Features AudioFile Spotlight: March Mystery and Suspense Audiobooks

Three series favorites top our picks this month, all Earphones Award winners on audio. Fans won’t be disappointed! An ensemble cast works seamlessly together in David Baldacci’s latest, and Golden Voice January LaVoy wows in a Dean Koontz thriller. They’re all excellent listening.

Bonded in Death: In Death, Book 60
by J.D. Robb | Read by Susan Ericksen
AudioFile Earphones Award
[Macmillan Audio | 13.75 hrs.]

Eve Dallas has trouble finding out who Giovanni Rossi really was, why he was killed, and how. Susan Ericksen’s portrayal of the tough-as-nails Dallas proves she hasn’t lost her appetite for this futuristic suspense series. She projects Dallas as her snippy, sarcastic self. And now her family is being threatened. The energy and artistry Ericksen put into her presentation make for an exciting listen.

REVIEW

To Die For: Travis Devine, Book 3
by David Baldacci | Read by Zach Villa, Mela Lee, Cassandra Morris, Rena-Marie Villano, Christine Lakin, Will Collyer, Kiff VandenHeuvel, Erin Bennett
AudioFile Earphones Award
[Hachette Audio | 12 hrs.]

Fans of Baldacci’s Travis Devine series will find everything they’ve come to expect: a multilayered plot, high-stakes action, and bodies dropping everywhere. Narrator Zach Villa leads as Travis Devine, supported by a well-matched cast who heighten the listening experience. This time, Devine must protect 12-year-old Betsy Odom in Seattle. A complex web of conspiracies draws in old friends and enemies. The narrators perfectly embody their characters, creating a compelling, nonstop listen.

REVIEW

A Death in Diamonds: Her Majesty the Queen Investigates, Book 4
by S.J. Bennett | Read by Samantha Bond
AudioFile Earphones Award
[Dreamscape | 12.25 hrs.]

Samantha Bond is winning as Queen Elizabeth II in the fourth mystery in this delightful series. The Queen is in Paris on State business, when several mishaps occur that could be sabotage. Bond’s lovely voice, genteel manner, and upper-crust pronunciations deliver entertaining portraits of a determined queen, an insouciant Princess Margaret, and a canny Queen Mum. Bond’s performance highlights political intrigues, murderous intentions, and a sharp-witted, spirited queen.

REVIEW

The Forest of Lost Souls
by Dean Koontz | Read by January LaVoy
AudioFile Earphones Award
[Brilliance Audio | 10.75 hrs.]

Golden Voice January LaVoy delivers an exceptional performance as Vida, who possesses a profound understanding of the mountains where she was raised. This knowledge is central to her existence. Her expertise becomes crucial when she suspects that the death of her beloved José Nochelobo was not an accident. LaVoy’s precise and skillful portrayal of each character and moment adds depth to the narrative, enhancing the listening experience.

REVIEW

Two Good Men
by S. E. Redfearn | Read by Curt Bonnem
AudioFile Earphones Award
[Blackstone Audio | 9.75 hrs.]

This fascinating and aptly named audiobook features two very different “good men,” each fighting for justice in a completely different way. Narrator Curt Bonnem keeps listeners mesmerized with his pitch-perfect performance of mild-mannered scientist Dick Raynes and his counterpart, brilliant FBI Agent Steve Patterson, who is in love with Raynes’s sister, Dee. Raynes uses his scientific prowess to identify and stop sexual offenders, sometimes permanently. Can Patterson look the other way as the body count grows?

REVIEW