Welcome to Brian’s Book Blog’s weekly New and Notable Audiobooks Post for the Week of February 15th.
Comment below on any I missed or what you’re excited about!
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Valhalla Station (A Space Opera Noir Technothriller) by Chris Pourteau, David Bruns
Narrated by Bronson Pinchot
Aethon Audio
The Expanse meets The Godfather in this space opera/sci-fi noir thriller about corporate greed, rebellion, and mankind’s survival among the stars.
Revolution threatens a longstanding peace….
Thirty years after the Syndicate Corporation saved Earth from climate-change extinction, SynCorp’s Five Factions rule the solar system with an iron fist wrapped in a velvet glove. Food, entertainment, safety, security – SynCorp provides it all. In return, the Company requires complete loyalty and obedience to corporate law.
The Soldiers of the Solar Revolution claim life under SynCorp is slavery cloaked in comfort. They launch their rebellion, targeting the pillars of corporate production: Sabotaging refineries on Mars, shattering Callisto’s orbital ring. Meanwhile, brutal pirates siphon off Company resources in the Belt, and hackers tap into citizens’ implants, addicting them to fantasies shaped from their own dreams.
Besieged on all sides, SynCorp’s Five Factions are in retreat. The rebels aim to destroy the Company to free mankind. But does mankind really want to be freed?
The Chill by Scott Carson
Narrated by John Bedford Lloyd
Simon & Schuster Audio
In this terrifying thriller, a supernatural force – set in motion a century ago – threatens to devastate New York City.
Far upstate, in New York’s ancient forests, a drowned village lays beneath the dark, still waters of the Chilewaukee reservoir. Early in the 20th century, the town was destroyed for the greater good: Bringing water to the millions living downstate. Or at least that’s what the politicians from Manhattan insisted at the time. The local families, settled there since America’s founding, were forced from their land, but they didn’t move far, and some didn’t move at all…
Now, a century later, the repercussions of human arrogance are finally making themselves known. An inspector assigned to oversee the dam, dangerously neglected for decades, witnesses something inexplicable. It turns out that more than the village was left behind in the waters of the Chill when it was abandoned. The townspeople didn’t evacuate without a fight. A dark prophecy remained, too, and the time has come for it to be fulfilled. Those who remember must ask themselves: Who will be next? For sacrifices must be made. And as the dark waters begin to inexorably rise, the demand for a fresh sacrifice emerges from the deep….
The Protocol by J. Robert Kennedy
Narrated by R.C. Bray
Blue Heron Audio
The final skull has been found. Now, all hell’s breaking loose.
For 2,000 years, the Triarii have protected us, influencing history from the Crusades to the discovery of America. Descending from the Roman Empire, they pervade every level of society and are now in a race with our own government to retrieve an ancient artifact thought to have been lost forever.
Caught in the middle is archaeology professor James Acton, relentlessly hunted by the elite Delta Force, under orders to stop at nothing to possess what he has found, and the Triarii, equally determined to prevent the discovery from falling into the wrong hands.
With his students and friends dying around him, Acton flees to find the one person who might be able to help him, but little does he know he may actually be racing directly into the hands of an organization he knows nothing about.
From USA Today and million copy best-selling author J. Robert Kennedy comes The Protocol, the first entry in an action-packed, globe-spanning series of thrillers certain to leave you breathless.
If you enjoy fast-paced adventures in the style of Dan Brown, Clive Cussler, and James Rollins, then you’ll love this taut tale of archaeological suspense.
Get The Protocol now, and dig up a thriller 2,000 years in the making…
About the James Acton thrillers:
Though this book is part of the James Acton Thrillers series, it is a stand-alone novel that can be enjoyed without having read or listened to any other installments.
The James Acton Thrillers series and its spin-offs – the Special Agent Dylan Kane Thrillers and the Delta Force Unleashed Thrillers – have sold over one million copies. If you love nonstop action and intrigue with a healthy dose of humor, try James Acton today!
The Violet Darger Mystery Thriller Box Set by L.T. Vargus, Tim McBain
Narrated by Kate Marcin
Smarmy Press
This audiobook includes the first four thrillers in the Violet Darger series: Dead End Girl, Image in a Cracked Mirror, Killing Season, and The Last Victim.
Start at the beginning of the Violet Darger saga with Dead End Girl:
Her body is broken. Wrapped in plastic. Dumped on the side of the road. She is the first. There will be more.
The most recent body was discovered in the grease dumpster behind a Burger King. Dismembered. Shoved into two garbage bags and lowered into the murky oil.
Now, rookie agent Violet Darger gets the most important assignment of her career. She travels to the Midwest to face a killer unlike anything she’s seen. Aggressive. Territorial. Deranged and driven.
Another mutilated corpse was found next to a roller rink. A third in the gutter in a residential neighborhood. These bold displays of violence shock the rural community and rattle local law enforcement.
Who could carry out such brutality? And why?
Unfortunately for agent Darger, there’s little physical evidence to work with, and the only witnesses prove to be unreliable. The case seems hopeless. If she fails, more will die. He will kill again and again.
The victims harbor dark secrets. The clues twist and writhe and refuse to keep still. And the killer watches the investigation on the nightly news, gleeful to relive the violence, knowing that he can’t be stopped.
The serial killer thriller that “refuses to let go until you’ve listened to the last sentence”.
A pause-resisting thriller series packed with heart-stopping suspense. Fans of John Sandford, Michael Connelly, Karin Slaughter, and Lisa Gardner should get to know Violet Darger.
Buy this omnibus audiobook edition now!
Untamed Shore by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Narrated by Maria Liatis
Recorded Books
Renowned author Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s first thriller, Untamed Shore, is a coming-of-age story set in Mexico which quickly turns dark when a young woman meets three enigmatic tourists.
Baja California, 1979. Viridiana spends her days watching the dead sharks piled beside the seashore, as the fishermen pull their nets. There is nothing else to do, nothing else to watch, under the harsh sun. She’s bored. Terribly bored. Yet her head is filled with dreams of Hollywood films, of romance, of a future beyond the drab town where her only option is to marry and have children.
Three wealthy American tourists arrive for the summer, and Viridiana is magnetized. She immediately becomes entwined in the glamorous foreigners’ lives. They offer excitement, and perhaps an escape from the promise of a humdrum future.
When one of them dies, Viridiana lies to protect her friends. Soon enough, someone’s asking questions, and Viridiana has some of her own about the identity of her new acquaintances. Sharks may be dangerous, but there are worse predators nearby, ready to devour a naïve young woman who is quickly being tangled in a web of deceit.
Silvia Moreno-Garcia is one of the most exciting voices in fiction, and with her first crime novel, Untamed Shore, she crafts a blazing novel of suspense with an eerie seaside setting and a literary edge that proves her a master of the genre.
Dragonfly Summer by J.H. Moncrieff
Narrated by Natalie Gold
Audible Originals, LLC.
The perfect next listen for fans of Wendy Walker and Shari Lapena, Dragonfly Summer is a gripping thriller that asks: What happens when the past comes back to haunt you?
Jo Carter never thought she’d return to Clear Springs, Minnesota. But when the former journalist receives a cryptic note about the disappearance of her friend Sam twenty years before, she’s compelled to find out what really happened. During her investigation, she learns another high school friend has died in a mysterious accident. Nothing is as it seems, and Jo must probe Clear Springs’ darkest corners and her own painful and unreliable memories to discover the truth – and save herself from the killer who could still be on the hunt.
Deliciously twisty and suspenseful from the first minute to the last, Dragonfly Summer proves that no small town’s secrets can stay buried for good.
Let’s Go Play at the Adams’ by Mendal W Johnson
Narrated by Matt Godfrey
Valancourt Books LLC
“They’re just kids…. It’s only a game.” That’s what Barbara, a lovely 20-year-old babysitter told herself when she awoke bound and gagged. But the knots were tight and painful and the children would not let her go.
“They’re just kids…. It’s only a game,” she told herself again. But the terror was real…and deadly!
In the decades since its original publication, Mendal W. Johnson’s best-seller Let’s Go Play at the Adams’ (1974) has gained a reputation as one of the most harrowing horror novels ever written, and copies have long been unobtainable except at exorbitant prices. Now this first-ever audiobook version of the novel, read by award-winning narrator Matt Godfrey, adds a new dimension of horror to this cult masterpiece.
Modern Savage by Peter Lewinton
Narrated by Peter Lewinton
Darius Faus, the CEO of pharmaceutical giant Cathedral Capital, is an immensely rich and powerful man. Governments, chancellors of the exchequer, and senior police officers bow before him. Cathedral Capital’s massive financial success is based on the world’s most powerful system of artificial intelligence Blind Eye 5, which was developed in secret by Cathedral Capital, following its accidental discovery.
TT Davenport, a young analyst, uncovers serious illegal activity connected to Blind Eye 5, which, if generally known, would destroy Cathedral Capital and Darius Faus. Blind Eye 5, funded by government and aided organizations, develops a low-cost cure for malaria which Darius Faus holds back from the market to protect profits. Millions die as a result, but Darius Faus and his shareholders get rich.
Using all the powers at his disposal, Darius Faus seeks to destroy TT Davenport to protect his global wealth and that of his ambitious wife Rebekah. On the verge of being destroyed by Darius Faus’s immensely superior resources, TT Davenport manages a lucky escape. TT Davenport then heads toward Grenada in the West Indies under sail, where the Blind Eye 5 artificial intelligence is based. He is looking for answers and the source of the information that started him on this dangerous journey.
With the help of ex-US Army helicopter pilot Stonor McNash, the beautiful Alicia Moreno, and a cast of other characters, a titanic David and Goliath battle ensues on the island of Grenada between Darius Faus and TT Davenport.
The brutal final outcome of the story is delivered by powerful forces both Darius Faus and TT Davenport have unleashed, but neither can hope to control.
The Angel of Meridian by Justin Hyde
Narrated by Gary Bennett
What could be more powerful than weapons crafted by the hand of God for his own army of angels?
Bastian Santé is a man driven by greed and the desire to possess that power. Unfortunately for him, only an angel can touch angelic steel. That is, until recent breakthroughs in human genome editing have given him the hope of changing that.
Meanwhile, with an increase in archeological discoveries across the globe, the demand for trained personnel with the daringness and expertise to search and recover these precious antiquities has greatly risen in past years. From this need, a new school has emerged.
Born from a small group of former private military operatives known as Nightcorp International, Alpha-Meridian’s focus is on Hazardous Relic Recovery, and trains students for the exciting, and often dangerous work of tracking down and collecting the world’s lost treasures.
Professor Cameron Skull is one of A-M’s top field instructors. But when he finds himself alone and dangling from a cliff high up in the Alps on a recovery mission for the Swiss government, he is unprepared for the sight when a man suddenly falls from above him. He soon learns however, that that is only the beginning of his problems.
With the help of his girlfriend Iris, and his best friend Francesco Ferrari, can Professor Skull and the team from Meridian put together enough information to stop Santé before his plan succeeds and he becomes the most powerful villain in the world?
Following ancient trails isn’t easy. And when an army of the dead stand in your way, it may just be impossible. But as they will all soon learn, playing God does not make you God.
Made in London by Clare Lydon
Narrated by Lucy Price-Lewis
Ready or not, here comes romance…
Photographer Heidi Hughes has been single since her daughter was born. But now that Maya’s walking and talking, she’s ready to meet someone who’s happy with her cute-but-chaotic extra.
Eden Price’s world is all about order and precision: in her job, home, friendships. A PR guru, she’s designed her life to run like clockwork.
At least, she had, until the universe decided she needed to meet Heidi.
Now, Eden’s not sure of much because Heidi is everything she didn’t want, but now categorically does.
Can the family-phobic singleton really be falling for the single mum?
Made in London is the sixth book in the London Romance series and features cats, kids, and calamity, along with chocolate spread exactly where you want it.
Clare Lydon has done it again with another glittering and hilarious romantic comedy! Strap in for the latest feel-good, laugh-out-loud London adventure!
Love, Unscripted by Owen Nicholls
Narrated by Christian Coulson
Random House Audio
“Nostalgic, tender, and achingly cool.” (Josie Silver, number one New York Times best-selling author of One Day in December)
A film-obsessed romantic rewrites the script to understand why his “picture-perfect” love story crashed and burned in this wonderfully clever debut.
Ellie had the quizzical eyebrows of Broadcast News-era Holly Hunter and the neon-red hair of Kate Winslet in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. At least that’s what caught Nick’s attention when he met her on the night of 2008’s historic presidential election. A cinema buff and devotee of great love stories, Nick always fancied himself the Tom Hanks of his own romantic comedy, and when sparks flew with Ellie that night, he swiftly cast her as the Meg Ryan of his story. For four blissful years, Nick loved Ellie just as he loved his job as a film projectionist: wholly, earnestly, cinematically.
But now, Ellie has moved out, convinced that “the fire’s gone,” and Nick is forced to sift through his memories to figure out where it all went wrong. That night was a perfect meet-cute, yes, but was their romance as destined for a “happily ever after” as he’d thought? Was he really the rom-com hero he believes he’d been? Or did this Harry let his Sally down? Peppered with references to beloved movies, Love, Unscripted explores how even a hopeless romantic can learn that in real life, love isn’t – shouldn’t be – like what we see in the movies.
- New and Notable Audiobook Releases for the Week of December 3rd on Brian’s Book Blog - December 3, 2023
- Disease X by N.J. Croft (Narrated by Joshua Saxon) - December 1, 2023
- A Purrfect Gift by Jae (Narrated by Anastasia Watley) - November 30, 2023
