6 of the Best Audiobook Mysteries That Will Take You Around the World
Welcome to Bob’s Saucer Repair shop! Hailed as a fun, light-hearted, sci-fi comedy filled with aliens and unreliable spaceships, this series is the perfect upbeat escape from reality. Sit back, relax, and start listening to the first three books with this Bob and Nikki Publisher's Pack.
Whenever things feel too overwhelming, I reach for audiobooks that I can escape into and become consumed with the story. I love mysteries, preferably set in countries or communities different from my own. The unfamiliar location and culture adds a level of depth to the mystery for me. Here are six mysteries that will take you around the world!
The Unquiet Dead by Ausma Zehanat Khan, Narrated by Peter Ganim
When a local man falls off a cliff, Canadian Detective Esa Khattak and his partner Detective Rachel Getty are called in to look over the case. What starts as a routine case slowly grows more and more suspicious as Khattak and Getty look into the dead man’s past. Soon they realize the man was living under a false identity and may be a Bosnian war criminal. Peter Ganim’s clear narration helps listeners navigate all of the twists and turns of this thrilling story.
Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke, Narrated by JD Jackson
Darren Matthews is on probation at his job as a Texas Ranger. But when a white woman and a Black man are found dead in a small East Texas town, Matthews is sent to aid local law enforcement. Once Darren arrives, he realizes his presence has stirred up deep resentment from the white folks in town. It’s up to him to solve the murders and give the two victims the justice they deserve. JD Jackson’s performance embodies Darren’s character brilliantly, capturing his no-nonsense attitude and gruff exterior.
The Satapur Moonstone by Sujata Massey, Narrated by Sneha Mathan
I loved Massey’s first novel in her Perveen Mistry series—which is set in 1920s India—but book two seems even better. In The Satapur Moonstone, Perveen travels to the remote kingdom of Satapur where the maharaja has just died from a mysterious illness. Perveen begins to suspect that the maharaja’s death may not have been natural after interviewing the man’s widow and mother, both of whom are in a state of mourning in the palace. Sneha Mathan didn’t narrate the first book in the series, but she wastes no time establishing herself as the voice of Perveen’s story.
The Lost Man by Jane Harper, Narrated by Stephen Shanahan
I’ve listened to all of Jane Harper’s mystery novels, but The Lost Man is by far my favorite. When Cam and his younger brother find their older brother dead on their family’s ranch, they have no idea where to look to find his killer. They had thought they were the only residents of their area of the Australian outback. But as they search for a killer, they begin to realize their brother’s death might be even more complicated than they first imagined. Stephen Shanahan does an excellent job narrating The Lost Man, with a seemingly effortless performance.
In the Woods by Tana French, Narrated by Steven Crossley
In the first of her famous Dublin Murder Squad series, Tana French introduces us to Rob Ryan and his partner Cassie Maddox. When a there’s a murder in a Dublin suburb, Rob feels all the secrets of his past come to the surface. When he was a child, two of his friends went missing and were never found. He’s the only one who came home. As Rob and Cassie work on the case, Rob fights to keep his fast safely locked away. Steven Crossley narrates In the Woods, rounding out Rob as a viewpoint character in all the best ways.
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley, Narrated by Jayne Entwistle
In the summer of 1950, murder comes to Buckshaw, England. Enter Flavia, a precocious 11-year-old girl living in an aging mansion with her two sisters and her father. Obsessed with science and investigation, Flavia fixates on the murder and other mysterious happenings going on around town with the fierce determination unique to kid detectives. Jayne Entwistle provides the perfect narration for Flavia’s story, bringing the English countryside setting so close it feels we could find it just around the next corner.
