The best thriller audiobooks to get your heart racing

Triptych is the first installment in Karin Slaughter’s popular and ongoing Will Trent series, which inspired a hit TV series. The novel opens in Atlanta, where women are being mutilated at the hands of a vicious serial killer. As his crimes cross unexpected boundaries, those attempting to crack the case are forced to do the same. Detective Michael Ormewood and vice cop Angie Polaski, former lovers turned steadfast enemies, must work together to find the murderer but not without the help of an unlikely teammate—an ex-con who has stumbled upon the case. Accomplished narrator Michael Kramer gives a performance with the flair of noir, his voice reminiscent of detectives from the classic film genre.

Breaking Bad alums Aaron Paul and Krysten Ritter reunite to lead a star-studded cast—including Nathalie Emmanuel, Beau Bridges, and Mark-Paul Gosselaar—in James Patterson's first audio-only thriller. In this immersive, pulse-pounding listen, follow along with Detective Billy Harney and his sister, Detective Patti Harney, as they investigates a notorious Chicago drug ring with ties to a much coveted black book that's gone missing. The prequel to The Black Book, one of Patterson's best known bestsellers, The Coldest Case is a fast-paced cop procedural that will captivate you with its twists, turns, and gripping narration.

In You, Caroline Kepnes offers an intimate perspective on the mysterious mind of a murderer. Told from the point of view of a serial killer obsessed with a striking young writer, this thriller places you in the unique position of understanding and even developing sympathy for Joe, the protagonist, while waiting with bated breath to hear how his murderous plot will unfold. What makes listening to this story so gripping is that you feel like you’re hearing from Joe directly, slowly being entranced and trapped by him as his twisted plans progress. Tony Award winner Santino Fontana’s empathetic, genuine depiction of Joe gets you into his head ... deeper than you might like.

In a powerful, Audie Award-winning performance, Adam Lazarre-White narrates S.A. Cosby's All the Sinners Bleed, a gripping thriller driven by Titus Crown, the first Black sheriff in the history of Charon County, Virginia. In a town where two only murders have occurred in decades, a school teacher is shot to death and so is the former student who killed her. Before long, Titus realizes that a serial killer has been hiding in plain sight and is determined to protect his hometown, no matter what gets in his way or who tries to stop him. Lazarre-White's voice quickly immerses you into the thrills of a murder investigation and a town filled with deadly secrets.

Lee Child’s debut novel, and the first thriller in his global bestselling series, Killing Floor introduces Jack Reacher, an ex-military cop turned drifter who is just passing through Margrave, Georgia, when he is abruptly stopped and arrested for murder. Audie Award-winning narrator Dick Hill’s gravelly voice adds to the grit and grime of the character he portrays as Reacher tries desperately to prove his innocence. His narrative pace lets you follow the evidence along with the unjustly accused, while still keeping you on the edge of your seat and gripped to this story of small-town corruption and high-stakes suspense.

For fans of Agatha Christie and Gillian Flynn, A. J. Finn’s The Woman in the Window is sure to satisfy. This listen centers on Anna, a woman who lives alone and is convinced she witnessed a crime committed in the house across from hers. A recluse who enjoys watching old movies and spying on her neighbors while drinking one-too-many glasses of wine, Anna must come to terms with what she believes happened that night as dark secrets begin to unfold around her. Actress Ann Marie Lee’s narration gives you insight into Anna’s mind, bringing her character to vivid life as she struggles to determine whether what she saw through her window was a figment of her imagination—or something real and truly terrifying.

Alix Summer, a popular podcaster, decides to celebrate her 45th birthday at a pub. It's there that she meets an unassuming woman named Josie, who easily lures her in with her story, secrets, and a dark past. But as quickly as she arrived, Josie then disappeared. Suddenly, Alix finds herself the subject of her own true crime podcast. None of This Is True is an audio experience unlike any other, with a full cast of impressive voices—Louise Brealey, Kristin Atherton, and Nicola Walker among them—working to make Lisa Jewell's already enthralling story all the more unforgettable.

When it comes to setting a suspenseful tone, actor and audiobook fan favorite Steven Weber is unparalleled. In Harlan Coben’s Don’t Let Go, Weber’s performance of New Jersey Detective Napoleon "Nap" Dumas, in particular, stands out with its boldness and wit. When Nap was a senior in high school, his twin brother Leo and Leo’s girlfriend were found dead near the railroad tracks. Shortly after, Nap’s girlfriend Maura ended things suddenly and disappeared without a trace. Years later, as Nap investigates a murder case, he finds Maura’s fingerprints on the suspect’s car. To solve the murder, he has no choice but to revisit his painful past and the mysterious deaths that still haunt him.

Alyssa Cole takes on racism and displacement in her intense psychological thriller When No One Is Watching. A lifelong Brooklynite, Sydney Green is determined to preserve the history and character of her neighborhood, which is being eroded by gentrification and overtaken by strangers. She kickstarts a walking tour and soon attracts an unlikely ally, neighborhood newbie Theo. The deeper they dive into their neighborhoods' past, the more Sydney and Theo begin to wonder—just where have all the old inhabitants gone? Driven by the dual narration of talented performers Susan Dalian and Jay Aaseng, this sharp and unsettling story keeps you constantly on edge.

Louise is a single mom looking for love. But when sparks fly with the wrong person—her new boss, David—as she simultaneously befriends his wife, Adele, things begin to get complicated. Starting with a love triangle, Sarah Pinborough’s Behind Her Eyes quickly turns sinister as a deep flaw in Adele and David’s marriage is revealed. Four exceptional narrators—Anna Bentinck, Josie Dunn, Bea Holland, and Huw Parmenter—tell this intriguing story in tandem, making it easy to keep track of different characters and perspectives while adding complexity and nuance to the mystery.

Though you likely know Stephenie Meyer for her supernatural romance sensation The Twilight Saga, she also shines in the thriller genre. In The Chemist, a former government agent exposed to dark secrets is chased down after her team decides she’s a liability. Her only trusted companion is dead, and now she must live on the run. As the narrator of this ex-agent’s tale, Audie Award winner Ellen Archer excels at giving each character a unique voice so that even minor players stand out. Her lively, animated narration depicts the fiery mind of the protagonist on the run, leaving your heart racing with each word.

When the beautiful, fascinating Amy Dunne goes missing from her home after what looks to be a violent kidnapping, the natural suspect is her husband, Nick. He furiously maintains his innocence, and given a marriage that seemed so perfect, it’s hard to imagine he could’ve harmed his wife. But as incriminating secrets begin to emerge, it becomes clear that neither Amy nor Nick was as happy as they pretended to be. Told in the alternating intimate perspectives of Amy and Nick, Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl will have you looking at the people in your life and wondering how well you really know them. Narrating duo Julia Whelan and Kirby Heyborne maintain the suspense and capture the emotions—through their voices, you can feel each flawed character's vulnerability, brokenness, anger, anxiety, apathy, and vengeance, The result, to quote one Audible listener, is “completely rave worthy.”

When everyone you live with is keeping secrets, can you really trust anyone? In The Paris Apartment, Lucy Foley delivers another twisty, riveting thriller. Jess needs to escape her mess of a life, so she calls her dependable half-brother Ben to ask if she can crash with him for a bit. He doesn't say no, exactly, so she decides to take her chances. But when Jess shows up at his apartment in Paris, Ben is nowhere to be found. When she starts asking the building's other tenants about him, everyone claims to know nothing. What are they all hiding? And how was Ben connected to these oddly secretive people? Gradually revealed by a talented cast of narrators, including Clare Corbett and Daphne Kourma, the answers will shock and chill you.

Alex Michaelides's debut thriller,The Silent Patient turns the genre on its head. After all, from the beginning of the story, we know who the killer is—Alicia Berenson. A fabulous painter with a seemingly perfect life, Alicia captures the public's fascination when she abruptly murders her husband one night in their beautiful London home and then falls silent, refusing to speak. One of the obsessed is Theo Farber, a criminal psychologist who can’t rest until he’s broken through Alicia’s silence and uncovered her secrets. Narrating partners Jack Hawkins and Louise Brealey play the novel's many characters to perfection, illustrating each person’s personality, nuances, and degree of innocence (or guilt) in exquisite and emotional detail. And even if you’re a frequent thriller listener, you're bound to be surprised by who solves the case and how.

Set in 1949, One Good Deed introduces one of author David Baldacci's most memorable reluctant detectives, Aloysius Archer, World War II vet and ex-con. On parole and hunting for work, Archer stops for a drink and gets offered a job collecting a debt for a local businessman. It seems like a simple way to make a few bucks—until someone winds up murdered. Suddenly, Archer finds himself in a situation that could send him right back to prison. He sets out to track down the real killer, using the skills he developed during his time on the battlefield and behind bars. Infusing the character with a tone of confidence while keeping up the tension, Audie Award-winning narrator Edoardo Ballerini makes Archer’s journey to vindicate himself all the more unforgettable.

Though most people recognize The Silence of the Lambs from its Oscar-winning film adaptation starring Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster, Thomas Harris's novel is truly superb in its own right. A follow-up to Red Dragon, which introduced the cannibalistic killer Hannibal Lecter, this listen follows FBI agent Clarice Starling as she is assigned to the case of a mysterious serial killer known as Buffalo Bill. To end his spree, she needs to get inside a killer’s mindset. Starling finds an unlikely ally in the chilling yet charming Lecter. Frank Muller’s performance is nothing short of excellent. He changes his timbre and voice to match the pace of the piece, shifting between different accents with ease. Even if you already know how it all ends, you’ll enjoy listening along, again and again.

Introduced in Angels & Demons, expert symbologist Robert Langdon gets drawn into solving another murder in The Da Vinci Code. After a violent crime is committed at the Louvre, Professor Langdon and cryptologist Sophie Neveu are called in to offer their expert views. All too soon, they’re thrown into a battle between extreme religious sects that unlocks a world of unforeseen puzzles and mysteries. One of the benefits of listening to this thriller is your ability to analyze and solve the case alongside Langdon. Narrator Paul Michael navigates this twisty, tension-packed listen with ease. You'll quickly get caught up in the story but might also be inspired to deep-dive into Dan Brown's brilliantly crafted alternate religious history.

Freida McFadden's outstanding suspenseful thriller, The Housemaid introduces the Winchesters—a family with far too many skeletons hidden inside their lovely home. Who better to become their live-in housekeeper than a new hire with even more secrets? With a superb performance, Lauryn Allman captures perfectly the danger and thrill of discovering what some people are willing to do to preserve their fantasies and protect their lies.

In The Wife Between Us, an ex-wife stalks her replacement, a near-carbon copy of herself. Vanessa, the divorceé, tracks Nellie, her ex-husband's fiancée, despite knowing very little of the wedding plans. Vanessa is determined to prevent their marriage and will do whatever she can to stop it. Nellie, on the other hand, isn’t even sure if she’s ready to get married. But as the wedding date draws closer, so does Vanessa. Audie Award winner Julia Whelan narrates the tension with a pleasant, deep voice, moving between the two women and other characters with ease. Her performance is sure to keep listeners guessing, unsure of each woman's motivations or who is telling the truth.

In The Girl on the Train, Rachel Watson, recently divorced and slowly succumbing to alcoholism, is forced to revisit her pain each time her train passes by her former home—where her ex-husband now lives with the woman he left her for—on her daily commute. To dull the hurt and liven up her dreary life, Rachel crafts idealistic stories about their neighbors, dreaming up lives she wishes she could have. But when Rachel sees something shocking through the train window and starts to dig into what happened, she sets off a chain of events with shocking consequences. Rachel’s perspective isn’t the only one you’ll hear in this twisty listen—two other women complete the story, sharing experiences that will leave listeners sifting through each version for grains of truth. Each of the three narrators—Clare Corbett, Louise Brealey, and India Fisher—craft bold portraits of each character, making you sympathize with each perspective and wonder whose version of reality is the most trustworthy.

Set in India, The Bandit Queens unravels the intricate tale of a woman named Geeta who, five years ago, lost her husband. True to his no-good character, he simply abandoned her. But in her remote village, where rumors spread quickly, everyone believes Geeta is a "self-made" widow. While having people think you murdered your husband has it perks, there's also a downside—women keep asking Geeta for her "expertise." How can she get away with not committing murder? Performed by Soneela Nankani, this is a great listen for fans of intriguing stories mixed with dark humor.

Scott Brick’s performance of Tom Clancy's The Hunt for Red October makes this nearly 19-hour listen hard to pause. The Hall of Fame Narrator’s cool, calm delivery complements Jack Ryan’s gripping journey to find the Red October, a ballistic submarine coveted by both the Russians and the Americans during the Cold War. CIA analyst Ryan has little to do with the investigation, until a photograph of the Red October lands on his desk, looping him into the mystery and quest. Now caught between two warring countries, he must track down the formidable undersea weapon as it moves West—before it falls into the wrong hands.

Dennis Lehane’s Shutter Island tells the tale of an island that houses the eerie Ashecliffe Hospital for the Criminally Insane. In the summer of 1954, widower US Marshal Teddy Daniels and his partner Chuck Aule are called to Shutter Island to look for an escaped patient, Rachel Solando, a murderer who was locked away under closely guarded care. Narrator Tom Stechschulte avoids melodrama while keeping the suspense and tension mounting as Teddy and Chuck piece together the clues left behind by Rachel, while trying desperately to avoid being slowly driven to madness themselves.

A fast-paced thriller, All Her Little Secrets centers on Ellice Littlejohn, a Black lawyer who's finally escaping her troubled past. She has everything going for her—until one morning, when she walks into work to find her boss dead from a gunshot to the head. Instead of reporting it, she makes the choice to walk away. After all, Ellice cannot have the spotlight on her again. But when she is promoted to replace her dead white boss, it seems too good to be real. Soon, she finds herself trying to unspool a conspiracy before it shatters everything she's worked to build. Narrator Susan Dalian delivers an outstanding performance, creating a sense of suspense and dread about what is going to happen next.

This thriller brings us to Lark, East Texas, where racial tensions have been simmering for decades. A Black Texas Ranger, Darren Mathews is all too familiar with his hometown's prejudices. When duty calls, he's reluctant to return, especially when he tasked with solving the murders of two people—a Black lawyer from Chicago and a local white woman—surrounded by resentment and hate threatening to erupt catastrophically. A riveting thriller and a timely look at the intersection of race and justice, Bluebird, Bluebird pairs Attica Locke’s skillful prose and rich, fully realized setting with narrator J.D. Jackson’s crisp, procedural performance.

Patricia Highsmith’s beloved thriller The Talented Mr. Ripley was adapted into several films and a television series shortly after its smash-hit success. What makes this story such a fan favorite is no secret. Highsmith’s insights into the mind of a compassionless man determined to create—and steal—a carefree, luxurious life from his wealthy friends are utterly fascinating. Mr. Ripley, the main character, is brought to life by narrator Kevin Kenerly, who delivers each line with a jittery tension and anxiety, making listeners feel as nervous as Mr. Ripley himself. The worse things get, the more Mr. Ripley is driven to make violent, rash decisions that will have you feeling uneasy but eager to hear how it ends.

If aligning yourself with your greatest enemy could make your career, would you do it? This is the essential question posed to legal clerk Terry Flynt when Vernon James, a millionaire accused of murder (who happens to be a man Flynt knows and loathes), needs his help to prove his innocence. Plunging into the details of the crime, Flynt also finds himself sinking down into the dark secrets of his own past, reliving the moments that derailed the course of his life and left James an enemy. David Thorpe, a former member of the BBC Radio Drama Company, superbly narrates this thrilling audiobook that explores the boundary between subjectivity and impartiality as well as how our emotions can influence what we believe is the truth. The Verdict: a dazzling, fast-paced mystery that’s designed to leave listeners craving answers.

While Nalini Singh is famously known for writing gripping, action-packed paranormal romances, trust us—her thrillers are just as good. There Should Have Been Eight follows the story of seven friends who spend a weekend together at a crumbling mansion. There, they will reminisce about the old days and their shared history, especially the death of Bea, whose loss, nine years ago, still haunts at least one of them. Saskia Maarleveld's compelling performance transports you to the snowy atmosphere encapsulating the group of friends trying to bury their secrets—before it's too late.

A Killer's Game is an ingenious thriller filled with puzzles and driven by revenge. The story follows FBI agent and former military codebreaker Daniela “Dani” Vega, who, while investigating a conspiracy, reluctantly teams up with an assassin turned informant, Gustavo Toro. Together, they walk right into a trap, where they're thrust into playing a wicked, deadly game and held captive by a mysterious host. Only one can win—and escape alive. In a perfectly paced dual narration, Almarie Guerra and Feodor Chin capture the protagonists' shock, mounting paranoia, and cunning strategies—you'll be gasping for air as soon as the games start.

Memory Man sensation Detective Amos Decker returns in yet another excellent fast-paced thriller from New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci. Decker isn’t your average investigator. Thanks to lingering side effects from an old football injury, he never forgets a single detail of any given event. But when Decker gets engrossed in a potential wrongful conviction case that bears eerie similarities to his own life, he begins to question whether what seems like a coincidence is something sinister. With their dual narration, Kyf Brewer and Orlagh Cassidy keep listeners riveted to The Last Mile as Decker clambers to solve the case—and, in doing so, uncovers secrets about the unsolved mysteries in his past.

For fans of mysteries entangled in family dramas, The Heiress is the perfect listen. The survivor of a kidnapping as a child and four dead husbands as an adult, heiress Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore remains larger than life even after death. When she passed away 10 years ago, her adopted son, Camden, wanted little to do with her estate or money—but circumstances change. After his uncle passes too, Cam returns to Ashby House with his wife to find answers about his mother's storied life and complicated legacy—and the real inheritance she left him. Performed by Dan Bittner, Eliza Foss, John Pirhalla, and Patti Murin, Rachel Hawkins's gothic-infused thriller delivers a multiple-POV story that is totally gripping.