Audiobooks by James Swain

Peter Warlock is a magician with a dark secret. Every night, he amazes audiences at his private theater in New York, where he performs feats that boggle the imagination. But his day job is just a cover for his otherworldly pursuits: Peter is a member of an underground group of psychics who gaze into the future to help prevent crimes. No one, not even his live-in girlfriend, knows the truth about Peter-until the séance when he foresees an unspeakable act of violence that will devastate the city. As Peter and his friends rush to prevent tragedy, Peter discovers that a shadowy cult of evil psychics, the Order of Astrum, know all about his abilities. They are hunting him and his fellow psychics down, one by one, determined to silence them forever.

James Swain (Author), Stephen R. Thorne (Narrator)

Audiobook

Take Down

Whoever says crime doesn’t pay isn’t doing it right. There are hundreds of casinos in Las Vegas, and Billy Cunningham knows how to rip off every one. His scams are a thing of beauty—so perfectly orchestrated that onlookers believe he and his crew are winning fair and square. In a town where bosses will kill to protect their profits, Billy can’t afford to make mistakes, but even the best-laid plans can go wrong… Desperate to keep his team out of jail, Billy agrees to help stop a legendary family of thieves from taking down a casino. But he has no intention of breaking the cheater’s code: never rat out your own kind. He’s running his own con on the casino’s psycho owner and his vicious, violent wife. Throw in a murderous drug dealer, a vengeful gaming agent, and the girl Billy’s never forgotten, and this scam artist is playing for sky-high stakes: a cool eight million, and the chance to live long enough to spend it.

James Swain (Author), Nick Podehl (Narrator)

Audiobook

Loaded Dice

For ex-cop Tony Valentine, life in balmy Florida provides little R&R. In fact, he's in demand now more than ever. Armed with a special grift sense, Valentine can spot card cheats and even bigger game whose sole purpose on earth is to relieve a casino of its cash. But when his son, who was going to card-counting school, goes missing, Valentine jets to Las Vegas. Once in town, he is pressed into service and lands inside a treacherous game with higher stakes than he has ever encountered before. There's a new casino in town, aptly named Sin, the largest on The Strip: three thousand guest rooms and a gambling floor as big as an airport terminal. The owners of Sin want Valentine to show them how the scams are done. But these powerful men harbor ulterior motives: They want to use their newfound skills to put a rival casino out of business. Sin's competition is the Acropolis, run by Valentine's longtime pal. Nick taps Tony to figure out how an amateur won $50,000 at his blackjack tables. But the small job is full of landmines. For starters, the suspect bears a strong resemblance to his late wife. What's more, Valentine's son is still M.I.A. Upping the ante, a dead stripper is found with Valentine's calling card and her grief-stricken boyfriend is vowing revenge. Yet in a city where barracudas wear pinstripes, time seems motionless even while it flies, and reality and illusion shift depending on the neon light, a greater threat maneuvers through the streets: an all-new breed of criminal with an agenda propelled by fury that will shake not just Valentine, but the city of Las Vegas.

James Swain (Author), Tony Roberts (Narrator)

Audiobook

Bad Action

Con artist Billy Cunningham is no stranger to the casinos of Las Vegas-he's ripped off every single one. But his latest scam-a year in the making-promises his crew their biggest payday yet. Billy has thought of everything down to the last detail...or so he thinks. He hasn't counted on the father-son team of contract killers looking to cash in on Billy's head. Or his old flame, Maggie Flynn, out for payback for her broken heart. If Billy and his team can pass themselves off as high rollers for a week straight, living it up in Vegas's most exclusive suites and box seats, they'll get their chance to make their VIP status permanent. It's the biggest scam of their lives-if they live.

James Swain (Author), Nick Podehl (Narrator)

Audiobook

Super Con

Master grifter Billy Cunningham has built a lucrative career conning a long list of Las Vegas casinos. In fact, he's never walked into one he couldn't rip off. Now he's scheming a "super con" with a gang of high-profile cheats-a one-time-only scam that could rake in a cool multi-million-dollar payday. All goes as planned until Chinese crime lord Broken Tooth strong-arms Billy into rigging the Super Bowl, too. Billy has no choice but to play ball. Broken Tooth has a special edge on him: blackmail. When someone on his own team betrays Billy, all bets are off. Both the super con and Super Bowl gambits are in jeopardy. And just who's scamming who? With kickoff time looming, it'll take a Hail Mary pass for Billy to grift the game and survive long enough to pull off the wildest double-cross-with-a-twist in Vegas history.

James Swain (Author), Nick Podehl (Narrator)

Audiobook

Shadow People

In Shadow People, national bestselling author James Swain’s brilliant follow-up to Dark Magic, magician Peter Warlock has a dark secret. He’s a psychic who peers into the future, using the information to alert the authorities to pending trouble. During a séance, Peter is confronted by a group of evil spirits called shadow people, beings who have the power to kidnap a person’s soul. Peter is taken to another plane, where he confronts a serial killer about to claim his next victim. It’s a harrowing encounter that Peter only barely manages to survive. Peter soon realizes that the shadow people are connected to the serial killer and that he is a member of the Order of Astrum, a group of evil psychics who murdered his parents years ago. He must find the serial killer before he claims his next victim. To save many lives, Peter may have to tap into a legacy that he has always dreaded—and a power that may consume him. “This book grabs you by the throat and doesn’t let go.”—Michael Connelly, New York Times bestselling author, on Dark Magic

James Swain (Author), Stephen R. Thorne (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Night Monster

Tough-as-nails abduction specialist Jack Carpenter is not easily spooked. But when he witnesses his daughter’s college basketball teammate being violently abducted, Jack cannot suppress his horror. The kidnapper’s face is one Jack recognizes from an unsolved case early in his career on the police force. With a deadly clock ticking, Jack is determined to rescue the abducted girl before it’s too late. In this skillfully written, immensely satisfying novel, bestselling author James Swain shocks and thrills from first page to last. “Hero Jack Carpenter is one for the ages.”--Lee Child

James Swain (Author), Peter Jay Fernandez (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Night Stalker:A Novel of Suspense

Ex-cop Jack Carpenter is the type of guy criminals avoid, so he's surprised to receive a summons from Florida state prison's death row. Staving off his rendezvous with Old Sparky one appeal at a time, notorious serial killer Abb Smith wants Carpenter to find his grandson. Even stranger, the case involves Heather Rinker, a childhood friend of Jack's daughter. After making some bad choices in her short life, Heather now desperately needs Jack's help to save both herself and her young son from a murderer's grasp.

James Swain (Author), Richard Mover (Narrator)

Audiobook

Midnight Rambler

Years ago, South Florida cop Jack Carpenter beat up a murder suspect named Simon Skell, a dangerous predator with a penchant for playing the Rolling Stones’ “Midnight Rambler” as he tortured young women. When Jack lost his temper, he lost his job and his marriage, too; so as Skell’s early release from prison draws near, the tarnished hero—now a specialist in cases of missing children—sees an opportunity to make things right. Scrambling to gather more evidence, Jack uncovers a shocking criminal conspiracy: a group of four men who kidnap and kill young women on the margins of society. Teaming up with an FBI agent, Jack must outwit and outrun his enemies. “Moves like a bullet train on overdrive…I tore through this one without putting on the brakes. I guarantee you will, too!”--Michael Connelly, #1 New York Times bestselling author

James Swain (Author), Peter Jay Fernandez (Narrator)

Audiobook

Deadman’s Bluff

A blind poker player named Skip DeMarco is scamming the world’s largest poker tournament in Las Vegas, and cheating expert Tony Valentine together with his son, Gerry, have been hired to find out how. DeMarco is tied to some dangerously desperate characters who will go to extremes—even cold-blooded murder—to ensure that the obnoxious DeMarco wins big. On opposite sides of a deadly game, father and son work their way through a colorful landscape of con men and hit men.

James Swain (Author), Alan Sklar (Narrator)

Audiobook

Deadman’s Poker

Tony Valentine is an expert at spotting cheats. He’s tossed them out of gambling casinos from Atlantic City to Monaco. But though Tony has never met a scam he couldn’t crack, his son and partner, Gerry, has just walked into one with a body count. What started as a conman’s deathbed confession turns into a deadly Las Vegas grudge match during the world’s biggest poker tournament. While Gerry tangles with the Vegas mob, Tony enlists the aid of an aging grifter to save the tournament and stop a blind player who’s out to heist it. “Mixing humor, suspense, poignancy and insider lore, Swain is one terrific writer.”--Wall Street Journal

James Swain (Author), Alan Sklar (Narrator)

Audiobook

Mr. Lucky: A Novel of High Stakes

Tony Valentine made his living and his name as a cop in Atlantic City'and is now known worldwide for his ability to spot the kinds of scams, grifts, and rip-offs that cost casinos billions every year. A man with a biting wit who drives a '92 Honda, Tony is low-profile, old-school, and has seen it all'until he meets the luckiest man on earth. Ricky Smith was once a small-town loser. Then he went to Las Vegas, jumped out the window of a burning hotel, lived to tell the tale, and tore up the Strip on an incredible winning streak. Ricky didn't just win at one slot machine or table game. He won at blackjack, roulette, and craps, and then beat the pants off the world's greatest poker player. Tony knows that goofy, loudmouthed Ricky Smith'or anyone else, for that matter'couldn't possibly be that fortunate. But when 'Mr. Lucky' returns home to the little town of Slippery Rock, North Carolina, he keeps on winning everything from a horse race to a $50,000 lottery. Hired by a desperate casino, Tony starts to pry into Ricky's past, his friends, and the strange little town that is benefiting from Ricky's fame and fortune. Unfortunately for Tony, his cover is blown when he is forced to reveal a trick he has up his own sleeve: a pocket Glock he can shoot with laser-like precision. Suddenly, two men are dead, the cops are on Tony's tail, and the investigation explodes in violence'putting the lives of Tony's son and his young family in danger. For years, Tony's son Gerry has dueled with his own criminal impulses. Now, the Ricky Smith case has lured Gerry through the gates of temptation and into a murderous confrontation with the Dixie Mafia. With Tony stuck on the slippery slope of Slippery Rock and Gerry fighting for his life, the Valentines are finding out just how bad good luck can get. Against a neon-tinted backdrop of adrenaline rushes, hard crashes, big money, and high-wire tension, the inimitable James Swain has set his best Tony Valentine novel yet: a funny, furious ride with an astounding array of crooks, marks, and one killer scam.

James Swain (Author), Tony Roberts (Narrator)

Audiobook