
The Best We Could Hope For
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Helen Laser
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By:
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Nicola Kraus
About this listen
From a #1 New York Times bestselling author comes a powerful novel about family, the weight of secrets, the choices we make, and the repercussions of the decisions made for us.
When Bunny Linden abandons her three children with her older sister, Jayne, in 1972, she knows Jayne will be the perfect mother. The mother Bunny, a teen runaway, could never be.
As months turn into years without word, Jayne and her husband, Rodger, a rising journalism star, strive to give the children the opportunity to flourish and feel loved. When Jayne and Rodger finally have a child of their own, a seemingly stable home is built. But then, after nearly a decade, Bunny resurfaces and sets a chain of events in motion that detonates all their lives.
As adults, their children try to reassemble the pieces and solve the mystery that has always haunted them. Who were their parents? What really happened between them? And who is ultimately to blame for the destruction? But will the answers they seek set them free—or lead to something far more damaging than anyone imagined?
©2025 by Nicola Kraus. (P)2025 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.Listeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
“An anguished investigation of the way memories can warp lives.”—Kirkus Reviews
“The touchstones the book shares with Dylan Farrow’s life are bound to provoke conversation around this powerful, tragic tale.”—Booklist
“Writing with grace and intelligence, Kraus explores the complex intersection of memory and loyalty in a sweeping story about a broken family and the women who knit together the remains. Perfect for book clubs.”—Sarah Pekkanen, #1 New York Times bestselling author of House of Glass
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Worth reading (or listening)
- By Shelli on 05-16-25
By: Robert Bailey
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The One That Got Away
- A Short Story
- By: Mike Gayle
- Narrated by: David Ijiti
- Length: 2 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Reuben thought he’d spend the rest of his life with Beth, until she broke his heart six months ago. He’s not even remotely over her, so he’s devastated to hear she’s getting married—this weekend. Now he’s faced with the ultimate question: what should he do on the day of the wedding? Grieve? Disrupt the ceremony? Or do everything in his power to pretend it’s not happening? Enlisting the help of his friends, Reuben is all set to mark the occasion with distraction on a grand scale: Ferraris, champagne, and a VIP box at the races.
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Charming is an understatement
- By L. B. on 05-16-25
By: Mike Gayle
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Dread House
- A Novel
- By: A.C. Hessenauer
- Narrated by: Allison Foias
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Cassie Harper anticipates a week of prenuptial celebrations when she agrees to spend the week before her best friend Emily’s wedding at the remote and foreboding Hideaway House. Nestled deep in the heart of a secluded forest, the estate is the perfect backdrop for a series of lavish parties. But as Cassie arrives, she feels nothing but a growing sense of dread. As the days tick by in the eerie isolation of the estate, it becomes clear that there’s more to this place than meets the eye. Surrounded by sprawling woods, she finds herself entangled in the estate’s unsettling past.
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Demonic rituals leading to wedding from Hell.
- By Callie on 04-20-25
By: A.C. Hessenauer
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A Good Mother
- By: Michelle Dunne
- Narrated by: Jacqueline Milne
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Alex Blake was terrified of water, and had been since she nearly drowned at age five. So when police find her body in the river and rule it a suicide, her mother, Jen knows they're wrong. But no one will listen to a grieving mother. The police dismiss her. Her husband thinks she's in denial. Even their neighbours, the Higgins family, urge her to accept the truth and move on. But something isn't right. Why was Alex messaging Lia Higgins, Jen's former best friend, the day she died? And why is Lia now so desperate to shut down Jen's questions?
By: Michelle Dunne
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Thrilled to Death
- Selected Stories
- By: Lynne Tillman, Lucy Sante - introduction
- Narrated by: Daniela Acitelli
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Curated by the author, Thrilled to Death is the definitive entry point for both established fans and new listeners alike. These selected stories collect a bold, playful, and eclectic ensemble of Tillman's Borgesian fictions that span decades and traverse themes of sex, death, memory, and anxiety. With argumentative wit, Tillman's meditations and reflections on art, politics, and culture are animated by deliciously paradoxical characters who desire and fret in turn, and who are imbued with searing intelligence and dolorous ambivalence.
By: Lynne Tillman, and others
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The Fake Mother
- By: Jenna Kernan
- Narrated by: Ina Marie Smith
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Eliza has everything I’ve ever wanted. Three perfect children. A doting husband. A dream home. But I know a secret that could destroy it all. When Eliza Watts hires me as her assistant, I can’t believe my luck. I steady my nerves as she glances approvingly at my glittering CV. I need this job more than anything. But she must never know why. It’s funny she doesn’t recognize me, because we’ve met before. And ever since we crossed paths, I’ve wanted nothing but to be close to her and her flawless family.
By: Jenna Kernan
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Between the Waves
- By: Hilary Tailor
- Narrated by: Bronwen Price
- Length: 11 hrs
- Unabridged
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Twenty years ago, during a family holiday on the savage and remote island of Little Auger, eleven-year-old Hazel left her bed and was never seen again. The unanswered questions surrounding Hazel’s disappearance tore three families apart and the girls left behind all experience their own terrible guilt. Roz, because she broke a promise; Catrin, because it was her idea; and Nina, who slept through it all. Their friendship never recovers and all three women go on to lead vastly different lives.
By: Hilary Tailor
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Indelible Ink
- The Trials of John Peter Zenger and the Birth of America’s Free Press
- By: Richard Kluger
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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In Indelible Ink, acclaimed social historian Richard Kluger recreates in rich detail this dramatic clash of powerful antagonists that marked the beginning of press freedom in America and its role in vanquishing colonial tyranny. Here is an enduring lesson that resounds to this day on the vital importance of free public expression as the underpinning of democracy.
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Interesting Study of Zenger
- By Chris Hummel on 01-27-24
By: Richard Kluger
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Island of Vice
- Theodore Roosevelt's Doomed Quest to Clean up Sin-Loving New York
- By: Richard Zacks
- Narrated by: Joe Ochman
- Length: 15 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Zacks’s meticulous research and wonderful sense of narrative verve bring this disparate cast of both pious and bawdy New Yorkers to life. With cameos by Stephen Crane, J. P. Morgan, and Joseph Pulitzer, plus a horde of very angry cops, Island of Vice is an unforgettable portrait of turn-of-the-century New York in all its seedy glory, and a brilliant portrayal of the energetic, confident, and zealous Roosevelt, one of America’s most colorful public figures.
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Interesting and informative
- By Carrie Taylor on 04-22-12
By: Richard Zacks
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The Nanny Diaries
- By: Emma McLaughlin, Nicola Kraus
- Narrated by: Kathe Mazur
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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What do you do when you are a nanny to an obscenely rich Park Avenue matron named X? Mrs. X refuses to do anything for herself, including cook, clean, or take care of her 4-year-old son. You are expected to do everything, including maintaining the mental health of said 4-year-old, even while Mrs. X decides that it is time for a divorce. You'll have to bear up under the strain with wit and panache, even as the boundaries between your working life and your so-called private life blur, merge, and disappear.
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The Nanny Diaries
- By Rhonda on 08-21-04
By: Emma McLaughlin, and others
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Moms Like Us
- A Novel
- By: Jordan Roter
- Narrated by: Helen Laser
- Length: 6 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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That someone might end up dead at the Palms School’s annual glamping trip in Santa Barbara wasn’t far-fetched. Taking city people into the woods was begging for murder. What was surprising was how far these mothers would go to cover it up.
By: Jordan Roter
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Notes on Infinity
- A Novel
- By: Austin Taylor
- Narrated by: Helen Laser, Shahjehan Khan
- Length: 10 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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A singular, extraordinary debut about Zoe and Jack, Harvard students who find themselves propelled into the intoxicating biotech startup world when they announce they’ve discovered the cure for aging. A different kind of love story where the thirst for achievement consumes and the stakes are forever.
By: Austin Taylor
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A Perfect Cup of Tea
- By: Kate Heartfield
- Narrated by: Helen Laser
- Length: 6 mins
- Original Recording
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It takes some gumption to claim to be the best tea shop in the city of Kansar, where five ancient roads meet and everyone is selling something. But Yala’s shop has been in her family for three generations and is famed for its brews among warriors and wizards alike. When the Imperial Spell Company claims a monopoly on all magic in Kansar, Yala tries to convince a company henchman that her teas are nothing but ordinary leaves and water.
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Intriguing!
- By LK on 01-10-25
By: Kate Heartfield
You gotta finish it...
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Great characters well written
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I couldn’t finish
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Also the audio wasn't great. It seemed like it was constantly fading in and out just enough to notice and to be annoying.
Disjointed and depressing
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