Welcome to Brian’s Book Blog’s weekly New and Notable Audiobooks Post for the Week of December 19th.
Comment below on any I missed or what you’re excited about!
Authors, narrators, producers, and publishers — any of the books featured here are prime candidates for review.
If you see yourself featured here, I would love to review your audiobook! Click the button to submit your book for review.
Book covers and bold titles may have affiliate links to Amazon (where you can buy the Audible version).
Clicking these helps support this site, so thank you if you do.
New to Audible or Audiobooks in general? Welcome!
Get 2 FREE Audiobooks (instead of one) by clicking on the banner or here.
Hozark’s Revenge: Space Assassins 5 (The Interstellar Slayer Saga) by Scott Baron
Narrated by Eric Bryan Moore
Self Published
Revenge. Hot or cold, it was about to be served by a professional.
And this one had a bone to pick.
Hozark may have survived countless attempts on not only his own life but the lives of his friends and colleagues, but it had come at a cost. And while he may have miraculously walked away from certain death on more than one occasion, the master assassin was not one to forget. And sooner or later, everyone’s time would come.
Heavy Weather by Bruce Sterling
Narrated by Gary Tiedemann
Brilliance Publishing
A near-future eco-thriller from the bestselling author of Schismatrix Plus and The Difference Engine.
The Storm Troupers are a group of weather hackers who roam the plains of Texas and Oklahoma, hopped up on adrenaline and technology. Utilizing virtual reality, flying robots, and all-terrain vehicles, they collect data on the extreme storms ravaging an America decimated by climate change. But even their visionary leader can’t predict the danger on the horizon when a volatile new member joins their ranks and faces a trial by fire: a massive tornado unlike any the world has seen before.
Brushfire by Craig Alanson
Narrated by R.C. Bray
Podium Audio
Peacetime can be a rough adjustment for the battle-hardened Merry Band of Pirates.
Especially when aliens don’t get the memo that the shooting is over.
Glass Shore by Stefan Jackson
Narrated by Ron Garner
Self Published
What if “think differently” was more than a campaign slogan?
What if it was part of a mind control network geared toward advanced sciences, creating a vibrant, creative, and competitive workforce?
This is the world of Glass Shore, a dynamic existence featuring fierce vehicles, cruel weapons, and serious body augmentation.
Manhattan, 2076. The fabled city of gold realized; a city of dazzling buildings and beautiful people; a city celebrated for converting an obsolete subway system into an adult playground. Manhattanite Nikki’s life changes forever when she finds the files labelled “Project Blue Book appendix 63-A”. The report contains a disc related to the Glass Shore, the horrendous nuclear event at Puget Sound in 2062.
Disclosure of these files is not an option, so powerful people want Nikki dead. To protect her, Nikki hires Apollo, her long-time friend and lover, who is magnificent at his job. He is also a clothes whore with an honest enthusiasm for life.
Nikki and Apollo are the hottest couple in Manhattan. Betrayed by friends at every turn, set upon by bounty hunters and other elements of security, law enforcement, and civil protection, they utilize the best hotels, the sexy underground, and the glorious city of Manhattan as their shield.
Government hit squads, illegal weaponry, hackers, cyborgs, twists and turns, sex, drugs, and a surprising lack of rock’n’roll – Glass Shore takes its listeners on an express journey through the highs and lows of life in a dystopian future, leaving you wondering at each turn what will come next. The story is superbly balanced between government conspiracies, criminals, and corporations and how they inevitably intertwine.
The Last to See Her by Courtney Evan Tate
Narrated by Vivienne Leheny
Harlequin Audio
A woman disappears into the dark city night….
Gen is on the verge of a divorce from her cheating husband. When her sister, Meg, has a convention to attend in the Big Apple, she invites Gen along to celebrate her newly found freedom. But the perfect sisters’ getaway quickly goes awry when a tipsy Gen defiantly throws her wedding ring off the hotel room’s balcony. Then, wanting some fresh air, she decides to take a late-evening walk alone and vanishes without a trace.
The investigation that follows uncovers secrets – and betrayals – between sisters and spouses that will twist the truth in on itself until nothing is clear.
What really happened to Gen and who, besides Meg, was the last to see her?
Girl Under Water by L.T. Vargus, Tim McBain
Narrated by Stephanie Cannon
Hachette UK – Bookouture
Her numb fingers scrabble over upholstery, over metal, over glass, searching for a way out. Water stings her eyes as she’s dragged downward, clinging to her last breath as she’s absorbed into the cold dark below….
When Gloria Carmichael’s body is found broken and bleeding on the sidewalk just days after knocking on Detective Charlie Winters’ door begging for help to locate her father’s will, Charlie’s instinct is confirmed: Her latest case is about more than just a simple family feud.
The Carmichaels are famous in Salem Island for their large family and charitable work, but, moments before she died, beautiful, trustworthy eldest daughter Gloria called Charlie to say she had uncovered a terrible secret that would break the mystery of her father’s death wide open.
With the voice of her murdered sister ringing in her ears – pushing her to risk everything to bring justice to the innocent – Charlie takes matters into her own hands. She won’t let another family break apart like her own, and she knows the answers she needs are hidden somewhere inside the Carmichael home.
But as Charlie races to confront her main suspect – a file containing evidence that will devastate the Carmichael family on the car seat beside her – she’s rammed off the road and over the edge of a nearby cliff. Fighting for breath in a sinking car, Charlie has to survive or other innocent lives will be taken. Everyone involved is keeping secrets, but only one twisted soul is prepared to kill to keep theirs….
An addictive crime thriller with twists at every turn, you won’t know what hit you after you’ve finished Girl Under Water. A perfect roller-coaster ride for anyone who adores Angela Marsons, Robert Dugoni, and Mary Burton.
An absolutely gripping crime thriller
Behind My Words by J.L. Drake
Narrated by Lynn Barrington, Jeremy York, Ryan West
Podium Audio
My entire life vanished the day I found my parents brutally murdered.
It broke me, and everything around me came undone. I went from being a popular best-selling author to an unknown ghostwriter hiding behind my words. Nobody knows who I am now, and I want to keep it that way.
An assignment has me pairing up with the new – and very sexy – detective on a high-profile murder case. As we dive in deeper, things spiral out of control, and the body count starts piling up. Blake and I dissect every clue, but we struggle to predict the killer’s next move. He’s always one step ahead of us in this twisted game of cat and mouse. But as the case evolves, so does my relationship with Blake, and now, I’m face-to-face with a past I’m desperate to forget.
As we start to piece the puzzle together, everything becomes clear. It’s only a matter of time before the killer claims his next victim.
And if he does…we lose everything.
The Hack: International Crime Thriller by Will Patching
Narrated by Gary Furlong
Self Published
A vigilante on the hunt. A journalist on a warpath. To expose an international crime ring they might have to pay the ultimate price….
Ex-CIA assassin Doug Hunter wants to forget his lethal past. But when he discovers a well-connected American involved in a grotesque child abuse network, his rage brings him out of retirement. Vowing to take down the entire twisted syndicate, his biggest obstacle will be keeping a beautiful investigative reporter out of the crossfire.
Tabloid journalist Kate Sullivan is hungry for her big break. And after securing classified information on the murder of a child-molesting millionaire, she’s sure she’s found her scoop. But when her stunning exposé makes headlines, her high profile could land her six feet under.
As Kate turns to Hunter for protection, the influential predators close in. But the more the pair learn about the shocking abuses, the clearer it becomes that this evil plot goes all the way to the top….
Can Hunter and Kate blow the lid off the horrifying conspiracy before their enemies silence them forever?
The Hack: International Crime Thriller is the first stand-alone book in the gripping Hunter/O’Sullivan Adventure series. If you like gritty characters, fast-paced mysteries, and the pursuit of justice, then you’ll love Will Patching’s suspenseful tale.
Buy The Hack to fight for the innocent today!
16 Steps to Forever by Georgia Beers
Narrated by Lori Prince
Bold Strokes Books Inc
If there’s one thing Brooke Sullivan knows for sure is that people let you down, but that hasn’t stopped her from going after the life she wants. In a new city, with a new job and a new start as a high-end real estate agent, she’s finally back on her feet. The last thing she needs is a distraction. Not her volatile neighbors, not a damn stray cat, and certainly not the flaky, infuriatingly adorkable girl-next-door property stager she has to work with.
Macy Carr believes in soul mates and true love. She knows because she had it all, until a freak accident took the love of her life. She’s doing okay though, surrounded by her family, her animals, and her BFFs. Home staging gives her a sense of control, and she’s made her job her happy place. If only the super sexy, super cold new agent working for Macy’s biggest client wasn’t determined to ruin that.
Kiss My Putt by Tara Sivec
Narrated by Kelsey Navarro, Tim Paige
Tantor Audio
After spending my entire pro golfing career being known as the quiet, controlled, no-nonsense golfer on the tour, there’s nothing more humiliating than throwing all of that down the drain on national television. Needing some place to hide, to lick my wounds and figure out what I even want to do with my life once this blows over, I can only think of one place I need to be. Summersweet Island, where everyone treats me like one of their own, and they’ll all be happy to have me home again.
Well, except maybe one person. It’s been two years since I last set foot on Summersweet Island or spoke to anyone there. But I’m sure Birdie Bennett, my best friend since I was 15 and the clubhouse manager of my favorite golf course, has had plenty of time to forgive me for that tiny little misunderstanding where I blocked her on social media and blocked her in my phone. Oh, and I guess I kind of, sort of accused her of being a stalker. It’s fine!
Once my sexy, spunky, former best friend gets over the shock of seeing me again and stops trying to drive a nine-iron into my skull, I can finally let her know I’ve also kind of, sort of always been in love with her….
Contains mature themes.
Don’t Wake Me by Martin Krüger, Jozef van der Voort – translator
Narrated by Marian Hussey
Brilliance Publishing
She came to the island to escape what she did. But the island won’t let her forget.
It was a terrible, terrible accident. Jasmin Hansen knows she hit something. It must have been a deer – that’s what her husband keeps telling her. But Jasmin saw a man’s face, and the nightmares won’t stop.
Some time out at their holiday home on the remote island of Minsøy seems the ideal solution for Jasmin and her five-year-old son, Paul. But you can’t hide from your memories, and Jasmin is haunted at every turn. When mysterious messages begin to arrive at her isolated cottage, it becomes clear that she isn’t the only one who knows what happened that night. Somebody wants her to pay. And when Jasmin uncovers the island’s shocking long-held secret, she realises there isn’t a single person she and Paul can trust.
As the island closes in on her and the threats against her escalate, can Jasmin discover who knows the truth of what she did before it’s too late?
Perfect Plant by Amanda Carlson
Narrated by Emma Wilder
Self Published
In 2105, bad guys love gardening.
Mina Kane’s next undercover op is of the green thumb variety. Tasked to break into a penthouse at the tip-top of a megascraper and air-meld incriminating data on a hydro-shipping mogul, Mina must first pose as an apt gardener who knows a thing or two about roses. The only problem is the rookie’s along for the ride, and he’s a pro at making everything more difficult than it has to be.
Infiltrating the inner sanctum proves to be time-consuming, and agent Adam has a chance to shine, but that’s not all Mina’s in for. Her baby brother is in some trouble, and Vincent Kramer, the colonel-in-arms of the French Protectorate, is missing. An encrypted locator shows up at Mina’s door, but her childhood-pal-turned-international-heartthrob is still nowhere to be found.
This op is one solar flare away from being the biggest, deadliest one yet.
The District Attorney by John Ellsworth
Narrated by Thérèse Plummer
Podium Audio
When the legal system fails to convict an abuser, what do you do?
Meet Assistant District Attorney Lettie Portman, a sex-crimes prosecutor whose past demands justice. When a 14-year-old girl is savagely attacked by her mother’s live-in boyfriend, Lettie is called to the hospital. There, she meets a sweet young girl whose only goal is to go to school and come home to a safe environment. But mom’s boyfriend makes the girl’s world anything but safe. Soon, the abuse gets worse, and Lettie, the prosecutor, goes to the grand jury with the case. Two juries later, the abuser is still loose on the streets.
Lettie is no stranger to abuse. She takes matters into her own hands.
Will Lettie’s own past interfere with her prosecution of what should be San Diego’s Most Wanted? Will she be able to make peace with her own abuse and move on to become the hard-hitting prosecutor the young girl deserves right now? Is hope on the horizon?
People in Hell Want Ice Water by Edan Lepucki
Narrated by Dan Bittner
Audible Originals
In People in Hell Want Ice Water—an eerie and suspenseful short story about connection, trust, and self-preservation—a random hookup amidst the COVID-19 pandemic brings two lonely people together when they need it most. Colin is an immunocompromised software engineer living alone in Los Angeles when he meets Martha on an early morning walk. She’s irreverent and mysterious, and although Colin knows better than to invite a stranger into his house, it’s been over forty days since he’s been touched, and he can’t resist the temptation. This decision upends his quiet and regimented life: Martha cooks them elaborate meals and uncorks bottle after bottle of wine until they stumble to bed drunk every night. Within days she’s moved in. As their relationship evolves, doubts creep in. Colin and Martha realize just how little they know about one another, and the secrets they each keep begin to come to light.
Acclaimed author Edan Lepucki packs all the drama and intrigue of her breakout novels California and Woman No. 17 into this one-sitting listen.
Please note this Original contains adult content and language.
- Snapped (Agent Jade Monroe #1) by C. M. Sutter (Narrated by Meghan Kelly) - March 21, 2023
- Dungeon World Drifters (System Apocalypse – Relentless #2) by Craig Hamilton & Tao Wong (Narrated by Shamaan Casey) - March 19, 2023
- New and Notable Audiobook Releases for the Week of March 18th on Brian’s Book Blog - March 18, 2023
