Short Stories audiobooks

So Long, Chief

By: Max Allan Collins & Mickey Spillane

Narrated by: Christopher Ryan Grant

Length: 58 minutes

Abridged: No

From legendary noir novelist Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins, a short story in which world-famous private eye Mike Hammer repays a debt to a dying police chief, proving loyalty can be as deadly as deception.

A legendary and retired police chief lies in a New York hospital bed, visited by two strangers: the first is ex-cop-turned-PI Mike... Read more

Start-Up

By: Olen Steinhauer

Narrated by: Jacob York

Length: 46 minutes

Abridged: No

A young man struggles to find his identity in this short story by the bestselling author of The Tourist.

Olen Steinhauer's crafty story begins as an affectionate recounting by Tom, a down-on-his-luck graduate caring for his sick mother and reconnecting with his awkward friend, Jerry McLaughlin. Jerry lives in a relative's basement in Chicago, and... Read more

The Sequel

By: Jeffery Deaver

Narrated by: Robert Fass

Length: 1 hour 36 minutes

Abridged: No

When a lawyer discovers the possible existence of a lost, secret second novel from America's favorite writer, all hell breaks loose.

For years, Frederick Lowell has quietly managed the estate of the revered novelist Edward Goodwin. Though the author of only one novel, that book has gone on to sell hundreds of millions of copies, keeping Lowell... Read more

The Love Object

By: Edna O'Brien

Narrated by: Catherine McGoohan

Length: 19 hours 58 minutes

Abridged: No

Collected here for the first time are stories spanning five decades of writing by the "short story master" (Harold Bloom).

As John Banville writes in his introduction to The Love Object, Edna O'Brien "is, simply, one of the finest writers of our time." The thirty-one stories collected in this volume provide, among other things, a cumulative... Read more

The Water Museum

By: Luis Alberto Urrea

Narrated by: Luis Alberto Urrea

Length: 6 hours 22 minutes

Abridged: No

This hard-hitting, beautiful short story collection from one of America's preeminent literary voices “reflect[s] both sides of his Mexican-American heritage while stretching the reader's understanding of human boundaries” (Kirkus).

Examining the borders between one nation and another, between one person and another, Urrea reveals his mastery of... Read more

The Beat Goes On

By: Ian Rankin

Narrated by: James Macpherson

Length: 20 hours 28 minutes

Abridged: No

There is no detective like Ian Rankin's Detective Inspector John Rebus, a man The New Yorker calls "the ideal sleuth."

Brilliant, irascible and frequently frustrating to both his friends and his long-suffering bosses, John Rebus has made the dark places of Edinburgh his home for over two decades. The Beat Goes On collects all of Ian Rankin's... Read more

For a Little While

By: Rick Bass

Narrated by: Rick Bass

Length: 17 hours 39 minutes

Abridged: No

Long considered one of the most gifted practitioners of the short story, Rick Bass is unsurpassed in his ability to perceive and portray the enduring truths of the human heart. Now, at last, we have the definitive collection of stories, new and old, from the writer Newsweek has called "an American classic." To read his fiction is to feel more... Read more

Beneath the Bonfire

By: Nickolas Butler

Narrated by: Luke Daniels & Andi Arndt

Length: 6 hours 49 minutes

Abridged: No

Nickolas Butler's debut novel, Shotgun Lovesongs, became an international bestseller and won numerous accolades, including France's Prix PAGE/America. Now, in Beneath the Bonfire, he demonstrates his talent for portraying "a place and its people with such love that you'll find yourself falling for them, too" (Josh Weil, author of The Great Glass... Read more

The King in Yellow

By: Robert W. Chambers

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

Length: 7 hours 36 minutes

Abridged: No

Originally published in 1895, Robert W. Chambers' The King in Yellow is a marvel of supernatural fiction that has influenced a number of writers in the genre, most notably H. P. Lovecraft. Its powerful combination of horror and lyrical prose has made it a classic, a masterpiece of weird fiction that endures to this day.There is a book that is... Read more

Fatherhood, and Other Stories

By: Thomas H. Cook

Narrated by: Fred Sullivan

Length: 4 hours 46 minutes

Abridged: No

Over his acclaimed career, Cook's novels have haunted, riveted, and spellbound readers across the world, and his short stories are equally acclaimed. They range from the intensely focused world of "Fatherhood," the Herodotus prize–winning title story, to the Edgar-nominated "Rain," a dark, kaleidoscopic tale of Manhattan on a single, rain-swept... Read more

The Uninnocent

By: Bradford Morrow

Narrated by: Charlie Thurston, Joe Barrett & Rachael Warren

Length: 8 hours 49 minutes

Abridged: No

Bradford Morrow's stories have garnered him awards such as the O. Henry and Pushcart prizes and have given him a devoted following. Now gathered here for the first time is a collection of his finest gothic tales. A young man whose childhood hobby of collecting sea shells and birds' nests takes a sinister turn when he becomes obsessed with... Read more

A Farewell to Legs

By: Scott Fivelson

Narrated by: Mariel Hemingway

Length: 13 minutes

Abridged: No

In this Hemingway fiction in our time, author Scott Fivelson takes listeners on a literary journey from Paris to Pamplona as a marathoner on his last legs reflects on the sport as it might have been written about if Hemingway had been a runner. A Farewell to Legs is both a satire of a classic and a classic satire. Read more

Pauline’s Passion and Punishment, and Other Escapades

By: Louisa May Alcott

Narrated by: Gabrielle de Cuir, Janis Ian, Susan Hanfield & ...

Length: 12 hours 14 minutes

Abridged: No

A fiery and passionate tale by the beloved author of Little WomenWriting under the pseudonym A. M. Barnard, Louisa May Alcott wrote a series of what she termed "blood and thunder" thrillers for a weekly pulp magazine. Pauline's Passion and Punishment, and Other Escapades brings together five of these wicked tales.In "Pauline's Passion and... Read more

The Mystery of Choice

By: Robert W. Chambers

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

Length: 6 hours 3 minutes

Abridged: No

An eerie and macabre collection of stories from Robert W. Chambers, author of The King in YellowConsidered by many to be the father of supernatural fiction, Robert W. Chambers' work continues to influence writers today. Originally published in 1897, The Mystery of Choice brings together seven chilling tales, most of them set in Brittany.... Read more

A Whisper in the Dark

By: Louisa May Alcott

Narrated by: various narrators, Cassandra Campbell, Gabriell...

Length: 10 hours 44 minutes

Abridged: No

From the author of Little Women comes a collection of gothic, romantic, and spellbinding tales guaranteed to surprise and delight.This collection represents the best of Alcott's adult oeuvre. The stories in this volume display dramatic intensity and thrilling, suspenseful plots that show Alcott to be a complex and passionate writer. Listeners... Read more

The Maker of Moons

By: Robert W. Chambers

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

Length: 8 hours 23 minutes

Abridged: No

Released one year after the publication of The King in Yellow—a milestone of supernatural fiction—Robert W. Chambers' title story of this short-story collection is considered one of his finest weird tales. It is followed by a series of romantic art nouveau stories. Chambers' love of natural scenery, symbolic animal figures, and ghostly imagery... Read more

In the Midst of Life

By: Ambrose Bierce

Narrated by: Paul Boehmer, Gabrielle de Cuir & Stefan Rudnicki

Length: 8 hours 48 minutes

Abridged: No

In the Midst of Life: Tales of Soldiers and Civilians is a collection of twenty-six short stories originally published in 1909 detailing the lives of soldiers and civilians during the American Civil War. Ambrose Bierce’s stories about Civil War soldiers include“A Horseman in the Sky,”“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge,”“Chickamauga,”“A Son of... Read more

Strange Worlds

By: Jonathan Maberry

Narrated by: Ray Porter

Length: 3 hours 56 minutes

Abridged: No

In this new collection of five short stories from New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry, listeners get an eclectic sampling of the writer's work—from SF parody to murder mystery and beyond."The Things That Live in Cages"An MMA fighter at the end of his career is offered the chance to stay young, fit, and stronger than ever—but the... Read more

The Death Song of Dwar Guntha

By: Jonathan Maberry

Narrated by: Ray Porter

Length: 50 minutes

Abridged: No

A short story from New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry!In “The Death Song of Dwar Guntha,” two old warriors prepare to ride into battle for the last time to save the future of Barsoom. Set in the world of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter of Mars, this story first appeared in the anthology Under the Moons of Mars. Read more

The Vanishing Assassin

By: Jonathan Maberry

Narrated by: Ray Porter

Length: 51 minutes

Abridged: No

In this short story from New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry, Edgar Allan Poe’s brilliant amateur detective, Auguste Dupin, is called in to investigate a savage murder perpetrated by an invisible killer. Read more

Clean Sweeps

By: Jonathan Maberry

Narrated by: Ray Porter

Length: 25 minutes

Abridged: No

In this short story from New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry, a reporter accompanies a special ops team on a dangerous mission against space pirates. Read more

The Things That Live in Cages

By: Jonathan Maberry

Narrated by: Ray Porter

Length: 55 minutes

Abridged: No

A short story from New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry!In “The Things That Live in Cages,” an MMA fighter at the end of his career is offered the chance to stay young, fit, and stronger than ever—but the price is his humanity. Read more

Ellison Wonderland

By: Harlan Ellison

Narrated by: Harlan Ellison, Josh Olson, Gabrielle de Cuir, ...

Length: 14 hours 14 minutes

Abridged: No

Originally published in 1962 and updated in later decades with a new introduction, Ellison Wonderland contains sixteen masterful stories from the author's early career. This collection shows a vibrant young writer with a wide-ranging imagination, ferocious creative energy, devastating wit, and an eye for the wonderful and terrifying and tragic.... Read more

Mister Pockets

By: Jonathan Maberry

Narrated by: Ray Porter

Length: 55 minutes

Abridged: No

In this chilling story from New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry, a young paperboy discovers that a random act of kindness may have greater consequences—especially as night falls in Pine Deep. Read more