Our editors weigh in on August’s most anticipated new releases.
Back and better than ever
The ladies of Pirriwee Peninsula are back, and they are even sharper, funnier, and more electric. More than 10 years have passed since Liane Moriarty’s smash hit Big Little Lies published (and later evolved into an award-winning HBO show), and the narrative of Big Little Truths follows that same time jump. The kindergarten parents that led the first novel are now parents to teens, and you know what they say—bigger kids, bigger problems. Moriarty’s writing is like a knife she has sharpened to perfection—no word is wasted, no character dull—and the action is near-constant: a tidal wave of middle-aged problems (both banal and serious), organized crime, PTSD from the first book’s traumatic events, teenage problems (both banal and serious), and a severed finger anonymously delivered to the high school that kicks off the action and points the arc of the story forward (pun very much intended). It brought me no small joy to be back in the minds of these women. While Madeline’s external filter has improved, her internal one is as chaotic as ever, and there’s something oddly comforting about being immersed in her brutal honesty. Moriarty’s longtime narrator Caroline Lee returns to voice these characters, with Australian newcomer Ella Le Fournour joining the production to give voice to the angsty and hyper-intelligent teens. Whether you’re new to the series, a fan of the show, or a devotee of book 1, you won’t regret your trip down under.
Everybody knows Miss Marple
It’s easy to see why this star-studded full-cast adaptation of Agatha Christie’s The Murder at the Vicarage is going to breathe new life into the character that we all love. Starring Toni Collette as Miss Marple and Kit Harington as Reverend Leonard Clement, this Original celebrates everything that listeners know and love about a Christie mystery. Between this incredible adaptation and Lucy Foley’s brand-new Miss Marple mystery coming later this fall, it’s shaping up to be a landmark year for the amateur detective character who has inspired countless other stories, shows, and mysteries. There’s a lot to love, and even more to listen to.
A profound coming-of-age story
Deeply compelling and at the same time quite unsettling, A Tender Age—penned by Pulitzer Prize finalist Chang-rae Lee—brings forth a certain tangible nostalgia from deep within the listener that causes them to interrogate their own childhoods while living fully inside the mind, body, and soul of 12-year-old Korean American Jeon-Gi. This is as much a story of American adolescence as it is a documentation of the immigrant experience. It is an all-consuming listen that may leave you a bit stunned, like blinking back onto a bright street after seeing a midday movie.
Carpe diem, listeners
I am standing on my desk in a silent salute to Dan Bittner. I absolutely loved experiencing Dead Poets Society in this stunning new audiobook format. Bittner's narration is phenomenal—he brings every character to life so vividly, you'll forget it's just one person performing. What really sets this edition apart is the subtle yet impactful sound design—sound editor John Dracy used an ambisonic microphone that captures audio in 360 degrees, making you feel like you're actually at Welton Academy alongside the students. Another thing that makes this audiobook special is Robert Sean Leonard's heartfelt new foreword about working with Robin Williams on the 1989 film adaptation and how this story and that experience transformed him as a young actor. Whether you're revisiting this beloved story or discovering it for the first time, this immersive audio experience will truly inspire you to seize the day.
History repeats itself
Looking for a summer spook? Then look no further than Riley Sager's latest novel, The Unknown. The storyline instantly grabbed my attention: a group of actors sets off to a remote Vermont island to research the true story behind their upcoming film, only to discover that the dark history of five women who vanished from that same island may not be history at all. Sager is a master of horror and suspense who knows exactly how to trap his characters (and his listeners) in impossible situations where no one can be trusted, and no one is safe. The Unknown marks his milestone 10th novel, and Sager shows no signs of slowing down.
She might not know that man, but we all know Keke Palmer
Hilarious multi-hyphenate talent Keke Palmer has brought one of her most iconic alter egos back for three new star-studded Audible stories. Lady Miss Jacqueline, an outrageous Southern belle who was first introduced via Palmer’s digital sketch comedy, is now fully realized and telling her own story one tale at a time. And I don’t know about y'all, but I could listen to Keke—or any of her alter egos—forever.
For his latest twist, a thriller author sinks a hole in one
Chris Bohjalian reliably produces bestselling thrillers (The Flight Attendant, Hour of the Witch), but his new book, which he says he wrote in an “alchemic frenzy,” consumed him like no other. Well, Chris, me too. The Amateur gripped me from the start with its arresting main character, a writer and former golf protégé who’s surveying the decades-long aftermath of a freak accident: One day in 1978, 18-year-old Mira drives a golf ball straight through a practice net and into the temple of a young caddy, killing him. How Mira sees this Greek tragedy-level event as punishment for her years-long affair with a much older married man is sad, irrational, and totally human. How the scandal plays out in court, and from Mira’s fancy suburban enclave to coke-fueled ’80s NYC, kept me breathlessly listening as The Office’s Melora Hardin—JAN, you guys!—voiced the clever, poignant, and twisty mystery to perfection.
Let’s have a conversation about AI
Like many, I've recently spent a lot of time thinking about how AI is changing the way we work. Unreal challenged me to think about something much bigger: how it might change the way we love, grieve, remember, and understand ourselves. Marc Fennell approaches each episode with curiosity rather than certainty, giving listeners space to sit with stories that are as compelling as they are unsettling. I didn’t always know what to think by the end of an episode, but I always wanted to keep listening. In a moment when conversations about AI can feel overwhelmingly technical or relentlessly optimistic, Unreal offers something much rarer: nuance.
A detective is out for blood
If you're a fan of the True Detective series or enjoyed the dark seduction of Interview with the Vampire, then James Patterson's latest thriller is where those two worlds collide. Harker offers a detective story soaked in something ancient, set in New Orleans. Detective Mina Harker's unsolved murder case spirals into a manhunt for a centuries-old vampire named Draco, and suddenly it's not just a crime story anymore. Every interrogation feels like it could go sideways. The full cast elevates every episode. Christina Ricci voices Mina with quiet intensity—you're never quite sure if she’s going to solve the case or become part of it. Dracula lovers, sink your teeth in.
Stay curious
In a world that increasingly demands data and certainty, what if the answer we’re searching for is to ask more questions? British philosopher, researcher, and author Lani Watson proposes that the paradoxical framework of answering questions with more questions ultimately guides us toward deeper insights. Drawing on a combination of neuroscience, history, and modern-day observations, Q expands the definition of truth to include the unknown. As someone who never stops raising her hand, I’m looking forward to forming even more questions about the power of questions.
Why we love debuts
We’re big fans of debut novels around here. There’s just something about the promise of a brand-new voice with big ideas and a fresh approach that we can’t help but get excited about. So, when The Responsible Party crossed my desk, I got right into it and was immediately sold on Claire Carusillo. Her writing style, the mystery at the center of the plot (which is based on her own family legend), and the humor give this story such momentum that I finished it in a single day.
The past isn’t the destination
Australia’s contemporary answer to the Brontë sisters? The Moriarty sisters. While the Brontës gave us windswept moors and gothic heroines, Liane, Nicola, and Jaclyn Moriarty have built devoted fans, myself included, with twisty plots and beautifully flawed characters who feel astonishingly real. Jaclyn Moriarty returns to take three new characters on a journey through time that’s less about changing history than navigating this glorious, messy human experience. Performed brilliantly by Kellie Jones and Mitchell Bourke, this is one to press play and escape into.
Who’s thirsty for vampire lore?
When most folks close their eyes and envision a vampire, what typically appears is some variation of an image derived from Bram Stoker’s Dracula. However, as Aaron Mahnke is thrilled to remind us, this hasn’t always been the case. The seasoned audio historian—whose series Lore I credit as the addictively eerie show that turned me into a podcast listener over a decade ago—sinks his teeth into the full-length audiobook format with this latest deep-dive into the blurry line between fact, folklore, and fiction surrounding vampires. Focusing on a period of hysteria in New England history, Exhumed unearths our eternal thirst for vampire stories, offering a tasty listening morsel to help tide us over until Summerween turns to spooky season proper.
In this buzzy literary novel, who is in the spotlight?
Who is M? The online consensus is correct: an A-list actress, as precocious as she is beautiful, famed for playing a hitman’s protégé and a tormented ballerina. Her new role, as the star of this novel, is controversial. Did her friend Rachel Cusk, incisive interrogator of the psyche and writer of experimental literary fiction, deliver an unflattering portrait? That’s beside the point, I found as I descended into this wily story of fame, speculation, and the search for authenticity. Moving through the lavish spas, dinner parties, and movie trailers of M’s world, the question of whom it’s about and what is imagined thrums in the subtext, crashing forward in a shocking last sentence that made me want to hit play again from the start. Another clue lies in the audio: In a first, Cusk narrates her own work. Soft, hypnotic, and precise, her voice keeps the story inexorably tethered to its author, who gives a dramatic performance of her own.
Family roots—like graves—run deep
A multigenerational, dual-timeline novel begs for a multicast, and this one (Cassandra Campbell, Jennifer Pickens, Jeremy Carlisle Parker) understood the assignment. In 2016, siblings Ashley and Malcolm (Campbell) reckon with their mother’s death two years earlier, while in 1919, a young woman named Frannie (Pickens) trains in medicine amidst a bizarre illness that seems to bring the dead back to life—while hiding her true identity as a queer woman. The stories converge in the town of Boone’s Ferry: a tight-knit community with secrets of its own. This novel brims with a slow-building dread and has all the makings of a classic folk horror.
