The Stranger Diaries

The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths is Gothic tale set in modern England, the main protagonist an English teacher with a teenage daughter and a dog. Looming behind the plot are the writings of RM Holland, a fictional Victorian writer of ghost stories (presumably based on MR James). It’s that Victorian creepiness that makes the audiobook so good, and all in all, pretty scary.

Narrator: Anjana Vasan, Andrew Wincott, Esther Wane, Sarah Feathers

Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins

Best Audiobook Thrillers

The Stranger Diaries is a Gothic take on a modern mystery, with a fictional Victorian author, RM Holland, as a central part of the plot. The book has won a number of accolades, as well as being a Richard & Judy Bookclub pick, suggesting it’s also a relatively easy read. That said, it is educational: the book pulls you along, but you also feel the need to look up the ghost stories of MR James (on whom, one can’t help but presume, RM Holland is based), and reread Wilkie Collins.

Best Mystery Books of 2020