JULIE CHAN IS DEAD by Liann Zhang, read by Yu-Li Alice Shen

Narrated primarily by Helen Laser, this fast-paced horror story starts with a bang. Jess, a struggling actress, finds a scared 5-year-old boy hiding outside her apartment. When the boy’s angry father attempts to retrieve him, a monstrous creature attacks Jess’s neighbors and roommate, leaving behind death and destruction. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alex Richey discuss Laser’s portrayal of the boy with a careful balance of youthful fear and sad resolution. Her authentic depiction of Jess thoughtfully shifts between solicitousness of the boy, slowly increasing dread, and acute fear.  Read our review of the audiobook at our website Published by Macmillan Audio. Discover thousands of audiobook reviews and more at AudioFile’s website   Support for Behind the Mic comes from Hachette Audio and NIGHT WATCHER, by Daphne Woolsoncroft (of the Going West podcast), who read an audio-exclusive author's note before the stunning dual-narration by Will Collyer and Helen Laser. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Alex Richey explore this horror audiobook about a possessive orchid and the humans it wants to consume. Narrators Lauren O’Leary and Barry McStay deliver a chilling performance. O’Leary seamlessly delivers Irish and American accents. McStay voices Baby, the orchid, by adopting a callous, judgmental voice as he describes the thoughts and actions of the humans around him, speaking primarily in an Irish accent. An immersive, spooky overlap of voices near the end cleverly captures Baby’s slow exertion of influence upon another human. Read our review of the audiobook at our website Published by Macmillan Audio. Discover thousands of audiobook reviews and more at AudioFile’s website https://www.audiofilemagazine.com     Support for AudioFile’s Behind the Mic comes from HarperCollins Focus, and HarperCollins Christian Publishing, publishers of some of your favorite audiobooks and authors, including Reba McEntire, Bob Goff, Kathie Lee Gifford, Max Lucado, Lysa TerKeurst, and so many more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AudioFile’s Michele Cobb is joined by narrator Nile Bullock, producer Brian Ramcharan, and Penguin Random House Audio Senior Vice President of Content Production Dan Zitt for a conversation about Jason Reynolds’s SOUNDTRACK—an audiobook original about New York City teens whose talent and love of music lift them to unexpected heights. Listen as the group discusses capturing the feel of New York City through sound, Nile’s superbly relatable performance as main character Stuy, and how the incorporation of Justin Ellington's extensive and essential musical score gives SOUNDTRACK its soundtrack. Read the full review of the audiobook on AudioFile’s website. Published by Listening Library. Discover thousands of audiobook reviews and more at AudioFile’s website. Today’s episode is sponsored by Penguin Random House. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb chat about Catherine Ho’s masterful performance of Susanna Kwan’s poignant debut novel. Set in a rain-drenched near-future San Francisco, the story follows Bo, a young elder-care worker who faces uncertainty after her mother’s disappearance. When Mia, Bo’s centenarian neighbor, offers the solitary Bo a job, she readily accepts. Ho blends dulcet tones and resonance to provide an impressive emotional range that captures Bo’s reluctance to live in Canada with her relatives and her transformative friendship with Mia. Read our review of the audiobook at our website  Published by Random House Audio. Discover thousands of audiobook reviews and more at AudioFile’s website       Support for AudioFile’s Behind the Mic comes from HarperCollins Focus, and HarperCollins Christian Publishing, publishers of some of your favorite audiobooks and authors, including Reba McEntire, Bob Goff, Kathie Lee Gifford, Max Lucado, Lysa TerKeurst, and so many more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AudioFile’s Michele Cobb and host Jo Reed discuss narrator Yu-Li Alice Shen’s delivery of a wild, bingeable listening experience in this fast-paced debut. Identical twins Julie and Chloe, who lost their parents at age 4, grew up worlds apart. Julie, who was raised by their miserable, greedy aunt, works a dead-end job, while Chloe, who was adopted by a wealthy family, lives a life of luxury and is a popular influencer. Shen masterfully captures the dark humor and keeps listeners entertained with a dynamic performance. Read our review of the audiobook at our website.  Published by Simon & Schuster Audio. Discover thousands of audiobook reviews and more at AudioFile’s website   Support for AudioFile’s Behind the Mic comes from HarperCollins Focus, and HarperCollins Christian Publishing, publishers of some of your favorite audiobooks and authors, including Reba McEntire, Bob Goff, Kathie Lee Gifford, Max Lucado, Lysa TerKeurst, and so many more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kristen Sieh's performance brings the listener into the life of a complicated woman whose sexual desire is fixated on commercial airliners. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Michele Cobb highlight how Sieh's voice captures Lisa's desires in a skillful delivery that never wavers. Lisa works as an online comment moderator in San Francisco. She's good at her job, but she reserves her passion for airplanes. She perceives flights as dates, turbulence as flirtation—and a smooth flight could lead to something more. Lisa's friends begin to suspect something when her vision board fills up with plane imagery.  Read our review of the audiobook at our website.   Published by Random House Audio. Discover thousands of audiobook reviews and more at AudioFile’s website       Support for AudioFile’s Behind the Mic comes from HarperCollins Focus, and HarperCollins Christian Publishing, publishers of some of your favorite audiobooks and authors, including Reba McEntire, Bob Goff, Kathie Lee Gifford, Max Lucado, Lysa TerKeurst, and so many more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ariel Blake narrates this story of nine-months-pregnant Annie, who must find a way to reach her husband and make her way home from crib-shopping after an earthquake hits Portland, Oregon. AudioFile’s Michele Cobb and host Jo Reed discuss how Blake’s dramatic narration captures Annie's fears and concerns as she talks to "Bean," her unborn child. Blake's voice quavers as she presents a mother-to-be who is full of emotion and self-reflection. Blake conveys Annie's worries, as well as the day-to-day details of her and her husband's lives while confronting the natural disaster.  Read our review of the audiobook at our website Published by Simon & Schuster Audio. Discover thousands of audiobook reviews and more at AudioFile’s website     Support for AudioFile’s Behind the Mic comes from HarperCollins Focus, and HarperCollins Christian Publishing, publishers of some of your favorite audiobooks and authors, including Reba McEntire, Bob Goff, Kathie Lee Gifford, Max Lucado, Lysa TerKeurst, and so many more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kimberly Farr has had a long and distinguished career as an actor on stage and screen and as a celebrated audiobook narrator. A gifted performer with an impressive range, Kimberly has brought characters and stories to life, in fiction and nonfiction alike. Whether it’s Elizabeth Strout’s Olive Kitteridge novels, Joan Didion’s essays, the biography of Julia Child, or the poetry of Mary Oliver, Kimberly captures their voices with rare clarity, nuance, and a deep understanding of language. So it’s no surprise that AudioFile named her a 2025 Golden Voice narrator. In this bonus episode, host Jo Reed and Kimberly Farr speak about Kimberly’s path to audiobook work and what it means to inhabit every voice on the page. Read reviews of Kimberly Farr’s audiobooks on AudioFile’s website Support for AudioFile’s Behind the Mic comes from HarperCollins Focus, and HarperCollins Christian Publishing , publishers of some of your favorite audiobooks and authors, including Reba McEntire, Bob Goff, Kathie Lee Gifford, Max Lucado, Lysa TerKeurst, and so many more!  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Golden Voice Bahni Turpin's performance takes listeners to that time in the early 1990s when the world was changing and the latest alternative rock bands were everything. Jane meets burgeoning rock star Elijah in an Internet chat room, a connection that leads to a deep professional and personal bond. They form The Lightning Bottles and amass a devoted fan base, with Jane providing the backbone of their hits. Join AudioFile’s Stephen Cummings and host Jo Reed as they discuss Turpin’s narration, which provides listeners with a soundscape capturing the spirit of the time. Read our review of the audiobook at our website  Published by Simon & Schuster Audio. Discover thousands of audiobook reviews and more at AudioFile’s website . Support for AudioFile’s Behind the Mic comes from HarperCollins Focus, and HarperCollins Christian Publishing, publishers of some of your favorite audiobooks and authors, including Reba McEntire, Bob Goff, Kathie Lee Gifford, Max Lucado, Lysa TerKeurst, and so many more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Jo Reed and AudioFile’s Stephen Cummings agree that music enthusiasts will enjoy this debut audiobook, invitingly narrated by Jayme Mattler. The story is part slow-burn romance and part new adult fiction. In the early 2000s, Berkeley students Percy and Joe meet at a campus bar. Joe is fascinated by Percy's strong opinions on music and asks her to help him with his songwriting. After their collaboration, Joe's indie music career takes off, but he fails to give her songwriting credit. Mattler skillfully draws listeners into this story of romance, ambition, and identity. Read our review of the audiobook at our website.  Published by Random House Audio Discover thousands of audiobook reviews and more at AudioFile’s website     Support for AudioFile’s Behind the Mic comes from HarperCollins Focus, and HarperCollins Christian Publishing, publishers of some of your favorite audiobooks and authors, including Reba McEntire, Bob Goff, Kathie Lee Gifford, Max Lucado, Lysa TerKeurst, and so many more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices