Features AudioFile Spotlight: Mystery and Suspense Audiobooks for February

AudioFile’s editors have five excellent new mystery audiobooks for listeners to enjoy during these dark winter months. Journey to South Australia’s wine country and soak up the sun—and jump into a cold case mystery—with Jane Harper’s latest. This month’s selections will take you from Down Under, to a Swedish ski resort, to Mumbai, and beyond. Read on to discover your next mysterious listen.

EXILES: Aaron Falk, Book 3

By Jane Harper | Read by Stephen Shanahan

AudioFile Earphones Award

Macmillan Audio | 10.5 hrs.

Stephen Shanahan returns to portray Aaron Falk, who is in South Australia’s wine country to attend his godson’s christening. As he and the child’s father catch up, talk turns to a cold case involving a missing woman. Shanahan’s native Australian accent and easygoing tone help set the scene as Falk becomes ever more involved in helping his friends figure out what happened. The dialogue and narrative flow naturally, infused with believable emotions that underscore Shanahan’s grasp of the author’s style.

REVIEW

SECRETS TYPED IN BLOOD: Pentecost and Parker, Book 3

By Stephen Spotswood | Read by Kirsten Potter

AudioFile Earphones Award

Random House Audio | 9.75 hrs.

Private detectives Lillian Pentecost and Willowjean Parker are back, and series narrator Kirsten Potter returns with another smashing performance. It’s New York City, 1947. Holly Quick, writer of gruesome murder stories, hires Pentecost and Parker because she’s discovered that murders from her stories were recently brought to life. But what is she hiding? Potter gives Parker a smart-alecky tone, and as Pentecost, “the greatest detective in New York City,” Potter sounds cultured and mysterious. Plot twists and Kirsten Potter’s narration put this P&P adventure right up there with the best.

REVIEW

MY DARKEST PRAYER

By S.A. Cosby | Read by Adam Lazarre-White, S.A. Cosby (Intro.)

AudioFile Earphones Award

Macmillan Audio | 9.5 hrs.

Adam Lazarre-White performs S.A. Cosby’s reissued debut novel with a subtle narration. Nathan Waymaker is a former law enforcement officer now working at his cousin’s funeral home in the Chesapeake Bay area. When a local pastor dies, two women offer to pay Waymaker to look into the pastor’s mysterious death. Lazarre-White’s performance is a master class in narrating from a single viewpoint, and he captures Waymaker’s character perfectly, embodying his wounded spirit and his resilience in the face of the constant injustices he witnesses while trying to find out why the pastor died.

REVIEW

HIDDEN IN SNOW: The Åre Murders, Book 1

By Viveca Sten, Marlaine Delargy (Trans.) | Read by Laura Jennings

Brilliance Audio | 11 hrs.

Laura Jennings narrates this Nordic noir with style. Stockholm police officer Hanna Ahlander takes refuge at her sister’s lodge in the Swedish ski resort of Åre to recover from professional and private disasters. When a girl goes missing there, Hanna can’t help getting involved. Jennings’ use of authentic-sounding accents and place names creates the perfect backdrop. Her strong characterizations bring the wide cast of individuals to life, and her timing helps to build the tension as the plot heads toward the exciting conclusion.

REVIEW

THE BLUE BAR: Blue Mumbai, Book 1

By Damyanti Biswas | Read by Sneha Mathan

Brilliance Audio | 12.25 hrs

Narrator Sneha Mathan’s strong performance transports listeners to the streets of Mumbai as police inspector Arnav Singh Rajput is called to investigate a dismembered body, which he soon realizes is the work of a serial killer. Mathan’s narration is spot-on. She creates believable male and female characters, in particular clearly differentiating key characters. Her authentic-sounding accents help to set the scene and create the perfect atmosphere for this intriguing mystery where the inspector’s past and present converge, bringing new challenges.

REVIEW