D.D. Black Audiobooks

D.D. Black is the pen name of a crime novelist who has quietly built a large and devoted readership with mysteries rooted in the Pacific Northwest. Rather than a public literary persona, it is the fiction that does the talking: brisk, atmospheric, and steeped in the coastline, small towns, and grey weather of Washington State and its surroundings.

Black writes in the reliable, moreish tradition of the series detective novel, the sort of book readers tear through before immediately reaching for the next in line. The appeal lies in a strong sense of place, a likeable lead, and plotting engineered for momentum, with a recurring cast that keeps followers coming back.

Because the author writes under a pseudonym and keeps a low personal profile, we will let the novels themselves, and their steady stream of enthusiastic reviews, stand as the fullest introduction, and a very inviting one for readers new to the genre.

Our two D.D. Black audiobooks both feature Thomas Austin, a former New York detective who retreats to a quiet Pacific Northwest beach town only to find that murder has followed him there. The Bones at Point No Point opens the series and is the more established title with us, holding a solid 4.4 from eighteen listeners, which makes it the natural place to begin.

The Bodies on Horse Heaven Hill comes later in Austin’s run and carries an even higher rating, though on only a couple of reviews so far, so it is best enjoyed once you have got to know the detective. Both are narrated by Joe Hempel, a familiar and well-suited voice in independent crime fiction.

Fans of small-town mysteries with a strong sense of place will feel right at home here, so dip into Thomas Austin’s cases below.