Features AudioFile Spotlight: Mystery and Suspense Audiobooks for May

AudioFile’s Editors have five new thrilling listens for mystery audiobook lovers. You’ll find tense stories of PIs on the case as well as plenty of closely held secrets, dangerous enemies, and, of course, excellent audiobook narrations. Read on to find your next mysterious listen.

IT’S ONE OF US

By J.T. Ellison | Read by Julia Whelan

AudioFile Earphones Award

Harlequin Audio | 11.5 hrs.

Julia Whelan navigates the emotional issue of infertility with empathy and compassion. She allows desperation into her voice as Olivia Bender’s latest fertility treatment fails. Ironically, Olivia’s husband was a sperm donor decades earlier and has 28 offspring—and one of them is a killer. While Olivia feels betrayed by her spouse, she also has secrets that could end her marriage, and Whelan’s skill in revealing them is impressive. As the chase for the killer progresses, Whelan adds tension by increasing her delivery speed.

REVIEW

BIRNAM WOOD

By Eleanor Catton | Read by Saskia Maarleveld

AudioFile Earphones Award

Audible, Inc. | 12.75 hrs.

What a listening experience this is—one that grows more compelling chapter by chapter. Author Eleanor Catton and narrator Saskia Maarleveld are both at their peak here, and are perfectly matched in sensibility and skill. In the contemporary world of drones and tracking devices, Maarleveld assumes the voices of eco-warriors, a predatory billionaire, a hapless New Zealand lord, and his sharp-eyed lady. Maarleveld’s delivery is matchless—fluent and sensitive to the finest nuances of a story whose every turn is unexpected yet entirely plausible. A remarkable feat of execution for author and narrator alike.

REVIEW

LYING BESIDE YOU: Cyrus Haven, Book 3

By Michael Robotham | Read by Joe Jameson

AudioFile Earphones Award

Simon & Schuster Audio | 10.5 hrs.

The pace, characters, and plot of this mystery are well done—as is Joe Jameson’s expert narration. The author continues his dual-protagonist series featuring Cyrus, a forensic investigator; and Evie, a young woman who has been scarred by her past. Evie becomes involved as Cyrus tries to identify the link among women who are being attacked. Every character—major or minor—takes on a clear personality through Jameson’s inflections, tones, and UK accents. Listeners will be riveted to the end.

REVIEW

THE KIND WORTH SAVING: Henry Kimball, Book 2

By Peter Swanson | Read by Keith Szarabaijka, Kathleen Early, Helen Laser, Micky Shiloah

Harper Audio | 8.5 hrs.

Four narrators coordinate their performances perfectly in this cleverly crafted audiobook about a flawed private detective who becomes involved in the machinations of a woman from his distant past. Keith Szarabaijka narrates as Henry Kimball, who slowly pieces together the motivations of the woman who has hired him to expose her cheating husband. Helen Laser delivers the backstory of the manipulative client, while Micky Shiloah is totally convincing as her gullible husband. Kathleen Early reprises her role from The Kind Worth Killing, returning as the disturbed Lily. It all comes together beautifully.

REVIEW

MURDER BOOK

By Thomas Perry | Read by Peter Berkrot

HighBridge Audio | 11.5 hrs.

Peter Berkrot portrays PI Harry Duncan with a confident authority that reflects Duncan’s intelligence, street smarts, ingenuity, and caring. Duncan is hired by his ex-wife, a U.S. attorney, to investigate what appears to be organized crime moving into small Midwestern towns. Duncan immediately finds himself caught in a web of criminals while trying to save a woman whose bar has been targeted for protection money. Berkrot effectively differentiates characters, male and female, and keeps the plot moving through an intense standoff scene.

REVIEW