I have been listening to a lot of audio books for the past several years. They allow me to get out of my own way when I need to get things done but my brain won’t shut up.

The Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall narrated by Nneka Okoye

Mortal Follies (2023) (#1) 9/10, Confounding Oaths (2024) (#2) 9.5/10

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the books, but Nneka Okoye’s narration is perfect.

Almost as good as Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, which is high praise coming from me.

Random House Audio

Fantasy, Romance, Alternate History, Queer

The Masquerades of Spring (2024) Ben Aaronovitch narrated by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith

(Rivers of London) 8.5/10

Kobna Holdbrook Smith’s American accents have gotten better, but some of them felt a bit off here, however, he was being required to do multiple historic accents from places all over the US.

That aside, listening to this was just as lovely as reading it.

Random House Audio

Fantasy, Historical, Queer

Peter Grant: Midnight Riot (2011), Moon Over Soho (2011), Whispers Under Ground (2012), Broken Homes (2014), Foxglove Summer (2014), The Hanging Tree (2017), The Furthest Station (2017), Lies Sleeping (2018), False Value (2020), Amongst Our Weapons (2022)

Rivers of London: The October Man (2019), Tales from the Folly: A Rivers of London Short Story Collection (2020), What Abigail Did That Summer (2021), Winter’s Gifts (2023), The Masquerades of Spring (2024)

Shady Hollow Mysteries by Juneau Black narrated by Cassandra Campbell

Shady Hollow (2015) 8/10, Cold Clay (2022) 8.5/10, Mirror Lake (2022) 8.5/10, Twilight Falls (2023) 8/10, Summers End (2024) 8/10

Random House Audio

When we finished the Chequy Files we needed something else to listen to, and after Michael insisted he wasn’t at all interested in a mystery series where animals were the main characters, I started the first book and we went through the whole series excluding the most recent book.

Mystery, Fantasy, Cozy, Queer

Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman

The Man Who Died Twice (#2) (2021) narrated by Lesley Manville 8.5/10, The Bullet That Missed (#3) (2022) narrated by Fiona Shaw 8.5/10, The Last Devil to Die (#4) (2023) narrated by Fiona Shaw 9/10

Penguin Audio

The series switched narrators halfway through, so it was a tiny bit confusing when I was listening to the books one after the other, but I adjusted relatively quickly.

One of the best things about the audio books is most had interviews with the author at the end, and I liked hearing him talk about the characters.

Mystery, Queer

The Books of 2025