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Content Warning: This list features a brief mention of assault.Not everyone has the time to sit down and read a thriller every day, which is why audiobooks are the next best thing. Whether you’re working in front of a computer, shopping for groceries, or simply traveling from one place to another, listening to a suspenseful story is a great way to keep up with your reading list while getting things done.
The audio format also brings a different dimension to storytelling. Skilled narrators recreate tense atmospheres, build suspense, and put listeners right in the middle of the action. And if you’re worried about finding the time to finish one, each title on this list takes no more than 48 hours to complete. From heated courtroom battles to unsolved mysteries, here are thriller audiobooks perfect for a weekend listening session.
‘Agent Zero’ (2019)
Step into the world of espionage with Agent Zero. Running for 11 hours and 14 minutes, the audiobook follows Kent Steele, a 38-year-old European history professor at Columbia University. Living a peaceful life in New York with his two teenage daughters, Kent’s routine is abruptly shattered when three terrorists abduct him and take him to Paris.
Convinced that their captive is one of the CIA’s deadliest operatives, the kidnappers subject him to brutal interrogations and psychological torture. However, Kent has absolutely no memory of ever being a spy and believes they have mistaken him for someone else. As he struggles to make sense of his situation, he begins uncovering the truth about the mysterious past he cannot remember.
‘The Silent Patient’ (2019)
Eight hours and 43 minutes is all you need to listen to the horrifying diary entries in The Silent Patient. Six years after a bloody shootout, the once-acclaimed painter Alicia Berenson is now confined to a psychiatric facility. She has no recollection of her husband’s murder, and no therapist has managed to get her to reveal the full story.
Hoping to uncover the truth behind her case, psychotherapist Theo Faber steps in to help her. However, as the two perspectives—Alicia’s diary entries and Theo’s observations—begin to clash, The Silent Patient becomes a classic case of deciding whom to believe: the supposedly guilty victim or the expert trying to uncover what really happened.
‘The Fourth Monkey’ (2017)
For those who want to spend the weekend solving a murder case, The Fourth Monkey takes just 12 hours and 32 minutes to finish. For five years, Detective Sam Porter has been hunting the elusive Four Monkey Killer (4MK), a serial killer who punishes the families of people he believes have done wrong. However, the killer makes sure each murder is anything but ordinary.
When a man dies under suspicious circumstances in a bus accident, it initially seems like the perfect cover-up. But Detective Porter discovers something unusual: a diary and a white box containing a human ear, both bearing the killer’s signature. With the next victim already identified, Porter must race against time to stop 4MK before he strikes again.
‘Carrie’ (1974)
Not only is Carrie Stephen King‘s debut novel and arguably one of his most popular works, but the audiobook also runs for just seven hours and 19 minutes. Even better, the narration comes from none other than Sissy Spacek, the original actress who portrayed the titular character in the first film adaptation of Carrie.
No matter the decade, high school is no joke. Having spent her entire life sheltered from the outside world, Carrie White suddenly finds herself at the mercy of her cruel classmates, who see her as strange and backward. What neither they nor Carrie realize, however, is that she possesses immense supernatural powers capable of setting an entire town ablaze.
‘None of This Is True’ (2023)
At 10 hours and 31 minutes, None of This Is True follows podcaster Alix Summer as she celebrates her 45th birthday. During the festivities, she crosses paths with Josie Fair, a woman who shares her birthday and was born in the same hospital. Intrigued by Josie’s troubled marriage to an older man, Alix invites her onto the podcast to share her story.
However, Josie gets a little too personal once the microphones are on. She reveals disturbing details about her controlling husband, troubled daughters, and deeply buried family secrets. While Alix initially seems like the perfect person to listen to Josie’s troubles, she can’t shake the growing unease that her new guest might be getting a little too close to her own family affairs.
‘The Deep, Deep Snow’ (2020)
Few things are more heartbreaking than a missing child. Running for 10 hours and six minutes, The Deep, Deep Snow follows Deputy Shelby Lake, who was abandoned as a baby and rescued by a stranger in the freezing cold. Now an adult, she finds herself investigating the disappearance of ten-year-old Jeremiah Sloan.
With nothing but the boy’s abandoned bicycle to go on, Shelby begins to suspect that those closest to him are hiding something. Despite the involvement of local police and the FBI, the investigation gradually loses momentum as the trail grows cold. But when a new clue finally surfaces, she must confront a truth that has remained buried beneath the snow.
‘The Lincoln Lawyer’ (2005)
If you’ve never had to step inside a courtroom, consider yourself fortunate. Still, those curious about high-stakes legal battles can get a taste of them through The Lincoln Lawyer. Running for 11 hours and 30 minutes, the audiobook follows criminal defense attorney Mickey Haller, who takes on the case of a wealthy real estate agent accused of brutally assaulting a woman.
Despite his client’s claims of innocence, Mickey soon notices several inconsistencies in his account. As the case unfolds, the attorney faces a difficult moral dilemma. Should he capitalize on a lucrative case and protect his wealthy client, or put his principles first and uphold the law?
‘The Fifth Victim’ (2024)
Retirement is still a few weeks away for FBI agent Claire Anderson in The Fifth Victim. At seven hours and 58 minutes, the audiobook follows Claire as she prepares to leave the bureau for good, only to be assigned to a special task force investigating the notorious Color Killer.
Each of the killer’s targets represents one of four ancient archetypes: The Ruler, The Warrior, The Scholar, and The Priest. With four people already dead and a fifth potentially in danger, Claire joins a team of specialists known as S.W.O.R.D. to track down the perpetrator. However, as the investigation progresses, she begins to suspect that the killer may be much closer to home than she initially imagined.
‘The Housemaid’ (2022)
For readers craving a claustrophobic thriller, The Housemaid offers nine hours and 46 minutes of domestic suspense. Struggling to find work because of her criminal record, Millie Calloway accepts a live-in housekeeping position with the wealthy Winchester family on Long Island. At first, her new employers, Nina and Andrew, seem accommodating enough, making the job appear like a fresh start.
However, the family’s pristine image soon begins to crack. Millie discovers Nina’s increasingly erratic behavior, while the rest of the household staff offers unsettling warnings about her employers. With her finances dwindling and few options for leaving, Millie finds herself trapped in a house full of unanswered questions, wondering whether the Winchesters are as innocent as they seem.
‘Verity’ (2018)
Fact and fiction collide in Verity. Recently adapted into a star-studded film, the audiobook runs for eight hours and 10 minutes and follows struggling writer Lowen Ashleigh, who accepts an unusual job offer from Jeremy Crawford, the husband of bestselling author Verity Crawford. Her task is to complete the remaining books in his comatose wife’s popular series.
While staying at the Crawford family’s remote lake house to review Verity’s notes, Lowen stumbles upon an unpublished autobiographical manuscript containing disturbing revelations about the couple’s marriage. As her attraction to Jeremy grows, she also becomes increasingly suspicious of Verity’s condition, questioning whether the woman is truly as helpless as she appears.
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Dyah Ayu Larasati
Almontather Rassoul
