Best Kathleen Early Audiobooks

The best audiobooks narrated by Kathleen Early — 6 titles spanning Mystery, Thriller, Literature & Fiction, Romance, averaging 4.20 ABR stars.

Kathleen Early has become one of the go-to voices for psychological thrillers with dark, female-centered narratives — and her long association with Karin Slaughter explains why. Across Pretty Girls and We Are All Guilty Here, she brings a cool, controlled intensity to Slaughter's unflinching subject matter, never sensationalizing, never flinching. Her voice is clear and measured with a slight edge beneath the surface — the kind of delivery that makes quiet scenes feel just as tense as the violent ones. She's equally effective in Peter Swanson's The Kind Worth Killing, where the Henry Kimball/Lily Kintner dynamic demands a narrator who can make charm sound dangerous. Listeners who prefer their thrillers grounded rather than theatrical will find Early a perfect match — she lets the writing do the work while keeping you locked in.

Where to Start with Kathleen Early

  1. 1
    We Are All Guilty Here cover

    We Are All Guilty Here

    North Falls • Book 1

    by Karin Slaughter

    Narrated by Kathleen Early

    ★ 4.60 ABR Score (144.1K ratings)
    ★ 4.21 Goodreads (133.0K) ★ 4.67 Audible (11.1K)
    16h 33m listening time • Released 2025
    Listen Free on Audible
  2. 2
    The Kind Worth Killing cover

    The Kind Worth Killing

    Henry Kimball/Lily Kintner • Book 1

    by Peter Swanson

    Narrated by Johnny Heller, Karen White, Kathleen Early, Keith Szarabajka

    ★ 4.33 ABR Score (249.0K ratings)
    ★ 3.97 Goodreads (245.9K) ★ 4.46 Audible (3.1K)
    10h 17m listening time • Released 2020
    Listen Free on Audible
  3. 3
    Pretty Girls cover

    Pretty Girls

    by Karin Slaughter

    Narrated by Kathleen Early

    ★ 4.22 ABR Score (734.6K ratings)
    ★ 4 Goodreads (734.0K) ★ 4.33 Audible (628)
    18h 6m listening time • Released 2025

    Slaughter's most emotionally devastating novel — two sisters, a decades-old disappearance, and a truth so dark it makes most thrillers look tame.

    Listen Free on Audible
  4. 4
    The Five Year Lie cover

    The Five Year Lie

    by Sarina Bowen

    Narrated by Kathleen Early, Gary Tiedemann, Jason Clarke

    ★ 4.17 ABR Score (51.4K ratings)
    ★ 3.89 Goodreads (46.1K) ★ 4.44 Audible (5.3K)
    12h 41m listening time • Released 2024
    Listen Free on Audible
  5. 5
    The Twisted Women's Book Club cover

    The Twisted Women's Book Club

    by Karin Slaughter, Oyinkan Braithwaite, Sarah Pekkanen, Linwood Barclay, Naomi Hirahara, K.J. Howe, Robert Dugoni, Alison Gaylin, Heather Gudenkauf, Shari Lapena, Clare Mackintosh, Stacy Willingham, January LaVoy, Andi Arndt, Saskia Maarleveld, Kathleen Early, Lauren Ezzo, Stephanie Epstein, Jenn Lee, Brittany Pressley, Cindy Kay, Nancy Wu, Nicola F. Delgado, Emily Lawrence, Karen Murray, Adepero Oduye, Daniela Acitelli

    Narrated by January LaVoy, Andi Arndt, Saskia Maarleveld, Kathleen Early, full cast

    ★ 3.94 ABR Score (13.2K ratings)
    ★ 3.52 Goodreads (7.6K) ★ 4.24 Audible (5.6K)
    10h 49m listening time • Released 2025
    Listen Free on Audible
  6. 6
    The Trouble With Valentine's Day cover

    The Trouble With Valentine's Day

    Chinooks Hockey Team • Book 3

    by Rachel Gibson

    Narrated by Kathleen Early

    ★ 3.94 ABR Score (14.3K ratings)
    ★ 3.91 Goodreads (14.3K)
    9h 22m listening time • Released 2026
    Listen Free on Audible

Browse Related Lists

Kathleen Early — Narrator Profile Scott Brick Ray Porter Adam Verner Abby Craden Michael Kramer Maxine Mitchell Grover Gardner George Guidall Dick Hill Nora Achrati Luke Daniels Simon Vance Barrie Kreinik Bahni Turpin R.C. Bray Robertson Dean January LaVoy Simon Prebble Edoardo Ballerini Travis Baldree Nick Podehl Tim Gerard Reynolds Julia Whelan Andrea Parsneau Davina Porter Best Fantasy Best Sci-Fi Best Thriller Best Mystery Best Horror Best Literature & Fiction

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 →