Twisty Thriller Audiobooks: The Best Thriller Audiobooks to Listen to for Chills and Thrills

This book is first on the list for good reasons! The Silent Patient is an incredible psychological thriller that pulls you in right away with amazing narrators that make this audiobook so enjoyable! The story is about a psychotherapist who starts treating a patient, Alicia, who has been silent for years ever since she supposedly killed her husband (she never actually confessed because she was completely non-verbal). The story flips back and forth between the psychotherapist and Alicia’s diary from the past before the murder. The pieces of the story slowly come together with a shocking ending. Trust us when we say you MUST listen to this audiobook. 

If you want a true plot twist, Gone Girl is the book to read. You may already be familiar with the movie, but the book came first (and the book is always better 😉). The story features a husband and wife on their 5-year anniversary, but instead of romantic clues leading to an anniversary present, the husband instead discovers that his wife is missing. As the missing person investigation ensues, the husband starts to look more suspicious than ever. Should we believe his continued proclamation of innocence? Or is there something more sinister going on … ? 

An eloquently written and beautifully narrated slow-burn historical thriller, Mexican Gothic gives us all the glamour of 1950s while sending a shiver up our spines. Noemí’s lifestyle may be better suited for cocktail parties, but a distressing letter from her cousin has her rushing to the countryside to offer her assistance. Frankie Corzo’s narration calmly leads us into High Place house to uncover its terrifying secrets, but can we make it out alive? 

From the very beginning of this psychological thriller, you will feel a deep sense of unease about the characters. Just when you think you’ve figured out their motives and aligned yourself with one over another, something new will be revealed and you’ll change your allegiances. Multiple easy-to-distinguish narrators effectively flesh out the characters in both the present and in a series of flashbacks. Louise is a single mother who falls for her married boss while also (secretly) befriending his wife. Their marriage is obviously an unhappy one, but why? To tell any more details would ruin some of the many unique and compelling twists, but be prepared for a final twist that is as heartbreaking as it is terrifying and surprising. (After you listen to the book, look for the streaming series.) 

We love when a story tells the point of view of multiple different characters, and this one pulls in three different women as narrators. Rachel Watson is an alcoholic who recently separated from her husband after he left her for another woman (Anna). She frequently blacks out while drinking and harasses her husband but does not remember much of these events the next day. On her daily train ride, she passes by her ex-husband and Anna’s home and notices that the couple next door has a seemingly perfect life. However, one day Rachel sees the wife next door kissing someone who is not her husband. Rachel goes to investigate and wakes up the next day covered in blood and injuries but has no recollection of what happened the night before. As she starts to put the pieces together, she realizes that both couples’ relationships are not as perfect as they seem.  

Set in the early days of Covid-19, this captivating book takes you from the honeymoon phase of a new relationship into a psychological thriller that will keep you on your toes. Ciara meets Oliver in line at a Dublin supermarket. They quickly hit it off and decide to move in together to weather the strict lockdown as their budding relationship unfolds. The mystery thriller moves across multiple timelines as it begins 56 days before a decomposing body is discovered in Oliver’s apartment. Who was found dead? And why? Narrator Alana Kerr Collins’s Irish accent helps keep the listener fully “in” every scene and revelation. Her deliberate pace lends just the right amount of tension and surprise to the case as it unfolds. 

Jason Rekulak’s debut into the thriller genre, supernatural thriller at that, is a twisting and turning chiller. Suzy Jackson flawlessly embodies Mallory Quinn, a once star athlete and now recovering addict trying to regain her footing in life. Jackson’s overall voice work is exceptional and kept our hearts racing as Mallory frantically tried to keep Teddy, the little boy she’s nannying for the summer, safe from the danger she couldn’t see. 

A wedding on a private supposedly haunted island during a storm? What could possibly go wrong?!?! We know that someone turns up dead at the end of the night … but who? And why? Featuring five different narrators, this book slowly talks through the events of the wedding and night before while diving into each character’s history, their relationship to the bride and groom, and any potential red flags that may help the wedding guests (and the reader) figure out the killer and a motive. Filled with twists and turns, this thrilling mystery will have you creating a long suspect list in your head. 

This is a book that will keep you on your toes even after you’ve finished. The story features a stalker, Joe, who makes himself into the perfect boyfriend for a woman he admires. They eventually start dating, and Joe will do anything (even murder) to keep her around. Think that you could never feel bad for a psychotic stalker and murderer? Think again! Kepnes does such a good job building out Joe’s character that you may feel sympathy for him and the narrator, Santino Fontana, plays the perfect part of Joe. This is a great, fast-paced audiobook. 

Full of suspense and a fairly realistic storyline, The Woman in the Window is a truly enjoyable and addictive psychological thriller. Whether you live in an apartment in a city or a home in the suburbs, you know how easy it is to learn about your neighbors, even unintentionally. Anna Fox, however, intentionally spies on her neighbors, as she hasn’t left her townhouse for almost a year. One day, she sees a stabbing in her neighbor’s home, but she can barely believe that it happened herself, never mind other people believing her. A shocking story with an unreliable narrator, this is one you won’t want to put down.  

When her beloved uncle is diagnosed with early-onset dementia, Margot returns home to help care for him. She soon becomes obsessed with the unsolved crimes surrounding this small Indiana town. This debut mystery thriller novel will satisfy your inner sleuth! Crime Junkie podcast host, Ashley Flowers, boasts her true crime expertise in this fictional story about the mysterious disappearances of two little girls twenty years apart. As a journalist, Margot just knows something feels off. Are the townspeople hiding something? 

This twisted thriller will have you hooked from the start! The Lighthouses are an eccentric family obsessed with true crime. When her father dies, Dahlia returns home to her family’s island mansion where she and her siblings were homeschooled in seclusion. The murder mystery unfolds when her long-missing twin brother Andy’s body is discovered in her father’s grave. Will Dahlia find the killer, or will she uncover a deeper truth about her morbid family? This dark and haunting book has everything from a dysfunctional family to a scary mansion to a serial killer on the loose.   

This unique Cold War spy thriller with a touch of historical fiction is so much fun to listen to. Being undervalued in her job with the FBI, Marie, an ambitious young Black woman, accepts a spy mission from the CIA. When a close brush with her own assassination sends her on a refuge to Martinique with her two young sons, Marie decides to explain her past in a captivating letter to her boys. This book is a spy thriller, family drama, and a seductive romance all in one. It’s such a thought-provoking novel with a real-life feel that it’s difficult to press “pause.” 

What really happened to Emily Vaughn? The pregnant teenager was murdered on prom night 40 years ago, but the case went cold before they could find her killer. Andrea Oliver returns as a newly minted U.S. marshal in this thrilling stand-alone sequel to Pieces of Her. On the surface, her assignment is to shield an elderly judge from death threats, but we soon learn she’s really in the small beachside town to finally bring justice for Emily. Full of unexpected twists and turns, the exhilarating audiobook version of this murder mystery thriller will totally suck you in. Will Andrea discover the truth before it’s too late? 

This fourth installment in the political action thriller Terminal List Series packs a punch. Right on track with the action, suspense, and thought-provoking storyline that Jack Carr fans are used to, this book is another great read. The #1 New York Times bestselling author and former Navy Seal seamlessly weaves fact and fiction in this story, which opens up with flashbacks to 9/11. As the real-life Covid-19 pandemic begins to die down, this novel portrays two U.S. cities under a fictional attack by a bioweapon. Ray Porter is an excellent narrator and will have you holding on to the edge of your seat.