Welcome to Brian’s Book Blog’s weekly New and Notable Audiobooks Post for the Week of October 2nd.
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Zero Derby by Alex Knowles
Narrated by Travis Baldree
Self Published
See my review of Zero Derby here
See my review of Zero Car (Book one)
Check out my reviews of other titles by Alex Knowles
Check out my reviews of other titles narrated by Travis Baldree
Family. Cultivation. Racing.
Oto has taken his first steps towards the life he’s always dreamed of, but that means he has more to lose than ever before.
Dreams are expensive, though, and the Ocean Slayers need cash to pay their debts – and safe cash isn’t fast enough.
With his options disappearing quickly, only bad choices remain. He’ll have to push himself and his team to the brink just for the chance to keep all of their dreams alive…
Some things are worth risking everything for.
The Chaos Kind by Barry Eisler
Narrated by Barry Eisler
Brilliance Publishing
Check out my reviews of other titles by Barry Eisler
Whispersync Deal – $1.99 Audiobook or free to borrow
The assassins of Barry Eisler’s #1 bestseller The Killer Collective are back – and this time, it’s chaos.
Assistant US Attorney Alondra Diaz hates traffickers. And she’s determined to put one of America’s most powerful financiers, Andrew Schrader, in prison forever for his crimes against children.
But Schrader has videos implicating some of the most powerful members of the US national security state. To eliminate Diaz, the powers that be bring in a contractor: Marvin Manus, an implacable assassin whose skills have been forged in intelligence, the military, and the hardest prisons.
Enter former Marine sniper Dox and black-ops veteran Daniel Larison with an unusual assignment: not to kill Diaz, but to keep her alive.
A lot of players are determined to acquire the videos and the blackmail power they represent. But with Seattle sex-crimes detective Livia Lone, “natural causes” killer John Rain, and ex-Mossad honey-trap specialist Delilah, the good guys might just have a chance.
They’re not going to play by anyone else’s rules. They’re not going to play by any rules at all. They want a different kind of fight. The chaos kind.
Chimera by Michael McBride
Narrated by Joe Hempel
Fireside Horror
Check out my reviews of other titles by Michael McBride
Check out my reviews of other titles narrated by Joe Hempel
A team of scientists has awakened an organism that has lain dormant beneath the ocean floor for millions of years.
“This is Dr. Mira Stone at Academy Station…”
When the Air National Guard receives an emergency call for help from a remote Arctic research station in Greenland, Senior Master Sergeant Dan Cameron is chosen to lead the rescue mission. All he and his team know for sure is that the facility has lost primary power and the integrity of the complex has been compromised.
“Something is in here with us. Six of us are already dead.”
In an attempt to combat climate change, the scientists have genetically engineered an aquatic biofilm capable of generating oxygen and lowering the temperature of the underlying seawater, producing environmental conditions that awaken an organism that has lain dormant beneath the ocean floor for millions of years.
“Academy Station is lost. Do not – I repeat – do not attempt to reclaim…”
By the time Cameron arrives, the scientists have abandoned the smoldering ruins of the station. He discovers their trail leading across the glacier, but theirs aren’t the only tracks he finds. Something inhuman is hunting the survivors, and he needs to find them before it does, because the most terrifying thing about the creature is…you’ll never see it coming.
Hunter by Devon C. Ford
Narrated by R.C. Bray
Podium Audio
Check out my reviews of other titles narrated by R.C. Bray
History is lost, America is no more, and only a few safe places remain.
Ranger Quinn thought that morning would be like so many others. A hangover, a day off before going back to work keeping the lower levels of Zion City safe from itself. But a crime so horrific, so brutal in its execution, turns those mundane expectations around.
An investigation into the death of a senior leader in their underground utopia safe from the harsh radioactive wastelands beyond their walls forces Quinn beyond that safety and into the world outside.
Following the trail of the killers between the pockets of surviving humanity, Quinn soon learns that not all is well beyond the walls, but the same could be said about Zion City.
Experience the start of a harrowing post-apocalyptic series from the best-selling author of After It Happened.
Bloodlines by Peter Hartog
Narrated by Todd Menesses
Self Published
Check out my reviews of other titles narrated by Todd Menesses
Those dark and terrible things from your nightmares are very real.
They walk among us, masquerading as your neighbor, your lover, even your friend. You see, Empire City is full of them…if you only know where to look. How do I know this? Well, for starters the name is Detective Tom Holliday. I work homicide for Special Crimes. My friends, what few I have, call me Doc.
And the other reason?
I’ve got magic of my own.
Welcome to Empire City, where magic and technology co-exist, and humanity endures behind walls of stone and spell-forged steel. A place where danger lurks around every street corner, and anything is possible.
When former hotshot homicide detective Tom “Doc” Holliday is recruited to join Special Crimes, he trades in his boring desk job for a second chance to do what he does best: Hunt down killers.
And his first case doesn’t disappoint – a murdered woman with a bogus past, her body drained of blood, and two eyewitnesses wasted on the designer drug goldjoy claiming a vampire did it. Armed with a fickle clairvoyance and saddled with a team whose past is as checkered as his own, Holliday embarks upon an investigation through a dystopian landscape filled with bio-engineered vampires, interdimensional shadow parasites, and the magical masterminds behind it all.
But to solve this murder and safeguard his city, Holliday will have to uncover the truth behind an ancient shadowy conspiracy and confront a destiny he never wanted.Fans of Ben Aaronovitch’s Rivers of London and Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files will fall in love with Empire City.
The Snowdonia Killings by Simon McCleave
Narrated by Deryn Edwards
Self Published
Starting a new life in Snowdonia was always DI Ruth Hunter’s dream. Until a twisted killer turned it into her worst nightmare.
Detective Inspector Ruth Hunter lives with the pain of her partner’s mysterious and unsolved disappearance. About to hit 50, the veteran police officer trades in the crime-ridden streets of London for a more peaceful life in rural North Wales. But Ruth has barely settled into her new position in North Wales Police, when the body of a brutally murdered woman is discovered…with strange symbols carved into her skin. Teaming up with an obstinate deputy, Ruth struggles to eliminate anyone from a long line of suspects. When another slain victim is discovered with the same cryptic markings, she’s forced to re-think the investigation.
Has Ruth got what it takes to solve the case before the murderer attacks again?
The Snowdonia Killings is the first book in the DI Ruth Hunter Crime Thriller series and set against the majestic backdrop of Snowdonia, a timeless land of Arthurian legend, folklore, and myth. If you like dark police procedurals, psychologically complex characters, and shocking twists, then you’ll love Simon McCleave’s pulse-pounding debut novel.
Chasing Wind by Brandt Legg
Narrated by Roger Wayne
Podium Audio
Check out my reviews of other titles narrated by Roger Wayne
Everyone knows controlling the weather is impossible, but what if someone cracked the code?
A scientist is missing, people are scared, and a storm is coming. Chase and Wen must find the man who has discovered a way to manipulate the weather before his invention falls into the wrong hands and makes Earth uninhabitable. But others may get there first.
The Chinese, Russians and US intelligence agencies enter a global game of cat and mouse to obtain the secrets and win the ultimate advantage. Will there be enough time? As the body count climbs, it becomes clear that someone else is after the invention…after Chase and Wen. But who do they work for?
The forecast is 100 percent chance of trouble. The rain is wrong, the temperatures upside down, and the wind is definitely not right. When it rains it pours!
Uranus by Ben Bova
Narrated by Stefan Rudnicki
Blackstone Publishing
Check out my reviews of other titles narrated by Stefan Rudnicki
Ben Bova, author of Earth, continues his exploration of the future of a human-settled Solar System with the science-fiction action adventure Uranus.
On a privately financed orbital habitat above the planet Uranus, political idealism conflicts with pragmatic – and illegal – methods of financing. Add a scientist who has funding to launch a probe deep into Uranus‘ ocean depths to search for signs of life, and you have a three-way struggle for control.
Humans can’t live on the gas giants, making instead a life in orbit. Kyle Umber, a religious idealist, has built Haven, a sanctuary above the distant planet Uranus. He invites ”the tired, the sick, the poor“ of Earth to his orbital retreat where men and women can find spiritual peace and refuge from the world.
The billionaire who financed Haven, however, has his own designs: Beyond the reach of the laws of the inner planets, Haven could become the center for an interplanetary web of narcotics, prostitution, and even hunting human prey.
Meanwhile a scientist has gotten funding from the Inner Planets to drop remote probes into the “oceans” of Uranus, in search of life. He brings money and prestige, but he also brings journalists and government oversight to Haven. And they can’t have that.
Darkness Stirring by J.R. Erickson
Narrated by Amy Deuchler
Self Published
Inspired by an eerie true story.
Lorraine Hicks is 14 years old when she watches her best friend, Beverly, climb into a tree in the forest and never come back down. It’s a mystery that haunts her small town and embeds itself in Lorraine’s life.
Fifteen years later, Lori is a grown woman, doing her best to move on from her troubled childhood. She reluctantly agrees to a night of camping, despite her secret terror of the woods. As she sits by a roaring bonfire, a man stands and tells the story of two 14-year-old friends who walked into the Manistee National Forest – only one of them walked back out.
The story is hauntingly similar to Lori’s own, and she embarks on a quest to discover if the two disappearances are linked.
As she unravels the truth behind the vanishings, she unearths a malevolence that forces her to question if evil truly exists.
Don’t miss this chilling paranormal murder mystery.
Operation Redeal by Tim C. Taylor
Narrated by Steve Campbell
Self Published
Check out my reviews of other titles narrated by Steve Campbell
The spy who came in from the void….
With his alien co-pilot at his side and a grin stretching across his face, Captain Fitz keeps one jump ahead of his creditors and one jump behind fabulous illicit riches. He likes it that way, even if he wouldn’t mind getting the riches…some day.
Now he is chasing the biggest payoff of his career, and he’s hired a new team of marines to help win it. They call themselves Chimera Company, but they want him to be someone else.
Sixteen years ago, Lt. Cmdr Zi’Alfu, Hero of Dama Prime, was booted out of Legion Naval Intelligence in disgrace so he could go into the deepest deep cover ever. Now his former superiors want to activate their asset….
But are Zi’Alfu and Fitz still the same person?
Can Fitz outrun the darkest operation Naval Intelligence ever planned…the one he himself conceived? Meant to reboot the entire galaxy’s government, it has one of the simplest names ever: Operation Redeal.
Calculated Deception by K.T. Lee
Narrated by April Doty
Self Published
Dr. Ree Ryland must work with the FBI to catch a criminal before time runs out in this charming, character-driven listen.
Dr. Ree Ryland is an engineering professor who loves her job and plays by the rules. Her life is reassuringly predictable – until an enemy hiding in plain sight decides her squeaky-clean reputation is the perfect cover to commit a crime.
When Agent Parker Landon and his FBI team discover that someone at the university has been procuring military-grade hardware by disguising it as test equipment, all evidence points to Ree. After the FBI intercepts a shipment that puts Ree in the clear, Parker is forced to tell her that she’s being used as a pawn by an unseen enemy. And now she’s in that enemy’s crosshairs. Ree turns down the protective detail offered by the FBI and insists on using her inside knowledge to help with the investigation. Parker is leery of bringing a civilian on to the team, but he’s surprised at how much fun he has working with Ree, even as he tries to keep her out of harm’s way.
Parker, Ree and the FBI team find increasingly worrying evidence that someone is quietly acquiring everything they need to cause destruction on a massive scale. Now, they must uncover the motive and identity of the killer hiding among Ree’s friends and colleagues before it’s too late.
Calculated Deception is Book 1 in The Calculated Series. All books in The Calculated Series may be enjoyed as stand-alone novels or as a series.
Love, Comment, Subscribe by Cathy Yardley
Narrated by Jenapher Zheng, David Lee Huynh
Brilliance Publishing
From award-winning author Cathy Yardley comes Love, Comment, Subscribe, a fun, feisty romance about high school frenemies turned unlikely collaborators.
Back in high school, Lily Wang wanted to be popular, but she considered herself lucky to be part of a tight group of oddballs and honors students called the Nerd Herd. Now, at twenty-eight, she feels like she’s finally on the cusp of succeeding as a beauty influencer – if she can hit five million subscribers, brands will take notice and she could get her own makeup line.
Fellow Nerd Herd alum Tobin Bui has had a lot of success as a YouTube gamer. But the road to online stardom has been rocky. First, he disappointed his parents by dropping out of college, and now, after years of pranks, skits, and playthroughs, he’s struggling to come up with new content to satisfy his ever-growing fan base. His agents say he needs cross-audience appeal, a new twist.
When Nerd Herd frenemy Lily approaches Tobin about teaming up to do a video to bolster her brand and reinvigorate his, he agrees. But when their first collab video goes viral, their relationship heats up too. With the whole internet watching, will these two former misfits finally realize they’re perfect together?
Falling for Your Best Friend by Emma St. Clair
Narrated by Kevin Eiger, Melie Williams
Self Published
I know how this story ends. And it’s not with the best friends falling in love.
Even if Chase checks all my boxes – and then some.
He’s the perfect guy, and he deserves the perfect girl. Which, to be clear, is not me.
I knew one day I would have to let him go. I just didn’t know it would be so soon.
Or that my traitorous friend would be the one setting him up with a string of potential girlfriends.
Now, I have an impossible choice to make….
I can watch Chase find love with someone else.
Or I can throw my hat in the ring and face my biggest fear, one not even he knows.
One that might make him run for the Texas hill country.
But if I don’t make a play, I might lose my best friend and my only chance at love….
Doctor Mosquito by Richard C. Dellinger
Narrated by Doug Sanders
Self Published
Richard C Dellinger’s debut novel gives us a terrifying glimpse into the near future. An intense, pulse-pounding ride that will dig its genetically modified claws into you and won’t let go. A book for the fans of Michael Crichton’s clever techno-thrillers (Jurassic Park) and Stephen King’s nerve-shredding horror novels (Cujo).
World-renowned geneticist Dr. Peter Birch is barely hanging on. When his wife dies of Huntington’s disease, his whole world crumbles. He loses his love, his career, his home…and his will to live. His teenage daughter is the only glimmer of joy in a bleak existence.
Then a mysterious package arrives. Inside, a white mouse – genetically modified with miraculous abilities. When Pete’s daughter shows signs of the same genetic disease that killed his wife, he realizes that this mouse could be the key to saving her life. But who sent it, and why?
As he races to find a cure he is recruited by a secretive company called Plinian Labs owned by an intensely private billionaire and philanthropist. Wielding a powerful new tool called CRISPR, the company is on the cutting edge of genetic engineering. But the more Pete learns about the company, the more desperate he becomes to escape. As the clock runs out, he must choose between saving his daughter…or saving the world.
Steelstriker by Marie Lu
Narrated by Natalie Naudus, Raymond J. Lee
Macmillan Audio
Check out my reviews of other titles narrated by Natalie Naudus
Explosive action and swoon-worthy suspense collide in Steelstriker the riveting conclusion to the Skyhunter duet from number-one New York Times best-selling author Marie Lu
As a Striker, Talin was taught loyalty is life. Loyalty to the Shield who watches your back, to the Strikers who risk their lives on the battlefield, and most of all, to Mara, which was once the last nation free from the Karensa Federation’s tyranny.
But Mara has fallen. And its destruction has unleashed Talin’s worst nightmare.
With her friends scattered by combat and her mother held captive by the Premier, Talin is forced to betray her fellow Strikers and her adopted homeland. She has no choice but to become the Federation’s most deadly war machine as their newest Skyhunter.
Red is no stranger to the cruelty of the Federation or the torture within its Skyhunter labs, but he knows this isn’t the end for Mara – or Talin. The link between them may be weak, but it could be Talin and Red’s only hope to salvage their past and safeguard their future.
While the fate of a broken world hangs in the balance, Talin and Red must reunite the Strikers and find their way back to each other in this smoldering sequel to Marie Lu’s Skyhunter.
A Macmillan Audio production from Roaring Brook Press
The Dust of Kaku by Julia Huni
Narrated by Kaitlin Bellamy
Self Published
They say you can never go home. But you can clean it.
Triana Moore, maintenance bot technician on Station Kelly-Kornienko, prefers life in orbit where the air is purified, the commute is short, and nature doesn’t get all over you. But when a minor infraction gets her sent to remedial training dirtside, she doesn’t complain. Who wouldn’t enjoy a few days of sitting in the sunshine, eating gourmet burgers, and drinking too much Jager Hula?
When an unscheduled beach weekend uncovers dangerous squatters in her childhood home, the space janitor decides to clean house. She enlists the help of her roommate, Kara, and security agent Ty O’Neill. As they investigate, old friends resurface in suspicious circumstances, and Triana doesn’t know whom she can trust. She’s scheduled to work on Monday, so she must answer these questions before the weekend is over: Who are these infiltrators? What do they want? And when will that pizza finally be delivered?
Beneath by Jeremy Robinson
Narrated by Jeffrey Kafer
Self Published
Check out my reviews of other titles by Jeremy Robinson
Check out my reviews of other titles narrated by Jeffrey Kafer
The original report from Europa…
When evidence of microscopic life on Europa – Jupiter’s sixth moon – is discovered, a crew of astronauts and scientists embark on a mission to discover its source. Led by oceanographer and biologist, Kathy Connelly, the crew is charged with the task of melting through miles of ice to the hidden ocean beneath, where the search for alien microorganisms begins. But a startling discovery awaits them on the surface of Europa – life. Vast fields of red, plant-like organisms fill the cracks crisscrossing the moon’s surface, surviving on nutrients welling up from the waters below. Encouraged by the discovery of life on the surface, Connelly and her crew activate the Thermal Exploratory System and melt through the ice toward a world that does not want to be found, toward an intelligence that will do anything to make sure they never leave.
Beneath takes all of the action, thrills, imagination, and strange creatures that Jeremy Robinson is known for and puts them in the most extreme environment imaginable: the surface and sub-ice ocean of a moon four hundred million miles away from Earth.
This updated edition has been reedited, revised, repackaged, and expanded, making this new edition of Beneath superior to all that came before.
Kronos by Jeremy Robinson
Narrated by Jeffrey Kafer
Self Published
Check out my reviews of other titles by Jeremy Robinson
Check out my reviews of other titles narrated by Jeffrey Kafer
Two years after his wife’s death, oceanographer and former navy SEAL, Atticus Young attempts to reconcile with his rebellious daughter, Giona, by taking her on the scuba dive of a lifetime – swimming with a pod of peaceful humpback whales in the Gulf of Maine. But the beauty of the sea belies a terror from the deep – a horrific creature as immense as it is ancient. There is no blood, no scream, no fight. Giona is swallowed whole by the massive jaws. Only Atticus remains to suffer the shame of the survivor and his inconsolable grief turns to an unquenchable thirst for revenge. Drawn by the spectacle, Trevor Manfred, a ruthless billionaire, approaches Atticus with a proposition: Trevor will make available all the advanced technology of his heavily armed mega-yacht, the Titan, to aid Atticus in his death-quest. In return, Trevor is to receive the beast’s corpse as the ultimate hunting trophy. But in the midst of the hunt, Atticus makes a terrifying discovery that changes the way he sees the ocean’s creatures and begs the question: What is Kronos? The answer sets him on a new and much more deadly course.
This updated edition has been reedited, revised, repackaged, and expanded, making this new edition of Kronos superior to all that came before.
- The Mayor’s Mission (Home to Milford College #2) by Piper Huguley (Narrated by Shamaan Casey) - September 18, 2023
- New and Notable Audiobook Releases for the Week of September 17th on Brian’s Book Blog - September 18, 2023
- Trust in Truth by Emily Banting (Narrated by Lulu Russell) - September 15, 2023
