Welcome to Brian’s Book Blog’s weekly New and Notable Audiobooks Post for the Week of May 15th.
Comment below on any I missed or what you’re excited about!
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Skystorm by Steven Konkoly
Narrated by Thom Rivera
Brilliance Publishing
Reviews of Ryan Decker Series
Reviews of Steven Konkoly books
A Wall Street Journal bestselling series.
Unmasking a treasonous American conspiracy is a dangerous move in a heart-pounding thriller about greed, power, revenge, and murder.
After covert investigators Ryan Decker and Harlow Mackenzie demolished APEX, a billion-dollar criminal enterprise, a tenuous truce between the two factions suggested the battle was over. But not for Decker’s director, Senator Margaret Steele. She’s uncovered an even deadlier operation – code name Skystorm.
Skystorm violates every international arms-trafficking law imaginable. And for the senator, exposing the plot may be a gamble too far. APEX has caught wind of the investigation, and they’ve gone on the offensive. Steele’s warning to Decker and Harlow: we’re all in a no-holds-barred fight for our lives.
With APEX’s scorched-earth tactics now unmistakable, Decker and Harlow pull the trigger on their worst-case-scenario plan and move to turn the tables on their ruthless adversary. With a shadowy mercenary team, Decker and Harlow embark for a war – one that Skystorm’s influential DC backers have no intention of losing. To safeguard their treasonous secret, they aim to bury it, along with Decker and everyone he loves.
Behind Blue Eyes: A Cyberpunk Noir Novel by Anna Mocikat
Narrated by Sean Duregger
Spectrum Audiobooks
Welcome to the year 2095. Killer cyborgs hunt down anyone who disagrees with the perfect society.
Nephilim is the best operator in these elite death squads. Genetically and cybernetically enhanced, she and her team strike terror wherever they go. Knowing nothing besides this lifestyle, Nephilim believes that she’s part of a righteous cause.
Then a system glitch changes everything. Separated from the grid, for the first time, Nephilim begins doubting the world she lives in. Things get even more complicated when she meets Jake, a 100 percent bio-human, who opens her neon-blue eyes to the lies she had been exposed to all her life.
Nephilim decides to take a stand against her creators. But in this brave new world, can one person beat an all-powerful system of oppression?
Soon, Nephilim finds herself hunted by her own people…
For fans of Blade Runner, Ghost in the Shell, and Altered Carbon! Corporate megacities, dystopian themes, cyborg assassins, badass heroines, charismatic villains – an adrenaline ride that never stops.
If you love action-driven cyberpunk full of unexpected plot-twists, you don’t want to miss this!
Forging the Nightmare: A Jarrod Hawkins Technothriller by J. J. Carlson
Narrated by Daniel Schaffer
Self Published
The perfect weapon has a mind of its own.
Jarrod Hawkins, a security contractor with a troubled past, is ushered into an underground facility where a group of DARPA scientists use his body for biotechnological research. They use genetic editing, nanomachinery, neural rewriting, and next-generation armor to turn him into the most fearsome weapon on Earth. But as they push the limits of human performance and lethality, the facility begins to experience unexpected power outages. There is evidence of sabotage, and the security team is plagued with sickening pranks. There is only one explanation – their creation has turned against them.
As the experiment nears its completion, Jarrod struggles to understand his new abilities. His memories have been shattered, but his instincts scream at him to escape at any cost. On the outside, he has become a machine of war, but inside, the remnant of his former self fights for control. As a team of surgeons prepare for a final operation, Jarrod must make a choice: Will he let them take control of his mind, or will he use his enhancements to break free? Will he become a perfect soldier, or the most fearsome vigilante the world has ever known?
Code Teal by Amanda Carlson
Narrated by Emma Wilder
Self Published
Even crafty ex-marshals need help in 2105.
Agent Mina Kane discovers that her pal, ex-marshal Norm Webb, is missing. It’s unusual for a highly trained agent to disappear into thin air, but that’s exactly what he does. Mina tracks down an old case, a likely candidate who was recently sprung from a box and happens to be a deviant who enjoys cruelty. But waiting the mandatory 48 hours to make this op official might prove too deadly for Norm.
While investigating the ex-marshal’s whereabouts, Mina and Lee, with help from a certain colonel from France, discover that the suspect has ties to the Syndicate, and things get hotter than a comet trailing toward Earth. Before any action takes place, Mina and Lee get called back to headquarters to participate in an audit. The higher-ups are suspicious of their recent headlining cases, so they’ve launched an inquiry. But it quickly becomes clear that their intentions are not on the up and up.
It’s not every day your rookie partner gets a commendation. Go, Lee!
Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler
Narrated by Natalie Naudus
Macmillan Audio
“Witty, wise, and disarmingly tender. I am hopelessly devoted to this summer dream of a book.” (Becky Albertalli, New York Times best-selling author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda)
Dahlia Adler’s Cool for the Summer is a story of self-discovery and new love. It’s about the things we want and the things we need. And it’s about the people who will let us be who we are.
Lara’s had eyes for exactly one person throughout her three years of high school: Chase Harding. He’s tall, strong, sweet, a football star, and frankly, stupid hot. Oh, and he’s talking to her now. On purpose and everything. Maybe…flirting, even? No, wait, he’s definitely flirting, which is pretty much the sum of everything Lara’s wanted out of life.
Except she’s haunted by a memory. A memory of a confusing, romantic, strangely perfect summer spent with a girl named Jasmine. A memory that becomes a confusing, disorienting present when Jasmine herself walks through the front doors of the school to see Lara and Chase chatting it up in front of the lockers.
Lara has everything she ever wanted: a tight-knit group of friends, a job that borders on cool, and Chase, the boy of her literal dreams. But if she’s finally got the guy, why can’t she stop thinking about the girl?
A Macmillan Audio production from Wednesday Books
The Everything I Have Lost by Sylvia Zeleny
Narrated by Lori Felipe-Barkin
OrangeSky Audio
Twelve-year-old Julia keeps a diary about her life growing up in Juarez, Mexico. Life in Juarez is strange. People say it’s the murder capital of the world. Dad’s gone a lot. They can’t play outside because it isn’t safe. Drug cartels rule the streets. Cars and people disappear, leaving behind pet cats. Then, Dad disappears, and Julia and her brother go live with her aunt in El Paso. What’s happened to her Dad? Julia wonders. Is he going to disappear forever?
A coming-of-age story set in today’s Juarez.
Bet the Farm by Fiona Riley
Narrated by Melissa Sternenberg
Bold Strokes Books
Lauren Calloway can’t get a date, her newly lovestruck bestie is never around, and she just blew a major deal at her luxury real estate job. So, a one-night stand with an attractive stranger seems like the perfect distraction and the immediate gratification she’s lusting for.
Thea Boudreaux left her family’s dairy farm to escape the painful memories of her father’s tragic death, but when her mother tells her they’re going to lose the farm to debt, Thea is devastated. Can she live with her father’s legacy being torn down for luxury condos? Or can she still save it and honor her father’s memory?
When Lauren’s boss tells her about a lucrative land sale that could help her get back on track, she jumps at the opportunity. Never would she have bet her unforgettable one-night stand would be the person stopping her from making the deal of the century.
Aftermath by Terri Blackstock
Narrated by Sarah Zimmerman
Thomas Nelson
This gripping new thriller from New York Times best-selling author Terri Blackstock will leave you on the edge of your seat.
A devastating explosion.
Three best friends are at the venue just to hear their favorite band…but only one of them makes it out alive.
A trunk full of planted evidence.
When police stop Dustin with a warrant to search his trunk, he knows it’s just a mistake. He’s former military and owns a security firm. But he’s horrified when they find explosives, and he can’t fathom how they got there.
An attorney who will risk it all for a friend.
Criminal attorney Jamie Powell was Dustin’s best friend growing up. They haven’t spoken since he left for basic training, but she’s the first one he thinks of when he’s arrested. Jamie knows she’s putting her career on the line by defending an accused terrorist, but she’d never abandon him. Someone is framing Dustin to take the fall for shocking acts of violence…but why?
The Widow: A British Police Thriller by Will Patching
Narrated by Gary Furlong
Self Published
A brutally murdered husband. An abused wife who wanted him gone for good…Did the wealthy widow arrange his death – and can a disgraced detective discover the truth?
“Your husband is dead”.
Lorraine Rowe receives the news from an anonymous killer threatening her too – unless she pays an inflated fee for her estranged partner’s murder. Overwhelmed by fear and indecision, Lorraine struggles to survive as her carefully constructed life of lies begins to unravel.
Detective Sergeant Fiona “Fifi” Fielding is fighting for her future after allowing her violent temper to jeopardise her career. Is it karma that dumps a man’s badly tortured corpse on her doorstep – or something more sinister? And will the ensuing investigation enable Fiona to redeem herself?
Both women have lived through traumatic events and have much in common, but when the truth-seeker meets the accomplished dissembler, events spiral inexorably towards a deadly climax.
This hard-hitting, twisted thriller weaves deception, misdirection and psychological torment into a pause-resisting tale of murder and mayhem that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Not for the faint-hearted.
If you like complex plots, strong female characters, and high-stakes murder mysteries with plenty of suspense, you’ll love Will Patching’s latest gripping novel.
Get The Widow today to uncover the truth behind a criminal’s veil of lies!
The Widow is the first dark and disturbingly twisted novel in a loosely-linked series inspired by The Seven Deadly Sins.
Yearbook by Seth Rogen
Narrated by Seth Rogen, full cast
Random House Audio
A collection of funny personal essays from one of the writers of Superbad and Pineapple Express and one of the producers of The Disaster Artist, Neighbors, and The Boys. (All of these words have been added to help this book show up in people’s searches using the wonders of algorithmic technology. Thanks for bearing with us!) The audiobook cast features more than 80 voices, including cameos by Rogen’s mom and dad, Nick Kroll, Jay Pharoah, Jason Segel, Dan Aykroyd, Ike Barinholtz, Simon Helberg, Tommy Chong, and Billy Idol.
Hi! I’m Seth! I was asked to describe my audiobook, Yearbook for websites and shit like that, so…here it goes!!!
Yearbook is a collection of true stories that I desperately hope are just funny at worst, and life-changingly amazing at best. (I understand that it’s likely the former, which is a fancy “book” way of saying “the first one.”)
I talk about my grandparents, doing stand-up comedy as a teenager, bar mitzvahs, and Jewish summer camp, and tell way more stories about doing drugs than my mother would like. I also talk about some of my adventures in Los Angeles, and surely say things about other famous people that will create a wildly awkward conversation for me at a party one day.
I hope you enjoy the audiobook should you buy it, and if you don’t enjoy it, I’m sorry. If you ever see me on the street and explain the situation, I’ll do my best to make it up to you.
The Anatomy of Desire by L. R. Dorn
Narrated by Santino Fontana, Shelby Young, Marin Ireland, JD Jackson, Dan Bittner, Vikas Adam, Gabra Zackman, Fred Berman, Darrell Dennis, Oliver Wyman, Jonathan Davis, Hillary Huber, Lisa Flanagan, Sharahn LaRue
Harper Audio
Performed docuseries style by a star-studded full cast including Santino Fontana, Shelby Young, Marin Ireland, JD Jackson, Dan Bittner, Vikas Adam, Gabra Zackman, Fred Berman, Darrell Dennis, Oliver Wyman, Jonathan Davis, Hilary Huber, and Lisa Flanagan
For fans of riveting true-crime docuseries a la Serial and Making a Murderer, The Anatomy of Desire is a modern tale of crime and punishment exploring unbridled ambition, blinding passion, and the dark side of desire
Claire Griffith has it all: a thriving career, a gorgeous boyfriend, glamorous friends. She always knew she was destined for more than the life her conservative parents preached to her. Arriving in Los Angeles flat broke, she has risen to become a popular fitness coach and social media influencer. Having rebranded herself as Cleo Ray, she stands at the threshold of realizing her biggest dreams.
One summer day, Cleo and a woman named Beck Alden set off in a canoe on a serene mountain lake. An hour later, Beck is found dead in the water and Cleo is missing. Authorities suspect foul play, and news of Cleo’s involvement goes viral. Who was Beck? An infatuated follower? Were she and Cleo friends or lovers? Was Beck’s death an accident…or murder?
Told in the form of an immersive investigative docuseries, L. R. Dorn’s brilliant reimagining of Theodore Dreiser’s classic crime drama, An American Tragedy, captures the urgency and poignance of the original and rekindles it as a very contemporary and utterly mesmerizing page-turner.
Fatal Injection by Anthony J. Melchiorri
Narrated by Gina Melchiorri
Self Published
Baltimore’s streets are overrun with enhancers – people who inject themselves with illegally purchased genetic modifications to alter their bodies. While on patrol in a rough neighborhood, Officer Ana Dellaporta discovers the bullet-riddled corpse of an enhancer and suspects a case of typical gang violence. But when another enhancer is found terrorizing the locals, his body mutated by gene mods, Ana unearths an unsettling connection between him and the gunshot victim.
She must unravel a sinister plot involving missing persons, murder, and genetic experimentation. In the midst of the madness, one of Ana’s close friends goes missing. Now, it’s personal, and time is running out. She must uncover the gruesome truth before the trail goes cold and her friend becomes the next victim.
Fatal Injection is a prequel novella from the Black Market DNA series following Ana Dellaporta’s exploits as a Baltimore PD officer fighting biotech crime. While each book in this medical mystery-thriller series can be read as a stand alone, the chronological order is: Fatal Injection (A Novella), Enhancement (Book #1), Malignant (Book #2), and Variant (Book #3).
