Hi all, I'm looking for help finding a couple of good audible books my dad and I can listen to on a drive across country. I'd love something without sex scenes because I'm in my 40s but actually I'm 12 and don't want to sit through that because dumb American puritanical cultural bullshit I don't have time to work through right now…..
More than that, fast-paced story, dad loves political thrillers/ detective novels/ spy stories. A lot of these I know tend to have a romance sub-plot, and I just. Would love recommendations for ones that don't involve bulging pants and heaving bosoms. Please and thank you so much!!
by TransAmericaExplorer
9 Comments
For Y/A fantasy, Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger is a good series! It has eleven books (so far), and most of them are available on the Books app and Audible
GABRIEL ALLON series by Daniel Silva. Start with book #1.
DoC
Bill Bryson is a great option, but is non-fiction. At Home or A Short History of Nearly Everything are both good. The Dungeon Crawler Carl series is fun, no sex involved. The Ferryman by Justin Cronin is an interesting thriller with a twist. The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones borders on horror/supernatural but is really a thriller and revenge Western from a Native American perspective.
Lmao I love the self-awareness of “because dumb American puritanical cultural bullshit I don’t have time to work through right now”
I imagine its also the fact that it might be uncomfortable to sit through explicit sex scenes while trapped in a car with your dad which is SUPER fair.
What kind of stuff do YOU like? If you are just focused on dad, maybe try something that is thriller/spy story adjacent in a new genre like fantasy or sci fi? I can think of some recs if this sounds interesting to you!
One off the top of my head that is kind of satirical/comedy leaning spy stuff is Starter Villain by John Scalzi. Plays with the idea of “what if super villains were real and your estranged uncle left you his super villain empire (volcanic island lair included) in his will”
Cory Doctorow’s Martin Hench novels might do. Hench is a Silicon Valley based forensic accountant/PI and the books go back in time through his adventures in different eras of the computer industry. Elevated potboilers, no romance.
If you like solo wilderness adventure stories, anything by Adam Shoalts is excellent for road trips
Look at Alan Furst and Philip Kerr. they both write WW2 spy thrillers – I think they are addictive!
I love Ken Follett but he’s really into boobs and has some raunchy (but character building) sex scenes.
Project Hail Mary!
The Water Knife. Project Hail Mary. The Expanse series (the first book has a detective vibe).