New Reviews: Mystery & Suspense

Tom Straw, the original author of the Richard Castle books, brings his signature fast-paced plot, snappy dialogue, and gutsy characters to this mystery. Celebrity Chef Sebastian Pike is coerced into letting the CIA use his food show as cover to extradite a high-ranking mole from Russia. CIA Agent Cammie Nova, acting as show producer, provides the spy connection and the love... Read More

Listeners will feel like they're nestled in the small town of Bethany, Vermont, in the 1960s. Bostonian Franklin Warren is new in town, having just moved there to take a position as a state police detective. Just as he settles in, there is a disastrous barn fire on Agony Hill. When Warren goes to investigate, he shakes up long forgotten secrets of the town. This mystery is... Read More

Edoardo Ballerini is the perfect narrator for this multifaceted story, which revolves around Patch and Saint, two young teens who live in a Missouri town. Their friendship develops over the 25 years following Patch's kidnapping in 1975 and Saint's quest to find him. Ballerini's talent for characterization allows the principals to develop and age. He creates thoroughly... Read More

Penelope Rawlins's magnetic performance draws listeners into Tonya Mitchell's gothic thriller. Constance Sullivan is charged with poisoning her husband, a known arsenic eater. Everyone believes she's guilty. At her trial, evidence piles up, and she's shocked when those she trusts lie and testify against her. Revealing the dark side of her marriage only adds fuel to the flames.... Read More

Longtime series narrator Elizabeth Knowelden's performance brings two occasional government agents to life: Lady Hardcastle, a genteel widow with a less-than-genteel past, and Florence Armstrong, her companion and confidante, who is also a martial arts expert. In the 11th Lady Hardcastle mystery, it's 1912, and the Secret Service Bureau dispatches Lady Hardcastle and Florence... Read More

Neill Thorne narrates this quirky thriller with gusto. AA meetings take on a whole different meaning as listeners join a reformed assassin named Mark as he comes closer to receiving his chip marking a year of being murder free. When an unknown assailant attacks him, he is thrust into an adventure that takes him from New York City to Singapore and London. Thorne crafts a... Read More

Sisters Jessie and Brea, and bandmate Flo, all portrayed by narrator Kristen Sieh, are tight as a cover band and even more so as a crew of vigilante hit women with verve and style. Youers writes action scenes like a house afire, but the real enjoyment of this audiobook is the women's sisterhood, which is depicted with love and affection. A serial killer called The Wren pops up... Read More

This second novel in the David Blum thriller series is narrated by Dion Graham with the perfect mixture of hope and menace. Interpol agent David Blum must eradicate the latest science experiment being carried out by the evil Global Forces Alliance. This time, the GFA is working with bioacoustics to manufacture sounds that can be used to control human behavior. Graham lends a... Read More

A cadre of stunning narrators--including both authors--bring this unusual tale to life. The focus is an immortal warrior who is seeking the release of death. Unute was born untold ages ago to a human woman and a literal bolt of lightning. In modernity, Unute works alongside a military group as they seek to cure his immortality. Keanu Reeves and China Miéville narrate a few... Read More

Narrator Saskia Maarleveld enlivens the characters in this masterfully crafted window onto the 1950s. While there are murders and other crimes, the focus is the individual stories of the women boarders of Briarwood House in Washington, DC. The novel depicts the realities of the McCarthy era: women's evolving roles, racism, and immigrant challenges. While the recipes sprinkled... Read More

This noir audiobook cries out for a female narrator. Mexican American Victoria Villarreal is the optimal choice. The story features two undocumented Mexican factory workers who collide with a couple of wealthy gringos. Villarreal's accents for both the Latinos and the upper-class Southern whites bring these characters to life. She gives the arrogant men appropriate tones of... Read More

Narrator Kathleen Mclnerney returns to voice Chief Kate Burkholder in the sixteenth audiobook in this series. McInerney masterfully differentiates the returning characters, along with new folks good and evil, male and female. A crime scene at which an Amish man has been burned at the stake begins a new investigation that involves the detective's deep dive into the history of... Read More

George Smiley, the quiet spy with a paunch and an adulterous spouse, is voiced affably by Simon Vance. His friendly approach belies Smiley's steel trap of a mind and reluctance to resort to violence. Vance's mastery of British Isles accents, especially his upper-class inflections, also contributes to le Carré's vivid storytelling. This novel, first published in 1961, is... Read More

Tim Bruce's stylish narration transports listeners to 1920s Scotland as Anty Boisjoly arrives from London to act as a judge in a whiskey competition. When one of the distillers is mysteriously blown up, Anty once again finds himself embroiled in murder and mayhem. Bruce creates a delightfully Wodehousian protagonist in Anty, and his strong characterization results in a fun cast... Read More

The second book in Katie Siegel's Not a Detective series finds Charlotte Illes, now 10 years out of middle school, trying to move beyond her past as a kid detective. This becomes complicated when, as a substitute teacher, she returns to Frenchem Middle School, where her best friend, Lucy, also teaches. Lucy presents Katie with a mystery to solve. Chapters begin with a short... Read More

Will Patton narrates this entry in the long-running Dave Robicheaux series. This installment focuses on Dave's partner and friend, Clete Purcel. Clete and Dave work to stop a drug-smuggling operation that is moving a dangerous new drug. Patton's gravelly intonation suits Clete; he brings the war veteran to life, capturing his emotional core. Every sentence and conversation is... Read More

Listeners will find this frolic enjoyable due to the skillful narration of Billie Fulford-Brown. Emma Oxley and Nellie Yarrow are lifelong friends and con artists who only go after deserving men. Here they find themselves in the middle of a heist of a wildly valuable bracelet and the kidnapping of a girl. Fulford-Brown creates two distinct voices for the protagonists, as well... Read More

With her portfolio of British accents, narrator Janine Birkett brings Vera Stanhope to life, along with her team and the other characters in the eleventh book in this series. Birkett's voice for Vera perfectly conveys her rough-edged persona, now somewhat mellowed by the recent death of her former team member, Holly. With Cleeves's masterful descriptions and Birkett's ability... Read More

Narrator Oliver Hembrough vividly describes the journey of ex-detective Jake Jackson from London to an off-the-grid sanctuary. Listeners join Jake as he dives into frigid water, jogs, and makes mouthwatering meals. Despite his hermitic existence, he regularly sees veterinarian Livia and her daughter--both tenderly rendered. The peaceful idyll is disrupted when Jackson helps a... Read More

Narrator Edoardo Ballerini once again invites listeners into the lives of retired legendary spy and art restorer Gabriel Allon and a host of familiar characters. Allon is asked by an acquaintance to unofficially assist in the investigation of an art history professor's brutal murder in Cornwall. With the talented Ballerini as a guide, listeners follow the fast-paced plot from... Read More

Fajer Al-Kaisi delivers a dynamic performance of this mystery set at Samsara, a luxury spa in India. After leaving his demanding job, Ro Krishna takes a much needed rest at Samsara, where he meets other members of the one percent. When a holiday event goes awry, leaving one guest dead and others under suspicion, Ro must rely on his instincts to uncover the killer and prevent... Read More

Bill, a pleasant but sarcastic limo driver in Silicon Valley, reliably delivered clients to their destinations without incident for years--until a mysterious passenger, Mrs. DeLong, put him in the crosshairs of the Chinese, the FBI, and patent trolls. Scott Brick differentiates all these characters and smoothly depicts frenetic scenes. His delivery of the technical banter among... Read More

Akira Matsumoto impressively presents an array of characters in this mystery set in post-WWII Japan. Listeners meet Detective Kindaichi, who is attending a divination held by the Tsubaki family to determine if several deaths accompanied by eerie devil's flute music were really murders. The complex Agatha Christie-esque story written in the 1950s is rich with well-rendered... Read More

Kirsten Potter's performance skillfully brings to life a tight-knit unit of firefighters who double as a heist crew. Engine 99 of the NYC Fire Department uses blazes as covers to pull off high-stakes crimes. Potter captures the dual nature of the characters, especially Andy Nearland, the newest member of the unit, who has a hidden agenda. As the crew prepares for their most... Read More

Anthony Lee narrates his debut novel, the first in a series. Dr. Mark Lin, an internist working at a hospital, becomes the target of a hacker named Doctor Lucifer. Lucifer hacks into Lin's patient records and changes medication orders--with potentially fatal results. To protect his patients and himself, Lin must work with hospital IT personnel to stop Lucifer. Lee clearly... Read More

In this exhilarating audiobook, brought to life by Michael Boatman's exceptional narration, Addison McKellar learns that her husband, Dean, has vanished. She seeks the help of legendary PI Porter Hayes. Hayes soon uncovers far more about Addison's husband than even his wife has ever known, including the revelation that Dean's identity is fake. Boatman delivers a stand-out... Read More

Two childhood friends, Melissa and Leo, reconnect through the death of a friend's grandmother. When they arrive at the remote island where they lived as kids, they find their friend missing, and their grief quickly turns to sleuthing. Narrator Mara Wilson keeps the plot moving as the pair slowly uncover dark forces on the island. Wilson expresses their frustration through their... Read More

Narrator Karen Cass recounts this twisty mystery, as told by soft- voiced Eliza Mace. In 1874 Wales, Eliza; her mother, Hannah; and her Uncle James live in Edge Hall, a manor house that has become impoverished through her father's spendthrift ways. One day, he disappears while on a business trip, and all clues point to foul play. Eliza and the charismatic new police constable,... Read More

Narrator Linda Emond returns to deliver a masterful performance in the 23rd installment of the Temperance Brennan series. Emond has found the perfect voice for the forensic anthropologist who relentlessly works to put together the puzzles provided by body remains. This adventure takes Brennan to a tragic fire in an illegal Airbnb in Foggy Bottom, Washington, DC. Listeners will... Read More

When the daughters of a victim of a serial killer go missing after 15 years, just as the serial killer apparently reappears, police call on Investigator Kendra Michaels to use her extraordinary observation skills to assist in solving their disappearances. Narrator Elisabeth Rodgers's strong characterization helps bring Kendra to life, along with her on-and-off boyfriend, Lynch,... Read More

This audiobook opens in London, where Lady Elizabeth Palmer is convinced that someone is trying to kill her. Saskia Maarleveld and Pete Simonelli return to narrate this newest FBI Thriller featuring Agents Lacey Sherlock and Dillon Savich. Simonelli's resonant voice is well suited to portray Savich's calm capability, and Maarleveld shines when delivering Sherlock's dialogue,... Read More

Listeners are thrust into a high-stakes thriller that begins with the placement of a frantic middle-of-the-night phone call. Andi Arndt expertly conveys Dana's panic as she summons her best friend, Jo, to help dispose of her husband's dead body. Hillary Huber, as Jo, imparts a steady, no-nonsense tone as she learns of the hidden abuse Jo's husband has inflicted upon her over... Read More

Narrator Chloe Davies delivers the second audiobook in the DC Morgan series. Seven contestants find themselves in the mountains of Wales for what they've been told is a "Survivor"-like TV show. They quickly discover that the premise of the show, called "Exposed," is to uncover the deepest, darkest secret of each person involved. When a contestant goes missing, Detective Ffion... Read More

Listeners will be puzzled when 13-year-old Barbra Van Laar goes missing from her bunk at an Adirondack summer camp in 1975--and even more intrigued when they find out her brother vanished from the same location 16 years earlier. To complicate matters, the camp is owned by her wealthy family and is one of the few employers in the beautiful but economically depressed area.... Read More

Listeners join Texas Ranger Darren Mathews who, after turning in his badge, reluctantly investigates the disappearance of a young, Black student from an otherwise all-white sorority house. JD Jackson's pitch-perfect narration is the ideal match for this fast-paced story, which is seen through the eyes of a Black man who is living in Trump's America. Jackson's gifted delivery... Read More

In this audiobook Mary Williams is on the brink of destitution. She's lost her job and custody of her child, and is facing losing her home, too. When she reads an unusual advert from Eric, it appears to be the solution to her troubles. But, actually, Mary's situation is going to get much worse. Julia Atwood narrates the story from Mary's point of view, skillfully creating a... Read More

Scott Brick and Suzanne Elise Freeman provide an engaging listening experience as they trace the story of Rachel Roberts, a bestselling novelist whose beloved series is coming to an end. Freeman's narration captures the tension and urgency of Rachel's quest to confront her past and protect her future, while Brick's portrayals of supporting characters, such as Topaz Kennedy and... Read More

George Newbern and Johnathan McClain narrate this story of heroism, blackmail, and secrets. When a high school teacher named Richard, portrayed by Newbern, thwarts an attempted school massacre, he ends up in the spotlight. The publicity catches the attention of a former student who accuses him of abuse and blackmails him. While attempting to clear his name, Richard uncovers... Read More

Jasmine Blackborow narrates this mystery involving disappearances and murders in 1877 London. Strong-willed, independent Minnie Ward and ex-police detective Albert Easterbrook investigate seemingly random men who are dying by strangulation, suffocation, and poison. Digging deeper reveals they were all involved in the Trafalgar Theater tragedy that occurred 12 years earlier and... Read More

Aure Nash's performance brings depth and humor to the engaging story of Mavis Miller. Nash captures Mavis's struggles to balance raising her spirited daughter, Pearl, her demanding job, and a challenging DEI leadership role at her daughter's school. The complexities of the school's politics and the mystery surrounding the principal's disappearance are vividly portrayed through... Read More

Susan Duerden completes the Maggie Hope series with a strong performance as the intrepid heroine takes on a frightening mission, meeting up again with Coco Chanel, the French fashion designer and Nazi collaborator. British concerns about the Germans acquiring a fission bomb lead Maggie to Madrid, where danger lurks around every corner and double agents will stop at nothing to... Read More

An engaging narration by Shayna Small takes listeners into the little-seen world of entitled women artists. It's Paris, 1928, and Black lesbian Louise Lloyd, an amateur detective, is living her dream. Her work as a budding photographer gives her access to an elite group of artists, ambitious women who meet weekly at the exclusive Aquarius club. When member Iris Wright goes... Read More

Adjoa Andoh's remarkable skills of characterization and pacing are on full display in this reissue of le Carré's novel of espionage and manipulation in the Middle East. When a naïve English actress, Charlie, agrees to work undercover for an Israeli spy to identify a Palestinian terrorist, she is co-opted by morally ambiguous people on both sides. Andoh gives Charlie a light,... Read More

Alison Larkin re-creates WWII London, where citizens are facing deadly attacks from the air and spies on the ground. Listeners meet safecracker Electra "Ellie" McDonnell and her manager, Major Gabriel Ramsey. Larkin's buoyant Ellie hesitantly approaches the intense Ramsey about mysterious murders that are taking place. Her criminal connections have no idea who's behind them. At... Read More

Vivienne Leheny will keep listeners guessing as she narrates this smart story about a thirty-year-old mystery involving the disappearance of three members of a wealthy Nevada family. The incident resulted in national headlines. Leheny's wonderfully breathy presentation adds to the drama. The story starts simply enough: Dr. Sloan Hastings sends her DNA to a genealogy website and... Read More

Dennis Boutsikaris returns to narrate the fifth installment of the Clay Edison series by the father-and-son duo Jonathan and Jesse Kellerman. Boutsikaris captures the personality of former deputy-coroner-turned-PI Clay Edison with a convincing guy-next-door voice. At the request of a client and driven by his own curiosity and sense of justice, Edison investigates the secrets... Read More

It's great fun to listen to Andi Arndt switching from one accent or vocal register to another. She is skillful and generous, calling no attention to herself, leaving all your focus on this first-person narrative, a tale told by an obsessive young woman named Hannah who pursues a man accused of murdering four women much like herself. First-person narratives are claustrophobic by... Read More

Narrator Santino Fontana delivers Riley Sager's trademark psychological suspense. It's 1994; in a picture-perfect neighborhood, 10-year-old Ethan and his best friend, Billy, camp out in Ethan's backyard. The night will tragically be remembered as the night Billy was taken from the tent while his best friend slept beside him. Thirty years later, Ethan reluctantly returns to his... Read More

Kaleo Griffith's exceptional narration highlights the tension and emotions packed into Sarah Crouch's impressive debut. In Point Orchards, Oregon, the body of Dr. Erin Landry is found hanging from a tree deep in the woods on novelist Elijah Leith's property. The death appears to be suicide until details emerge from Elijah's unsuccessful novel in which a murder is made to look... Read More

The combined strengths of Joe Eyre, Sarah Slimani, Roly Botha, Laurence Dobiesz, and Tuppence Middleton create a stellar full-cast production. Listeners will be caught up in this well-executed story of a friendly get-together that turns into a murder mystery. We are taken into the opulent atmosphere of The Manor, a luxurious resort teeming with intrigue. Eyre and Slimani bring... Read More

You don't have to be familiar with the Beryl and Edwina Mystery series to enjoy Barbara Rosenblat's narrative gifts in this latest installment. Beryl and Edwina are hired to expose the Dinsdales, fraudulent new residents who are offering "seances." When the body of the former church organist appears where the medium's "spirit guide" is supposed to reside, things heat up.... Read More

Whitstable is a peaceful English village in which a few residents enjoy the benefits of having a garden allotment where they grow flowers and vegetables and tend bees and hens. Jennifer Kirby portrays Pearl Nolan, who enjoys a plot, along with a close-knit group of villagers. Kirby provides the wit and spark of this sharp restaurateur and independent woman. Soon, however, the... Read More

Two booksellers, gregarious Molly and reserved Emma, discover a treasure trove of books about the occult when they meet at an estate sale in this cozy, narrated with straightforward clarity by Janet Metzger. The mystery moves around a bit among a host of seemingly unconnected characters and events that are held together by Metzger's understated tone and unhurried pacing. The... Read More

This Regency-era mystery will baffle and delight listeners. In a soothing, self-assured voice, Allie Rose portrays a headstrong duchess who struggles to clear her husband's name when he is found drenched in blood beside the murdered body of an opera singer. Audrey, the attractive Duchess of Fournier, knows her gentle, intellectual husband, who is homosexual, is innocent despite... Read More

Simon Vance's finely calibrated narration makes this little-known George Smiley novel of special interest. Here le Carré tries his hand at a spy-free English mystery triggered when a faculty wife at the elite Carne School writes a panicky letter to Ailsa Brimley claiming her husband is planning to kill her. Miss Brimley asks her old war-time colleague Smiley for advice. Smiley... Read More

Stacy Gonzalez portrays 15-year-old mbar as she navigates life with her father, a gangster. They are traveling across Argentina, hunting for the person who murdered her father's partner. Gonzalez creates a sassy, likable teen in mbar, highlighting her self-confidence and self-doubt, both of which are part of her charm. Gonzalez also rises to the challenge of portraying the wide... Read More

Jack Reacher is a man on the move, traveling light, whose destination is unknown. In this short story, Scott Brick doesn't disappoint, portraying Reacher as a tough ex-military loner who only wants to right wrongs and set the world straight. Here we meet Reacher in Texas after he hitches a ride to a tiny nowhere town filled with--what else?--trouble. Brick keeps the pace moving... Read More

Cindy Kay amplifies the drama in this Japanese thriller with her steely voice. It's 1979, and Yoriko Shindo is kidnapped despite her attempt to fight off her attackers. She finds herself forced into working for an arm of the yakuza--she has to serve as the driver for the daughter of the brutal boss. Kay shifts between the gravelly-voiced henchmen and the sharp, critical voice... Read More

A trio of narrators brings to life this dark, brooding mystery. Shaun Taylor-Corbett narrates most of this story from the point of view of Toby Tucker, who suddenly marries into the wealthy Wright family, famous for their televangelist patriarch, Jerome. Severe weather strands the extended family at their Texas compound, and when Jerome is found dead, deep family secrets emerge... Read More

George Guidall's sonorous delivery is dramatic yet soothing as marine biologist Doc Ford encounters another deep-sea adventure. This time, a Russian diplomat disappears while Doc is tagging sharks in South Africa. Doc returns to Florida just in time to face gangsters and a Category 5 hurricane. Guidall navigates the murderous characters, twisty plot, authentic dialogue, and... Read More

Narrator Matthew Lloyd Davies brings his considerable talent to one of Graham Greene's best-known novels. James Wormold, a vacuum cleaner retailer, invents a spy ring in order to cover his daughter's extravagances. Davies manipulates accents, vocal tones, and pitch ranges to bring the characters to life. He enhances the novel's dark (sometimes very dark) humor, as well. The... Read More

Ann Richardson's spirited narration keeps listeners focused on the debut entry in Eberhart's popular Nurse Sarah Keate mysteries, first published in 1929. Room 18 at St. Ann's Hospital has a dark history, which grows even darker when a patient being treated with radium is murdered and the radium is stolen. Sarah and Detective O'Leary work together to find the missing metal and... Read More

This stirring audiobook makes a strong argument for narrator consistency. Once again Henry Leyva narrates the adventures of Doiron's Mike Bowditch. So it's little wonder that Leyva sounds so comfortable when voicing Mike and his close circle of friends and relatives. This outing is especially trying for the veteran Maine game warden as he attempts to track down a ruthless but... Read More

Nicolette McKenzie's excellent vocal craft makes the town of Marlow's amateur sleuths, Judith, Suzie, and Becks, individually recognizable as they return for the third installment in this popular series. When Marlow's well-liked mayor drops dead in the middle of a town council meeting, aconite, known as the queen of poisons, is found in his coffee cup. As usual, the clues and... Read More

This audiobook's high action, espionage, solid characters, and well-paced story are enhanced by Jamie Renell's expert narration. Rick Carter is a recruiter of criminals--most notably, hit men. Now, his latest job hits a little too close to home. As he tries to protect his family, a powerful group closes in on him. Renell shines in the multitude of voices he creates for those... Read More

Following Ellie Black's liberation from a harrowing two-year abduction, Detective Chelsey Calhoun must unravel a host of lingering mysteries in this gripping and satisfying audiobook. Calhoun's challenges extend beyond the case as her personal history, including her sister's vanishing 20 years earlier, surfaces dramatically. The narrative is particularly effective as an... Read More

Victor Warren gives Pete a tired voice that is absolutely perfect for an unemployed new father who is not in the most loving relationship. When Pete learns a surfer he knows has died mysteriously, he becomes obsessed with finding out what happened. Naturally, he's met with resistance. Pete often comes across as justifiably exasperated, a trait Warren depicts well. Other... Read More

Once again, longtime series narrator Kate Reading splendidly delivers the latest Lady Sherlock mystery. This time Charlotte herself is suspected of murder. Reading handles the myriad flashbacks with ease. She knows these characters well and fluidly shares moments of banter between Charlotte and her lover, Lord Ingram, as well as maintaining nail-biting excitement whenever... Read More

This eight-part podcast is wonderfully produced and offers a handful of actors woven in and out of a riveting and well-paced story. After a novelist calls a locksmith to open a safe, things get a bit scary--for both of them. The story intertwines the fantastical into the plot. A lot of attention has been paid to the audio details--background noises, sirens, punches, phone... Read More

Jonathan Davis digs deep into his narration toolbox in this atmospheric audiobook set in 1939. As the world prepares for war, displaced European Jews attempt a departure to parts unknown. Davis employs a stoic tone when describing Kristallnacht, the beatings, and the rounding up of family members. When the disparate citizens gather on a last-chance trip to Shanghai, Davis... Read More

Kirsten Potter narrates the fourth mystery featuring Greer Hogan, reference librarian and archivist. In this installment, she has returned to New York City to catalog a magician's estate, including his rare book collection. But her personal mission is to identify her husband Dan's killer. She and a magician named Grim poke into hidden cupboards and locked rooms. Potter ensures... Read More

Narrator Susan Bennett employs a light Mountain accent to reflect the Pennsylvania Appalachian locale of this dark fairy tale. Her character voices, especially those of its featured characters, flourish into even stronger accents that ground them more squarely in the holler. Part coming-of-age in the 1980s, part magical realism, and part horror, the story follows impoverished... Read More

Scott Brick ratchets up the tension and lays on the pathos in this fast-paced political thriller. Iles's take on the age of Trump and the threat of another Civil War features Penn Cage, from his acclaimed Natchez Burning trilogy. The former prosecutor, now mayor of Natchez, Mississippi, becomes entangled in the third-party presidential campaign of war hero Robert E. Lee White,... Read More

Narrator Daniel Henning breathes life into these three stories focused on Yuri Kozlov, "Russia's most famous spy." Against the backdrop of Putin's war with Ukraine, Kozlov comes to the U.S. under the pretense of defecting, but the CIA has questions about his legitimacy. As his handlers attempt to get information and parade him around with politicians and celebrities, listeners... Read More

Helen Laser's narration style, crisp yet conversational, is a good choice for this murder mystery set in the north woods of Minnesota. Siblings Liv and Gave, estranged for many years, connect again when their older brother unexpectedly dies and they both receive emails saying he was murdered. When they return to their remote family-run resort to investigate, Laser provides a... Read More

Multiple narrators tell the story of what happens when 18-year-old super influencer Evie disappears, sparking a social media frenzy. Her protective older sister, Hazel, is determined to cut through the chatter and find her. The main narrators, Amara Jasper and Jesse Vilinsky, tell the story from the perspectives of Hazel and Evie, each creating a well-rounded character: the... Read More

Fans of the private investigation duo Hap and Leonard are sure to be entertained by this 13th installment of their exploits. It involves arson, murder, a missing adult daughter, and evil forces. Christopher Grant does a fabulous job capturing the respect--and sometimes not-so-PC bantering--between Hap and Leonard. Hap's wife, Brett, the not-to-be-messed voice of reason, is also... Read More

Each portion of this slow-burn thriller is tackled by a different narrator who adds their own unique twist to Swanson's layered characters. Saskia Maarleveld delivers librarian Martha Ratliff's chapters, highlighting Martha's curiosity and distress. Kathleen Early narrates Lily Kitner's point of view. Early's performance sounds stiff in contrast to Maarleveld's. Newlywed Martha... Read More

Hannah Cabell's narration keeps this audiobook from being just another teen-slasher movie treatment. One night before college graduation, library assistant Davey invites six acquaintances to lock themselves in the library's rare book room overnight to perform an ancient ritual that is meant to rid them of their fear of death. And there will be drugs. LSD, specifically. Faye... Read More

Kathleen Early is almost too good at realistically voicing the abusive and sadistic characters who populate the latest Will Trent thriller. Listeners will feel their skin crawl. Audiobook 12 in the series revolves around a gruesome murder that occurs at a remote mountain lodge owned by a criminally dysfunctional family. As a counterbalance to Early's vocally distinct portrayal... Read More

Many characters are featured in this sweet little mystery--all focused on finding the little red truck named Tilly by Raelynn Hadley. Narrator Anne Marie Lewis keeps the story moving at a nice pace and effectively creates an authentic Texas accent. She narrates with skill, talent, and a joyful attitude. Tilly is stolen from Raelynn, and so the hunt begins for the perpetrator.... Read More

Hannah Vanderheide perfectly brings Lila Dalton to life in a world in which nothing is what it seems. Lila wakes up to find herself in a courtroom without any memory of who she is or why she's there. Slowly, she discovers it's 1996, and she's a lawyer on a remote British island who is defending a far-right activist accused of a bomb attack that resulted in multiple deaths.... Read More

Narrator Rebecca Macauley pulls listeners into the time period, unique setting, and compelling characters of this satisfying mystery. At the end of WWI, Eva Willoughby flees an abusive marriage in England and seeks refuge with her friend, Sylvia, in the Black Mountains of Queensland, Australia. Eva begins a job as assistant to Detective Sergeant Jack Shaw and soon learns that... Read More

Narrator Emily Lawrence uses an energetic voice as Veridian, a recent Rhode Island School of Design graduate who is looking to have her work shown at an art gallery in New York City. Lawrence's voice matches Veridian's flagging optimism after several rejections. She's determined to work as an original artist in New York City, but people are only interested in her ability to... Read More

In this thrilling historical novel, Johnathan McClain has command of the pacing, the multiple characters, and their varied accents. He adds zest to a twisty plot about how the U.S. once planned to bring down the German economy. The story starts in 1939, when a young tax attorney joins a small group of Treasury Department misfits who plan to wreak economic warfare on the... Read More

Narrator Dara Brown's performance--full of foreboding--will have listeners questioning everything in this twisty thriller. Rookie PI Bailey Meadows goes undercover at an isolated Topanga Canyon writing retreat to find a missing woman. Brown channels Bailey's anxiety as she navigates the harsh landscape and tight-lipped canyon community. Bailey must also investigate her host,... Read More

Joniece Abbott-Pratt gives a dramatic performance of this flawed but interesting social issue drama. Her remarkably beautiful voice makes a sympathetic vehicle for the heroine, Deena Wood, a young, Black lawyer who has come home to Brunswick, Georgia, to nurse her wounds after a series of personal disasters. Deena's growing obsession with an old man's strange disappearance... Read More

Listeners join a group of friends at a birthday party who are discussing the murder of a fellow inhabitant of their peaceful Massachusetts town. When one of the partygoers is later discovered murdered, the story is told from the point of view of each character. As they do so, secrets and lies are revealed. The use of varied perspectives is complemented by the use of multiple... Read More

How fun for listeners to dive into the launch of this series. Hillary Huber has found the perfect voice for PI Margo Angelhart, portraying her as confident, righteous, and brave. Margo's chapters, told in the first person, let listeners experience her thoughts and emotions as she protects an abused woman and uncovers her own client's deceptions. Despite her drive to be... Read More