Listening while lying on the beach, relaxing by the pool, hiking a trail, or traveling by car or plane makes summer the perfect time to catch up on great audiobooks. Here’s a sampling of mysteries across sub-genres that will keep listeners entertained all season long.
For mystery lovers intrigued by plots within plots, the Earphones Award-winning MARBLE HALL MURDERS by Anthony Horowitz (Susan Ryeland Series, Book 3) is a great listen. The audiobook is masterfully narrated by actors Lesley Manville and Tim McMullan, who created the roles of Susan Ryeland and Atticus Pünd on the Masterpiece television adaptations. This multilayered, metafictional mystery moves between an unfinished Atticus Pünd manuscript and Susan’s real-life drama. While it’s the third in the series, there’s enough backstory to easily follow returning characters.
For another book-centered mystery, try the Audible original THE TWISTED WOMEN’S BOOK CLUB, produced with International Thriller Writers. This collection features short stories by top mystery/thriller authors, with narration from a stellar group of narrators. The authors were invited to contribute their take on the members of a book club hosted by a wealthy self-help guru living in a mansion on Cape Cod. The result is an array of ingenious, original stories that somehow all connect to the theme. Each story has been matched with a perfectly-suited narrator. Author Jennifer Weiner contributes the introduction; Karin Slaughter provides the club’s current pick,Twisted.
Want to start a series early? Try Book 2 of The Martini Club series, THE SUMMER GUESTS by Tess Gerritsen, read by Golden Voice Hillary Huber. In Purity, Maine, CIA retiree Maggie Bird and her crew investigate a missing teen. Huber’s pitch-perfect narration of male, female, and teen voices makes for an engrossing listen.
Longtime fans of Craig Johnson’s Walt Longmire series will savor Book 21, the Earphones Award-winning RETURN TO SENDER, narrated by Golden Voice George Guidall. Set in Wyoming’s unforgiving Red Desert, this entry finds Longmire searching for a missing postal worker with the longest mail route in the United States. Guidall’s magical voice will keep listeners engaged throughout this complex tale with several unusual and threatening characters.
Looking for lighter fare? Two delightful listens offer up mysteries with a humorous twist:
VERA WONG’S GUIDE TO SNOOPING (ON A DEAD MAN) by Jesse Q. Sutanto (Vera Wong, Book 2), narrated by Eunice Wong. Vera, the opinionated San Francisco tea shop owner in her 60s, is back to solve another murder. Returning and new characters make this sequel a treat.
FINLAY DONOVAN DIGS HER OWN GRAVE
by Elle Cosimano (Finlay Donovan, Book 5), narrated by Angela Dawe. This witty, fast-paced mystery features Finlay, a writer-turned-amateur-sleuth. The banter is sharp, the characters quirky, and the humor laugh-out-loud. Newcomers can jump in here or start from the beginning.
Plenty of entertaining audiobooks to keep mystery fans listening through the hot and humid days of summer!
