in the genre, Michael Stone’s Streeter (which you really should read about, here), and this one, are my first two, usually. And this is on audiobook. Click over and read my post, Then read or listen to them. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

COLE & HITCH (Robert B. Parker)

Parker is best known as the Spenser for Hire guy. He also wrote Jesse Stone, which Tom Selleck turned into a terrific series of Hallmark Mysteries movies.

And man, did Parker write a terrific Western series. The first book – Appaloosa – was turned into a terrific movie by Ed Harris, which I wrote about here. And I talked about Titus Welliver’s fantastic narrations, here.

I went on a mini Westerns kick and re-listened to the first three novels, via my library. I’ve got the next two on reserve.

Welliver read the first five in the series, and starting with book four, Robert Knott continued the novels after Parker’s death. Knott’s books are good enough. CSI Miami’s Rex Lynn replaced Welliver: Western, but different from Welliver.

Knott himself took over narrating from Linn. He’s an actor, but he’s TERRIBLE. I thought he was intentionally sabotaging his own novel in the first one. He’s like a bad Captain Kirk.

I’ll listen to Welliver’s five again. Maybe go on with Linn if I stay in a Westerns mood. A series of streaming movies with Welliver as Virgil Cole, would be AMAZING. I believe he’s better as Cole, than he is as Bosch. And I love Bosch.

MISTLETOE MYSTERIES

I’ve written about this Hallmarky Christmas mystery series (which became a Hallmark streaming series), as well as its spin-off, Middlebridge Mysteries. A Christmas shop owner in a small town has a murky past. There’s some spy-drama mixed in, and this is a really good series with as strong cast. I’m re-listening to all three (short) series’, with a season four dropping this week. I have not seen the streaming show yet, but I do know it uses a different cast. Hmm…

HOLMES ON THE RANGE

Last week I updated 2024’s deep dive into this great series by Steve Hockensmith. I’m currently reading No Hallowed Ground, the second of his spin-off novels featuring operatives of the Double-A Western Detective Agency.

And at the same time, I’m re-listening to Holmes on the Range in chronological order, which has covered seven short stories and four novels. I talk about the different readers in that first link about the series. I really love this series.

MISC.

I fall asleep to the BBC radio plays of the two DIRK GENTLY books, multiple times a week. I do the same with Norbert Davis’ MAX LATIN (which I wrote an intro for, though only in print).

Over the Summer, I again listened to Lee Goldberg’s terrific EVE RONIN series. Book six came out a couple weeks ago, and it’s on my ‘Christmas gift to myself’ list.

That series crosses over with Goldberg’s thee-book (so far) SHARPE & WALKER arson investigator series. Book three in that one came out back in April, and I recently got it and listened after re-doing the first two.

I have no doubt I’ll be listening to all nine books again next year. I’ve read all of Goldberg’s Adrian Monk books. I re-watch episodes of that favorite show, which he wrote scripts for. I’d like to listen to some of the audiobooks some time.

I do love audiobooks helping me pass my day. I’m listening to Conspirata as I do this blog post.

Prior Audio Posts:
What I’ve Been Listening To: August, 2025
What I’ve Been Listening To: June, 2025
What I’ve Been Listening To: February, 2025
What I’ve Been Listening To: November, 2024
What I’ve Been Listening To: September, 2025
What I’ve Been Listening To: August, 2024 (Part II)
What I’ve Been Listening To: August, 2024
What I’ve Been Listening To: July, 2024
What I’ve Been Listening To: September 2022
May I Read You This Book? – (My favorite audiobook narrators)

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Bob Byrne’s ‘A (Black) Gat in the Hand’ made its Black Gate debut in 2018 and has returned every summer since.

His ‘The Public Life of Sherlock Holmes’ column ran every Monday morning at Black Gate from March, 2014 through March, 2017. And he irregularly posts on Rex Stout’s gargantuan detective in ‘Nero Wolfe’s Brownstone.’ He is a member of the Praed Street Irregulars, and founded www.SolarPons.com (the only website dedicated to the ‘Sherlock Holmes of Praed Street’).

He organized Black Gate’s award-nominated ‘Discovering Robert E. Howard’ series, as well as the award-winning ‘Hither Came Conan’ series. Which is now part of THE Definitive guide to Conan. He also organized 2023’s ‘Talking Tolkien.’

He has contributed stories to The MX Book of New Sherlock Holmes Stories — Parts III, IV, V, VI, XXI, and XXXIII.

He has written introductions for Steeger Books, and appeared in several magazines, including Black Mask, Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine, The Strand Magazine, and Sherlock Magazine.

You can definitely ‘experience the Bobness’ at Jason Waltz’s ’24? in 42′ podcast.