These days there are many options for staying entertained on the road (safely!). There are numerous podcasts, satellite radio and audiobook options to choose from. In fact, did you know that truckers make up a huge percentage of audiobook listeners?
If you have yet to get into audiobooks, or you’re just looking for some new adventures, here’s our pick of seven audiobooks to keep you entertained on the long haul.
1.The Coldest Case: A Black Book Audio Drama by James Patterson, Aaron Tracy, Ryan Silbert (narrated by Aaron Paul, Krysten Ritter, Nathalie Emmanuel, Beau Bridges, et al).
Narrated by an all-star cast, this audio drama features James Patterson’s Detective Billy Harney investigating a series of murders in Chicago. When members of a gang that his partner has infiltrated begin to turn up dead, Billy pulls her out. When his partner’s cover is blown, her contact inside the gang also disappears, leading Billy to wonder if his partner is harboring her. Investigating the murders and disappearances pulls the detectives into a tangled web of corrupt politicians, violent conspiracies, and scheming billionaires.
- Head On by John Scalzi (narrated by Wil Wheaton)
In this near-future thriller, a highly contagious virus causes some victims to become “locked in.” They are fully awake, but unable to move or respond. Two FBI agents are called in to investigate a murder at the Watergate Hotel, where the suspect is an “integrator” – someone who lets those who are “locked in” borrow their bodies for a set amount of time. What happens when a body commits a crime while inhabited by another consciousness? As the FBI team digs deeper, they discover that the real crime is much bigger and more complicated than it seems.
- The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave (narrated by Rebecca Lowman)
The day that Owen Michaels goes missing, he slips his wife a note that says, “Protect her.” His wife Hannah knows this refers to Owen’s daughter, Bailey, who lost her mother when she was young. When the FBI arrests Owen’s boss and federal agents swarm their home, Hannah begins to realize that her husband isn’t at all who he said he was. Fast-paced, with complex plot twists, this contemporary thriller is sure to shock and surprise.
- Tom Clancy: Target Acquired by Don Bentley (narrated by Scott Brick)
Jack Ryan is back in the latest installment of this New York Times best-selling series. When Jack steps in to help a friend by taking his CIA assignment, Jack has no idea what he’s about to get himself into. The cushy assignment takes a bad turn when he attempts to help a woman and her young son. Now the target of a team of trained killers, Jack needs to outsmart them in order to protect the child – and save his own neck. A solid spy thriller.
- All Systems Red by Martha Wells (narrated by Kevin R. Free)
The first in the award-winning Murderbot series, this future thriller features a deadly security droid that has disabled its programming and can now murder humans with impunity… if it wanted to. Forced to accompany a team of scientists on an exploratory mission to a new planet, the self-named Murderbot finds itself alternatively annoyed by and protective of its human companions. But when a neighboring mission goes dark, Murderbot must both ensure the security of its own humans and uncover the mystery of what happened to the others – if it can keep its finger off the trigger long enough.
- The Guest List by Lucy Foley (narrated by Jot Davies, Chloe Massey, Olivia Dowd, Aoife McMahon, Sarah Ovens, Rich Keeble)
Fans of classic murder mysteries will enjoy this atmospheric thriller set on an island just off the coast of Ireland. Guests gather to celebrate the wedding of a charming television star and ambitious magazine publisher – and then someone turns up dead. Cell phone service is, of course, nonexistent on the island, and booze plus old resentments create explosive encounters and revelations. Who wants this happy couple dead? And is there another murder on the killer’s mind?
- New Found Land: The Long Haul by Austin Grossman, Neal Stephenson, Sean Stewart (narrated by Elizabeth Evans, Elizabeth Jasicki, Graeme Malcolm, Jay Snyder, John Pirkis, LJ Ganser, Marc Vietor, Amber Reauchean Williams, Gregory Connors, Izabel Mar, John Zdrojeski, Steve Routman)
If you’re looking for something exciting and fast-paced that’s a bit on the lighter side, this book delivers. Two fantastic worlds have been locked in a never-ending war: one world, armed with jetpacks and ray guns, has colonized Venus. The other wields magic as easily as we drive a car. Now these two worlds encounter a third: our world of strip malls and smartphones. Assassins are hunting a scientist named Felicia Scurry, who teams up with long-haul trucker Bucephalus Troy. Together they must survive the ultimate of long hauls: one that spans all three worlds.
You can find all of these audiobooks via Audible, or get them for free from your local library using apps like Libby or Hoopla.
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