Thriller Audiobooks Archives - AudiobooksNow Blog

Don’t Look at the “It”….”Birdbox”, by Josh Malerman

Like some amusement park rides, perhaps this book needs a warning for those with heart issues. Author, Josh Malerman, has written a very suspenseful tale of a beyond odd occurrence happening to ordinary people in a world gone berserk. For five years people have lived in fear of “whatever ‘it’ is”. The person who sees the evil, immediately becomes deadly violent. Nobody knows whether it is man, alien, beast, or monster……it is just always out there waiting for the next victim.

“It” has been out there for five years, and just a few scattered survivors remain, among them is Malorie and her two young children. They live in an abandoned house close to the river, and she constantly thinks of some way to escape to a better place. The children are four now, so she feels it is time to try to escape. But, it must be very carefully planned, or they will all three perish. The journey will be beyond terrifying with a twenty mile downriver rowboat trip. Oh, and did I mention….blindfolded!

People rarely leave their houses, but when they do they are wearing blindfolds. That gives them some small protection by keeping them from seeing “It”. Violence and danger is fear creating enough, but add no sense of sight to the equation, and it becomes terrifying.

This has been described as among the best books to provide so much suspense in the writing style that you feel immersed in the storyline…….right there along with Malorie and her children…… a truly spooky thriller novel…. people wandering around in an apocalyptic world with only their sense of smell, touch, and hearing.

Movie adaptation, staring Sandra Bullock, was release in December on Netflix.

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What Can Be the Best In People…”Elevation”, by Stephen King

In a surprising variation from mystery and gore, author Stephen King presents a poignant novel about what can be the best in people. Of course, King cannot help himself in adding just a bit of supernatural to enrich the story of tolerance and rising above the frey.

Elevation is set in King’s iconic town of Castle Rock, as have many of his stories emanated from. There are a few odd things about his main character, Scott Carey but one really mysterious one is that it does not matter what he eats, or what he wears, he always weighs the same.

The audio version seems best to many readers, since Stephen King himself narrates the story. Nobody would know how to project the story better than author King.

Unlikely alliances are made as local battles ensue in the community. Some call Elevation the feel good novella of the year. And with the audio version, you get a bonus story called Laurie. King also reads the bonus story, which by itself is not fantastic, but it does mesh with Elevation, and it is free. The ending of Elevation is mesmerizing with a kind of emotional finality.

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Put on the kill list….”Paradox”, by Catherine Coulter

For those readers who enjoy the genre of murder/mystery, the latest work by author Catherine Coulter, Paradox, is just the right choice for your next read. She writes her novels in series form, always leaving just enough suspense at the conclusion to warrant another book.
For FBI agents Sherlock and Savage find themselves on the kill list of an escaped mental patient. The FBI pair, who are also husband and wife, have caught many criminals and have solved many cases, but it is a game changer when their own lives are at stake. As they were sleeping in their rural Maryland home one night, Sherlock heard a noise coming from their five year old son’s room. She raced in to catch an intruder hovering over the boy, holding a knife. He escaped when she pursued him. Thus, they knew they were now on the “kill” list. And they had no intention of letting that happen.

In the same area, Chief Ty Christie observed a murder from her deck, overlooking the local lake where she lived. She saw an altercation, then a body being pushed out of the boat into the lake. Chief Christie immediately has the lake dragged to locate the body she observed being murdered. And the divers did find the freshly murdered body, but also found many other bones. They had found the dumping site used by the escaped mental patient. They knew his name, but finding him would be a certain challenge. So, Sherlock and Savich were called in to help, not knowing how connected they would be to the investigation. They were also going to request the help of Agent Porto, an old friend of Savich.. The bones were found in close proximity to an old mansion that was known to be haunted. It had stood empty for years, but they found one bedroom that was fully furnished and had been recently lived in. At one point Savich had a “premonition” and followed it upstairs where he found his old friend Agent Porto, who has been locked in a closet and left to die. The team is shocked…

…I guess Agent Porto will not be assisting in finding the killer.

Paradox is the twenty-second in the series of novels by author Coulter. It is a fast paced mystery with twists and turns that the reader will not see coming. It is definitely a race with a psycho killer who would like nothing more than adding Sherlock and Savich bones to his collection.

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A Possible Traitor In the Cabinet…”The President Is Missing”, by James Patterson & Bill Clinton

On his latest thriller, The President is Missing, James Patterson solicits the assistance of former President Bill Clinton to provide inside information about every day happenings in the life of someone holding the highest office in this country.

As the story begins, there are unprecedented threats against Washington, involving espionage and even the presence of a traitor among those in the President’s cabinet. Even the President becomes a suspect, then all of a sudden, the President disappears. President Jonathan Duncan is a former military hero, who now finds himself the object of a witch hunt. His daughter had a run in with a female assassin in France, so he decides that disappearing is best for the safety of his family and himself. The assassin is portrayed a little differently than most by being not just a female, but a pregnant female. Duncan must go into disguise to try to see who is setting him up.

The President is Missing gets mixed reviews, some reviewers have not been too kind to the book because it is very slow in getting to the point.

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Taking the Reading to the Edge of Horror…”The Outsider”, by Stephen King

Once again, the “King” of horror and mystery author, Stephen King, has given his fan base another hit book in The Outsider. It has mystery, but also subject matter that will seem over the top for some readers. But, that is what the author thrives on……providing such subjects that take the reader to the edge of horror, then snapping them back to a sort of literary reality. When the victim is an eleven year old boy, that gives an indication of how distasteful the crime is.

There are several characters that are woven together in The Outsider. Some are victims, some appear to be perpetrators, but aren’t, and then some complete the stories. Oh yes, there will be no mention of the actual villain……the reader can find that out as they go.

The Outsider has been added to the top five Stephen King novels by some reviewers. One such review gave this order: (1) The Outsider; (2) Bag of Bones; (3) Revival; (4) Pet Semetary; (5) It
They add……that is how good this book is.

“King constructs a propulsive plot, and a race against time to uncover the identity of a terrifying and diabolical killer who has left victims…..and “perpetrators”……and across the country, and who is on his way to his next horrific act”.

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Following Leads Wherever They May Take Her…”The 17th Suspect”, by James Patterson

Has something gone terribly wrong within the San Francisco Police Department itself? That is what Sergeant Lindsey Boxer is beginning to suspect as she investigates another methodical, but unpredictable murder. Once again, she gets too wrapped up into the current murder case, developing nasty medical symptoms and taking her queries outside of her jurisdiction, which is not sanctioned by her department. The Women’s Murder Club urges her to not get so personally involved in the case. With more lives at stake, she does not have the luxury of heeding their advice…….she must follow leads wherever they may take her.

The main characters, Yuki Castellano, and Boxer are racing against time to try to bring a murderer to justice. The homeless population is in extreme danger. Could their desperate situation have anything to do with the murders? That is what Boxer is trying to determine, so that the case can be successfully prosecuted by Yuki. Again, Lindsay’s Murder Club friends beg her to just let it go. But, they already know that doing so is not in her nature.

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Why is Roxy on the Run…”Look for Me”, by Lisa Gardner

In #9 of her series of D. D. Warren detective novels, author Lisa Gardner presents, Look for Me, another in the established series. Gardner also brings back a survivor character from previous novels. Flora Dane is a true survivor from having been abducted at one time for over 400 days. We are never quite sure how a person comes away from such horrific circumstances with all faculties intact. Flora possesses knowledge that only someone who has lived through abduction and captivity can know. She also runs a group for survivors. And, so their investigation begins.

Once D. D. and Flora get rolling, they play off of each other throughout the novel. The storyline is very heart wrenching, but there is still some levity as the two provide humor, snarky comebacks, and their dynamics as they work together. A family of five is brutally gunned down, but one person is missing from the group. Roxy, a 16 year old girl was not found with the rest of the family. That begs the question……is she a victim or a perpetrator? D. D. and Flora find a lot of clues to the personality of Roxy through different essays she has written on her ideas of the perfect family……and what the reality is of the family she was currently with. Why is Roxy on the run? The answer may not be what is expected.

Look for Me is a story of brutality, but also has much to say about the foster care system. According to readers who are Lisa Gardner fans, the book is a well-written, well-paced and cleverly plotted storyline that is told in the voices of the three main characters. Roxy’s thoughts are most thought provoking, as she told many secrets that came from her life as a foster child. Readers were sad, shocked, and angered by the foster home in this story…… a clue in itself.

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What is Legitimate and What is Not??…”Two Kinds of Truth”, by Michael Connelly

There are very few authors who could continue a series about the same main character for 22 episodes, but author Michael Connelly has done just that with his Harry Bosch series. His newest in the series, The Two Kinds of Truth, is another page Turner for Harry Bosch fans. For someone who retired from the very stressful LAPD job, he stays very busy with the San Fernando Police Department, comprised of just three detectives.

Harry’s new position has him tackling a stack of cold cases. However, as he was delving into the cold cases, a new case came up. A father and son, both pharmacists, have been murdered. Harry is immediately thrown into an undercover position and must enter into a very dark world of drug dealing by script. As if illegal drug dealing is not enough, now it is difficult to distinguish what is legitimate and what is not.

Harry also gets pulled back into an old LAPD case where an inmate on death row is claiming that Harry planted evidence on him. The reader will find both cases intertwining as Harry works on both.
“The two unrelated cases wind around each other like strands of barbed wire. Along the way Bosch discovers that there are two kinds of truth: the kind that sets you free, and the kind that leaves you buried in darkness.”

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Like a Ghost, the Evil is not Easily Found…”Haunted”, by James Patterson

In this latest edition of the Detective Michael Bennett saga, James Patterson, in collaboration with James O. Born, presents a very satisfying, yet disturbing, novel following one of New York City’s premier investigators. Michael Bennett and his family have planned a much needed get away, and what better place than a small town in the heart of Maine. Bennett had been pushed to his limits by a series of several crisis situations, so a vacation seemed like a perfect remedy.

Once the Bennett family gets settled in for their hard earned vacation, almost immediately Michael was approached by the local authorities, asking if he could help them stop an evil perpetrator from destroying their population of children. The challenge for this street-wise investigator is that the existing evil in the town is like a ghost…….not easily found……or it might be next door. Once Detective Bennett gets involved in the case, the evil not only threatens law enforcement, the towns people, but also Bennett’s own beloved family.

A young “earthy” girl who has nobody to support her ends up being a partner, of sorts, in the solving of this mystery. The girl is haunted by what she knows, and it is a race against time before others will be statistics. What seemed like the idyllic small town in which to decompress became anything but for the Bennett family.

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Morphing Into his Victims Thoughts and Becoming Their Worst Nightmare…”It”, by Stephen King

For anyone who is already fearful of clowns, author, Stephen King’s novel, It, will be a true reading and watching nightmare. King has an amazing talent for bringing out the very worst (or the best depending how you look at it) in his maniacal, extremely clever, wicked main characters. Such is the character in It, who is Pennywise, the evil clown, who can morph himself to fit his victims thoughts. Quite a nightmare for those who try to stop him.

The place is Derry, Maine, which seems to have a deep, dark hold on author King. Back in the day, there were seven teenagers who survived the attack of children by something that came up from the sewer to hideously murder children. It picked on those who had various types of negativity in their lives. The seven teens had abusive or ill- caring parents, poverty, illness, ethnicity, a stutter, obesity, and chronic short-sightedness. As adults, they vowed to return to their hometown to confront the evil without a name…….It.

The newer movies by screenwriter Gary Dauberman and Muschietti, splits the book into two parts. This gives more detail ad attention to the teenagers, then the same in adulthood. The movie works well because it takes time with the kids, showing their comradeship as much as their fears. It is recommended to read and watch Stephen King’s It in a well-lit environment.

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