Is it just me,
or does it feel like we’re surrounded by serial killers? Thanks to a glut of new documentaries, true crime (and the requisite backlash) is everywhere. It’s a grim situation when even a voracious true crime junkie like myself throws up her hands and says,Enough with all the murder already!
But crime fiction—that’s another story, isn’t it? In the midst of such endless repackaging of real tragedy, it’s refreshing to dive into a story that springs from an author’s imagination. Sure, crime fiction, like all fiction, is inspired by the world around us—look no further than Don Winslow, whose epic Cartel trilogy helps listeners understand the very real violence happening on the border, or Chester Himes, whose horrifying life experiences with racism and incarceration fueled explosive, complex works of noir. But fictional characters and a dramatic narrative aren’t just key to the novelist’s craft; they help us feel a sense of order and process these stories in a more meaningful way. Here’s the fiction I can’t stop thinking about—not a real serial killer in the bunch.
—Kat, Audible editor
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Pleasantville
- By: Attica Locke
- Narrated by: J.D. Jackson
- Length: 13 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 466
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 411
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 414
Fifteen years after the events of Black Water Rising, Jay Porter is struggling to cope with catastrophic changes in his personal life and the disintegration of his environmental law practice. His victory against Cole Oil is still the crown jewel of his career, even if he hasn't yet seen a dime thanks to appeals. But time has taken its toll. Tired and restless, he's ready to quit.
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5 out of 5 stars
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An Author You Need to Know
- By L. O. Pardue on 05-18-15
The crime writers making Black history and future
It’s no secret that genre fiction still has a ways to go in terms of representation. But the many talented Black authors working in the mystery and thriller space make this a rich area to explore every month of the year, not just this one. From prize-winning contemporary authors like Attica Locke and Walter Mosley to standard bearers of Black legacy Iceberg Slim and Chester Himes, see who made our list of outstanding Black crime writers—and don’t be shy about telling me who you’d add, please.
Start Listening
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Out of the Dark
- An Orphan X Novel (Evan Smoak, Book 4)
- By: Gregg Hurwitz
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 12 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 9,715
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 8,947
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Story5 out of 5 stars 8,904
Taken from a group home at age twelve, Evan Smoak was raised and trained as part of the Orphan Program, an off-the-books operation designed to create deniable intelligence assets - i.e. assassins. Evan was Orphan X. He broke with the Program, using everything he learned to disappear and reinvent himself as the Nowhere Man, a man who helps the truly desperate when no one else can. But now Evan's past is catching up to him.
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5 out of 5 stars
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SMOAKIN' HOT!!!!
- By shelley on 01-30-19
Please enjoy the enduring bromance of Scott Brick and Gregg Hurwitz
For fans of Gregg Hurwitz’s Orphan X series, narrator Scott Brick just is the voice of Evan Smoak. That’s why it’s especially satisfying to see that these two audio favorites have plenty in common in real life, too. Watch the author and actor’s easy rapport as they talk about their longstanding collaboration and the latest book in the series, Out of the Dark.
Ready, Set, Bro
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Up Against the Wall
- By: David Hasselhoff
- Narrated by: David Hasselhoff
- Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 85
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 81
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Story3.5 out of 5 stars 81
Autumn, 1989. The waning days of the Cold War. A rogue Stasi colonel has acquired a nuclear bomb and threatens to level Berlin if and when the Wall comes down. CIA Agent Nick Harper is called in to foil the plot. Soon after arriving, however, Harper discovers his identity has been compromised. To stay alive, he must go along with a group of passionate young East Berliners who mistake him for their idol, American superstar David Hasselhoff.
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2 out of 5 stars
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I can’t review
- By Mpwest on 02-23-19
And if you need a totally Hoff-the-wall escape…
If John le Carré and Charlie Kaufman got together for a Knight Rider marathon, you might end up with something as wickedly weird as Up Against the Wall, a spy thriller about international heartthrob David Hasselhoff and a secret agent who looks a lot like…David Hasselhoff. You see, the real Hasselhoff is inextricably tied to the fall of the Berlin Wall, thanks to his 1989 song Looking for Freedom
and ensuing concert from atop the wall. But in a case of mistaken identity, the fictional Hasselhoff gets caught up in a covert operation to foil a terrorist attack on Berlin, and the look-alike Hasselhoff has to play the concert instead. Got all that? Don’t worry—just know that we DO live in a reality in which David Hasselhoff narrates his own delightfully meta spy thriller, and thank goodness for that.
Set It Hoff
New Releases
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The Silent Patient
- By: Alex Michaelides
- Narrated by: Jack Hawkins, Louise Brealey
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 79,057
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 69,303
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 69,146
Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening, her husband, Gabriel, returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face and then never speaks another word. Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Librarian vs. Reader: Silent Patient
- By Alicia Herrington on 02-06-19
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The Winter Sister
- By: Megan Collins
- Narrated by: Rebekkah Ross
- Length: 10 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 232
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 210
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Story4 out of 5 stars 210
Sixteen years ago, Sylvie’s sister, Persephone, never came home. Out too late with the boyfriend she was forbidden to see, Persephone was missing for three days before her body was found - and years later, her murder remains unsolved. In the present day, Sylvie returns home to care for her estranged mother, Annie, as she undergoes treatment for cancer. Prone to unexplained “Dark Days” even before Persephone’s death, Annie’s once-close bond with Sylvie dissolved in the weeks after their loss, making for an uncomfortable reunion all these years later.
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1 out of 5 stars
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DON'T WASTE YOUR CREDITS
- By Jennifer on 02-13-19
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Swamp Spook
- By: Jana DeLeon
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 2,787
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,500
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Story5 out of 5 stars 2,478
Sinful, Louisiana, really knows how to throw a party, and it goes all out for Halloween. The weeklong celebration kicks off with a maze of horror in the park built of hay bales. And Fortune has the perfect assignment - the executioner. Her scene comes complete with a head block, a hatchet, and a fake body with removable head. It’s the perfect setup...for a crime. When Fortune returns from break and realizes the body in her scene is a real one and not the prop, she knows trouble is coming.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Another huge Thank You...
- By shelley on 03-19-19
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The Moroccan Girl
- A Novel
- By: Charles Cumming
- Narrated by: Charlie Anson
- Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 187
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 169
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Story4 out of 5 stars 167
Renowned author Kit Carradine is approached by an MI6 officer with a seemingly straightforward assignment: to track down a mysterious woman hiding somewhere in the exotic, perilous city of Marrakesh. But when Carradine learns the woman is a dangerous fugitive with ties to international terrorism, the glamour of being a spy is soon tainted by fear and betrayal.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Male Fantasy Writ Large
- By Jocelyn on 05-12-19
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The Silent Patient
- By: Alex Michaelides
- Narrated by: Jack Hawkins, Louise Brealey
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 79,057
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 69,303
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 69,146
Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening, her husband, Gabriel, returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face and then never speaks another word. Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety.
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3 out of 5 stars
-
Librarian vs. Reader: Silent Patient
- By Alicia Herrington on 02-06-19
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The Winter Sister
- By: Megan Collins
- Narrated by: Rebekkah Ross
- Length: 10 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 232
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 210
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 210
Sixteen years ago, Sylvie’s sister, Persephone, never came home. Out too late with the boyfriend she was forbidden to see, Persephone was missing for three days before her body was found - and years later, her murder remains unsolved. In the present day, Sylvie returns home to care for her estranged mother, Annie, as she undergoes treatment for cancer. Prone to unexplained “Dark Days” even before Persephone’s death, Annie’s once-close bond with Sylvie dissolved in the weeks after their loss, making for an uncomfortable reunion all these years later.
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1 out of 5 stars
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DON'T WASTE YOUR CREDITS
- By Jennifer on 02-13-19
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Swamp Spook
- By: Jana DeLeon
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 2,787
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,500
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 2,478
Sinful, Louisiana, really knows how to throw a party, and it goes all out for Halloween. The weeklong celebration kicks off with a maze of horror in the park built of hay bales. And Fortune has the perfect assignment - the executioner. Her scene comes complete with a head block, a hatchet, and a fake body with removable head. It’s the perfect setup...for a crime. When Fortune returns from break and realizes the body in her scene is a real one and not the prop, she knows trouble is coming.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Another huge Thank You...
- By shelley on 03-19-19
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The Moroccan Girl
- A Novel
- By: Charles Cumming
- Narrated by: Charlie Anson
- Length: 10 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 187
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 169
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 167
Renowned author Kit Carradine is approached by an MI6 officer with a seemingly straightforward assignment: to track down a mysterious woman hiding somewhere in the exotic, perilous city of Marrakesh. But when Carradine learns the woman is a dangerous fugitive with ties to international terrorism, the glamour of being a spy is soon tainted by fear and betrayal.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Male Fantasy Writ Large
- By Jocelyn on 05-12-19
About the Editor
Kat is an Audible editor and podcast addict who likes to mix up her diet of thrillers and true crime with comedy, weird literary fiction, and the occasional nonfiction blockbuster to sound smarter at parties. Follow her on Twitter @katbhandari.