Featured Articles AudioFile Spotlight: Best Mystery and Suspense Audiobooks for 2023

The Big Thrill Shares AudioFile’s Best Mystery & Suspense Audiobooks of 2023

AudioFile has completed its investigation into the 2023 Best Mystery & Suspense Audiobooks! Read on to discover the thrilling, engaging, and twisty mysteries that readers couldn’t stop listening to this year. For the full list of 2023 Best Audiobooks, visit AudioFile’s website.

THE SECRET HOURS

By Mick Herron| Read by Gerard Doyle

AudioFile Earphones Award

Recorded Books | 12.75 hrs.

Gerard Doyle performs this stand-alone dispatch from Mick Herron’s cynical “spook street” world with such dry resignation that it is often laugh-out-loud funny. His vocal control is masterly, his pacing, range, and attention to detail a perfect match for Herron’s, which is highest praise.

REVIEW

ALL THE SINNERS BLEED

By S.A. Cosby| Read by Adam Lazarre-White

AudioFile Earphones Award

Macmillan Audio | 13 hrs.

Adam Lazarre-White draws listeners into Cosby’s thought-provoking story of Titus Crowne, the first Black sheriff in the small Virginia county of Charon. Lazarre-White masterfully portrays people of multiple races, old and young, and delivers reflections on family, grief, and faith with genuine introspection.

REVIEW

BIRNAM WOOD

By Eleanor Catton| Read by Saskia Maarleveld

AudioFile Earphones Award

Audible, Inc. | 12.75 hrs.

This listening experience grows more compelling chapter by chapter. Saskia Maarleveld’s delivery is matchless—fluent and sensitive to the finest nuances of a story whose every turn is unexpected yet entirely plausible. It’s an outstanding act of balance and a remarkable feat for author and narrator alike.

REVIEW

DEAD MAN’S POSE: Yoga Mat Mysteries, Book 1

By Susan Rogers, John Roosen| Read by Rupert Degas

AudioFile Earphones Award

G-EMS PTY LTD, PS LLC | 10 hrs.

Golden Voice narrator Rupert Degas takes listeners to Sydney, Australia, in this quirky new mystery series. Degas’s spirited Elaina and ingenious Ric delightfully play off each other. Audio is ideal since conversations and evocative descriptions abound.

REVIEW

ROGUE JUSTICE

By Stacey Abrams| Read by Adenrele Ojo

AudioFile Earphones Award

Random House Audio | 12.5 hrs.

Adenrele Ojo returns to portray smart, feisty Supreme Court clerk Avery Keene in her second adventure. Once again, Abrams has written a complex plot that sweeps Avery into a dangerous situation. Listeners will be chilled by the potential of real threats and thrilled by the intense listening experience.

REVIEW

VERA WONG’S UNSOLICITED ADVICE FOR MURDERERS

By Jesse Q. Sutanto| Read by Eunice Wong

AudioFile Earphones Award

Penguin Audio | 10.75 hrs.

Eunice Wong’s brisk performance perfectly suits this humorous yet poignant cozy mystery. Wong manages the large cast—young and old, Chinese, Southeast Asian, South Asian, and American—with plenty of energy and enthusiasm, subtly distinguishing among them while illuminating their individual stories.

REVIEW

AudioFile Spotlight:  Best Mystery and Suspense Audiobooks for 2023