Features AudioFile Spotlight: Mystery and Suspense Audiobooks for June

This month’s best mystery and suspense listening includes cold cases, family drama, and a take on the true-crime podcast craze. With compelling performances, these audiobooks are sure to please crime fiction fans of all stripes.

HAS ANYONE SEEN CHARLOTTE SALTER?
By Nicci French| Read by Jane Collingwood
[Harper Audio | 12.5 hrs.]

In a crisp British accent, Jane Collingwood fills this mystery with tension as police investigate the 1990 disappearance of Charlotte Salter, who never arrived at her husband’s fiftieth birthday party. Collingwood portrays Charlotte’s 15-year-old daughter, Etty, as frantic, while her four brothers, who are mostly stoned or drunk, are voiced with all the nonchalance of teenagers. Collingwood adopts mellower tones for the Ackerley and neighbor Salter families as they and hard-nosed DI Maud O’Connor uncover the startling truth.

REVIEW

THE MYSTERY WRITER
By Sulari Gentill| Read by Katherine Littrell
[Dreamscape | 10.75 hrs.]

Katherine Littrell portrays Theodosia, who gives up her law studies in Australia and goes to stay with her brother Gus in Kansas to pursue her dream of becoming a writer. When she finds the body of a famous writer in a coffee shop, she and Gus find their world turned upside down. In fast-paced dialogue, Littrell seamlessly moves between Australian and American accents, letting the humor that is sprinkled throughout the twisting plot shine.

REVIEW

LISTEN FOR THE LIE
By Amy Tintera| Read by January LaVoy, Will Damron
[Macmillan Audio | 9.25 hrs.]

January LaVoy and Will Damron give sterling performances in this audiobook about a woman who is suspected of committing a murder five years earlier and the popular true-crime podcaster who exposes her. LaVoy is outstanding as the often funny Lucy Chase; she adopts a sardonic, fatalistic tone that matches Lucy’s character. Damron, as the fine-looking, deep-voiced podcaster Ben Owens, is also top-notch. The podcast episodes sound authentic, and Damron brings a Texas twang when needed. This is an excellent, fun listen, filled with unusual and relatable characters.

REVIEW

THE TRUTH ABOUT THE DEVLINS
By Lisa Scottoline| Read by Edoardo Ballerini, Lisa Scottoline [Note]
[Penguin Audio | 9.75 hrs.]

This compelling narrative—part legal thriller, part family saga, part redemption story—is brought to life by the tremendous Edoardo Ballerini. With gentle authority, Ballerini invites listeners to meet the Devlin family, a seemingly tight unit who work in a family law firm. The story opens with favorite son John calling his brother, TJ, an ex-convict and recovering alcoholic. John is in trouble; he may have killed his client. What follows is an intriguing unwinding of what happened that night and what dangers lurk close by.

REVIEW

STILL SEE YOU EVERYWHERE: Frankie Elkin, Book 3
By Lisa Gardner| Read by Hillary Huber
[Hachette Audio | 11.5 hrs.]

Thriller fans will be delighted that Hillary Huber continues her successful run as narrator of the Frankie Elkin series. In the third installment, Huber brings out the sassy charm of Frankie, an unconventional cold case investigator. She’s hired by a serial killer on death row to locate her little sister who disappeared in Hawaii. Huber impeccably pronounces the audiobook’s ubiquitous Hawaiian words as Frankie goes undercover at a remote island eco lodge being developed by the suspected kidnapper. Huber’s quick pacing adds to the rising tension.

REVIEW

AudioFile Spotlight: Mystery & Suspense Audiobooks