Best Joe Hempel Audiobooks

The best audiobooks narrated by Joe Hempel — 12 titles spanning Thriller, Romance, Self-Help, Fantasy, Horror, averaging 3.77 ABR stars.

Joe Hempel has built a quiet reputation as a go-to voice for dark genre fiction, and if you spend any time in horror and fantasy anthology circles, you've almost certainly heard him without realizing it. His work on the Weird Tales Magazine series — including the Sword & Sorcery issue and the centennial collection 100 Years of Weird — shows exactly what he does best: navigating dense, tonally varied anthologies where the material can shift from pulpy adventure to genuine dread within a single story. His voice is a controlled, mid-register baritone — not flashy, but precise — and that precision is what makes him effective across thriller, horror, and fantasy alike. Freida McFadden's The Intruder and Glenn Rolfe's Land of Bones both benefit from his grounded delivery, which keeps tension credible rather than theatrical. If you're a dark fiction obsessive who values consistency over showmanship, Hempel is exactly your narrator.

Where to Start with Joe Hempel

  1. 1
    The Intruder cover

    The Intruder

    by Freida McFadden

    Narrated by Joe Hempel, Patricia Santomasso, Tina Wolstencroft

    4.36 ABR Score (374.7K ratings)
    ★ 3.89 Goodreads (366.4K) ★ 4.48 Audible (8.3K)
    8h 19m listening time • Released 2025

    The multiple narrators nail the shifting perspectives in this locked-room thriller, making the unreliable motivations feel immediate and genuinely unsettling. McFadden's twist lands harder when you hear it unfold across different voices.

  2. 2
    Brooklynaire cover

    Brooklynaire

    Brooklyn Bruisers • Book 4

    by Sarina Bowen

    Narrated by Zachary Webber, Virginia Rose, Joe Hempel

    4.32 ABR Score (26.8K ratings)
    ★ 4.04 Goodreads (23.9K) ★ 4.65 Audible (3.0K)
    9h 38m listening time • Released 2018
  3. 3
    The Darkness at Deception Pass cover

    The Darkness at Deception Pass

    A Thomas Austin Crime Thriller • Book 9

    by D.D. Black

    Narrated by Joe Hempel

    4.28 ABR Score (3.8K ratings)
    ★ 4.43 Goodreads (3.7K) ★ 4.62 Audible (193)
    5h 46m listening time • Released 2024
  4. 4
    The Art Of Saying NO cover

    The Art Of Saying NO

    by Damon Zahariades

    Narrated by Joe Hempel

    3.77 ABR Score (9.9K ratings)
    ★ 3.76 Goodreads (9.3K) ★ 4.39 Audible (568)
    2h 22m listening time • Released 2017
  5. 5
    Weird Tales Magazine No. 366: Sword & Sorcery Issue cover

    Weird Tales Magazine No. 366: Sword & Sorcery Issue

    Weird Tales Magazine

    by Various

    Narrated by Scott Aiello, John Pirhalla, Simon Vance, Paul Woodson, Hillary Huber, Roger Clark, Tim Campbell, Chelsea Stephens, Dion Graham, Joe Hempel, Steve West, James Langton, Neil Hellegers, Natalie Naudus, Peter Berkrot

    3.72 ABR Score (53 ratings)
    ★ 3.78 Goodreads (37) ★ 4.13 Audible (16)
    7h 13m listening time • Released 2023

    A stellar ensemble cast elevates this sword-and-sorcery anthology into something rare: fifteen narrators who each bring distinct voice and urgency to stories from genre legends like Gaiman and James A. Moore.

  6. 6
    Land of Bones cover

    Land of Bones

    by Glenn Rolfe

    Narrated by Lauri Jo Daniels, Anneliese Rennie, Kyle Tait, Matt Godfrey, Joe Hempel, Kelsey Navarro, Sean Duregger, Curt Bonnem, Gary Bennet, Adam Bar, Travis Baldree, Chelsea Stephens, KC Johnston, Shawn Compton

    3.61 ABR Score (180 ratings)
    ★ 3.79 Goodreads (168) ★ 4.58 Audible (12)
    5h 14m listening time • Released 2020

    Glenn Rolfe's collection gets a stellar ensemble cast that transforms these 14 dark tales into a full immersive experience—each narrator nails their story's voice, making the unsettling moments land harder.

  7. 7
    Dead Detectives Society cover

    Dead Detectives Society

    by James Aquilone, Kevin J. Anderson, Jonathan Maberry, Steve Niles, Nancy A. Collins, Joe R. Lansdale, Kasey Lansdale, David Avallone, Lisa Morton, Nancy Holder, Alan Philipson, John Jennings, Tim Waggoner, Rena Mason, Jeff Strand

    Narrated by Joe Hempel, Derek Austin, Jenn Lee, Dean Gallagher, Amber Dekkers, Gary Noon, Jennifer Pickens

    3.59 ABR Score (60 ratings)
    ★ 4.25 Goodreads (44) ★ 4.56 Audible (16)
    7h 40m listening time • Released 2024

    A horror anthology where top genre masters each deliver a twisted detective story, with a rotating cast of narrators who nail the tonal shifts from noir to cosmic dread without missing a beat.

  8. 8
    Weird Tales: 100 Years of Weird cover

    Weird Tales: 100 Years of Weird

    by Jonathan Maberry, R.L. Stine, Laurell K. Hamilton, Ray Bradbury, Victor LaValle, Robert E. Howard, Hailey Piper, H.P. Lovecraft, Tennessee Williams, Usman T. Malik, James Aquilone, Michael A. Arnzen

    Narrated by Bronson Pinchot, Richard J. Brewer, Natalie Naudus, Joe Hempel, Dion Graham, Neil Hellegers, Zura Johnson, Simon Vance, Peter Berkrot, James Patrick Cronin, Gabrielle de Cuir, Grover Gardner, full cast

    3.59 ABR Score (285 ratings)
    ★ 3.78 Goodreads (263) ★ 3.64 Audible (22)
    18h 44m listening time • Released 2023
  9. 9
    Man, F*ck This House (And Other Disasters) cover

    Man, F*ck This House (And Other Disasters)

    by Brian Asman

    Narrated by Matt Godfrey, James Anderson Foster, Andrew Gibson, Joe Hempel, Jenn Lee, Zura Johnson, Ray Porter

    3.56 ABR Score (8.3K ratings)
    ★ 3.34 Goodreads (8.3K) ★ 4 Audible (10)
    12h 45m listening time • Released 2025

    A stellar ensemble cast elevates these horror stories into something genuinely unsettling—each narrator nails their character's descent into dread with surgical precision.

  10. 10
    Weird Tales Magazine No. 370: Monster Issue (Weird Tales Magazine) cover

    Weird Tales Magazine No. 370: Monster Issue (Weird Tales Magazine)

    Weird Tales Magazine

    by Jonathan Maberry, Various, Various Narrators

    Narrated by Ray Porter, Bronson Pinchot, Hillary Huber, Joe Hempel, Jennifer Pickens, Dion Graham, Simon Vance, Emily Woo Zeller, Neil Hellegers

    3.55 ABR Score (41 ratings)
    ★ 3.76 Goodreads (21) ★ 4.35 Audible (20)
    6h 27m listening time • Released 2024

    A stellar ensemble cast transforms this monster-themed anthology into pure audio theater—each narrator nails their story's voice, making the twisted takes on familiar creatures genuinely unsettling.

  11. 11
    Weird Tales Magazine No. 367 cover

    Weird Tales Magazine No. 367

    Weird Tales Magazine

    by Jonathan Maberry

    Narrated by Scott Brick, Robert Fass, James Anderson Foster, Heath Miller, Neil Hellegers, Roger Clark, Joe Hempel, Edoardo Ballerini, Eunice Wong, Simon Vance, Holly Adams, Chris Henry Coffey, Ralph Lister, Natalie Naudus

    3.53 ABR Score (59 ratings)
    ★ 3.79 Goodreads (47) ★ 3.75 Audible (12)
    5h 56m listening time • Released 2023
  12. 12
    Weird Tales Magazine No. 372: Cryptids & Urban Legends cover

    Weird Tales Magazine No. 372: Cryptids & Urban Legends

    by Jonathan Maberry, Full Cast, Various

    Narrated by Hillary Huber, Joe Hempel, Nancy Wu, Matt Godfrey, Patricia Santomasso, Robert Fass, James Anderson Foster, James Fouhey, Derek Austin, Liam Gerrard, Ramiz Monsef, Justin Price, Ray Porter, Christopher Tester, full cast

    3.40 ABR Score (3 ratings)
    ★ 4 Audible (3)
    7h 36m listening time • Released 2026

    A full-cast production that treats cryptid lore with genuine respect—the rotating narrators nail the eerie atmosphere while essays ground the mythology in real investigation and wonder.

How We Rank Audiobooks

Rankings are driven by listener ratings and review counts from Audible and Goodreads. Books with high ratings across a large number of listeners rank higher — a 4.5 with 50,000 ratings says more than a 4.8 with 200.

Unlike most book lists, we weight audiobook-specific factors: narrator performance, production quality, and how well a story translates to audio. A great book with a poor narration isn't a great audiobook.

We don't accept paid placements or prioritize new releases. These rankings reflect what listeners actually enjoy, not what's being promoted.

Rankings update periodically as new ratings come in and new titles are added to the collection.

Read our full ranking methodology →