Audiobooks Like When Crickets Cry

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Charles Martin narrates his own novel with a stillness that suits it — no pushed emotion, no performative grief, just a voice that knows when to get quiet and let the story do the work. Adam Verner shares duties here, and their combined restraint carries the eleven hours with the kind of unhurried pace that tender, redemptive fiction needs to land properly. Most of the recommendations here are narrated by Martin or Verner, every one of them runs close to that same length, and nearly all carry the high Goodreads scores that mark the particular kind of emotionally honest fiction that leaves you sitting in your car for a minute before you turn it off.

10 audiobooks for fans of When Crickets Cry

  1. 1
    Chasing Fireflies cover

    Chasing Fireflies

    by Charles Martin

    Narrated by Adam Verner

    ★ 4.42 ABR Score (45.8K ratings)
    ★ 4.42 Goodreads (44.1K) ★ 4.61 Audible (1.7K)
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  2. 2
    Long Way Gone cover

    Long Way Gone

    by Charles Martin

    Narrated by Adam Verner

    ★ 4.35 ABR Score (21.6K ratings)
    ★ 4.38 Goodreads (20.2K) ★ 4.59 Audible (1.5K)
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    A failed Nashville musician's journey back to his Tennessee roots unfolds with Adam Verner's warm narration perfectly matching this story of redemption and second chances.

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  3. 3
    The Award cover

    The Award

    by Danielle Steel

    Narrated by Adam Verner

    ★ 4.12 ABR Score (9.1K ratings)
    ★ 4.21 Goodreads (7.7K) ★ 4.4 Audible (1.4K)
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    Sixteen-year-old Gaëlle's courage during Nazi-occupied France unfolds through Adam Verner's measured delivery, capturing both innocence and extraordinary bravery under impossible circumstances.

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  4. 4
    A Single Swallow cover

    A Single Swallow

    by Zhang Ling, Shelly Bryant

    Narrated by Arthur Morey, Adam Verner, Feodor Chin, Tanya Eby, Christopher Lane

    ★ 4.00 ABR Score (10.7K ratings)
    ★ 4.16 Goodreads (10.2K) ★ 4.28 Audible (563)
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  5. 5
    You Will Be Peter cover

    You Will Be Peter

    by Jerry Lathan, Manchester

    Narrated by Adam Verner

    ★ 3.63 ABR Score (99 ratings)
    ★ 4.65 Goodreads (93) ★ 4.67 Audible (6)
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    The fisherman who became Christianity's founding father gets a complete biographical treatment from humble beginnings to church leadership. Verner brings appropriate reverence to this historical portrait.

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  6. 6
    The Hop cover

    The Hop

    by Diana Clarke

    Narrated by Taryn Ryan, Olivia Mackenzie-Smith, Adam Verner, Laura Petersen, Carolina Hoyos

    ★ 3.93 ABR Score (3.0K ratings)
    ★ 4.26 Goodreads (2.9K) ★ 4.41 Audible (59)
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    Rural New Zealand girl Kate Burns transforms herself from attention-seeker to sex icon and unlikely feminist figure. The five-narrator ensemble creates distinct voices for Kate's complex journey from poverty to fame.

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  7. 7
    Theo of Golden cover

    Theo of Golden

    by Allen Levi

    Narrated by David Morse

    ★ 4.82 ABR Score (178.8K ratings)
    ★ 4.57 Goodreads (168.5K) ★ 4.89 Audible (10.3K)
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    A mysterious stranger buys pencil portraits in a small Southern town, with David Morse's weathered voice adding layers of intrigue to every encounter.

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  8. 8
    The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell cover

    The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell

    by Robert Dugoni

    Narrated by Robert Dugoni

    ★ 4.65 ABR Score (253.5K ratings)
    ★ 4.45 Goodreads (230.8K) ★ 4.67 Audible (22.7K)
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    Born with red pupils that make him a target for bullying, Sam Hell navigates childhood with the help of two fellow misfits and family faith. Author Robert Dugoni narrates his own touching story.

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  9. 9
    My Friends cover

    My Friends

    by Fredrik Backman

    Narrated by Marin Ireland

    ★ 4.56 ABR Score (421.8K ratings)
    ★ 4.36 Goodreads (413.4K) ★ 4.64 Audible (8.5K)
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    Backman explores how four teenagers' friendship changes a stranger's life decades later, with Marin Ireland capturing every nuance of this deeply moving tale.

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  10. 10
    UnDivided cover

    UnDivided

    Unwind Dystology • Book 4

    by Neal Shusterman

    Narrated by Luke Daniels

    ★ 4.55 ABR Score (34.4K ratings)
    ★ 4.45 Goodreads (32.4K) ★ 4.77 Audible (2.0K)
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    Luke Daniels brings devastating clarity to this finale, making the moral reckoning hit harder than any previous book in the series. The stakes feel genuinely apocalyptic because he forces you to hear the humanity in every side of an impossible conflict.

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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 →