FRAGILE MINDS
Emma Fryer
There is a narrative we’ve become comfortable with: Mental health services are underfunded and understaffed. But that is only half the story. The other half is messy and confronting. It is the story of exhausted staff, failed patients, and the inspiring individuals struggling for justice and revolution.
Emma Fryer narrates Fragile Minds by Bella Jackson, a beautifully wrought and staggeringly urgent book documenting Bella's time as a trainee mental health nurse, available from 3rd July.
PARALLEL LINES
Benedict Cumberbatch
Sebastian is in treatment following a breakdown that has left him with a fragile hold on reality and a hunger to connect with the mother who abandoned him. His therapist, Martin, also faces challenges, including his adopted daughter Olivia’s tenuous relationship with her biological mother. Olivia, meanwhile, is producing a radio series on natural disasters, which itself seems to be running parallel to the events unfolding in her personal life.
Over a year, their fates collide in outrageous and poignant ways, revealing their destinies in a new light. Benedict Cumberbatch narrates Edward St Aubyn's Parallel Lines, a novel about connection, family, love, and the cascading consequences of our choices, available 10th July.
A NEIGHBOUR'S GUIDE TO MURDER
Greta Scacchi
It’s rare for a room in beautiful, iconic Columbia Mansions to be up for grabs and Gwen is thrilled when its new occupant Pixie turns out to be the most delightful neighbour she could have wished for. Before long the two women have formed an unlikely age-gap friendship. But when a crime comes to light Gwen’s protective instincts go into overdrive, igniting an appetite for revenge that none of the residents are prepared for.
The last thing they need in Columbia Mansions is a scandal. The last thing they want is a murder. Greta Schacchi narrates A Neighbour's Guide to Murder by Louise Candlish, a gripping new thriller packed full of twists and turns, available from 17th July.
MUCKLE FLUGGA
Jack Lowden
Jack Lowden narrates Michael Pedersen's quirky and original debut novel Muckle Flugga, which will be available from 31st July. It's no ordinary existence on the rugged isle of Muckle Flugga. The elements run riot and, the only human inhabitants are the lighthouse keeper, known as The Father, and his otherworldly son, Ouse. Them, and the occasional lodger to keep the wolf from the door.
When one of those lodgers - Firth, a chaotic writer - arrives from Edinburgh, the limits of the world the keeper and his son cling to begin to crumble. A tug of war ensues between Firth and the lighthouse keeper for Ouse's affections - and his future. As old and new ways collide, and life-changing decisions loom, what will the tides leave standing in their wake?
THE WASP TRAP
John Hopkins
John Hopkins narrates The Wasp Trap by Mark Edwards, a brilliant new psychological thriller which will be available from 31st July. Will joins five other idealistic graduates working for an eccentric psychology professor. They’re going to launch a website to change online dating forever. No-one expects it to end in tragedy.
Twenty-five years later, Will gets an invitation: a dinner party. A chance to see the old gang again. But something doesn’t seem right... There’s an unexpected guest. The hosts are clearly keeping a secret. And on the way in, Will is sure he heard crying. Everyone has something to hide about what really happened that summer. But only one of them is willing to kill to find the truth…
NECESSARY FICTION
Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong
Across Lagos, a rolling cast of unforgettable characters seek out love in all its forms. As they form and break unexpected connections, they reveal how they know each other, have loved each other and had their hearts broken in that pursuit. Stubbornly alive and brazenly flawed, they work to establish themselves in the city’s worlds of art, music, entertainment and creativity while reckoning with desire, fear, death and God.
Here, we witness their collective and individual attempts to grapple with the necessary fictions that they all carry for survival. Tayla Kovacevic-Ebong narrates Necessary Fiction by Eloghosa Osunde, a shimmering, defiant cross-generational portrait of what it means to be queer in contemporary Nigeria, which will be available from 31st July.
AUDIBLE'S BEST OF THE YEAR: SO FAR
Tuppence Middleton
Alice Feeney's Beautiful Ugly narrated by Tuppence Middleton is included in Audible's Best of the Year: So Far 2025, in which Audible Editor Yvonne D. praises Tuppence's 'great and gritty performance.
Author Grady Green calls his wife as she’s driving home to share some exciting news. He hears Abby slam on the brakes, then nothing. When he eventually finds her car by a cliff edge, his wife has disappeared. A year later, Grady is still overcome with grief and desperate to know what happened to Abby. He travels to a tiny Scottish island to try to get his life back on track. Then he sees the impossible: a woman who looks exactly like his missing wife.
BRIAN COX ON TOUR
Brian Cox
One of the greatest actors of his generation, Brian Cox is now a household name due to his embodiment of the infamous character Logan Roy from the international hit Succession, which won him a Golden Globe. But even more extraordinary than any of the characters he has played, is his own life story.
In his first ever one man show, It’s All About Me!, Brian takes us from the backstreets of Dundee to starring in Hollywood blockbusters, a journey full of laughter and pathos. Expect candour, searing honesty, and hilarious stories. Not known for pulling his punches, an evening with Brian Cox is like no other. Brian Cox will be touring the UK & Ireland from 1st October-4th November, with tickets on sale now.