As I’ve cycled between audiobooks, ebooks, and physical books these last few years, a personal pattern has emerged. I’ve noticed that certain genres, and even subgenres, work better for me as audiobooks rather than physical or ebooks, and vice versa. Then there are the books where I mix and match.
When it comes to my usual audiobook fare, though, I gravitate towards mysteries, thrillers, romances, and nonfiction. In fact, listening to nonfiction audiobooks has helped me read more nonfiction in general, which is something I’ve had as a personal goal for years. If your book club is looking to get into new titles and is down for an audiobook, the following are new books out this month that are at the top of my list to listen to. There’s an Appalachian mountain-set romantasy, a murder-mystery at the end of the world, a long-lost WWII Hiroshima memoir, and more.
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Death Card by Jasmine Smith, narrated by Andia Winslow
Mikaela Broussard is built a little differently than I was at 18. For one, she’s a tarot-reading witch who is set to be the next Witch Queen of her coven, and two, she’s following around her future murderer. More on that second part: during a tarot reading, Mikaela draws the death card and sees the client sitting across from her, stabbing her in a vision. So, she gets to know her and spends time with her, on some keep your enemies close type of thing. I guess. Thing is, Joelle, the future murderess is becoming more and more appealing to Mikaela…but then all these witches start showing up with their magic stolen, and Mikaela has to find out who—or what—is responsible.
(Mostly) Human Resources by Grace Viall, narrated by Lauren Ezzo, Sebastian Brown
This is another romantasy, though this time it’s not YA, and it is also set in the Appalachian Mountains. And, let me just say that I never pictured a romantasy involving cryptids, but here we are. Or rather, here Alexys is, as she works behind a desk for a company that categorizes and manages the cryptids of the world. When Elliot, a warden under watch, goes missing, she takes it upon herself to go out into the mountains to save him, especially since he was last chasing a dangerous and never-recorded monster. And that’s where Nic comes in. Alexys is his work nemesis, and he cann’t just let her see a never-recorded monster without him. Now, this is a romantasy as I mentioned, and the Nice doesn’t being alone with Alexys…but it’s alone time spent in the Appalachian mountains, where just whistling could get you got.
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Murder at the End of the World by Akane Araki, translated by Jesse Kirkwood, narrated by Hanako Footman
As an asteroid hurtles towards Earth, signaling the end, 23-year-old Haru is focused on getting her…driver’s license. Yes, Ms. Haru is a bit of a worryer and likes things to have structure. That’s why, when she finds a dead woman in the trunk of her car who has been stabbed and tortured, she teams up with her driving instruction (an ex-cop) to cat the murderer.
Hiroshima, 8:15: The Lost Memoir by Kiyoshi Tanimoto, translated by Koko Tanimoto Kondo, narrated by Fred Sanders, Ren Hanami, and Brian Nishii
This memoir is obviously tonally very different from my other selections. The book’s author became well-known as one of the survivors of the bombing of Hiroshima in 1945, but this memoir is newly discovered. In it, we see in his own words the devastation of the bombing. Starting at 8:15 in the morning on August 6, 1945, we follow a 36-year-old Tanimoto, a Methodist minister, husband, and father, after he sees a flash in the sky and his entire life changes forever.
If you’re looking for even more audiobook options, here are the most popular thriller audiobooks on Libby.
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