Contemporary Women Audiobooks | Fiction

"An emotionally powerful debut with a magical twist, set between WWII France and present-day Appalachia, about generations of women in a family, their secret healing abilities, and the mysterious consequences they must contend with when they use their skills on someone they love "A profound tale of love, family legacy, secrets, and the extraordinary power within us all.... A deeply felt debut." -PATTI CALLAHAN HENRY, New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Book of Flora Lea For generations, the Winston women have possessed an unspoken magical gift: they can heal with the touch of a hand. It's a tradition they've always had to practice in secret, in the moonlight hours, when the fireflies dance and the whippoorwill birds sing. But not every healer has rightfully passed on this knowledge to her descendants, and for young Louise Winston, the discovery of her abilities comes in less-than-ideal circumstances-she brings her best friend back from death following an accident, the day after he professed his long-held feelings for her, five days before she's supposed to move away. Desperate for answers, and to avoid this new reality between them, Louise escapes to her grandmother's lush Appalachian orchard. There, she uncovers her family's hidden history in a tattered journal, stemming back to her brave great-grandmother who illicitly healed Allied soldiers in war-torn France. But just as Louise begins to embrace her unique legacy, she learns that it can also come with a mysterious cost. And with a life hanging in the balance, she'll be forced to make the most impossible of choices… Spanning eighty years, The Moonlight Healers is a deeply empathetic, heartfelt novel about mothers and daughters, life and death, and the beautiful resilience of love."

Elizabeth Becker (Author), Bailey Carr, Cassandra Campbell (Narrator)

Audiobook

Stand-In Wife

"When Leah Baker lost her sister, she was moved to help with the three young children left with widower Paul Manning. She and Paul are brought together in their shared grief. As Leah finds a place in the home, it starts to feel like family, even though it's supposed to be a temporary arrangement. As their relationship grows, Leah and Paul don't know how to trust their feelings. It's new and different for both of them, but he'll need to convince her that they have something real."

Debbie Macomber (Author), Lisa Zimmerman (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Snowbirds: A Novel

"The Last Thing He Told Me meets Fleishman Is in Trouble in this engrossing story of a couple who flee winter in the Midwest for Palm Springs, where they find their relationship at a crossroads. 'Vacker's easily distinguishable voices and Halstead's clear readings combine for an enjoyable listening experience.” —AudioFile Kim and Grant are at a turning point. A couple for thirty years, their 'separate but together' partnership is running up against the realities of late middle age: Grant’s mother has died, the college where he taught philosophy was shuttered, and their twin girls are grown and gone. Escaping the bitter cold of a Midwestern winter for the hot desert sun of Palm Springs seems as good a solution as any to the more intractable problems they face. When they arrive at Le Desert, a quirky condo community where everyone knows everyone’s business, Kim immediately embraces the opportunity to make new friends and explore a more adventurous side of her personality. Meanwhile, Grant struggles to find his footing in this unfamiliar landscape, leaving Kim to wonder if their relationship can survive the snowbird season. But when Grant goes missing on a hike in the Palm Springs mountains, Kim is forced to consider two terrifying outcomes: either Grant is truly lost, or this time, he’s really left her. Is it ever too late to become the person we wanted to be—and is there still time to change into someone better? The exhilarating, but often confusing transitions of midlife are pitched against the promise and glamour of Palm Springs in this tender, honest story of what it takes to commit to someone for a lifetime. With compassion and humor, Clancy explores the redemptive power of finding ourselves, and of being found. A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press."

Christina Clancy (Author), Graham Halstead, Karissa Vacker (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Queens of Crime: A Novel

"This program is read by actor Bessie Carter, best known for her role as Prudence Featherington on the Netflix series Bridgerton. “Bessie Carter’s excellent dialect work makes the banter between feminist New Zealander Marsh and Hungarian-born aristocrat Orczy both fun and revelatory.” —BookPage “Bessie Carter's subtle changes in tone foster a growing sense of intrigue as the plot thickens.” — AudioFile (Earphones Award Winner) From the New York Times bestselling author of The Mystery of Mrs. Christie—a thrilling story of the five greatest women writers of the Golden Age of Mystery and their bid to solve a real-life murder. London, 1930. The five greatest women crime writers have banded together to form a secret society with a single goal: to show they are no longer willing to be treated as second class citizens by their male counterparts in the legendary Detection Club. Led by the formidable Dorothy L. Sayers, the group includes Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham and Baroness Emma Orczy. They call themselves the Queens of Crime. Their plan? Solve an actual murder, that of a young woman found strangled in a park in France who may have connections leading to the highest levels of the British establishment. May Daniels, a young English nurse on an excursion to France with her friend, seemed to vanish into thin air as they prepared to board a ferry home. Months later, her body is found in the nearby woods. The murder has all the hallmarks of a locked room mystery for which these authors are famous: how did her killer manage to sneak her body out of a crowded train station without anyone noticing? If, as the police believe, the cause of death is manual strangulation, why is there is an extraordinary amount of blood at the crime scene? What is the meaning of a heartbreaking secret letter seeming to implicate an unnamed paramour? Determined to solve the highly publicized murder, the Queens of Crime embark on their own investigation, discovering they’re stronger together. But soon the killer targets Dorothy Sayers herself, threatening to expose a dark secret in her past that she would do anything to keep hidden. Inspired by a true story in Sayers’ own life, New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict brings to life the lengths to which five talented women writers will go to be taken seriously in the male-dominated world of letters as they unpuzzle a mystery torn from the pages of their own novels. A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press."

Marie Benedict (Author), Bessie Carter (Narrator)

Audiobook

We All Live Here

"Brought to you by Penguin. The #1 Sunday Times bestselling author, whose books so many love, brings us a fresh, contemporary story of a woman and her unruly blended family Welcome to the Kennedy household: Lila wrote a bestseller about keeping your marriage alive, before discovering her ex was playing happy families with another woman. A woman she sees everyday at school pick-up. Bill, her stepdad, moved in after Lila’s mum died. He’s kind, old-fashioned and driving her absolutely nuts. Celie, Lila’s eldest, hates school. Hates it so much she’s stopped going. Her mother’s fine with that – because she doesn’t know yet. Violet is nine and sings age-inappropriate rap songs, laughs at fart jokes and Lila dearly hopes she’ll never, ever change. And Truant the dog, who has just bitten the American actor who’s suddenly landed on the Kennedys' doorstep. This is Gene – Lila’s estranged father, and no one’s idea of a role model. He walked out on Lila and her mum years ago – and wherever he goes domestic discord follows. Because Gene’s presence changes things in unexpected ways. Soon the girls discover a kindred spirit in a man always chasing life’s joy. Bill even loosens up. And Lila finds herself, astonishingly, dating. Something is happening to the Kennedy household – but what is it? And will it break, or save, their family? ‘The best book she has ever written’ Marian Keyes 'Wise, funny and glorious. She never ever disappoints' Lisa Jewell' 'Her latest novel proves that there is no time like the present to rewrite one’s own story' Jodi Picoult 'Warm, witty and wonderful. The kind of book you smile at whilst reading' Chris Whitaker 'So funny, touching and full of wisdom: Jojo Moyes at her very best' Sophie Kinsella © Jojo Moyes 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025"

Jojo Moyes (Author), Jenna Coleman (Narrator)

Audiobook

We Pretty Pieces of Flesh

"Brought to you by Penguin. A gut-punch novel of girlhood in early noughties Yorkshire from a blazing new voice Ask anyone non-Northern, they’ll only know Donny as punch line of a joke or place they changed trains once ont way to London. But Doncaster’s also the home of Rach, Shaz and Kel, bezzies since childhood and Donny lasses through and through. They share everything, from blagging their way into nightclubs to trips to the Family Planning clinic when they are late. Never mind that Rach is skeptical of Shaz’s bolder plots; or that Shaz, who comes from a rougher end of town, feels left behind when the others begin charting a course to uni; or that Kel sometimes feels split in two trying to keep the peace — their friendship is as indestructible as they are. But as they grow up and away from one another, a long-festering secret threatens to rip the trio apart. We Pretty Pieces of Flesh takes you by the hand and leads you through Doncaster’s schoolyards, alleyways and nightclubs, laying bare the intimate treacheries of adolescence and the ways we betray ourselves when we don’t trust our friends. Like The Glorious Heresies and Shuggie Bain, it tracks hard-edged lives and makes them sing, turning one overlooked place into the very centre of the world. 'Blistering, brilliant, savage and smart' EIMEAR McBRIDE 'Unforgettable...a wondrous, luminous novel' NANA KWAME ADJEI-BRENYAH 'Brilliant and original on every level... she is a writer like nobody else' ELIZABETH McCRACKEN 'A novel brimming with rough poetry, heart and mischief' FERDIA LENNON © Colwill Brown 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025"

Colwill Brown (Author), Colwill Brown (Narrator)

Audiobook

From London With Love

"Brought to you by Penguin. A beautiful Chelsea town house. A chance to fulfil her dreams. A life adventure awaits… It’s 1968 and it’s cold when Felicity arrives in London to stay with her mother, improve her English, do a secretarial course - and meet a suitable man. She is already missing her home in Provence and her father and his new wife and their extended family. But it’s only for a year she tells herself - and then she can go back to France and do what she really wants and become a painter. And then she bumps into Oliver who is quite the most interesting young man she has ever met. He lives on a barge for one thing and has a selection of jobs including looking for hidden treasures along the shores of the river Thames. In a word he’s a mudlarker - and before long Felicity is mudlarking too. She is also pursuing her dreams and painting scenery for Oliver’s actor friends. But is Oliver a Suitable Man of whom her mother will approve? Felicity knows she will not … Love, tangled relationships, and a real life adventure lie at the heart of Katie’s Fforde’s heart-warming novel. 'The queen of uplifting, feel good romance.' AJ Pearce 'A force to be reckoned with for her uplifting tales of romance' Daily Express 'Top-drawer romantic escapism.' Daily Mail 'Warm, brilliant and full of love.' Heat © Katie Fforde 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025"

Katie Fforde (Author), Emma Handy (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Devil's Charm

"In this delightfully enchanting first book in Megan Frampton’s new series, Heirs and Spares, opposites attract when a devilish lord and a rule-following young lady from rival families find themselves inexplicably drawn to one another. Perfect for fans of Sarah MacLean and Julia Quinn! One Night He Cannot Forget… Lord Lucian Blackwood, second son of the Duke of Waxford, has assumed all the responsibilities of a spare, meaning it is his duty to seduce all the women, win vast sums at gaming, and appear gorgeously clothed for any occasion. He doesn’t expect his friend’s wedding to be any different—but then he meets, and kisses, her. Even more delicious is that she is the daughter of his rigid father’s longtime enemy…and now Lucian and Lady Diantha are tasked with working together on a project that will heal the rift. One Night She Can’t Help but Remember… Lady Diantha Courtenay always does the right thing. She wears the proper clothes, she speaks to the right people, she smiles exactly the right amount. When she attends her friend’s wedding, however, she sees a gentleman who makes her want to do all the wrong things. With him. The next morning, she is appalled, and sets herself back on course to being the most proper young lady, relieved she now has a family project to focus on. She thought she was safe from that other Diantha until she realizes she’ll be working with him."

Megan Frampton (Author), Morag Sims (Narrator)

Audiobook

Show Don't Tell

"Brought to you by Penguin. Razor-sharp, glittering tales exploring marriage, fame and female friendship, from the Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author of Romantic Comedy and American Wife. In this compulsive collection of twelve witty stories, Sittenfeld shows why she’s as beloved for her short fiction as she is for her novels, as she conjures up characters so real that they seem like old friends. In ‘The Patron Saints of Middle Age,’ a woman visits two friends she hasn’t seen since her divorce. In ‘A for Alone,’ a married artist embarks on a project intended to disprove the so-called Mike Pence Rule, which suggests that women and men can’t spend time alone together without lusting after each other. And in ‘Lost but Not Forgotten,’ Sittenfeld gives readers of her novel Prep a new window into the world of her beloved character Lee Fiora, decades later, when Lee attends an awkward school reunion. Witty, confronting and full of tenderness, Sittenfeld peels back layer after layer of our inner lives, keeping us riveted to the page with her utterly distinctive voice. 'Messy and delicious' New York Times 'Anything Sittenfeld writes, we'll read' People 'No-one else writes with such precision and amusement' Red Magazine ©2025 Curtis Sittenfeld (P)2025 Penguin Audio"

Curtis Sittenfeld (Author), Curtis Sittenfeld, Emily Rankin, George Newbern, Kristen Sieh, Michael Crouch, Nicole Lewis, Xe Sands (Narrator)

Audiobook

To Sicily with Love

"A Fresh Pick at Fresh Fiction When she learns she has a big Italian family she never knew about, a lonely woman travels to Sicily for a life-changing summer in the new romance from New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Probst. Aurora York had it all together: loving parents, a steady relationship, and a promising career. But after she loses both parents unexpectedly, she can't seem to stay on track any longer. Lonely and lost after a public meltdown that threatens her professional credibility, she's shocked when DNA test results show a blood relative in Sicily. When her cousin reaches out online and begs her to come to Italy to meet everyone in person, Aurora makes the leap. Aurora arrives in Sicily for a month, and there she meets a colorful, dynamic family steeped in tradition. The younger generation is fascinated by her social media fame in America, and even though her grandparents have more traditional viewpoints, Aurora begins to heal from her grief…and enjoys the attention of a kind and handsome Italian man. But when the summer ends, a new opportunity calls her back to the States and her old habits threaten to reemerge. Will Aurora leave everything in Sicily she loves behind, or take the chance on a whole new future?"

Jennifer Probst (Author), Dominique Salvacion (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Quiet Librarian: A Novel

"After the murder of her best friend, a librarian's search for answers leads back to her own dark secrets in this "searing and timely" novel about a woman transformed by war, family, vengeance, and love, from the author of the beloved bestseller The Life We Bury (Kristin Harmel, author of The Paris Daughter). "Fans of Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale or Kate Quinn's books will be caught up in this story of a courageous woman."―Library Journal (starred review) "Exquisitely written, profoundly affecting, and undoubtedly one of the best books I will read this year."―Louise Fein, author of The London Bookshop Affair Hana Babic is a quiet, middle-aged librarian in Minnesota who wants nothing more than to be left alone. But when a detective arrives with the news that her best friend has been murdered, Hana knows that something evil has come for her, a dark remnant of the past she and her friend had shared. Thirty years before, Hana was someone else: Nura Divjak, a teenager growing up in the mountains of war-torn Bosnia-until Serbian soldiers arrived to slaughter her entire family before her eyes. The events of that day thrust Nura into the war, leading her to join a band of militia fighters, where she became not only a fierce warrior but a legend-the deadly Night Mora. But a shattering final act forced Nura to flee to the United States with a bounty on her head. Now, someone is hunting Hana, and her friend has paid the price, leaving her eight-year-old grandson in Hana's care. To protect the child without revealing her secret, Hana must again become the Night Mora-and hope she can find the killer before the past comes for them, too."

Allen Eskens (Author), Ilvana Muratovic (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Private Jet

"'Sarah Goodwin is the queen of the survival thriller. The Private Jet is an exquisite parcel of danger and heart-racing suspense.' DANDY SMITH THE HIGHER YOU FLY… In the dazzling lights of Thailand, socialite Lila Wilde is set for the night of her life. When her fame-hungry DJ boyfriend proposes at an exclusive nightclub, Lila makes a spur-of-the-moment decision: she invites a mix of celebrities, influencers, and near-strangers to keep the party going back at her luxurious villa — just a short flight over the lush Thai jungle. Champagne flows, music pulses, and the vibe on her private jet is nothing short of euphoric. THE HARDER YOU FALL. But when disaster strikes mid-flight, the dream turns into a nightmare and the group are stranded in an unforgiving jungle, far from the world of luxury they know. What begins as a desperate fight for survival quickly descends into something darker. Secrets are exposed and power dynamics shift, as the stranded passengers begin to realize the greatest threat might not be the jungle — but each other. Some parties are unforgettable…this one might be deadly. ––––––––––––––––– Readers LOVE Sarah Goodwin: ‘Wow! This just got under my skin from the start and I couldn't put it down! I flew through it in a day and loved every second’⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Suspense, twists, deceit… I had my heart in my mouth the whole time’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘IT WAS SO GOOD’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Utterly unputdownable… You’re going to love every single twisty page!!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘INTENSE… My heart was pounding’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I started this book today and finished it in one sitting. I literally could not put it down’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Definitely a five-star read. I couldn't put this one down. It never failed to keep me on the edge of my seat… Such a great ending too!!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Wow! I read this way too quickly, I really didn't want it to end… Amazing… Loved it!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘You'll be on the edge of your seat, racing to finish this book… I read this book one afternoon. I simply could not put it down. I cannot wait until a friend reads this book because I want to discuss it… Get a copy now!!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐"

Sarah Goodwin (Author), Imogen Front (Narrator)

Audiobook

Contemporary Women Audiobooks in Fiction