New Reviews: Mystery & Suspense

Elliot Fitzpatrick narrates this dark academic mystery set at an unnamed college of Cambridge University. It's told in the first person by an unnamed student who is immediately branded an outsider because of his northern English accent and modest means. He becomes enthralled by Bryn, a wealthy, charismatic classmate who does magic tricks that may have a dark side. The setting... Read More

When the President discloses the identity of CIA operative Garris Kelley after he kills an international drug lord, Kelley's life begins to unravel. His troubles escalate when he comes to the aid of Senator Frank Beemer after a shooting on the Portland, Oregon, metro. Richard Poe is a skillful narrator, whether channeling Kelley and his various pursuers or portraying FBI Agent... Read More

Fiona Hardingham brings a dynamic presence to her narration of this caper story revolving around antiques. She balances intrigue and charm as Freya Lockwood and her aunt are thrust into another mystery. All the clues related to the disappearance of a valuable painting point to a cruise ship on which Freya was to give a talk. Hardingham gives each woman a distinct voice, making... Read More

Narrator David Chandler returns to narrate the newest installment in the Sheriff Joe Pickett series. Pickett might be retired, but that doesn't stop the governor from pressing him into service to find a family member who is missing in the rugged Wyoming backcountry. Chandler's calm, confident portrayal of Pickett is the heart of this series, and he also provides new depth for... Read More

Richard Armitage and Tuppence Middleton breathe new life into this suspense novel. Armitage portrays Grady Green, who is married to Abby, portrayed by Middleton. On the very evening that Grady learns he's a NEW YORK TIMES bestselling novelist, Abby disappears. Grady frantically searches for her, finding her car with a door open, its headlights on, and her phone inside. A year... Read More

Narrator John Pirhalla sets a slow rhythm in this mystery. Mitt Fuller begins his surgical residency at Bellevue Hospital, where his father and ancestors began their careers. He is assigned to three patients who had routine surgeries, and all three die unexpectedly. Pirhalla infuses Mitt's voice with confusion and guilt as he tries to understand why. During his few catnaps,... Read More

Listeners are treated to the rich audio experience of being immersed in the uproar of a 1950s community as major deals unfold to bring the Brooklyn Dodgers to Los Angeles. Jon Hamm returns to masterfully portray PI Jack Bergin in this second installment of the Audible series. He's joined by Ana de la Reguera as Lala Portal, Jack's ex and a classic femme fatale who is in... Read More

Sharmila Devar's smooth narration is perfectly matched to this evocative mystery set in rural north India and the slums of Delhi. When the body of Chand's young daughter is found hanging from a tree outside their village, the religion of the main suspect raises the profile of the case. For that reason, local police officers Ombir Singh and Bhim Sain are joined by a senior... Read More

Small-town Louisiana detective John Bowie is convinced that a young woman's murder has been attributed to the wrong man. A maverick on the verge of losing his job, he persuades Beth Collins, a true-crime TV producer, to investigate whether the girl's disappearance might be connected to others. Narrator Kyf Brewer does well in portraying Bowie's gritty, uncompromising demeanor,... Read More

Euan Morton takes listeners through the twisted story of two successful brothers, former criminals with a wealth of ruinous secrets. The Opgard brothers have built a name for themselves as men who dream big. When a new highway threatens to bypass their small town, the brothers return to criminal means to try to keep their new business ventures afloat. This is the second novel... Read More

Charles Johnston artfully narrates this lively look at witch hunts and trials in seventeenth-century rural England. Wealthy Jacob Standish and housemaid Abigail Harcourt are called in to help free diarist Samuel Pepys's sister, who is accused of witchcraft. Johnston portrays Jacob's insecure and often fumbling nature in contrast to socially inferior Abigail's determination to... Read More

The ensemble of narrators adds great depth to this audiobook, allowing listeners to immerse themselves in the richness of well-defined characters. In Garcia's debut thriller, the listening experience is memorable because each of the narrators is superb. There is Hillary Huber as Stephanie, who is presumably murdered on a business trip. There is Jennifer Pickens as Jasmine, the... Read More

India's most private detective, Vish Puri, heads to London to accept the International Detective of the Year award. He's accompanied by his wife and mother. Plans soon go awry as Puri finds himself and his nephew, Jags, embroiled in the hunt for the Bombay Duck, a billionaire swindler, at the request of a top government official. Vikas Adam brings Puri and his family alive with... Read More

Nicol Zanzarella splendidly captures 1890s Chicago and its diverse communities. Listeners meet 21-year-old "Harry" Morrow, who is delighted at being chosen to be the Prescott Agency's first female detective. After enduring prejudice from fellow detectives, Harry visits an elderly woman who claims her maid is missing. Colorful descriptions of buggies, meat plants, streets, and... Read More

Creepy, creepy, creepy. Narrator Kris Dyer pulls listeners into the mind of Joe Middleton, a serial rapist and murderer who is working as a janitor at the Christchurch, New Zealand, Police Station. Dyer masterfully voices the two sides of Joe: one, a seemingly kind, intellectually disabled man; the other, a calculating, twisted killer. Interspersed are third-person chapters... Read More

Vivienne Leheny's lively narration perfectly suits this high-stakes thriller. Single mother Adele, desperate for money, joins an extreme game of hide-and-seek at an abandoned island resort hosted by Maverick Dillan, an adventurer who is her son's favorite social media personality. Amid warnings from locals and a raging storm, prize money becomes the least of the contestants'... Read More

Amateur sleuth Isabel Dalhousie tackles her newest challenge in this audiobook, which bridges her personal and private lives. Narrated ably by Sally Masterson, the story becomes complicated quickly when Isabel's husband, Jamie, invites Dawn, a woman involved in a scandal, to stay with them and their two boys. When strange noises come from upstairs, where Dawn is working, the... Read More

What happens when a pathological liar ingratiates herself into a family of three? The author uses the technique of the unreliable narrator, and narrators Andrew Eiden, Devon Sorvari, Emily Tremaine handle it well. A limited number of characters are involved, but the narrators especially shine while portraying the family's young daughter, Harper. She has clipped sentences, a... Read More

Rachel Music narrates this complicated murder mystery set in Silicon Valley. Mackenzie Clyde is good at making problems go away for her boss, a venture capitalist. But when the CEO of a hot tech start-up turns up murdered, all of his money is locked into a "dead money" clause and out of the hands of investors. To get the funds into her boss's hands, Mackenzie must team up with... Read More

Cohen's latest audiobook, narrated by Rebecca Norfolk, Katherine Press, and Clare Corbett, introduces listeners to three very different women: Lilah, an engaged librarian who's just won the lottery; Marina, a newly divorced mother of three; and Opal, a fitness influencer with a bad attitude. The women are strangers until they realize they've all been deceived by the same man... Read More

Justin Price narrates this story of a Montana town that is in the midst of a murder mystery. When George Blackwater is shot while working on a screenplay, the sheriff of Blue Deer assumes the attacker is Blackwater's put-upon wife. But when the number of killings climbs, it becomes clear there's much more to unravel. Price's narration gives this audiobook the tone of a noir... Read More

This techo-thriller narrated by acclaimed actors Mia Hutchinson-Shaw and Tim Lounibos is set at a company called Infopendium, a fictional version of Wikipedia, during the pandemic. The narrators have a difficult task: to bring listeners into the world of passionate--and often partisan--editors who constantly jostle textually for their points of view to gain traction. Imagine... Read More

Ella Fields is released from prison after serving 5 years of a 14-year sentence with one thing on her mind, and that's to kill Washington, DC, troubleshooter Joe DeMarco, whom she blames for ruining her life. Joe Barrett demonstrates his strong narration skills as he creates authentic-sounding characters in both Joe and Ella. He gives insight into each character's backstory and... Read More

This audio thriller set in the remote Maui town of Hana is brimming with psychological suspense. Kati, steadily voiced by Cynthia Farrell, is living off-the-grid in the jungle with her teenage daughter, Zoe, who is portrayed by Ellen Quay with skillful nuances that reflect the uprooted teen's sense of isolation and resentment. The reason that the duo is in hiding is revealed as... Read More

Narrator Emilia Fox does a fantastic job showcasing the range of emotions in this addictive thriller. It's Camilla's first day back at work after her maternity leave, and she's on edge from not being able to reach her husband, Luke. Police arrive to tell her that Luke has been identified as being involved in a hostage situation. She goes from scared to disbelieving as it's... Read More

Angela Dawe brings Finlay Donovan's comedic crime solving to life with her narration of the fifth book in this series. When a body is discovered in a neighbor's backyard and Finlay's husband is arrested, Finlay and her nanny become involved. The nosy neighbor, Mrs. Heggarty, moves into Finlay's house and busies herself with her duties as head of the neighborhood watch. Does she... Read More

Sparkling wit, ingenious plotting, and a superb performance by Elizabeth Knowelden make this debut novel a listening joy. As WWII threatens, a fundraising gala for the Women's Voluntary Service is held at Sir Henry Heathcote's manor. The period's four most popular mystery novelists, Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Ngaio Marsh, and Margery Allingham, act as hosts. All goes... Read More

Narrator Nancy Wu's pace starts off slow and steady--just like the search-and-rescue techniques depicted in this mystery set in the Pacific Northwest. Deputy Mattie Cob and her dog, Robo, are asked to join the team that is looking for a lost 9-year-old boy named River Allen, who wandered off from the trailer of his mother, a movie star named Crystal. Once the teams find an old... Read More

This audiobook is a carefully crafted blend of a classic amateur detective story and a beloved literary classic. Listeners again have the opportunity to cavort with Jay Gatsby and his hedonistic cronies at the mansion in West Egg. In this retelling of Gatsby's story, he's not found dead in his pool, but rather his guest, Tom Buchanan, is shot dead on Gatsby's boat. Narrator... Read More

Joe Mantegna's calm, resonant voice conveys authority with minimal effort. It's the ideal voice for Chili Palmer, a loan shark who eschews violence when recovering debts. Palmer has fallen in with several morally ambiguous Hollywood types, including Harry Zim, the producer of B-movie exploitation flicks; the Bear, a former stuntman; and Bo Catlett, a drug-dealing movie... Read More

The second novel in Joseph O'Connor's proposed trilogy bristles with life. Superb performances from a talented cast reveal the thoughts and emotions of a group of righteous men and women who saved hundreds from Nazi brutality. In return for the Pope's agreeing to remain neutral, Vatican City is forbidden to the German occupiers. In this audiobook inspired by the true story of... Read More

Narrator Jennifer Robideau transports listeners to Waikiki to join former journalist Maya Wong as she returns to Hawaii to ghostwrite the biography of a controversial developer. When a member of his family is found murdered and Maya's ex-boyfriend, Detective Koa Yamad, heads the investigation, Maya soon finds herself embroiled in the twisting mystery. Robideau's use of Hawaiian... Read More

Vanessa Johansson delivers a captivating performance of this dark romantic thriller, expertly transitioning among French, Romanian, and American accents. Maarja was scarred by a childhood tragedy involving her mother and mob boss Benoit Arundel. Later in her life she meets Dante Arundel at his family mansion through her job as a fine arts mover. Maarja's trauma has left her... Read More

Listeners soon realize that Glory Broussard is not your typical amateur sleuth. She's Black, bright, bold, brash, and the most notorious busybody in Lafayette, Louisiana. In this mystery, her second adventure, Glory is looking for the murderer of her ex-husband. In addition to seeking clues, Glory must organize the Mardi Gras gala for the Red Hat society while mending... Read More

Shana Pennington-Baird narrates this historical true-crime story set in Washington DC and Baltimore during Reconstruction. Forthright Jane Gray's medical skills and familial ties are severely tested as friends and family members succumb to mysterious ailments and deaths. Pennington-Baird uses a variety of Southern and Northern accents for Jane's educated family, as well as for... Read More

Golden Voice narrator Gerard Doyle once again brings the quirkiness and erudition of D.I. Sean Duffy to life as he takes on a case that his boss, who is away on vacation, can't handle. It's 1992 in Belfast, and the murder of an IRA assassin means that Duffy must clock more time hunting for the killer despite his efforts to cut back as he nears retirement. Never mind that his... Read More

Will Damron brings alive FBI Agent Gardner Camden and the rest of the elite team of unconventional agents in the Patterns & Recognition Unit. They must race against time to hunt down a serial killer who is targeting other serial killers. Damron's strong narration creates a group of likable and believable characters. In particular, he draws out the thoroughly analytical... Read More

A full cast tells the story of missing hiker Valerie Gillis and the extensive search to bring her home. When 42-year-old Valerie Gillis goes missing from the Appalachian Trail in Maine, game warden Beverly jumps into action to bring her home. Hundreds of miles away, an elderly woman named Lena begins to piece together what may have happened to Valerie, based on the strange... Read More

Whew, there's a lot going on in this work, which tells tawdry tales of the city of Houston, reported and written by a host of locally famous authors and performed by a talented ensemble of narrators. Some stories are longer than others, but all seem to be as long as they need to be. The many different performers do an excellent job, though the collection would be better served... Read More

This audiobook thriller begins with the Agarwal family's reunion. When the Agarwals gather at the island owned by eldest sister Myra, they expect Raj to announce his retirement and divide their company shares. What actually happens shatters everyone's expectations, and secrets begin to pour out. Avita Jay portrays Myra with clarity, delivering a strong performance. Zoe, voiced... Read More

Hillary Huber delivers another great audio performance voicing this adventurous mystery set in the glacier-carved wilderness of the Canadian Shield. Huber skillfully embodies the distraught confusion of Sarah Anderson when her husband inexplicably disappears on a backcountry canoe trip. She also reflects Sarah's anger and feelings of betrayal when she discovers her husband... Read More

Narrators Kristen Sieh and Daru Oda serve up a darkly humorous, twisty ride in this debut. Evie Gordon is an SAT tutor for wealthy kids in L.A. When she discovers the murdered family of one of her students, along with an unknown woman named Jae who is still alive, she and Jae become the prime murder suspects and go on the run. Sieh, who voices Evie, handles most of the... Read More

Narrators Almarie Guerra and Feodor Chin find FBI agent and former military code breaker Dani Vega up to her neck in trouble as hit man Gustavo Toro dies in her arms in a botched sting operation. Toro has left behind an "if you're watching this, I'm dead" video and a list of cryptic clues implicating a mysterious mastermind who's been operating in the shadows for decades.... Read More

Narrator Karissa Vacker gives a solid performance of this intriguing winter-themed thriller. Theo, who is estranged from her adoptive parents, doesn't know anything about her birth mother or how she came to be adopted. Vacker believable portrays Theo's confusion and need to know about her origins after she finds a picture of herself as a toddler in a remote cabin on her wealthy... Read More

When Nancy's life implodes after a psychotic break, trouble seems to follow her: A neighbor in her new apartment building commits suicide. Sophie Roberts's gripping narration brings every layer of this psychological thriller to life. As Nancy begins to hear strange voices in her new flat, Roberts keeps listeners questioning what's going on. She captures Nancy's initial fragile... Read More

Three narrators--Karissa Vacker, portraying anxious Kerry; Erin Bennett, portraying determined Siobhan; and Julie Webster, voicing upbeat Alison--take on this tale of horror. When Kerry arrives midwinter at an empty Catskills motel supposedly vacated by Siobhan that morning, she's confronted with two feet of snow and a dead body. Later, when the body disappears, Kerry, an... Read More

In this mystery set in the near future, listeners join recently widowed DCS Kat Frank and Lock, an Artificially Intelligent Detective Entity (AIDE). They're working together as part of the newly formed Future Policing Unit to investigate the horrific murders of two men. Rose Akroyd's professional narration creates a believable AI character in Lock as it tries to navigate the... Read More

Chris Tester and Caroline Hewitt narrate this locked-room steampunk mystery, which takes place aboard the airship LADY AIR in 1890. As the airship makes her maiden voyage from New York City to South Hampton, Cora Beaumont, its collected and self-assured owner, must deal with multiple murders. She is aided by aristocrat Nicholas Tristan, her fiancé's older brother. Hewitt... Read More

Narrator Robert Petkoff teams up with author John Sandford for another exhilarating romp featuring U.S. Marshal Lucas Davenport and Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agent-turned-thriller-writer Virgil Flowers. Assigned to solve a twenty-year-old crime, they're forced to collaborate with true-crime bloggers to crowdsource clues. Petkoff masterfully differentiates the diverse male... Read More

This reality-based story set in Belfast in the 1980s and today illuminates the dangers and challenges experienced by gay men in the past and present. Listeners meet young Billy, who is portrayed by Patrick Moy, and older Billy, who is portrayed by Ruairi Conaghan. Conaghan's depressed and jobless Billy gets a call from a childhood neighbor telling him of his long-estranged... Read More

Lauren Ambrose continues her stellar performance of Nita Prose's quirky and heartwarming Molly the Maid series in the newest adventure of our favorite Regency Grand Hotel head maid and events coordinator. During an "Antiques Roadshow"-like event, Molly learns that her favorite trinket is actually a rare Fabergé egg. Soon, the precious keepsake is stolen. Molly launches an... Read More

With his appealing baritone, Golden Voice Stefan Rudnicki draws listeners into this first outing of Inspector Alan Grant. An unidentified man is stabbed while waiting in a long line to see the final London performance of a popular musical comedy. Grant can't understand how none of the others in the queue saw anything. Nonetheless, he takes the few clues he has and begins his... Read More

Talented actors Lesley Manville and Tim McMullan bring drama and rich characterizations to their narration, just as they do in the Masterpiece television adaptations of Horowitz's series. Their dynamic performances create an audiobook experience that's fun, immersive, and expertly voiced. Though this may be the final installment, ample backstory allows new listeners to jump... Read More

When Sloan McPherson stumbles upon a vagrant who is suffering from amnesia in a Florida swamp, she discovers a connection to Mr. Whisper, a villain who uses mind control for his schemes. She joins forces with three other investigators to track down Mr. Whisper, each being the lead in one of the author's other series. Multiple narrators tell the story from each investigator's... Read More

Siobhan McSweeney captures each nuance of this creepy yet moving mystery set in 1952 in a decaying English seaside town. Listeners meet Nora, who leaves a convent after 30 years to search for a young novice named Freda, whose letters to her have mysteriously stopped. The suspense begins as Nora moves into Freda's boardinghouse, where residents include a retired puppeteer, a... Read More

Joseph O'Connor's wonderful thriller is inspired by the true story of the Irish envoy to the Vatican in 1943, Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty. Narrated in a series of individual monologues by a cast of extraordinary voice actors, this first in a proposed trilogy is emotionally moving and thrilling. With sadistic Obersturmbannführer Hauptmann and the Nazis occupying Rome but forbidden... Read More

Evan, an orphan and trained killer, is back in this riveting thriller. While the author does a magnificent job with pacing and story development, he shines with dialogue. And Scott Brick is sensational. Anything Brick narrates is a sure bet, and he really is at his best here. Evan and his pal Tommy have a falling out and find themselves at odds with each other. Complicating... Read More

Narrator Will Damron introduces listeners to Michael Connelly's newest character, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Detective Stilwell. Damron skillfully delivers this police procedural, rich with the detail, atmosphere, and character depth that we expect from Connelly. What sets this story apart from most of Connelly's others is its setting, Catalina Island, where police patrol in... Read More

Vikas Adam masterfully draws listeners into this nonstop thriller featuring disgraced former NYPD detective Sami Kierce. The story begins with a secret from more than 20 years earlier, when Sami, fresh from college, backpacked through Europe and had a brief romance with a beautiful American woman. Fast-forward to the present: Twists and turns come quickly as Sami investigates... Read More

Mark Bramhall brings enthusiasm and gravitas to the latest Joseph Finder espionage adventure novel. The improbable but gripping tale leaps into action when our protagonist Paul Brightman, a former Wall Street star who's in hiding, must outrun apparent gangsters. Years ago, he fell in love with a Russian oligarch's daughter and is now paying the price. The story alternates... Read More

Ali Reynolds takes a call from Clarice, her husband's ex-wife. Clarice's husband is dead, and she is accused of his murder, but she doesn't remember doing it. Narrator Karen Ziemba ably performs this whodunit. Ali uses her artificial intelligence bot, Frigg, for the investigation. Ziemba gives the bot an upbeat, eager-to-please voice that fits Frigg's persona. She sometimes... Read More

Dion Graham narrates a taut thriller in which a banker digs into the truth behind his father's death--only to uncover a terrorist conspiracy. The news of his father's heart attack shocks David; then he discovers a note claiming the death wasn't due to natural causes. Graham imbues David with an earnest tone even as the story ramps into a bombastic roller-coaster ride. A mad... Read More

Charles Johnston deftly presents the horrors of London's Great Fire and plague. Listeners meet two inquisitors, prominent Jacob Standish and Abby Harcourt, Samuel Pepys's housemaid. Together, they're hot on the trail of a murderous plague doctor. Johnston's Abby is assertive despite her lower status, and Jacob commands respect even though he's clumsy and impetuous. They're a... Read More

Narrator L.J. Ganser draws listeners into Thomas Perry's latest stand-alone thriller, masterfully portraying L.A. attorney Charlie Warren and a multitude of other characters. The complex story begins with a young Charlie working to protect his mother's interests. Later, as a lawyer and accountant, he defends a client from high-stakes financial fraud, but his actions place him,... Read More

Listeners join retired diplomat Sam Hough as he heads to Paris to track down a woman and her child on behalf of a dying friend. He's also using the trip as an opportunity to reconnect with an old flame. As Sam becomes embroiled in the Paris underworld, he soon realizes there's more to his quest than meets the eye. Narrator Ryan Haugen is the perfect match for this thriller. He... Read More

Narrator Amanda Ronconi enlivens the story of Jess Bricker, a wedding proposal orchestrator, as she accompanies Diana, a snobby former classmate, on a pre-bridal retreat. Jess is dragged off to the exclusive Golden Ash resort by Diana, whose "surprise" proposal Jess has been hired to plan. While there, Jess finds two dead bodies and develops a friendship with the owners of the... Read More

John Shen Yen Nee and SJ Rozan's newest Dee and Lao historical mystery is full of cross-cultural witticisms and kung fu martial arts that narrator Daniel York Loh plays to full effect. It's 1924. Judge Dee Ren Jie is in London. Accompanied by Lao She, his admiring "Watson," he foils a nefarious plot between a Russian diplomat, a Japanese mercenary, and Chinese... Read More

P.J. Ochlan narrates the fourth novel in the Red Hotel series. Dan Reilly, former CIA operative/hotel executive, becomes involved in political intrigue and danger when Russian President Gorshkov implements a multifaceted plan to attack the U.S. With his uncanny ability to slip into many accents, Ochlan takes listeners across countries and continents while ratcheting up... Read More

Tom Kiteley's wonderfully drawn narration of this darkly humorous historical debut immerses listeners in its time and place. James Willoughby, a well-born but impoverished medical student, finds himself drawn into an unusual employment arrangement in nineteenth-century Edinburgh. Kiteley captures James's ingrained class behavior and naïveté as he works for his surgical school's... Read More

Narrators Dan Bittner and Rebecca Lowman step flawlessly into the characters of Mike and Ruth in this digital-age thriller. Through Mike's and Ruth's alternating chapters, we follow Ruth, a 20-something hacker, as she flees Mike and other government agents who want to recruit her skills. Bittner convincingly portrays Mike in a boy-next-door tone, subtly exposing his... Read More

Three narrators present the story of a young, renowned playwright, Sarah, who died in a fall off the cliffs of Capri thirty years ago. Every year since, her wealthy family has returned for a week at a lush villa. This year, Sarah's daughter, Helen, portrayed by Carlotta Brentan, is shaken by the appearance of the necklace her mother was wearing the night she died. Brentan... Read More

Lisa Flanagan uses the entire box of crayons to depict this mystery's colorful characters, who are led by a doozy of a Franco-American crime boss, Babs Dionne. The drug-running queenpin featured in Currie's bloody revenge tale runs the town of Waterville, Maine, with impunity until someone murders her youngest daughter, Sis. You can almost hear Flanagan's lips curl in blind... Read More

Narrators Jennifer Jill Araya and Emily Lawrence perform this complicated thriller about dangerous room shares and hidden personalities. Broke and injured yoga instructor Emily Hawthorne is in debt and desperately in need of a roommate in expensive San Francisco. Things are frustrating enough when squatter Pip Stone tricks Emily into getting a room in her condo, but the... Read More

Georgia Tennant's lively performance as main character "Haze" and Kyle Soller's more understated interpretation of her husband, Fox, might make us think that these two somewhat boring suburbanites are just like their upscale neighbors--hosting dinner parties and caring for their adorable 2-year-old, Bibi. Haze attends mommy/baby groups, while Fox goes into London for work.... Read More

Crown Prosecutor Eve Wren finds herself in the middle of the trial of the decade in this riveting audiobook filled with well-crafted characters and dialogue. Moira Quirk is a superb choice as narrator. She skillfully develops each character, yet with deft use of inflection and vocal modulation the focus remains on Wren. As she reviews all the evidence to make sure the... Read More

This audiobook is the harrowing story of attorney Piper Danes and her quest to track down a deadly stalker. While serving as a guardian ad litem, Danes is assigned the case of Sophie Grace, a teenager who is the lone survivor of a brutal family massacre. Saskia Maarleveld is an outstanding narrator. When the audiobook begins, Maarleveld is subtle and understated as she details... Read More

In her war-torn country, Mila Kiss has been falsely accused by her brother-in-law of murdering her sister. To make matters worse, her sister's children have disappeared. Mila quickly signs up for a refugee program that will send her to England. Narrator Frankie Porter portrays Mila as soft-spoken but very much a loner. Porter clearly presents the complicated circumstances that... Read More

Is this audiobook delivered by a full cast? No, just the immensely talented Hillary Huber. In this second installment of The Martini Club series, Huber crafts distinct voices for each male and female character, immersing listeners in the search for a missing teenage girl in the club's hometown of Purity, Maine. The retired CIA agents of the Martini Club use their skills to stay... Read More

Narrator Matt Godfrey evokes a dark mood in this Appalachian thriller set in Eastern Kentucky. Burl Spoon is an organized crime boss who has built his business empire by becoming the top cannabis seller in Jackson County. Spoon thinks he has everything under control, but when his daughter relapses into drug addiction and goes missing, Spoon's world is turned upside down.... Read More

Kelly Mullen's debut audiobook takes us to isolated, car-free Mackinac Island, Michigan, where a charity auction is a cover-up for blackmail that leads to murder. Narrator Lesley Sharp brings a large cast to life as a snowstorm strands guests and bodies begin to pile up. Widowed Mimi, longtime resident and feisty amateur sleuth, has a confident voice and a secret. She invites... Read More

With a wonderful brogue, Caroline Lennon narrates this cozy mystery about an Irish shepherd who is found dead with a spade through his body. George loved his sheep, so the animals are determined to solve his murder. These sheep can speak to each other and have reasoning skills but cannot communicate with humans. They understand most human speech, but human motives and some... Read More

Narrator Christa Lewis summons an intriguing world of mystics in this Magical Trinket mystery set in the contemporary mortal realm. When a deadly assassin's trinket is stolen from a visiting diplomat, Dovey Van Dalen, a fashionable, quick-witted 200-year-old mystic (aka "bonded") investigator, must use her enchanted toolkit to solve the case. As trinket-related deaths in a... Read More

These two oddly connected novellas are narrated by Joe Eyre and George Greenland. The works revolve around Turnglass, which is both a house and a bound volume that's read aloud. Story one, delivered by Eyre, is set in 1880 Essex at Turnglass House, which is situated on a tidal island. It's recounted by Dr. Simeon Lee, who is treating his uncle, Parson Oliver Hawes, who is dying... Read More

This is the ideal audiobook for those who enjoy literate, dark family dramas with a gothic vibe. The crisp, posh English voice of Nathalie Buscombe introduces a quartet of young women whose lives are ruined by a freak shooting accident and the destructive aftermath that follows. Lonely, middle-class Gillian longs to be a part of the social elite, who are represented by the... Read More

Narrator Aoife McMahon returns to masterfully draw listeners into this multilayered police procedural featuring DI Cormac Reilly. In Ireland, it's not unusual for ancient bodies to surface in bogs--but this one is the victim of a recent murder. Reilly and his colleagues peel back layers of lies to uncover what happened, a task that is further complicated by a string of copycat... Read More

When a rich Washingtonian known for his parties is murdered, John Mahoney, former Speaker of the House, discovers that the president of the United States could be involved. Joe DeMarco, a Washington fixer, is brought in to get to the bottom of the scandal while an aide works to stop him. Joe Barrett portrays the characters well, providing an engaged tone as the narrator, a... Read More

Vera Wong is back, bringing with her characters from Sutanto's previous audiobook, along with a host of new suspects and friends. Narrator Eunice Wong turns in another stellar performance, ensuring that this second audiobook featuring the 60-year-old Chinese mother and self-styled super sleuth is just as entertaining and thought-provoking as the first. This time, Vera gets... Read More

An upfront caution: The plot of this audiobook revolves around a serial rapist and includes intense first-person accounts from both the perpetrator's and victims' points of view. Set in New Zealand, the story is brought to life by three talented narrators. Clare, who has been commissioned to write a book about convicted rapist and killer Travis Crill, serves as the primary... Read More

A cast of narrators bring their talents to this psychological thriller about three neighbors--wealthy women with deep, dark secrets. Their friendship is tenuous and fraught with jealousies, and alliances shift based on actions and reactions. The bulk of the narration is done by Elizabeth Knowelden as Margot, Moira Quick as Anna, and Clare Corbett as Liv, the newest neighbor.... Read More