Audiobooks Like The Lost Symbol

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Paul Michael narrates Dan Brown's Washington DC thriller with the same brisk, scene-to-scene momentum that makes the Langdon novels work on audio — the 18-hour runtime never slows for the expository material because Michael delivers the code-breaking sequences with the same urgency as the chase sequences. All ten picks run near that length, and the recommendations pull from across literary mystery and conspiracy thriller, drawing on the four award-winning titles and the highly-rated pick that share the same need-to-keep-listening propulsion.

10 audiobooks for fans of The Lost Symbol

  1. 1
    The Black Echo cover

    The Black Echo

    Harry Bosch • Book 1

    by Michael Connelly, Titus Welliver

    Narrated by Titus Welliver

    4.65 ABR Score (224.1K ratings)
    ★ 4.14 Goodreads (218.4K) ★ 4.78 Audible (5.7K)
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    Vietnam tunnel rat turned LAPD detective Harry Bosch investigates when a fellow veteran turns up dead in a drainage pipe. Titus Welliver, who plays Bosch on screen, inhabits the character's war-haunted cynicism and stubborn moral code with authentic grit.

  2. 2
    Career of Evil cover

    Career of Evil

    Cormoran Strike • Book 3

    by Robert Galbraith

    Narrated by Robert Glenister

    4.61 ABR Score (248.8K ratings)
    ★ 4.22 Goodreads (231.1K) ★ 4.64 Audible (17.7K)
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    Strike and Robin investigate a package containing a severed leg, leading them through four suspects from the detective's violent past. Robert Glenister returns to voice Galbraith's gripping procedural.

  3. 3
    We Are All Guilty Here cover

    We Are All Guilty Here

    North Falls • Book 1

    by Karin Slaughter

    Narrated by Kathleen Early

    4.60 ABR Score (144.1K ratings)
    ★ 4.21 Goodreads (133.0K) ★ 4.67 Audible (11.1K)
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    Two teenage girls vanish during a small-town fireworks celebration, igniting secrets in North Falls where everyone knows everyone. Early's narration captures officer Emmy Clifton's desperation as her past collides with the investigation.

  4. 4
    Rebecca cover

    Rebecca

    by Daphne du Maurier

    Narrated by Anna Massey

    4.56 ABR Score (741.5K ratings)
    ★ 4.25 Goodreads (730.8K) ★ 4.57 Audible (10.7K)
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    A shy bride arrives at her husband's estate, Manderley, only to find herself competing with the ghost of his deceased first wife. Massey's haunting narration perfectly captures the Gothic atmosphere.

  5. 5
    Sycamore Row cover

    Sycamore Row

    Jake Brigance • Book 2

    by John Grisham

    Narrated by Michael Beck

    4.52 ABR Score (170.6K ratings)
    ★ 4.1 Goodreads (141.1K) ★ 4.6 Audible (29.5K)
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    Jake Brigance returns to defend a controversial will that leaves a fortune to a black housekeeper instead of the deceased's white family—Grisham's sequel to his breakout novel.

  6. 6
    The Harry Bosch Novels: The Black Echo, The Black Ice, The Concrete Blonde (Harry Bosch Series) cover

    The Harry Bosch Novels: The Black Echo, The Black Ice, The Concrete Blonde (Harry Bosch Series)

    Harry Bosch #1-3 • Book 3

    by Michael Connelly

    Narrated by Dick Hill

    4.41 ABR Score (15.7K ratings)
    ★ 4.37 Goodreads (3.9K) ★ 4.52 Audible (11.8K)
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    The first three Bosch mysteries establish the Vietnam vet detective's obsessive pursuit of justice, from tunnel rat flashbacks to serial killer hunts across Los Angeles.

  7. 7
    The Silkworm cover

    The Silkworm

    Cormoran Strike • Book 2

    by Robert Galbraith, J.K. Rowling

    Narrated by Robert Glenister

    4.40 ABR Score (319.6K ratings)
    ★ 4.05 Goodreads (296.4K) ★ 4.49 Audible (23.2K)
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    Private detective Cormoran Strike hunts for a missing novelist whose latest manuscript viciously attacks everyone he knows. Robert Glenister's gruff voice perfectly suits Strike's methodical investigation through London's bitter literary world.

  8. 8
    In Cold Blood cover

    In Cold Blood

    by Truman Capote

    Narrated by Scott Brick

    4.37 ABR Score (751.4K ratings)
    ★ 4.09 Goodreads (735.8K) ★ 4.44 Audible (15.6K)
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    Capote meticulously reconstructs the senseless murder of a Kansas farm family and tracks the killers' capture in this pioneering work of true crime. Brick's gravitas matches the material's weight.

  9. 9
    The Alienist cover

    The Alienist

    Laszlo Kreizler and John Schuyler Moore • Book 1

    by Caleb Carr

    Narrated by George Guidall

    4.34 ABR Score (190.0K ratings)
    ★ 4.06 Goodreads (182.1K) ★ 4.49 Audible (7.9K)
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    Set in 1896 New York, a psychologist and reporter hunt a serial killer targeting boy prostitutes using revolutionary criminal psychology methods.

  10. 10
    The Cuckoo's Calling cover

    The Cuckoo's Calling

    Cormoran Strike • Book 1

    by Robert Galbraith

    Narrated by Robert Glenister

    4.33 ABR Score (668.5K ratings)
    ★ 3.89 Goodreads (630.7K) ★ 4.45 Audible (37.8K)
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    One-legged Afghanistan veteran Cormoran Strike investigates the supposed suicide of supermodel Lula Landry when her brother insists she was murdered. Robert Glenister captures Strike's gruff determination.

How We Rank Audiobooks

Rankings are driven by listener ratings and review counts from Audible and Goodreads. Books with high ratings across a large number of listeners rank higher — a 4.5 with 50,000 ratings says more than a 4.8 with 200.

Unlike most book lists, we weight audiobook-specific factors: narrator performance, production quality, and how well a story translates to audio. A great book with a poor narration isn't a great audiobook.

We don't accept paid placements or prioritize new releases. These rankings reflect what listeners actually enjoy, not what's being promoted.

Rankings update periodically as new ratings come in and new titles are added to the collection.

Read our full ranking methodology →