The Best Audiobooks of 2018

After much internal debate, we're thrilled to announce the best books of 2018 as chosen by our editorial team — and a few special guests. We hope you'll love these listens as much as we do!

Fiction

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Mysteries & Thrillers

Subgenre Spotlight

Historical Fiction

True events inspired some of our favourite works of fiction from 2018.

Sociology

These stellar works explore urgent issues of race, gender, and class.

True Crime

Truth is stranger than fiction in these captivating tales of true crime.

Biographies & Memoirs

Nonfiction

Editors' Spotlight: Amanda's Top Picks

Unputdownable

I was so enthralled by John Boyne's 2017 novel The Heart's Invisible Furies that I picked up his latest, A Ladder to the Sky, without even reading the summary. What resulted was one of the best psychodramas I've listened to all year, enhanced by a four-person cast of narrators bringing an already captivating story into full colour.

Maurice Swift, our perfectly hateable protagonist, is utterly talentless and yet absolutely dogged in his pursuit of literary fame at all costs. As friends and loved ones drop to the wayside on his journey to the top, Maurice's soul becomes ever more forfeit in this unputdownable spiritual descendent to The Talented Mr. Ripley.

An arresting series of essays

''My story was maltreated. The words were too wrong and ugly to speak. I tried to tell someone my story, but he thought it was a hustle.'' The opening lines of Heart Berries knocked me flat when I picked it up earlier this year. In an era that insists that women are free and safe to tell their stories — despite frequent evidence to the contrary — Heart Berries is yet another series of lessons in how difficult it often is to actually be heard — particularly if you're a woman of Indigenous descent.

But as author Therese Mailhot commits her trauma to paper in this arresting series of essays written while she was institutionalized for PTSD and bipolar II, she is finally able to seize control of her story; in doing so, she succeeds in taking back the power from her aggressors. Mailhot's prose is unlike anything I've ever encountered in memoir, and Cherokee narrator Rainy Fields brings it to life with intimacy and grace.

A tense debut

I'm a pretty voracious listener of psychological thrillers, but I often find that my standards for the genre aren't met to the point of recommendation. Oh, the husband is secretly a controlling emotional abuser, you say? Groundbreaking.

Baby Teeth has restored my faith in the genre. Zoje Stage's tense debut is a dual narrative following a seven-year-old daughter, Hanna, and her mother, Suzette. To her father, Hanna is a gentle, loving, and precocious Daddy's Girl; to her mother, Hanna is a master manipulator, contemptuous to the point of violence. What follows is a taut back-and-forth between mother and daughter as Hanna angles to rid Suzette from their trio altogether.

Miller's prose is gorgeous

The long-awaited follow-up to Madeline Miller's 2014 Women's Prize-winning novel The Song of Achilles is another masterpiece of historical fiction. Circe follows the titular Greek goddess of witchcraft, a daughter of Helios who, feeling left out by her family and peer group, turns to the world of mortals for companionship. Ultimately it's a story about a woman who stops letting her destiny just happen, learning with time and growing confidence that there's all this power inside of her waiting to be wielded if only she could shake off the weight of other people's projected expectations and desires. Perdita Weeks' narration perfectly captures Circe's fears and anxieties, belied as they are by an undercurrent of incredible strength.

Miller's prose is so gorgeous that it makes me furious and inspired in equal measure; her ability to capture what it means to be human while writing about gods and goddesses is seemingly beyond any mere mortal's level of empathy and care.

An examination of human fallibility

In Chloe Benjamin's star-making debut, four siblings visit a psychic who claims to be able to tell anyone the day they will die.

Don't expect to find out whether the psychic was truly psychic; it doesn't matter. The Immortalists is an examination of human fallibility and our fruitless attempt to control our outcomes in an uncontrollable world, and the comfort that can be found in surrendering to fate, come what may.

Narrator Maggie Hoffman expertly embodies each of the four Gold children in their search for meaning, making for a beautiful listening experience.

For fans of The Handmaid's Tale

For fans of The Handmaid's Tale comes Red Clocks, which might as well function as a prequel to Margaret Atwood's seminal dystopian novel.

It's present-day America, and abortion is once again illegal; in vitro fertilization is on the way out, and single would-be parents and same-sex couples are denied the right to adopt. As these freedoms are stripped, Leni Zumas' story is told through the lens of four very different women grappling with this new world order. Red Clocks isn't perfect — it doesn't do enough to integrate the experiences of marginalized communities who tend to fare even worse under circumstances such as these. Regardless, this book ended up being a 2018 favourite for the same reasons The Handmaid's Tale will always appeal to me: it's a reminder of the dangers of complacence, and how easily the ground women have gained over the past 100 years would be happily ripped away by those who would benefit from a return to subservience.

A searing critique of modern-day feminism

If you need your female characters to be likable, this fast-paced murder mystery isn't for you. Above all, The Favorite Sister is a searing critique of modern-day feminism and the reductive idea that feminism means all women must like each other — the sort of rah-rah girl power that is more marketing intended to sell shampoo than an actual movement in service of advancing women's rights.

I'll leave you with this passage, because it fairly sums up the vibe of Jessica Knoll's sophomore novel: "Telling women to help other women in a society that places us in a systemic competition with each other is a fool's errand. Two percent of the world's CEOs are women and yet we are expected to treat each other like sisters and not rabid hyenas thrown a carcass picked to the gristle by lions. Malnourish me, undervalue me, humiliate and harass me when I try to get my money anyway. But don't you dare tell me to go about it nicely."

Captures the grim nature of fairy tales

Have you ever thought about how truly dark fairy tales can be? We're told the watered-down versions when we're young, but even those feature child-eating witches, bloodthirsty giants, murderous stepmothers, and more death traps as allegory.

In The Hazel Wood, 17-year-old Alice and her mother attempt to outrun the uncanny bad luck that follows them wherever they go. Soon, Alice discovers that the fairy-tale world described in her grandmother's cult-classic stories is real — and it's closing in. Melissa Albert's debut captures the grim, no-takebacks nature of fairy tales — how terrifying, how life-threatening, and how unyielding they can be on their path to parable.

Self-Development

Romance

Editors' Spotlight: Tori's Top Picks

A heartbreaking tale of family and endurance

The dark history of Quebec's treatment of young, single mothers comes roaring back in this thoughtful, provocative tale of a young girl and her daughter, and the lengths they have to go just to get by. This book will tug at your heartstrings, uncovering some of the very true realities of the treatment of orphans in the 1950s, nicknamed the Duplessis Orphans. A tale told in two timelines from the perspectives of the young mother and her daughter, narrator Saskia Maarleveld breathes a unique spirit into each woman. Love, family, and endurance are all put to the test in one of the year's best fiction novels.

A second chance at justice

A really good piece of literary fiction may have you forgetting that it's fictional at all, and that's exactly what happens with this novel. Author Robert Dugoni diverges from his usual mystery and thriller genre to bring you the story of Sam Hill, a boy born with ocular albinism whose condition causes red pupils. This sets the stage for a young boy who copes with vicious bullies and unimaginable discrimination, but eventually perseveres to become an eye doctor with the support of a few good friends and a loving family. Sam tries to forget the past until it rears its ugly head again and he is faced with a difficult decision — confront his past, or turn away? As Sam looks back on his earlier years and how they've shaped his life, this story will touch your heart and have you falling in love with the boy with red eyes.

Enron 2.0

Bad Blood is a captivating in-depth exposé on one of the biggest corporate frauds in history. A multibillion-dollar biotech company, once the golden child of Silicon Valley, managed to dupe nearly everyone into thinking their product was the revolutionary biotech innovation of the future. Through deception and an arrestingly confident demeanor, founder Elizabeth Holmes and her colleagues committed heinous acts of fraud, intimidation, and retaliation just to keep the ship afloat. This audiobook gives meaning to the phrase ''truth is stranger than fiction.''

Wildlife trafficking exposed

Black market animal trafficking is an incredibly complicated and fraught issue, going back thousands of years and crossing nearly every continent. Investigative journalist Rachel Love Nuwer explores the origins of the wildlife trade, and the efforts over decades to attempt to put a stopper in the march towards extinction for some of the world's most intriguing creatures. She risks her life and livelihood to descend into the dark underbelly of the trade, particularly focusing on rhinos, elephants, pangolins and tigers. Go undercover in restaurants, shops, and homes to hear from the people who continue to propagate the wildlife trade: poachers, sellers, and buyers. She investigates various strategies and tactics aimed at saving these at-risk species, some of which may surprise you. Caution: this audiobook gets into the nitty-gritty about how animals are captured and used for human consumption, so this audiobook is not for the queasy or faint of heart.

The Jurassic period comes alive

Travel back in time as skilled narrator Patrick Lawlor brings you an easy-to-understand guide to one of the planet's most awe-inspiring and interesting species. Find out more about some of your favourites like the T-Rex, and learn about some of the lesser-known species you may have never heard of before. Even if you think you know a lot about dinosaurs, author Steve Brusatte reveals that approximately one new species is discovered every week. Pro tip: listen to the professorial Lawlor at 1.25x speed for a quicker journey through the history of these great giants.

Can't. Put. It. Down.

A Reese Witherspoon Book Club choice, this psychological thriller will hold you and not let go until you have soaked in the shocking last chapters of a truly gripping novel. Our protagonist Emily thinks she has found the perfect man — until she meets his mother. Experience Emily's every emotion as she attempts to figure out just why her future mother-in-law is hell-bent on ruining her relationship. CAUTION: if you want a book that you can press pause on, this might not be for you. You may find yourself wandering the grocery store peering extra closely at each item just to get in a few more minutes of listening. And the end … let's just say my mouth literally fell open.

Falling – literally – in love

Hazel is a quirky, clumsy, animal-loving teacher who enjoys life to the fullest, with little regard for what other people think. In contrast, Josh is stoic, introspective, and even-keeled. Random run-ins during college painted a bit of a ''crazy'' picture of Hazel, so when they meet again years later, Hazel is sure her only chance to be in Josh's life is to become his best friend. As they grow a friendship through a temporary roommate arrangement and shared double-dating disasters, both start to wonder if these opposites just might attract.

One of the biggest decisions you can make

When I began Motherhood, I hoped for the same things that the narrator did — that something, anything, would give me a sign. Should I choose motherhood, or a less conventional path?

While I feel no closer to making that decision for myself, I have felt a kindred bond to Sheila Heti and her narrator in a way that I haven't felt before from an author. She lets you into her truest self, opening up and bringing the listener deep into her reasoning over a decision that many modern women must wrestle with as the end of their childbearing years become visible on the horizon. Regardless of which direction you lean on the subject, you will undoubtedly connect with the level of care and concern that Heti takes in turning over the topic repeatedly in her character's mind. I have come away with a better understanding of my own struggle with the decision, and I'm hopeful it will similarly shed light on a difficult choice many women wrestle with.

A satisfying conclusion

The conclusion to The Extinction Files by A.G. Riddle did not disappoint. The duology opener, Pandemic, started with a relatively realistic concept that took a sharp turn into international conspiracy, plunging the listener into a secret society hell-bent on creating the perfect world.

Pandemic left us with many unanswered questions, but Genome delivered answers with a combination of science fiction, action, and historical fiction, making for a delicious finale.

A de-motivational riot

Many celebrities share tales of years and years of hard work before it started to pay off, but this is not that type of memoir. If you’re a fan of adult-geared cartoons, you’ve probably heard H. Jon Benjamin’s iconic voice before, as the star of Archer and Bob’s Burgers. While short, this audiobook is jam-packed with Benjamin's tales of woe, from his failure to have a successful sleepover to his failure to graduate from college with his intended degree. Despite finding his way onto two wildly successful shows, the multihyphenate entertainer manages to keep failing at being a celebrity.

Honesty is the only policy

No matter your political opinion of James Comey, this audiobook is brilliant. Comey recounts his career from his early days as a prosecutor in New York City through to the final days of his shortened term as the Director of the FBI. Travel behind the scenes of the United States government as Comey details investigations into NSA wiretapping, enhanced interrogation techniques, and — of course — Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

As a narrator, Comey delivers a stellar performance; he makes you feel like you're listening to him over drinks in his study by a roaring fire. If Comey is still looking for his next role, he sure sounds right at home in the recording booth.

For better … or for worse

Standard Christian marriage vows often require that the couple pledge to stay together forever, "for better or for worse." You tend to assume that the "worse" tests the relationship, but what if it's the better that does you in?

In this psychological thriller, a couple on their romantic island honeymoon discover something in the water that will forever change the course of their lives together. Performed brilliantly by first-time author and Downton Abbey actress Catherine Steadman, this addictive story will have you listening nonstop until you get to the bottom of what lies beneath.

New to Audio

Editors' Spotlight: Guest Picks

You are not alone

If you’re anything like me, you grew up practicing your ''Wannabe'' dance in the living room, had a favourite Spice Girl, and went to see Spice World the moment it came to theatres (and went on to rewatch it with glee and nostalgia). The Spice Girls have been in my ears and in front of my eyes for longer than they haven't been, spreading the message of Girl Power and women's empowerment. However, behind every woman is a story of struggle: sometimes it's a fight against her inner demons and with others it's a fight against her physical and emotional aggressors. With brutal honesty, Mel B shares with us a story of emotional and physical abuse that is both relatable and heartbreaking. The message: you are not alone. You are strong, deserving, and worth the fight.

Jolise

Business Affairs & Content Acquisition

Heartwarming moments, steam, and humour

I've been a fan of Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward for quite some time. Their mixture of heartwarming moments, steam, and humour always leave me with a smile on my face. Combine that with the narrations of Sebastian York and Lynn Barrington and you can pretty much guarantee I'm hoping for traffic so I can get an extra hour of listening in. Hate Notes is one of my Best of the Year picks not only because of the writing and narration, but also because the premise of the story and the relationship between Charlotte and Reed. Meeting under unusual circumstances, this pair go from enemies to reluctant co-workers and then finally to (you guessed it!) lovers. It's a sweet and heartwarming listen, perfect for decompressing after the holiday season.

Melissa

Member Engagement

A 2018 must-listen

I'm Afraid of Men is a powerful and intimate exploration of gender, misogyny, homophobia, and transphobia. With strength and honesty, Vivek Shraya recounts experiences that are all too familiar: catcalls, violence, and the resulting fear of living in a world full of toxic masculinity. How can we live as we are and give others the space to live peacefully and lovingly in their own bodies? Shraya challenges us with a voice that is not be ignored, but rather amplified, taught, and discussed among people of all ages. A 2018 must-listen.

Jolise

Business Affairs & Content Acquisition

Fast-paced, witty

This was my first Samantha Young book, but won't be my last. This fast-paced, witty novel introduces you to Ava and Caleb, two strangers who meet through one of the most stressful situations possible — fighting for the last first-class ticket available. Their understandable animosity begins to fade as fate continues to bring these two together. As the story unfolds you gain a better understanding of their pasts and why they've both become the people they are today. While the story is enjoyable, the narration really makes this title a Best of the Year pick for me. Angelica Lee's Scottish accent is one of the better ones I've listened to and really brought the characters to life.

Melissa

Member Engagement

Related Collections

The Best Audiobooks of 2018

Fiction

Circe

Fascinating story, expertly read

The House of Impossible Beauties

Amazing

A Ladder to the Sky

Amazing voice talent

Women Talking

Painful subject, frustrating to listen to..

The Silence of the Girls

too modern of a mindset

Washington Black

Awesome!

Circe

Fascinating story, expertly read

The House of Impossible Beauties

Amazing

A Ladder to the Sky

Amazing voice talent

Women Talking

Painful subject, frustrating to listen to..

The Silence of the Girls

too modern of a mindset

Washington Black

Awesome!

Girls Burn Brighter

Heartbreaking and captivating

You Think It, I'll Say It

Meh

The Boat People

Fantastic!

There There

A Stunner!

Only Child

A straightforward look at grief

Scarborough

Overrated

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Children of Blood and Bone

Narration was disappointing

The Hazel Wood

Very teen angst

Obsidio

Awesome!!

Rosewater

Not for me.

Children of Blood and Bone

Narration was disappointing

The Hazel Wood

Very teen angst

Obsidio

Awesome!!

Rosewater

Not for me.

The Wolves of Winter

A little too cheesey

Iron Gold

Doesn't live up to the Red Rising trilogy

The Plastic Magician

the ending we didn't know we needed

Ascendant: The Genesis Fleet, Book 2

Loved it!

Head On (Narrated by Wil Wheaton)

Good followup, not as great as the original

Blackfish City

good writing, weak storyline

Artificial Condition

Too short again. I’m not buying another in the series.

The Singularity Trap

Ray Porter is quickly becoming a favourite.

The Gone World

Excellent story

The Shape of Water

Great Story

Differently Morphous

A funny, well natured jab at PC culture.

Zero Hour

once again a great listen

Mysteries & Thrillers