Top 10 Escapist Listens of 2021
1. The Covered Wife by Lisa Emanuel and narrated by Florette Cohen
Lisa Emanuel’s debut audiobook is simply unpausable. Sarah’s journey from young lawyer living in Bondi to joining a cult-like Orthodox Jewish sect in the Blue Mountains is full of love, betrayal and haunting, terrifying secrets. With the pace of a thriller, The Covered Wife will have you hanging on every word.
Listen now:
Audible | Apple | Google Play
2. The Second Son written by Loraine Peck and narrated by Miranda Nation & Grant Piro
Winner of the 2021 Ned Kelly Award for Best Debut Crime Fiction, The Second Son captivates from the first word. When Ivan Novak is shot dead while putting out his garbage bins in Sydney’s west it is up to his younger brother, Johnny, to get the revenge his family demands. With powerful dual narration from Grant Piro and Miranda Nation you’ll be on the edge of your car seat, hiding out in the garage just to fit another chapter in. The Second Son is a brilliant action-packed crime debut about violence, fear and love.
Listen now:
Audible | Apple | Google Play
3. One Hundred Days written by Alice Pung and narrated by Sun Park
One Hundred Days is a tense and claustrophobic mother-daughter drama that is somehow also brimming with warmth, humour and just the right amount of 80’s nostalgia. Alice Pung perfectly captures the angst, frustration and charm of 16-year-old Karuna as she relates the story of her childhood, pregnancy and confinement at the hands of her mother. Sun Park’s narration brings this contemporary retelling of Rapunzel to life. The audiobook showcases the complex and fraught relationship of mother and daughter, exploring the faultlines between love and control. You don’t want to miss it.
Listen now:
Audible | Apple | Google Play
4. The Dark Room written by Sam Blake and narrated by Aoife MacMahon
A pacey and thrilling tale from the author of number one Irish Times bestseller, Keep Your Eyes on Me. Rachel Lambert leaves London, afraid for her own safety. Caroline Kelly needs thinking space away from the lawsuit that threatens her job as a New York-based crime reporter. They both end up in Hare’s Landing, West Cork, but the town begins to reveal its own secrets. Eerie and playful like a Gothic Agatha Christie, strap in for a tale that will creep up behind you and never let you go.
Listen now:
Audible | Apple | Google Play
5. The Labyrinth written by Amanda Lohrey and narrated by Danielle Carter
The Labyrinth truly is the book of the year. Erica moves to a rundown shack on the south-east coast of NSW near the prison where her son is serving a sentence for homicidal negligence. There, and through her obsessive creation of a labyrinth, she meets the colourful locals and sifts through the tumultuous relationships with her father and son. Winner of the 2021 Miles Franklin Literary Award and shortlisted for several others, it’s a quiet yet powerful meditation on relationships, memory and creativity.
Listen now:
Audible | Apple | Google Play
6. The Tasarina’s Daughter written by Ellen Alpsten and narrated by Anna Krippa
It’s all about Russian history and folklore right now. If you loved season two of The Great on Stan or Katherine Arden’s Winternight trilogy then you definitely want to check out The Tsarina’s Daughter. Mixing history with myth and a healthy dose of romance you won’t regret hitting play on this one.
P.S. Alpsten has also told the rags to riches tale of Elizabeth’s mother in Tsarina.
Listen now:
Audible | Apple | Google Play
7. 56 Days written by Catherine Ryan Howard and narrated by Alana Kerr Collins
Timely and gripping, 56 Days takes early 2020 lockdown in Ireland and creates the opportunity to commit the perfect crime. Ciara and Oliver move in together to avoid letting lockdown threaten their new relationship … but when the doors are open again two detectives find a dead body inside. 56 Days is a riveting thriller that deliciously subverts expectations.
Listen now:
Audible | Apple | Google Play
8. Savage Her Reply written by Deidre Sullivan and narrated by Aoife McMahon
From the multiple award-winning author of Tangleweed and Brine. Deirdre Sullivan takes the Irish fairy tale, The Children of Lir and retells it as a rich and nuanced tale from the complex point of view of the villain. Aife marries Lir, a king with four children by his previous wife. Jealous of his affection for his children, She turns them into swans for 900 years. If you love your fairy tale retellings, this can’t be missed. With Sullivan’s trademark lyricism and richness, voiced to perfection by Aoife McMahon.
Listen now:
Audible | Apple | Google Play
9. The Good Mother written by Rae Cairns and narrated by Edwina Wren
A gripping thriller with a brilliantly nuanced mother as protagonist. Sarah Calhoun seems like a regular Sydney soccer mum, but now she’s caught in the crossfire of an obsessive policeman and a brutal IRA executioner. Sarah must choose between letting a killer run free or placing her children in the line of fire. This dizzying thriller has energy to burn. If you’re after a fast-paced listen with dynamic female lead, go no further.
Listen now:
Audible | Apple | Google Play
10. 7 ½ written by Christos Tsiolkas and narrated by Lex Marinos
From the author of The Slap and winner of the 2021 Melbourne Prize for Literature, 7 ½ is one audiobook not to miss this holiday season. A semi-fictional Christos Tsiolkas arrives at a house on the coast and begins to tell us a story ... A retired porn star is made an offer he can’t refuse. The layered narrative of 7 ½ makes for an interesting exploration of our current moment in history. An audacious and transformative audiobook about the past, the present and the power of imagination.
Listen now:
Audible | Apple | Google Play