Psychological thrillers work on you slowly, building dread from the inside out rather than through jump scares or action set pieces. The audiobook format makes that effect even more intense, because a skilled narrator can make an unreliable character sound convincing right up until the moment they aren’t. Gillian Flynn’s “Gone girl,” narrated by Julia Whelan and Kirby Heyborne, is a perfect example of how two voices can keep you genuinely unsure who to believe.

If you find yourself replaying scenes in your head after you’ve stopped listening, this genre is for you. It rewards attention to detail and punishes distraction in the best possible way. Listeners who like literary fiction but want their pulse to spike occasionally tend to find this category quietly addictive.