2 years, 2 months ago
What are the best crime and mystery audiobooks?
Recently I've gotten into audiobooks.
The thing with audiobooks though is they vary a great deal in quality. Some good books are read in such a monotonous voice it's like listening to paint dry. Other times the sound quality is horrible and annoying.
On the other hand there are books that were hard going to read in paper form that come magically alive when read out loud by a great reader.
I have a pretty wide taste in books, but one type I like is crime and mystery, especially the classic kind. These are also good for listening rather than reading because they don't a lot of concentration, so you could be doing something else at the same time.
What do you think are the best crime and mystery audiobooks?
The thing with audiobooks though is they vary a great deal in quality. Some good books are read in such a monotonous voice it's like listening to paint dry. Other times the sound quality is horrible and annoying.
On the other hand there are books that were hard going to read in paper form that come magically alive when read out loud by a great reader.
I have a pretty wide taste in books, but one type I like is crime and mystery, especially the classic kind. These are also good for listening rather than reading because they don't a lot of concentration, so you could be doing something else at the same time.
What do you think are the best crime and mystery audiobooks?
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M$1 Answer
I agree that the narrator can make or break an audiobook. You should check out audible.com as they let you search by narrator, read reviews of the narrators and more. If you find a really good narrator you click on their name and see everything else they have done.
Regarding mystery and crime, here are a few:
"The Hard Way" by Lee Child (narrated by Dick Hill)
Snarky ex-military drifter with unusual skills takes on a missing persons/kidnapping case with a twist.
http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp?productID=BK_BRLL_000112&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes
Nearly anything written by Dick Francis and narrated by Tony Britton. Francis is a prolific British mystery novelist that sets his stories around interesting themes. He puts his protagonist in interesting hobbies and professions, including ex-jockey's, glass blowers, artists, Scotch Tasters, Gourmet Chefs. . . I like the combination of the mystery genre and the immersion in an unusual life style. Here are a couple of examples with samples:
http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp?productID=BK_BBCW_000625&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes
To The Hilt: http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp?productID=BK_BBCW_000625&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes
If you like old radio theater style detective stories with a classic feel, there are three dozen free short stories here: http://www.decoderringtheatre.com/blackjackjustice/
They are in the style of pulp detective fiction, but have a full cast and a few sound affects that will remind you of old time radio dramas.
If you are into the supernatural craze of the past decade, the Dresden Files stories written by Jim Butcher and narrated by James Marsters are a good example of the genre. They are about Chicago's only professional Wizard who uses supernatural abilities to help him with detective work. This isn't my preferred genre, but Marsters is a very good narrator and the snarky brave and pathetic lead character sort of grows on you. You can find samples here:
http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/enSearch/searchResults.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&N=0&Ntx=mode%2Bmatchallpartial&D=dresden+files&Dx=mode%2Bmatchallpartial&Ntk=S_Keywords&Ntt=dresden+files&x=0&y=0
Regarding mystery and crime, here are a few:
"The Hard Way" by Lee Child (narrated by Dick Hill)
Snarky ex-military drifter with unusual skills takes on a missing persons/kidnapping case with a twist.
http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp?productID=BK_BRLL_000112&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes
Nearly anything written by Dick Francis and narrated by Tony Britton. Francis is a prolific British mystery novelist that sets his stories around interesting themes. He puts his protagonist in interesting hobbies and professions, including ex-jockey's, glass blowers, artists, Scotch Tasters, Gourmet Chefs. . . I like the combination of the mystery genre and the immersion in an unusual life style. Here are a couple of examples with samples:
http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp?productID=BK_BBCW_000625&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes
To The Hilt: http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/products/ProductDetail.jsp?productID=BK_BBCW_000625&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes
If you like old radio theater style detective stories with a classic feel, there are three dozen free short stories here: http://www.decoderringtheatre.com/blackjackjustice/
They are in the style of pulp detective fiction, but have a full cast and a few sound affects that will remind you of old time radio dramas.
If you are into the supernatural craze of the past decade, the Dresden Files stories written by Jim Butcher and narrated by James Marsters are a good example of the genre. They are about Chicago's only professional Wizard who uses supernatural abilities to help him with detective work. This isn't my preferred genre, but Marsters is a very good narrator and the snarky brave and pathetic lead character sort of grows on you. You can find samples here:
http://www.audible.com/adbl/site/enSearch/searchResults.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&N=0&Ntx=mode%2Bmatchallpartial&D=dresden+files&Dx=mode%2Bmatchallpartial&Ntk=S_Keywords&Ntt=dresden+files&x=0&y=0
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
Also a fantastic answer!
Do you like other genres of audiobooks as well? I might ask a few more questions like this about different types of books.
Free is always good, esp for unfamiliar authors.
After a recent question I discovered you can borrow audiobooks from libraries.
http://www.mahalo.com/answers/books-and-authors/why-is-audiobook-rental-more-expensive-than-dvd-rental
http://search.overdrive.com/
Here's another question I asked:
http://www.mahalo.com/answers/books-and-authors/what-are-the-best-non-fiction-audiobooks
Ask away.
I've always been an avid reader and enjoy most genres with the exception of romance and melodramatic angst. The economic downturn stuck me with a long commute so I now have two and a half hours a day to fill with audiobooks. As you can tell from my answers, I listen to quite a lot of free audio fiction via podcasts from up and coming authors. I really like the idea of a writer being able to build an audience with or without the approval of big publishers, and some of the podcasters offers surprisingly good material for free.