AudioFile Magazine’s Summer Audiobook Picks
AudioFile Magazine’s Picks of the Best New Audiobooks for Summer Listening
Want a beach listen? Or something suspenseful enough to make you hide under the covers? (Of course, that means you have to stay under wraps because the bogeyman is definitely out there.) Here are our picks for five great new audiobook mysteries. Some straight-up, some twisted. All worth your time. Thanks to Andrew, we’ll be stopping by regularly with our picks for The Strand readers. Here’s to having an audiobook in your ear, Aurelia C. Scott, AudioFile Magazine blogger.
THE WORD IS MURDER By Anthony Horowitz, read by Rory Kinnear
Not Holmes and Watson, but Hawthorne and Horowitz. Yup, the author of 2017”s MAGPIE MURDERS and screenwriter for BBC’s Foyle’s War has put himeself into this captivating mystery about a woman who is strangled on the same day that she plans her own funeral. The murder is clever, the odd-couple detective antics funny, and the insider dope fascinating – did Stephen Speilberg know he was getting a walk-on part? Here’s our review. And last year’s review of MAGPIE MURDERS, which won an Earphones Award.
THE WORD IS MURDER SoundCloud sound clip.
THE 17TH SUSPECT by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro, read by January LaVoy, Earphones Award Winner
LaVoy’s skill with accents add extra pleasure in the newest of the popular Women’s Murder Club series. This one takes us deep into homeless encampments where someone is murdering folks who are just trying to get some rest. Even though it’s not Lindsay Boxer’s precinct, she’s on the case, determined to stop the killing. Here’s our review.
THE 17TH SUSPECT SoundCloud sound clip.
MEMENTO MORI By Ruth Downie, read by Simon Vance, Earphones Award Winner
If you really want a vacation, I suggest a long soak in the hot mineral pools of Bath, England, at least, Bath in the Roman era when it was called Aquae Sulis. Narrator Vance is a fine guide to the local sights, including dead bodies, rogue temple priests, and amazing Roman plumbing. This 8th in Downie’s marvelous series about Roman doctor Ruso and his British-born wife is just the place to go this summer. Here’s our review.
MEMENTO MORI SoundCloud Sound clip.
THE DEATH OF MRS. WESTAWAY By Ruth Ware, read by Imogen Church, Earphones Award Winner
So, you need money and you receive a letter naming you as your grandmother’s beneficiary. But your grandmother died ages ago. What’s an honest, desperate young woman to do? Pass yourself off as the bereaved, of course. Might be a mistake. Terrifically atmospheric and suspenseful, this one will keep you wide-eyed late into the night. Here’s our review.
THE DEATH OF MRS. WESTAWAY SoundCloud sound clip.
IF I DIE TONIGHT By Alison Gaylin, read by Cassandra Campbell
Being an odd teenage boy in a small town where folks are prone to think the worst – not so easy for the boy, Wade, or Wade’s family. Then Wade’s classmate is carjacked and the rumor mill targets him. This suspenseful examination of motive and desire is scary and fascinating, and an addicting listen. Here’s our review.
IF I DIE TONIGHT SoundCloud sound clip.
For more mystery audiobook reviews: https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/