This month’s recommendations invite listeners to reconnect with several favorite characters, from Frankie Elkin to Chief Inspector Gamache to the slow horses of Slough House. Skilled narrators are key to making these characters feel real, and to ramping up the tension. These are must-hear mysteries.
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CLOWN TOWN: Slough House, Book 9
by Mick Herron | Read by Gerard Doyle
[Recorded Books | 12 hrs.]
With his easy wit and comfortable Irish lilt, Gerard Doyle is once again the go-to narrator for Mick Herron’s bestselling Slough House series. In this ninth story, the “slow horses” take on the case in question and attempt to save the day. Doyle’s voice has become such a part of the series that he sounds like an extra member of this fascinating and extremely dysfunctional family of spies who are caught between betrayal and redemption.
THE KILLING STONES: Jimmy Perez and Willow Reeves, Book 1; Shetland, Book 9
by Ann Cleeves | Read by Kenny Blyth
[Macmillan Audio | 11 hrs.]
Kenny Blyth’s warm Scottish accent and facility with creating characters make him the ideal narrator for Ann Cleeves’s new series featuring Detective Jimmy Perez and his partner, Willow Reeves. They’re now living on the Orkney Islands after moving from the Shetlands. Perez’s best friend is found beaten to death with an ancient stone during an archaeological dig on Westray. Then a popular teacher is found stuffed into the Maeshowe tomb on Orkney, having been beaten with a matching stone. Blyth fully inhabits these windswept islands steeped in ancient history.
THE BLACK WOLF: Chief Inspector Gamache/Three Pines, Book 20
by Louise Penny | Read by Jean Brassard
[Macmillan Audio | 13.5 hrs.]
This Three Pines audiobook is narrated by Jean Brassard, whose exquisite Québécois accent nails the characters in Penny’s Chief Inspector Gamache series. Her previous novel, THE GREY WOLF, sets the stage for the stunning denouement that plays out here. It involves climate change, along with a border conflict, treason, and conspiracies. Brassard keeps the plot and its large cast moving. It will surprise no one that Gamache and the Sûreté du Québec team come through—though with lots of heart-stoppers along the way.
KISS HER GOODBYE: Frankie Elkin, Book 4
by Lisa Gardner | Read by Hillary Huber
[Hachette Audio | 12.5 hrs.]
AudioFile Earphones Award
Golden Voice Hillary Huber masterfully delivers two very different stories that dramatically collide: a tragic family saga unfolding around the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan and a fast-paced thriller set in Arizona. In this fourth series entry, Frankie Elkin searches for a missing Afghan immigrant woman, quickly discovering that no one is truly who they seem. Huber’s ability to distinguish the dual storylines with shifts in tone, pace, and accent keeps listeners fully engaged throughout.
YOU BELONG HERE
by Megan Miranda | Read by Cassandra Campbell
[Simon & Schuster Audio | 10.75 hrs.]
AudioFile Earphones Award
In this mystery, Beckett and her college roommate are accused by the London Police of setting a fire that killed two men. The charges are dropped, but the emotional damage is done. Narrator Cassandra Campbell’s expertise in building suspense is strikingly on display. Beckett’s mounting panic will have listeners glued to their earbuds. Golden Voice Campbell’s meticulous characterizations lend reality to all the characters portrayed. This is a stunning example of her craftsmanship.
AudioFile Magazine—About: AudioFile is the place to discover more about audiobooks. Every day, its reviews and recommendations tell you which audiobooks are worth your listening time. AudioFile reviews about 50 audiobooks a week, features narrator profiles, and awards exceptional performances with AudioFile’s Earphones Awards. AudioFile publishes in print, newsletters, and a blog, and podcasts daily recommendations on Behind the Mic with AudioFile Magazine.
