Best Kirby Heyborne Audiobooks

The best audiobooks narrated by Kirby Heyborne — 15 titles spanning Thriller, Historical Fiction, Romance, Literature & Fiction, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Horror, averaging 3.95 ABR stars.

Kirby Heyborne has quietly built one of the more versatile resumes in genre audiobooks, moving between thriller, horror, sci-fi, and fantasy without ever sounding like he's straining to fit. His voice sits in a clean, approachable mid-range — not the thundering baritone of a prestige narrator, but precisely controlled and expressive in a way that serves ensemble casts well. That makes him a natural fit for anthology work like Carniepunk and 21st Century Dead, where keeping a dozen contributors' stories tonally distinct matters more than showboating. His long association with Orson Scott Card — spanning the Tales of Alvin Maker series and The Last Shadow — shows his range on the quieter, more interior end of sci-fi. He's not a narrator people typically seek out by name, but listeners who find him through Gone Girl or a Card adaptation tend to stick around.

Where to Start with Kirby Heyborne

  1. 1
    Gone Girl cover

    Gone Girl

    by Gillian Flynn

    Narrated by Julia Whelan, Kirby Heyborne

    4.54 ABR Score (3.5M ratings)
    ★ 4.15 Goodreads (3.5M) ★ 4.36 Audible (59.9K)
    19h 57m listening time • Released 2012

    Flynn's marriage thriller redefined the genre with its unreliable narrators — a dissection of a toxic relationship that's impossible to look away from.

  2. 2
    Just Once cover

    Just Once

    by Karen Kingsbury

    Narrated by January LaVoy, Kirby Heyborne

    4.37 ABR Score (10.0K ratings)
    ★ 4.41 Goodreads (9.8K) ★ 4.78 Audible (250)
    8h 59m listening time • Released 2023

    LaVoy and Heyborne's dual narration captures the emotional devastation of a wartime love triangle with such raw authenticity that you'll feel the weight of every impossible choice alongside them.

  3. 3
    The Neighbor cover

    The Neighbor

    Detective D.D. Warren • Book 3

    by Lisa Gardner

    Narrated by Emily Janice Card, Kirby Heyborne, Kirsten Potter

    4.37 ABR Score (57.9K ratings)
    ★ 4.09 Goodreads (52.7K) ★ 4.47 Audible (5.3K)
    13h 29m listening time • Released 2009
  4. 4
    Losing Hope cover

    Losing Hope

    Hopeless • Book 2

    by Colleen Hoover

    Narrated by Kirby Heyborne

    4.29 ABR Score (278.8K ratings)
    ★ 4.09 Goodreads (275.9K) ★ 4.53 Audible (2.9K)
    10h 33m listening time • Released 2013

    Kirby Heyborne brings raw vulnerability to Holder's POV, making this companion novel hit harder than the original for fans who thought they knew the whole story.

  5. 5
    The Other Side cover

    The Other Side

    by Kim Holden

    Narrated by Michael Crouch, Natasha Soudek, Bahni Turpin, Kirby Heyborne, Adenrele Ojo, Graydon Long, Erin Spencer, Vikas Adam, Kim Holden

    4.12 ABR Score (4.1K ratings)
    ★ 4.38 Goodreads (4.0K) ★ 4.79 Audible (96)
    11h 2m listening time • Released 2020

    A cast of nine narrators brings genuine depth to Toby's fragmented world, each voice anchoring a different layer of his reality until the full picture hits you like a gut punch.

  6. 6
    The Earth Dwellers cover

    The Earth Dwellers

    The Dwellers • Book 4

    by David Estes

    Narrated by Julia Whelan, Khristine Hvam, MacLeod Andrews, Will Damron, Kirby Heyborne, Kate Rudd

    4.08 ABR Score (1.4K ratings)
    ★ 4.32 Goodreads (1.3K) ★ 4.69 Audible (154)
    11h 30m listening time • Released 2016

    The ensemble cast elevates this epic finale, with six narrators seamlessly shifting between beloved characters from two converging series, creating an immersive payoff for longtime fans.

  7. 7
    Pathfinder cover

    Pathfinder

    Pathfinder • Book 1

    by Orson Scott Card

    Narrated by Stefan Rudnicki, Kirby Heyborne, Don Leslie, Kristoffer Tabori, Scott Brick

    4.03 ABR Score (30.9K ratings)
    ★ 4.01 Goodreads (25.1K) ★ 4.32 Audible (5.7K)
    17h 41m listening time • Released 2010

    A five-narrator ensemble cast elevates this time-travel mystery into something genuinely immersive—each voice pins down a character so distinctly you forget you're listening to an audiobook at all.

  8. 8
    Cloud Atlas cover

    Cloud Atlas

    by David Mitchell

    Narrated by Scott Brick, Cassandra Campbell, Kim Mai Guest, Kirby Heyborne, John Lee, Richard Matthews, David Mitchell, Gabrielle Zevin

    4.01 ABR Score (276.8K ratings)
    ★ 4.01 Goodreads (269.8K) ★ 4.11 Audible (7.1K)
    19h 48m listening time • Released 2004

    Seven narrators make this nested-worlds epic feel like a conversation across centuries, each voice perfectly matched to its era and character. It's the rare audiobook where the medium doesn't just serve the story—it becomes essential to how you experience it.

  9. 9
    West cover

    West

    East • Book 2

    by Edith Pattou

    Narrated by Renée Raudman, Kirby Heyborne, Taylor Meskimen, Robertson Dean, Kimberly Farr, Tonya Cornelisse

    3.93 ABR Score (3.1K ratings)
    ★ 3.86 Goodreads (3.0K) ★ 4.66 Audible (108)
    11h 31m listening time • Released 2018

    The ensemble cast transforms this revenge epic into something cinematic: each narrator brings distinct vocal texture to their character, making the multiple POVs feel like separate voices in your head rather than a single performer switching accents.

  10. 10
    Master Alvin cover

    Master Alvin

    Tales of Alvin Maker • Book 7

    by Orson Scott Card

    Narrated by Gabrielle de Cuir, Kirby Heyborne, Mirron Willis, Nan McNamara, Scott Brick, Stefan Rudnicki

    3.69 ABR Score (89 ratings)
    ★ 3.92 Goodreads (89)
    11h 18m listening time • Released 2026

    A full ensemble cast brings genuine depth to Card's alternate American frontier—each narrator becomes their character so completely that the dialogue crackles with real tension and warmth.

  11. 11
    The Last Shadow cover

    The Last Shadow

    The Shadow • Book 6

    by Orson Scott Card

    Narrated by Emily Rankin, Gabrielle de Cuir, John Rubinstein, Judy Young, Justine Eyre, Kirby Heyborne, Orson Scott Card, Scott Brick, Stefan Rudnicki

    3.68 ABR Score (8.7K ratings)
    ★ 3.63 Goodreads (6.9K) ★ 4.14 Audible (1.8K)
    13h 34m listening time • Released 2021

    A stacked ensemble cast transforms the finale of Card's dual series into something genuinely cinematic—each narrator owns their character so completely you forget you're listening to different voices telling one story.

  12. 12
    The Book of Swords cover

    The Book of Swords

    Sir Hereward and Mister Fitz #7 - A Long, Cold Trail

    by Gardner Dozois, K.J. Parker, Robin Hobb, Ken Liu, Matthew Hughes, Kate Elliott, Walter Jon Williams, Daniel Abraham, C.J. Cherryh, Garth Nix, Ellen Kushner, Scott Lynch, Rich Larson, Elizabeth Bear, Lavie Tidhar, Cecelia Holland, George R.R. Martin

    Narrated by John Lee, Katharine Lee McEwan, Kim Mai Guest, Elliot Hill, Richard Brewer, Nicholas Guy Smith, Kirby Heyborne, Julia Whelan, Mark Deakins, Steve West, Ralph Lister

    3.66 ABR Score (2.6K ratings)
    ★ 3.67 Goodreads (2.2K) ★ 4.16 Audible (419)
    22h 13m listening time • Released 2017
  13. 13
    Carniepunk cover

    Carniepunk

    Hell on Earth #4.7

    by Rachel Caine, Rob Thurman, Delilah S. Dawson, Kevin Hearne, Mark Henry, Jaye Wells, Allison Pang, Hillary Jacques, Jennifer Estep, Kelly Meding, Nicole Peeler, Jackie Kessler, Kelly Gay, Seanan McGuire

    Narrated by Candace Thaxton, Kirby Heyborne

    3.55 ABR Score (3.4K ratings)
    ★ 3.64 Goodreads (3.2K) ★ 3.91 Audible (267)
    14h 5m listening time • Released 2013

    Dual narrators bring real texture to this carnival horror anthology, shifting voices between fourteen authors' twisted takes on midway magic and danger with enough tonal variety to keep you hooked through all 14 hours.

  14. 14
    21st Century Dead cover

    21st Century Dead

    Dead of Night #1.1 Jack and Jill

    by Christopher Golden, John M. McIlveen, Rio Youers

    Narrated by Scott Brick, Cassandra Campbell, Bernadette Dunne, Richard Powers, Kirby Heyborne, Malcolm Hillgartner, Chris Patton, John Pruden, Renée Raudman, Stefan Rudnicki

    3.51 ABR Score (897 ratings)
    ★ 3.45 Goodreads (790) ★ 3.75 Audible (107)
    12h 36m listening time • Released 2012
  15. 15
    This Girl cover

    This Girl

    Slammed • Book 3

    by Colleen Hoover

    Narrated by Kirby Heyborne

    3.42 ABR Score (185.9K ratings)
    ★ 3.69 Goodreads (184.4K) ★ 3.81 Audible (1.5K)
    9h 18m listening time • Released 2013

    Heyborne brings Layken and Will's story full circle with a male perspective that reframes everything you thought you knew about the first two books.

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 →