AudioFile’s Best Audiobooks of March

Each month, our friends at AudioFile Magazine share a curated list of the best audiobooks for your literary listening pleasure.

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MARCH FICTION

The Women by Kristin Hannah| Read by Julia Whelan, Kristin Hannah
AudioFile Earphones Award
[Macmillan Audio | 15 hrs.]

The sure touch of Golden Voice narrator Julia Whelan transforms Kristen Hannah’s absorbing novel about Vietnam War combat nurses into an addictive listen. An intimate portrait and a sprawling account of a searing time, the story focuses on twenty-year-old Frances McGrath, who, in 1965, impetuously chooses the Army Nurse Corps over cotillions and marriage. Whelan brings believable characterizations and evocative pacing to her performance of Frankie’s experiences. Her intensity and warmth help listeners empathize with the personal and understand the big picture.

Fourteen Days: An Unauthorized Gathering by The Authors Guild| Read by Shayna Small
AudioFile Earphones Award
[Harper Audio | 14 hrs.]

Shayna Small shines in this reboot of another plague novel, Boccaccio’s Decameron, written in the fourteenth century as bubonic plague raced across Europe. She delivers a variety of accents as a group of New Yorkers gather on the rooftop of their dilapidated building during the COVID-19 pandemic, telling stories to pass the time. The audiobook even features a “pots-and-pans symphony” that applauds the healthcare workers who risk their lives to treat the sick.

The Hunter: Cal Hooper, Book 2 by Tana French| Read by Roger Clark
AudioFile Earphones Award
[Penguin Audio | 16.5 hrs.]

Roger Clark gives a thrilling audio performance of this stand-alone novel. Retired Chicago police detective Cal Hooper, an American emigré like French herself, has moved to a ferociously insular Irish village. He’s settled in, fallen in love, and become the mentor and protector of a valuable but not always valued teenager named Trey. Clark’s Irish dialogue is so rich and musical, and his American voice for Cooper is flawless as well. His pacing and attention do splendid justice to this riveting story.

The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden| Read by Michael Crouch, January LaVoy, Katherine Arden
AudioFile Earphones Award
[Random House Audio | 11.5 hrs.]

January LaVoy and Michael Crouch perform this historical novel with a supernatural twist. LaVoy delivers the perspective of Laura, a nurse who has recently returned from a WWI battlefield to her home in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Crouch narrates the viewpoint of Laura’s brother, Freddie, a young soldier who has gone missing in the cold, wet trenches of Belgium. LaVoy conveys all of Laura’s anguish; Crouch captures Freddie’s long hours trekking through the mud. Their deeply moving and captivating performances work together to create one of the must-listen audiobooks of the season.

Death Under a Little Sky: Jake Jackson, Book 1 by Stig Abell| Read by Oliver Hembrough
AudioFile Earphones Award
[Harper Audio | 10 hrs.]

This audiobook is several cuts above the crowd, thanks to intelligent writing and an outstanding performance by Oliver Hembrough. When former police officer Jake Jackson inherits his uncle’s remote farm, he decides to disconnect from his London life and move in. He finds contentment he never dreamed possible, but when human bones are found, he’s dragged back into detective work. Hembrough’s performance captures both the lyrical beauty of the countryside and the intensity of this well-plotted mystery. An assortment of odd locals rounds out the suspects.

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MARCH NONFICTION

Bitter Crop: The Heartache and Triumph of Billie Holiday’s Last Year by Paul Alexander| Read by Maya Days
AudioFile Earphones Award
[Random House Audio | 12 hrs.]

Performing this revealing look at the complexities of the revered jazz pioneer Billie Holiday, actress Maya Days connects with every ounce of the brilliance and tragedy of the singer’s life. Strategic pauses in Days’s phrasing and spot-on dialect for dialogue make her sentences sing with auditory variety. But it’s her heartfelt resonance with Holiday’s difficult life that makes the author’s evocative writing so riveting. The details of her earlier life and her final year portray Holiday as a lifelong survivor and a hustler, someone who knew what she wanted: to express her pathos, connect with audiences, and interpret songs like no one else.

The House of Hidden Meanings: A Memoir by RuPaul| Read by RuPaul
AudioFile Earphones Award
[Harper Audio | 7 hrs.]

Pop culture drag star RuPaul’s soft narration opens with sensory details that evoke the power of memory. His gentle voice allows listeners to enter early scenes of his life in San Diego that are not always easy. As his evolving eccentricities gain him popularity, RuPaul leads listeners through eras of disco, punk, and new wave music. His candid warmth is an invitation to accompany him as he discovers fame, love, sobriety and, most importantly, his unvarnished self.

Normal Women: Nine Hundred Years of Making History by Philippa Gregory| Read by Philippa Gregory, Clare Corbett, Tania Rodrigues, Nneka Okoye, James Goode, Joe Jameson
AudioFile Earphones Award
[Harper Audio | 27.25 hrs.]

History consists of events conducted mostly by men and recorded by men. In her clear, uncompromising voice, Philippa Gregory turns the tables, taking listeners through 900 years of abuse and betrayals, yearnings and near-miraculous accomplishments of women. Frequent interjections by Clare Corbett, Tania Rodrigues, Nneka Okoye, James Goode, and Joe Jameson provide voices for the court documents, journals, letters, interviews, and diaries Gregory uses to illustrate her exceptional research.

Have a Beautiful, Terrible Day!: Daily Meditations for the Ups, Downs & In-Betweens by Kate Bowler| Read by Kate Bowler
[Random House Audio | 5.25 hrs.]

Kate Bowler’s narration of her own title is a soothing balm for anyone who is struggling with the daily work of living in the midst of feeling broken. She is firm in her convictions, as well as graceful in her speech, at a time when listeners may be struggling through their worst moments. Her delivery is pitch-perfect and approachable without a hint of a didactic tone. For listeners in the midst of a terrible day of grief, frustration, or fear, Bowler’s calming voice and relaxed volume are sure to provide helpful clarity.

Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi| Read by Avery Kidd Waddell
AudioFile Earphones Award
[Tantor Media | 23.5 hrs.]

Avery Kidd Waddell confidently conveys the scope of this new edition of one of the most influential audiobooks on the history of race. Kendi’s work investigates the histories of six historical figures, including Thomas Jefferson, W.E.B Du Bois, and Angela Davis. This updated edition emerges as a societal counteroffensive to racist efforts, which continue to grow. Kidd captures the depth of the audiobook’s revised, detailed research clearly in an unwavering tone. Listeners should expect to engage actively with the facts provided in this indispensable work.