Ask Lemmy

Anything by Karen Rose. Since we're talking audiobooks, I'd say the Cincinnati series, read by Hillary Huber, and specifically Into the Dark, because the female lead is my favorite of her characters. (You usually want to read from the start of a city, though.) These are suspense novels set in the real world, with pretty dark villains doing pretty evil shit, with characters that are damaged, but work through it in the romance part of the arc.

Another series that specifically is great in audiobook format are any of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series read by Lorelei King. They're all complete and utter nonsense with wild characters, but the writing and King's reading nail the tone of just taking it all in stride (mostly), and the result is a fun read.

For one more, Dick Hill reading Jack Reacher. These always feel like a light read, which is kind of weird with how brutal Reacher is, how dark some of the organizations he opposes are, and the fact that some of the conspiracies are deep and involved. But Reacher's methodology of steamrolling through any and all takers while protecting the innocent and systematically taking down bad shit that he comes across just feels inevitable. Scott Brick is fine for the later books, and some of the modern crimes are really well portrayed, but Dick Hill is special. I've recently borrowed older books that they re-recorded with someone else, and it just killed the experience for me, partly because it's just worse, partly because I know what greatness sounded like.