16 Mysterious Audiobook Listens for Every Mystery Lover

What goes on behind closed doors? Innocent Molly the maid doesn’t know, despite all she witnesses in and out of the hotel rooms she cleans. In this modern mystery fan favorite, follow (and cheer on) Molly, as she gets to the heart of a hotel guest murder case and realizes that not everyone is who they say they are. Lauren Ambrose embodies Molly in all her eccentricities so that her voice is clear and consistent.  

If you’re a frequent listener to this 30-year-old series about our favorite New Jersey bounty hunter with attitude, you know that Stephanie Plum isn’t complete without Lorelai King’s on-the-mark narration. For more than 20 audiobooks, King has impersonated Stephanie and her offbeat entourage with heavy doses of realism and affection. In this 30^th installment, King once again convinces us we’re part of Stephanie’s inner circle, as she draws us in completely to Stephanie’s work life (jewelry thieves!), family life (a stakeout with Grandma Mazur!), and love life (no spoilers!). 

Look at that cover: it’s ominous, intense, and evocative, right? All are perfect descriptions for this serious tale told within the structure of a police procedural by bestselling crime writer Karin Slaughter. This latest chapter in the Will Trent series (now an ABC television show) finds the Atlanta investigator helping his love interest address a traumatic event in her past while fighting for justice for herself and others. Regular series narrator Kathleen Early rightly earned an Earphones Award for this performance—she moves from character to character, emotion to emotion, hard conversation to hard conversation, and twist to turn with skill, grace, and depth. 

Ruth Ware is the author. Imogen Church is the narrator. That’s really all you should need to know to add this to your audiobook queue. Need a few more details? A woman finds her husband dead and becomes the lead suspect, so she runs. Lots of adrenaline-inducing action, and yet there is also some time for a grieving widow to grieve. It’s a thrilling ride in any format, but Church’s award-winning performance makes the audiobook really stand out. 

Nothing is more stressful than being locked inside with a potential killer, especially when the unknown killer must be someone you know and trust! Add being snowed in during a blizzard with no contact with anyone from the outside, and you’ve got all the makings of a classic whodunit. Narrated by a full cast of heavy hitters, everyone delivers home runs with a range of accents as tension mounts and long-time friendships begin to crumble. 

Like Oliver, Charles, and Mabel in the popular murder mystery television show, Richard Osman’s amateur detectives are unlikely friends, who bond over unsolved mysteries and find themselves sometimes snooping, sometimes stalking, and always sleuthing. After a star turn in Book 3, narrator Fiona Shaw is back with her ability to make us laugh out loud at the escapades of the self-appointed elderly detectives while simultaneously keeping us engrossed in the particulars of their problem-solving. The pairing of the versatile Shaw with the equally versatile Osman is an audiobook casting match made in Mystery Heaven. Pre-order this audiobook before September 18, 2023 to be entered into a sweepstakes with the chance to win signed editions of the series and more.

Earphones Award Winner JD Jackson’s narration is full of heart and emotion as he portrays Black Texas Ranger Darren Mathews, who seeks to solve the murder of a Black lawyer and a local white woman in his small hometown. This book confronts how challenging but necessary it is for a country, a town, a family, and individuals to confront a tragic past. Jackson’s melodious timbre captures the Ranger’s trepidation as he is faced with the racial injustice of crime and his own complicated feelings and actions. Jackson repeats his brilliance as Mathews in the author’s follow-up, Heaven My Home.  

After the death of a janitor at Saint Sebastian’s School and an arson spree, a rough-around-the-edges nun, aptly named Sister Holiday, pulls on her sleuthing habit to pick up the slack of the officials. Winning an Earphones Award for her narration, actress Mara Wilson, who played the similarly resilient Matilda on film, nails Sister Holiday’s sharp edge while building a unique cast of characters, each distinct in their voices. 

Artificial intelligence is changing the way we work, live, and create in real time. This audiobook pushes the boundaries between technology and imagination because it was written largely by feeding prompts into a generative AI tool. The plot, in a very meta move, also revolves around AI. But the narrator is human, and his narration is fluid, finessed, and appropriately fast-paced. It’s intriguing and a bit discombobulating to ponder this reverse use of how AI is usually used in audiobooks—instead of a bot narrator giving voice to an author’s words, a human now gives voice to the bot. Don’t skip the Afterword, which provides concrete details about how the story came to life. This “experiment” is less than three hours long so is definitely worth the listen, for both the convincing mystery and the chance to contemplate all the dimensions of AI on the future of writing. 

In this ultra binge-worthy audiobook, two theater students appear on a popular podcast. Jordan and Victoria are the main suspects in the brutal murder of Jordan’s parents. But are they truly guilty? With a Kiss We Die is told in the form of a realistic true crime podcast with the host, Ryanna Raines, conducting a series of interviews. The full cast of voices brings this thought-provoking, suspenseful mystery to life. Whether you’re obsessed with true crime or just want to forget about life for a while, this uniquely told mystery caters to both. 

When Lucy’s sister goes missing and there are no updates from authorities a year later, Lucy decides to roll up her sleeves and try to find the kidnapper/killer herself. The story is told from the perspective of Lucy, who will go to any length to find out what happened to her sister, a woman with dreams of joining the Irish police force, and the abductor/killer himself. 

Karen M. McManus’s One of Us Is Lying Series is compulsively listenable. Return to Bayview for the thrilling conclusion that had us chewing our fingernails to the quick. The full cast narration heightens the revolving points of view as this group of friends just wants to keep each other safe. 

A Free Little Library, a large orange cat, and a librarian ghost make for a delightful mystery. When no one will answer Evan’s questions about where these library books came from when their town doesn’t have a library, he and his best friend, Rafe, will have to find the answers themselves.