New Reviews: Mystery & Suspense

In this ninth volume of the Tier One thriller series, narrator Ray Porter succeeds first and foremost by not getting run over by the propulsive narrative. Unsurprisingly, this production is wall-to-wall action. Yet during the rare quiet moments, Porter's nuances make listeners care about the characters: the members of the black-ops team Task Force Ember, a new POTUS, even a... Read More

Golden Voice Narrator Nicholas Boulton dives into this alternate-history adventure. Sir Seaton Begg and Dr. Sinclair Philips are metatemporal detectives--gumshoes who solve crimes in many different worlds. This installment is set in 1930s Europe, where the pair are seeking the Red King, a group of assassins who are committing murders throughout Istanbul. Boulton's stentorian... Read More

Despite occasional murders, this audiobook exudes warmth as two damaged people from even more damaged families work to solve a nearly 100-year-old mystery. Greg Hernandez delivers an understated performance of the unlikely couple. Del Honeycutt has never looked very deeply into his family's history, which is filled with inept men on the wrong side of the law. Sabrina, a... Read More

Narrator Sonny Archer is challenged to perform this gothic tale of love, inheritance, rape, and murder, set in the early 1900s. Unemployed Zeb Wyckham accepts his older cousin's invitation to visit Lackaday House in Dartmoor. When Zeb arrives, he's surprised by the presence of multiple relatives, along with his ex-lover Gideon Grey. They've all gathered to marry off the senior... Read More

Suzanne Toren has been the crisp, approachable voice of Episcopal priest Clare Fergusson since the beginning of this series 10 books ago. Toren also portrays Fergusson's husband, former police chief Russ Van Alstyne, and the denizens of Millers Kill. Toren's accents, tone, and cadence are immediately recognizable for listeners who know these characters, and she does equal... Read More

Cia Court captures all the profound and devastating flaws in an engaging yet reprehensible protagonist. Margo and Ian have been stymied in their efforts to find a forever home outside Washington, D.C. Intense and simmering with rage issues, Margo takes matters into her own morally questionable hands when her dream home is listed for sale. Court shines in her delivery of Margo's... Read More

Five unique and equally compelling narrators come together to impart a glimpse of Atlanta's erotic dance scene in this gritty thriller. Two years ago, Lucky, a dancer, vanished from Boom Town, the most famous gentleman's club in the city. Before her disappearance, Lucky had been distancing herself from her lover, Lyriq, and spending time with a mysterious customer named Thomas.... Read More

Talented narrators, replete with diverse accents, dramatize Book 2 of the Amelia Peabody mystery series, featuring Egyptologist Amelia Peabody--wife, mother, and brilliantly clever archaeologist--and her husband, the intrepid archaeologist Radcliffe Emerson. Here they return to Egypt in 1892 to excavate a pharaoh's tomb and catch a murderer. Narrator Nanette Savard takes on the... Read More

Martin Jarvis and Anna Burnett deftly present this two-part story of a young steeplechase jumper, Imogen, and her jockey boyfriend, Liam. Burnett's portrayal of determined Imogen's growing success is exciting, while details about horses, racing, and jockeys add interest. Drama escalates as Imogen defends herself against a violently jealous Liam and, unwisely, threatens him.... Read More

Narrator Daniel Henning brings a group of quirky characters to life in this audiobook. When the body of the local mayor is found in the garden of their bed-and-breakfast, vampires Arthur and Sal are considered the obvious suspects. So they set out to prove that they've settled in Trident Falls, Oregon, to have a quiet life, not to murder the locals. Using accents and subtle... Read More

Mack Sanderson capably narrates this story of two unlikely partners--a discredited former Secret Service agent and a Jesuit professor--as they embark on a modern-day quest to learn the truth about JFK's assassination. Sanderson portrays the reluctant former agent, who is drawn into the mission only because of his promise to a recently murdered lover. The quietly intense... Read More

Jesse Vilinsky gives a vibrant performance of this delightful cozy mystery featuring a fun romance. Emersyn, who is caring for her young niece after her brother's death, is struggling to keep afloat financially after being swindled by her ex-boyfriend, Hoffman. Emersyn's natural warmth and intelligence come through in Vilinsky's narration as she creates a fictitious detective... Read More

Narrators Mia Barron, Johnny Heller, and Catherine Ho help listeners navigate the complex plot of this conspiracy thriller. The story, which shifts between the present day and 1962, starts with a mysterious series of phone calls that ground hundreds of flights across the nation. Sixteen-year-old Charlie, whose grandfather was a military pilot, finds herself drawn into the... Read More

Narrator Grover Gardner provides a fresh delivery of this prequel, which chronicles defense attorney Andy Carpenter's early career. When the young lawyer goes to the local animal shelter to adopt a dog, he doesn't expect to end up with two. Meeting the second dog's owner, who's been accused of a crime, leads Andy to switch from prosecutor to defense attorney. Gardner's delivery... Read More

Golden Voice Hillary Huber delivers a compelling performance of the latest addition to the Angelhart Investigation series. Fierce, independent PI Margo Angelhart--now working for her family's agency--takes on a pro bono case involving a teenager believed to have died of an overdose. The sprawling Angelhart clan appear throughout, highlighting Margo's ongoing struggles with... Read More

Listeners are drawn into the Cold War, when tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union were at an all-time high. A complex tale of spies, double agents, and defectors unfolds through multiple points of view in alternating chapters. Narrator MacLeod Andrews masterfully brings to life the wide-ranging cast of characters, including a curious teenage boy, male and female... Read More

Narrator Kimberly Capero transports listeners to the quiet town of Crowhurst, England, in this gripping audiobook. The town is known for its local paper, annual fair, and a series of gruesome murders that occurred in decades past. Capero faithfully delivers the perspective of journalist-turned-detective Kirby Cornell and recounts the many mistakes she makes to keep her friends... Read More

Narrator Linda Emond's deliberate pacing and the building tension of her delivery create a compelling listen. The latest installment of the Temperance Brennan series finds the forensic anthropologist in Charlotte, North Carolina, with her volatile niece, Ruthie, when a string of small-animal mutilations escalates to the murder of a woman. Tempe partners with semiretired... Read More

Nick Sullivan's sure-footed, commanding narration propels this prequel to the author's military action-adventure series set throughout the Caribbean--though this first installment takes place in the Florida Keys. Listeners are in excellent hands as Sullivan returns to portray rugged, highly capable retired Force Recon Marine Jesse McDermitt, bringing him to life with grounded,... Read More

James Faulkner delivers a resonant, understated performance as the no-nonsense Inspector Maigret, capturing both the French detective's quiet authority and the wary suspicion with which the residents of a small border town regard him. When a young woman disappears, Maigret is summoned by Anna Peeters to clear her brother's name. Joseph is believed to have fathered a child with... Read More

Atmospheric and deliberate, Suzanne Elise Freeman's narration will grab listeners from the very beginning of this mystery. Marlowe Fisher lives on her family's sprawling farm in historic Gray House. An illustrator in her 30s, Marlowe has been shaped by the disappearance of her best friend, Nora, 20 years earlier. Now, a murder in the fields disturbs decades of secrets, and the... Read More

Golden Voice Narrator Hillary Huber presents the 21st crime novel featuring Sheriff Joanna Brady of Arizona. Huber captures all of Brady's focus, relentlessness, confidence, and skill. The other major character in this gruesome story is Steve Roper, a well-respected chemistry teacher whose summer hobby is murdering people. Huber bores into the mind of a killer who slaughters... Read More

Narrator Marnye Young takes listeners back in time to New York City in 1920 to create the atmosphere of Mariah Fredericks's latest mystery. The story ties together three elements: the unsolved murder of the gambler Joseph Elwell, the reporting of journalist Morris Markey for THE NEW YORKER, and the glamorous lives of Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald. Young carefully channels each... Read More

Louise Brealey's marvelous performance of Susie Dent's enthralling debut mystery is so enticing that one wishes it would last forever. The story does end, but not before Brealey beguiles us with revealing characterizations and beautifully paced conversations. When lexicographer Martha Thornhill returns to Oxford after years abroad, she begins work at the Clarendon English... Read More

Narrator Victoria Villarreal performs a story about how easily public opinion can turn against women. When her best friend, Lucy, goes missing in a parking lot, leaving her infant behind, Michelle is terrified. But she also can't help worrying that her friend may have made good on a fantasy and faked her own kidnapping. When the media turns against the missing Lucy, Michelle is... Read More

Victorian amateur detective Charles Lenox is back--though he's still recovering from wounds he suffered during his previous case. James Langton, longtime narrator of the series, is simply perfect as the dedicated, gentlemanly Lenox. Langton voices all the secondary characters with equal precision and care. Lenox is pulled in several directions as he tries to recover his health... Read More

Reena Dutt delivers an impeccable performance, capturing the nuances of two mixed-race girls navigating adolescence in Wyoming and the unease that follows when their uncle and his family from India move in. Dutt moves deftly between American-born sisters Georgie Ayyar and Agatha Krishna's candid musings, and a growing dread as Uncle Vinny's presence turns intrusive. Sexual and... Read More

Bianca Amato's performance perfectly re-creates the wonderfully realized characters in Alexander McCall Smith's latest No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency episode. Listeners will enjoy the company of wise Mma Precious Ramotswe, owner and founder of the agency; Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni, her husband and owner of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors; and her irrepressible assistant, Mma Grace... Read More

In this satisfying thriller, Casey, voiced with nuanced flair by Patricia Santomasso, must negotiate the late night arrival of a bloody knife-wielding girl without being able to call for help due to a vicious storm. Tina Wolstencroft narrates the backstory, which involves Ella, an isolated teen with a controlling mother who is an abusive hoarder. Wolstencroft manages the tricky... Read More

Narrator Louisa Zhu introduces listeners to four librarians who work together at a public library in Austen. The game night held on Hazel Lee's second day on the job seems to go well--that is, until police arrive to question staff about the murder of an attendee. After another patron is killed, the librarians uncover threads that implicate one of them. To avoid being arrested,... Read More

Caroline Hewitt utilizes her fluency in English and French to great effect in narrating this tale of a magical library that provides its users with the book they need most. When one of the library's books goes missing, Eleanor and Daniel, two former classmates, team up to find it. As their search takes them from Boston to Paris, each character has a distinguishable voice,... Read More

Peter Noble coolly performs this twisty crime novel. Using a narrative tone that is distant and objective, he still manages to inhabit each character, providing credible male and female voices while instilling each with appropriate emotion. In this story filled with betrayals, secrets, and stunning surprises, he handles the Scandinavian pronunciations with ease. The... Read More

This character-heavy cozy gets off to a slow start as author Jo Nichols introduces its many characters. The intrepid narrators, Meg Price and Jim Meskimen, take some time to settle into the particular personalities and voices of the 14 people they portray, becoming more engaging as the story moves forward. Each chapter features a different character. Sometimes they're linked to... Read More

Chef Paul Delamare is back for a second helping of mystery in this action-packed adventure. Narrator Sebastian Humphreys brings sparkle to his portrayal of the perpetually down-on-his-luck chef whose house has just been flooded when he receives an invitation from an old friend. After joining Parisian socialite Xéra on her honeymoon cruise across the Atlantic in a superyacht,... Read More

Narrator Malcolm Hillgartner excels at portraying Charlie Chaplin and Albert Einstein as they race to thwart a Nazi terrorist plot. Set in 1930s Los Angeles, this historical thriller provides a chilling window onto America on the brink of WWII. Listeners also get to hear Hillgartner bring to life Douglas Fairbanks, Paulette Goddard, and a full complement of American and German... Read More

Vikas Adam's excellent narration gives personality and distinction to the characters in this audiobook. Several members of the queer rights organization called the Mattachine Society have disappeared, and Private Investigator Evander "Andy" Mills is hired to find them. When Andy's investigation takes him to the psychiatric clinic where his mother works, he must confront her and... Read More

Eric Priessman presents this mystery, set in Maryland. After 14-year-old Julie Morgan and her twin sister, Heather, have an argument, Julie heads to school alone. When she never arrives, Jim Brady, a 12-year veteran police officer and longtime resident of Morgan's Landing, is called into action. His dedication and kindness are movingly rendered. Priessman is at his best when... Read More

Petrea Burchard's portrayal of Mrs. Plansky brings to life a believable and endearing character. Listeners will feel like they've met the witty, athletic 70-year-old before. A widow who is caring for her 90-something father, Mrs. Plansky embarks on a daring mission to solve the kidnapping of her son and her tennis partner, who is also her love interest. Burchard's... Read More

Sir Derek Jacobi and Joe Jameson's stellar performances add sparkle and verisimilitude to this delightful locked-room mystery. The first adult book by Montgomery, an award-winning children's book author, is set in a Cornish manor house during the 1910 passing of Halley's Comet. Jacobi sets the semiserious tone with resonant action updates and intense performances of yesteryear... Read More

In the mid-19th century, a young man named Ben flees troubles at home in London's East End, only to find himself embroiled in murder and mayhem in Constantinople. There he meets a wide cast of characters who both help and hinder as he tries to uncover the truth behind a series of unexplained deaths. Liam Gerrard's steady narration balances Ben's naïveté and surprisingly capable... Read More

In this mystery set in 1940s Osaka, Japan, listeners follow the once-prominent Omari family as their business declines during WWII. Their struggles are compounded when a series of family members are murdered, which baffles the local police. David Shih's skilled narration creates the perfect atmosphere for this tale, which combines evocative insight into the period with a... Read More

This full-cast production offers some great listening. Detective Midge McGowan is dismayed by her coworkers' retirement gift--a ticket to a weekend haunted house tour. Encouraged by her wife to attend, she reluctantly agrees. Other attendees include a married couple, a pop diva, a ghost-obsessed podcaster, the bus driver, and the owner of the tour, who is a former police... Read More

Listeners are introduced to a large group of characters as the layers of an elaborate con unfold. In 1884, Alice, known in New York City as the Grand Duchess of Würrtemberg, is going to exact revenge upon the five robber barons who ruined her father and, consequently, her whole family. Narrator Megan Trout reveals Alice's plan and crew at a leisurely pace that allows listeners... Read More

In this fascinating mystery, a late-night radio host's worst fear comes true. Narrators Helen Laser and Will Collyer keep listeners engrossed, Laser in particular, as Nola Strate realizes that the serial killer who murdered her babysitter--and almost murdered her--might be back after more than a decade. Is she actually seeing the masked killer stalking her, or is her... Read More

With ambient sounds and the shifting voices of various characters, this production immediately draws the listener into an unfolding crisis. U.S. and Mexican agents uncover a cartel's lethal synthetic drug scheme, which infects an entire village with deadly parasites. The full-cast ensemble and subtle sound effects--footsteps, weapons clicking, and voices muffled by gas... Read More

When a gay, bipolar doctor concludes that the death of his boss, his archenemy, may have been foul play, his life begins to go crazy. And nobody does "crazy" better than voice-over magician Andy Serkis. Serkis matches the rhythm and satirical tone in what can only be called "comic British noir." Besides performing Scottish and posh British accents, Serkis adds a dead-on voice... Read More

The narrators depict a lavish Sweet Sixteen party. Kate Handford portrays Dani, the young, cool stepmother of the birthday girl, Sophie. Handford's voice trembles as Dani fights the crippling anxiety she works so hard to hide. Saskia Maarlveld portrays Kim, Sophie's mother. Her bitter tone reflects both her situation and her near constant state of inebriation. Suzy Jackson... Read More

Billed as "the lost novella," this audiobook includes an introduction by Leonard biographer C.M. Kushins, which explains how the work was created and its place within Leonard's oeuvre. Narrator Anthony Rey Perez smoothly delivers the audiobook, a mystery revolving around migrant farmworkers. At times, Perez is reminiscent of the late Frank Muller, whose husky narration and... Read More

George Blagden's pleasant performance of William Boyd's second suspense novel about occasional spy Gabriel Dax floats equably along like a story told over a glass of postprandial whiskey. It's an adventure set in 1963 England and Berlin, where, between conducting MI5 jobs, Dax and his compatriots savor many cocktails and cigarettes. Blagden's vocal register rarely varies from... Read More

Narrators Dion Graham and Fred Berman once again demonstrate their mastery of their craft in this James Patterson thriller. Graham returns as Alex Cross, fully embodying his multiple facets: loving family man, psychology scholar, and determined detective. Berman portrays serial murderer Gary Soneji to scarily calm perfection. Berman's performance allows listeners to inhabit... Read More

These two loosely entwined novellas are set in Japan. The first, SEESAW MONSTER, is set against the backdrop of the booming 1980s. Former Special Agent Miyako must form an alliance with her mother-in-law, whom she hates and suspects is a murderer, to rescue her kidnapped husband. Pun Bandhu's narration excels at characterization; he makes the two female protagonists highly... Read More

Edoardo Ballerini convincingly portrays thugs, a torch singer, all manner of gumshoes; he does Hungarians, Germans, English elites. His vocals are spot-on. The wildly imagined plot begins in Milwaukee and then shifts to Eastern Europe. Hicks McTaggart, a former strike breaker, now a private eye, likes to dance and to romance--until he runs afoul of the Milwaukee mob. Much of... Read More

Chris Andrew Ciulla's balanced performance is hilarious yet fully grounded. Operating as ex-military guns for hire, Skwerl and Big Cheese take a job to retrieve a luxury jet. When the job goes sideways, they wind up traveling the globe to set things right. While current news items such as the war in Ukraine punctuate the story, the main events effectively mix humor and action.... Read More

The three narrators' performances are so exquisitely skilled that this audiobook is irresistible. Grant is an FBI agent working in predictive analytics who's been assigned to investigate the case of a deadly industrial explosion. The curveball: Sara, a hypnosis therapist, reports that her client, Marigold, described the event before it happened. During subsequent treatment... Read More

The Finch sisters are drawn into another mystery, with Soneela Nankani returning as narrator. Remi joins Eliana and Maeve on a search for Eliana's estranged husband, Chad, after they find a severed fingertip at his ransacked home. Evidence and Eliana's strange behavior cause Remi to question her loyalty. Will this mystery unravel the sisters' new bond? Nankani portrays tension... Read More

Listeners are treated to a well-produced, full-cast production with fitting sound effects. The result is a captivating listening experience. Set in early-twentieth-century Minneapolis, the story unfolds through multiple points of view conveyed through journals, newspaper articles, letters, and court proceedings. The tale of Addie Strongwood, accused of murdering her beau,... Read More

George Guidall evokes resentment and obsession in this queer thriller, set on the isolated Turkish island Büyükada. Fehmi and ener have spent 40 years in love. Yet despite having an intimate group of friends, the men have hidden their marriage, living as "retired companions" with bitterness bubbling under the surface. When Deniz and his family move in next door for the summer,... Read More

Fiona Hampton creates a panoply of amusing and sinister voices for the residents of Sweetbriar, budding detective Beatrice Steele's new London neighborhood. This second installment of screenwriter Searles's engaging Regency mysteries finds our intrepid heroine ostensibly searching for a wealthy husband, while actually working with Inspector Drake at their newly opened... Read More

Narrator Melissa Advani captures a mother's worst nightmare when her child goes missing during a family holiday in India. Struggling with doubts about her husband's faithfulness and her own mental health, Jo begins receiving threatening texts shortly before the trip abroad with her husband's business partner and his family. When her son disappears from their rental cottage,... Read More

In this third entry in the series, narrator Jack de Golia portrays unofficial PI Bobby McGowan, who reluctantly agrees to unravel the truth behind a possible snuff video filmed 30 years earlier. De Golia portrays Bobby with a youthful guy-next-door voice that matches Bobby's personality. He skillfully differentiates male characters--young and old, heroes and villains. His... Read More

Michael Beck brings his best Southern drawl to his portrayal of a wealthy, eccentric widow, Eleanor, and her small-town debt-ridden lawyer, Simon, who is eager to handle her fortune. When Eleanor dies under suspicious circumstances, evidence strongly points to Simon, who must find the true killer before he loses everything. Beck infuses his characters with drawls befitting... Read More

Emily Pike Stewart's performance evokes the misty hollers of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Private investigator Annie Gore takes on a cold case in a rural Appalachian town. Ten years earlier, three girls vanished; apple head dolls were left in their place. As Annie questions the local townsfolk, she begins to suspect that whoever took the girls may still be... Read More