
Bitter Sun
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $27.58
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Christopher Ragland
-
By:
-
Beth Lewis
About this listen
It all started when we found the body.
Then nothing was ever the same.
The Dry meets Stand by Me and True Detective in this stunningly written tale of the darkness at the heart of a small mid-Western town and the four kids who uncover it.
In the heatwave summer of 1971, four kids find a body by a lake and set out to solve a murder. But they dig too deep and ask too many questions.
Larson is a town reeling in the wake of the Vietnam draft, where the unrelenting heat ruins the harvest, and the people teeter on the edge of ruin.
As tension and paranoia run rife, rumours become fact, violence becomes reflex. The unrest allows the dark elements of the close-knit farming community to rise and take control.
And John, Jenny, Gloria and Rudy are about to discover that sometimes secrets are best left uncovered…
©2018 Beth Lewis (P)2018 HarperCollins PublishersCritic reviews
‘Wonderfully evocative … written with a heart-breaking intensity that lingers in the mind’ Daily Mail
'A summer bonfire of a book which draws you into its dark heart and holds you there’ Sarah Hilary
‘With notes of To Kill A Mockingbird (without the wise adults) and Stand By Me … a town’s dark underbelly is revealed’ Emerald Street
‘Bitter Sun is a tragic tour de force that held me spellbound for weeks. A savage coming-of-age story so beautifully told. I cannot recommend it highly enough’ Chris Whitaker, author of Tall Oaks
‘A beautifully written, atmospheric and evocative thriller full of heartbreak and nostalgia’ SJI Holliday
‘I loved Bitter Sun. Beautifully written, raw and heart-wrenching’ Roz Watkins
‘Beating with a dark, menacing heart, Bitter Sun is sure to delight readers of Stephen King and Jim Thompson. Lewis's writing is like taking a punch to the gut – evocative, visceral and wholly uncompromising. She is, undoubtedly, one the finest new writers around’ G X Todd
Praise for Beth Lewis:
‘The protagonist is one of the strongest females that I’ve read… For a fast and adventurous book, with unusual characters, this will be a good summer read for you.’ Robin Hobb
‘What a voice Elka has, marvellously sustained’ Rob Ewing, author of The Last of Us
‘Arresting … Lewis takes the reader on an odyssey that highlights the striking wilderness landscape and Elka's grit' Publishers Weekly
‘The Wolf Road is an extraordinary novel – dark and funny and full of wild energy. Elka is a brilliant creation – fierce and vulnerable at the same time. Her story and her voice pull you in from the first page and never let you go. Gripping and unforgettable’ Antonia Hodgson, author of The Devil in the Marshalsea
Related to this topic
-
Sugarland
- By: Tom Fontana
- Narrated by: Dean Winters, Mark Ryder, Fern Cozine, and others
- Length: 4 hrs and 6 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sometimes the darkest mysteries are homegrown. When Zephyr Nelson returns home to look after her ailing mother, she discovers that her younger brother, Cotter, has become obsessed with a malevolent influencer on a mysterious voice app. Just as a series of puzzling deaths begin plaguing their small town of Sugarland. With the help of her college best friend and occasional lover, Teddy, Zephyr unravels truths about Sugarland that are impossible for her to accept ...
-
-
Decent thriller, but too much weird sexual stuff
- By Aimee Safford on 04-03-25
By: Tom Fontana
-
Once Upon a Crime
- By: Brynn Kelly
- Narrated by: Chase Brown, Rebekkah Ross
- Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lana Fleming’s sister has vanished from the set of TV’s hottest show, and no one seems to care. Desperate for answers, Lana sneaks in as an extra, only to get stranded with Griffin Hart, an A-list action star with a reputation for good abs and bad decisions. Though Griffin didn’t expect to be cast as a librarian’s sidekick in a real-life thriller, he’s weirdly into it—and into her. Even more unsettling—she sees right through his playboy persona. But their meet-cute soon turns deadly when they uncover a Hollywood scandal for the ages.
-
-
Never a dull moment
- By Christina Clark on 03-11-25
By: Brynn Kelly
-
The Honeymoon
- By: Jane E. James
- Narrated by: Rose Robinson, Sean Burke, Leena Makoff, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Timothy and Jonah, wealthy entrepreneurs with a spoiled son, hide sins from their past—one involving a death on a cruise, the other a crime in Bali. Nathan and Samantha, the hot ex-nanny turned trophy wife, grapple with infertility and a shocking paternity secret. Bartosz and Angelika (he’s a chef, she’s a former sex worker) carry debts to the other couples they don’t even realize they owe. Over fourteen days, the couples bond—but their pasts are too deeply intertwined to stay hidden. The sly concierge, Putu, knows more than he lets on.
-
-
Great storytelling!
- By Ashley R on 03-31-25
By: Jane E. James
-
The Commuter
- By: James Patterson, Aaron Tracy
- Narrated by: Lizzy Caplan, Richard Schiff, Thomas Lennon, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 30 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Amy Nicols (Lizzy Caplan) was an FBI agent with a dogged need to protect everyone—until that instinct caused her to mishandle a crisis, lose innocent lives, and lose her job. Now a civilian working in private security, that mistake still haunts her. One morning on the commuter train, she overhears a young couple plotting a murder. Ignoring warnings from her family and friends, Amy’s instinct to protect and serve compels her to investigate. But the further she goes, the more she finds her own life in danger.
-
-
Amazing full cast audio production and storyline
- By Jason Nichols on 03-02-25
By: James Patterson, and others
-
Eleven Numbers
- A Short Story
- By: Lee Child
- Narrated by: James Anderson Foster
- Length: 1 hr and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nathan Tyler is an unassuming professor at a middling American university with a rather obscure specialty in mathematics—in short, a nobody from nowhere. So why is the White House calling? Summoned to Washington, DC, for a top-secret briefing, Nathan discovers that he’s the key to a massive foreign intelligence breakthrough. Reading between the lines of a cryptic series of equations, he could open a door straight into the heart of the Kremlin and change the global balance of power forever.
-
-
Wonderful
- By Or on 02-02-25
By: Lee Child
-
Verity
- By: Colleen Hoover
- Narrated by: Vanessa Johansson, Amy Landon
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of best-selling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish. Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity's notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn't expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read.
-
-
intriguing but skip if triggered by child abuse
- By Amazon Customer on 05-16-19
By: Colleen Hoover
-
Sugarland
- By: Tom Fontana
- Narrated by: Dean Winters, Mark Ryder, Fern Cozine, and others
- Length: 4 hrs and 6 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sometimes the darkest mysteries are homegrown. When Zephyr Nelson returns home to look after her ailing mother, she discovers that her younger brother, Cotter, has become obsessed with a malevolent influencer on a mysterious voice app. Just as a series of puzzling deaths begin plaguing their small town of Sugarland. With the help of her college best friend and occasional lover, Teddy, Zephyr unravels truths about Sugarland that are impossible for her to accept ...
-
-
Decent thriller, but too much weird sexual stuff
- By Aimee Safford on 04-03-25
By: Tom Fontana
-
Once Upon a Crime
- By: Brynn Kelly
- Narrated by: Chase Brown, Rebekkah Ross
- Length: 10 hrs and 50 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lana Fleming’s sister has vanished from the set of TV’s hottest show, and no one seems to care. Desperate for answers, Lana sneaks in as an extra, only to get stranded with Griffin Hart, an A-list action star with a reputation for good abs and bad decisions. Though Griffin didn’t expect to be cast as a librarian’s sidekick in a real-life thriller, he’s weirdly into it—and into her. Even more unsettling—she sees right through his playboy persona. But their meet-cute soon turns deadly when they uncover a Hollywood scandal for the ages.
-
-
Never a dull moment
- By Christina Clark on 03-11-25
By: Brynn Kelly
-
The Honeymoon
- By: Jane E. James
- Narrated by: Rose Robinson, Sean Burke, Leena Makoff, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Timothy and Jonah, wealthy entrepreneurs with a spoiled son, hide sins from their past—one involving a death on a cruise, the other a crime in Bali. Nathan and Samantha, the hot ex-nanny turned trophy wife, grapple with infertility and a shocking paternity secret. Bartosz and Angelika (he’s a chef, she’s a former sex worker) carry debts to the other couples they don’t even realize they owe. Over fourteen days, the couples bond—but their pasts are too deeply intertwined to stay hidden. The sly concierge, Putu, knows more than he lets on.
-
-
Great storytelling!
- By Ashley R on 03-31-25
By: Jane E. James
-
The Commuter
- By: James Patterson, Aaron Tracy
- Narrated by: Lizzy Caplan, Richard Schiff, Thomas Lennon, and others
- Length: 2 hrs and 30 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Amy Nicols (Lizzy Caplan) was an FBI agent with a dogged need to protect everyone—until that instinct caused her to mishandle a crisis, lose innocent lives, and lose her job. Now a civilian working in private security, that mistake still haunts her. One morning on the commuter train, she overhears a young couple plotting a murder. Ignoring warnings from her family and friends, Amy’s instinct to protect and serve compels her to investigate. But the further she goes, the more she finds her own life in danger.
-
-
Amazing full cast audio production and storyline
- By Jason Nichols on 03-02-25
By: James Patterson, and others
-
Eleven Numbers
- A Short Story
- By: Lee Child
- Narrated by: James Anderson Foster
- Length: 1 hr and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nathan Tyler is an unassuming professor at a middling American university with a rather obscure specialty in mathematics—in short, a nobody from nowhere. So why is the White House calling? Summoned to Washington, DC, for a top-secret briefing, Nathan discovers that he’s the key to a massive foreign intelligence breakthrough. Reading between the lines of a cryptic series of equations, he could open a door straight into the heart of the Kremlin and change the global balance of power forever.
-
-
Wonderful
- By Or on 02-02-25
By: Lee Child
-
Verity
- By: Colleen Hoover
- Narrated by: Vanessa Johansson, Amy Landon
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lowen Ashleigh is a struggling writer on the brink of financial ruin when she accepts the job offer of a lifetime. Jeremy Crawford, husband of best-selling author Verity Crawford, has hired Lowen to complete the remaining books in a successful series his injured wife is unable to finish. Lowen arrives at the Crawford home, ready to sort through years of Verity's notes and outlines, hoping to find enough material to get her started. What Lowen doesn't expect to uncover in the chaotic office is an unfinished autobiography Verity never intended for anyone to read.
-
-
intriguing but skip if triggered by child abuse
- By Amazon Customer on 05-16-19
By: Colleen Hoover
-
The Ex
- By: Freida McFadden
- Narrated by: Nicol Zanzarella
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cassie thinks she has met the perfect man. Joel is sweet, handsome, romantic, and best of all, he’s crazy about Cassie. She thinks she’s found the guy she’ll spend the rest of her life with. Have children with. Grow old with. Yes, she knows about his perfect ex-girlfriend, Francesca. The beautiful, brilliant chef, beloved by all his friends. But she thinks Francesca is out of the picture. She thinks Francesca is gone for good. Think again, Cassie.
-
-
Too bizarre for someone who loves bizarre
- By G. C. Webster on 07-01-22
By: Freida McFadden
-
Too Late
- Definitive Edition
- By: Colleen Hoover
- Narrated by: Ryan Gray, Maxine Mitchell, Joe Arden
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sloan will go through hell and back for those she loves. And she does so, every single day. Caught up with the alluring Asa Jackson, a notorious drug trafficker, Sloan has finally found a lifeline to cling to, even if it’s meant compromising her morals. She was in dire straits trying to pay for her brother’s care until she met Asa. But as Sloan became emotionally and economically reliant on him, he in turn developed a disturbing obsession with her—one that becomes increasingly dangerous every day.
-
-
Triggering and poor narration
- By Katherine Epperson on 07-11-23
By: Colleen Hoover
-
Aren't We Lucky
- By: Sarah Forbes Stewart
- Narrated by: Nicola Coughlan
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Life’s not going well for forty-year-old Abby. When her beautiful and charismatic best friend dies suddenly, she’s left reeling. Hetty’s always been such a dominant force in her life; now Abby must figure out who she is – and who she wants to be – without Hetty by her side. Abby has always been the odd one out in Hetty’s wealthy, privileged friendship group. Despite their differences, Abby has managed to carve out a place for herself. But Hetty isn’t an easy friend to have. She blows hot and cold, alternating between fierce loyalty and unwarranted cruelty.
-
-
Glad I stuck with it.
- By Bradley Perkins on 04-08-25
-
George Orwell’s 1984
- An Audible Original adaptation
- By: George Orwell, Joe White - adaptation
- Narrated by: Andrew Garfield, Cynthia Erivo, Andrew Scott, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 27 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s 1984, and life has changed beyond recognition. Airstrip One, formerly known as Great Britain, is a place where Big Brother is always watching, and nobody can hide. Except, perhaps, for Winston Smith. Whilst working at the Ministry of Truth, rewriting history, he secretly dreams of freedom. And in a world where love and sex are forbidden, where it’s hard to distinguish between friend and foe, he meets Julia and O’Brien and vows to rebel.
-
-
A Revelation!
- By wotsallthisthen on 04-07-24
By: George Orwell, and others
-
Do You Remember?
- By: Freida McFadden
- Narrated by: Teri Schnaubelt
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Tess Strebel can’t recognize her own face. She can’t recognize her home. Her bedroom is unfamiliar. And she can’t remember the handsome stranger lying next to her in bed. A stranger who claims he’s her husband. Tess reads a letter in her own handwriting, composed during a rare lucid day, explaining her life as it now exists: she was in a terrible car accident one year ago. Every morning, she wakes up unable to remember most of the last decade. Including her own wedding.
-
-
One of the better ones
- By cotswoldrose on 10-13-24
By: Freida McFadden
-
Artemis
- By: Andy Weir
- Narrated by: Rosario Dawson
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jazz Bashara is a criminal. Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you're not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you've got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent. Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down.
-
-
A ferrari with no motor
- By will on 11-18-17
By: Andy Weir