True Crime Audiobooks | Mystery, Thriller & Horror

Gitchie Girl Uncovered: The True Story of a Night of Mass Murder and the Hunt for the Deranged Kille

"Please, no! Don't make me go back to the park. I can draw you a map. I promise I can show you where everything happened." The lone survivor trembled as she pleaded with investigators. For over forty years, the events of what happened at Gitchie Manitou the night of November 17, 1973, remained a mystery to all but a few. Then the lone survivor broke her silence. Five teenage friends had driven to the park to spend a few hours around a campfire. By morning, four had been murdered, and only she was still alive. Gitchie Girl Uncovered is a chilling account of the strange twists and bizarre details discovered by an elite team of investigators under intense pressure to catch the killers. After spending hundreds of hours with the lone survivor, investigators, and family members of the slain boys, and by gaining access to court records, authors Phil and Sandy Hamman give the listener a what-will-happen-next inside story of the monstrous crime that shook the Midwest. They bring the listener into the deviant world of the brutal killers with an up-close look at how they think and operate.

Phil Hamman, Sandy Hamman (Author), Callie Beaulieu (Narrator)

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Sins of the Son

When a hideous murder makes the headlines, a barrage of questions usually appears in its wake: Why did this happen? Could it have been prevented? What kind of family was the criminal from? Are his parents in some way to blame? Any crime writer worth his salt would attempt to answer these questions-but how do you address such questions when the killer is your own son? As a single father raising two sons, Carlton Stowers did his best to instill in his boys a healthy sense of right and wrong. But with Anson, his oldest, it would prove to be an ongoing uphill battle. At a young age, Anson began to angrily shun authority, and soon became involved with a number of illicit activities, including drugs, forgery, and theft. After each jail stay, Anson would vow to get clean and start anew. It became a revolving door for both father and son, until Anson, twenty-five years old and strung-out on amphetamines, brutally murdered his young ex-wife. In a brave, honest, and moving work, bestselling true-crime writer Carlton Stowers examines the downfall of his eldest son, once a happy child full of promise, now a convicted murderer serving a sixty-year sentence. With a reporter's shrewdness and a father's heart, Stowers presents a true story of two lives irrevocably lost, and of one man struggling to both understand-and move beyond-the . . . Sins of the Son.

Carlton Stowers (Author), Paul Boehmer (Narrator)

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Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud and the Last Trial of Harper Lee

Random House presents the audiobook edition of Furious Hours by Casey Cep, read by Hillary Huber. 'A triumph on every level. One of the losses to literature is that Harper Lee never found a way to tell a gothic true-crime story she'd spent years researching. Casey Cep has excavated this mesmerizing story and tells it with grace and insight and a fierce fidelity to the truth.' DAVID GRANN, author of Killers of the Flower Moon The stunning story of an Alabama serial killer and the true-crime book that Harper Lee worked on obsessively in the years after To Kill a Mockingbird Reverend Willie Maxwell was a rural preacher accused of murdering five of his family members for insurance money in the 1970s. With the help of a savvy lawyer, he escaped justice for years until a relative shot him dead at the funeral of his last victim. Despite hundreds of witnesses, Maxwell's murderer was acquitted - thanks to the same attorney who had previously defended the Reverend. As Alabama is consumed by these gripping events, it's not long until news of the case reaches Alabama's - and America's - most famous writer. Intrigued by the story, Harper Lee makes a journey back to her home state to witness the Reverend's killer face trial. Harper had the idea of writing her own In Cold Blood, the true-crime classic she had helped her friend Truman Capote research. Lee spent a year in town reporting on the Maxwell case and many more years trying to finish the book she called The Reverend. Now Casey Cep brings this story to life, from the shocking murders to the courtroom drama to the racial politics of the Deep South. At the same time, she offers a deeply moving portrait of one of the country's most beloved writers and her struggle with fame, success, and the mystery of artistic creativity. This is the story Harper Lee wanted to write. This is the story of why she couldn't. 'Fascinating ... Cep has spliced together a Southern-gothic tale of multiple murder and the unhappy story of Lee's literary career, to produce a tale that is engrossing in its detail and deeply poignant... [Cep] spends the first third of Furious Hours following the jaw-dropping trail of murders ... Engrossing ... Cep writes about all this with great skill, sensitivity and attention to detail.' SUNDAY TIMES 'It's been a long time since I picked up a book so impossible to put down. Furious Hours made me forget dinner, ignore incoming calls, and stay up reading into the small hours. It's a work of literary and legal detection as gripping as a thriller. But it's also a meditation on motive and mystery, the curious workings of history, hope, and ambition, justice, and the darkest matters of life and death. Casey Cep's investigation into an infamous Southern murder trial and Harper Lee's quest to write about it is a beautiful, sobering, and sometimes chilling triumph.' HELEN MACDONALD, author of H is for Hawk 'This story is just too good ... Furious Hours builds and builds until it collides with the writer who saw the power of Maxwell's story, but for some reason was unable to harness it. It lays bare the inner life of a woman who had a world-class gift for hiding ... [this] book makes a magical leap, and it goes from being a superbly written true-crime story to the sort of story that even Lee would have been proud to write.' MICHAEL LEWIS, author of Moneyball and The Big Short

Casey Cep (Author), Hillary Huber (Narrator)

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Prey: My Fight to Survive the Halifax Grooming Gang

Cassie was only thirteen when her mother died of a degenerative illness, leaving her vulnerable to sexual predators in the Halifax area who had been grooming her since the age of eleven. She fell through the net of the care system and reached out for friendship, only to be consumed by an escalating spiral of abuse. This harrowing and truly shocking story captures in vivid detail how gangs of men were able to ply a child with drink and drugs, then rape her and pass her around their associates with no one seemingly able to step in and prevent it. Cassie was lost in a world of appalling degradation for years before a local policeman and caring social worker became instrumental in helping her to escape and rebuild her life. In 2016, the largest case of child sexual exploitation ever brought to trial at that time in the UK resulted in the conviction of 17 men. Since Cassie's abusers were jailed, child safeguarding policies have improved so that vulnerable children like Cassie should never again fall through the net and become prey.

Cassie Pike, Katy Weitz (Author), Lucy Price-Lewis (Narrator)

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Just Five More Minutes

Michael Ross (Author), Michael Ross (Narrator)

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Hell-Bent: One Man's Crusade to Crush the Hawaiian Mob

World-class beaches, fragrant frangipani, swaying palms, and hula girls. Most folks think of Hawaii as a vacation destination. Mob-style executions, drug smuggling, and vicious gang warfare are seldom part of the postcard image. Yet, Hawaii was once home to not only Aloha spirit, but also a ruthless, homegrown mafia underworld. From 1960 to 1980, Hawaiian gangsters grew rich off a robust trade in drugs, gambling, and prostitution that followed in the wake of Hawaii's tourist boom. Thus, by 1980-the year Charles Marsland was elected Honolulu's top prosecutor-the honeymoon island paradise was also plagued by violence, corruption, and organized crime. The zeal that Marsland brought to his crusade against the Hawaiian underworld was relentless, self-destructive, and very personal. Five years earlier, Marsland's son had been gunned down. His efforts to bring his son's killers to justice-and indeed, eradicate the entire organized criminal element in Hawaii-make for an extraordinary tale that culminates with intense courtroom drama. Hawaii Five-O meets Wiseguy in author Jason Ryan's vigorously reported chronicle of brazen gangsters, brutal murders, and a father's quest for vengeance-all set against an unlikely backdrop of seductive tropical beauty.

Jason Ryan (Author), Keith Sellon-Wright (Narrator)

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The Search for the Green River Killer: The True Story of America's Most Prolific Serial Killer

In the 1980s and 1990s, forty-nine women in the Seattle area were brutally murdered, their bodies dumped along the Green River and Pacific Highway South in Washington State. Despite an exhaustive investigation-even serial killer Ted Bundy was consulted to assist with psychological profiling-the sadistic killer continued to elude authorities for nearly twenty years. Then, in 2001, after mounting suspicion and with DNA evidence finally in hand, King County police charged a fifty-two-year-old truck painter, Gary Ridgway, with the murders. His confession and the horrific details of his crimes only added fuel to the notoriety of the Green River Killer. Journalists Carlton Smith and Tomas Guillen covered the murders for the Seattle Times from day one, receiving a Pulitzer Prize nomination for their work. They wrote the first edition of this book before the police had their man. Revised after Ridgway's conviction, The Search for the Green River Killer is the ultimate authoritative account of the Pacific Northwest killing spree that held a nation spellbound-and continues to horrify and fascinate, spawning dramatizations and documentaries of a demented killer who seemed unstoppable for decades.

Carlton Smith, Tomas Guillen (Author), Keith Sellon-Wright (Narrator)

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The Last Job: 'The Bad Grandpas' and the Hatton Garden Heist

Over Easter weekend 2015, a motley crew of six English thieves, several in their sixties and seventies, couldn't resist coming out of retirement for one last career-topping heist. Their target: the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit, in the heart of London's medieval diamond district. 'The Firm' included Brian Reader, ringleader and legend in his own mind; Terry Perkins, a tough-as-nails career criminal but also a frail diabetic; Danny Jones, a fitness freak, crime enthusiast, and fabulist; Carl Wood, an extra pair of hands, and definitely more brawn than brains; John 'Kenny' Collins, getaway driver, prone to falling asleep on the job; and the mysterious Basil, a red-wigged associate who has only now been identified. Perhaps not the smoothest of criminals-one took a public bus to the scene of the crime; another read Forensics for Dummies in hopes that he would learn how to avoid getting caught-they planned the job over fish and chips at their favorite pubs. They were cantankerous and coarse, dubbed the 'Bad Grandpas' by British tabloids, and were often as likely to complain about one another as the current state of the country. Still, these analog thieves in a digital age managed to disable a high-security alarm system and walk away with a stunning haul of at least $19 million in jewels, gold, diamonds, family heirlooms, and cash.

Dan Bilefsky (Author), Chris Macdonnell (Narrator)

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The Lazarus Files: A Cold Case Investigation

This program is read by the author. A deeply-reported, riveting account of a cold case murder in Los Angeles, unsolved until DNA evidence implicated a shocking suspect - a female detective within the LAPD's own ranks. On February 24, 1986, 29-year-old newlywed Sherri Rasmussen was murdered in the home she shared with her husband, John. The crime scene suggested a ferocious struggle, and police initially assumed it was a burglary gone awry. Before her death, Sherri had confided to her parents that an ex-girlfriend of John's, a Los Angeles police officer, had threatened her. The Rasmussens urged the LAPD to investigate the ex-girlfriend, but the original detectives only pursued burglary suspects, and the case went cold. DNA analysis did not exist when Sherri was murdered. Decades later, a swab from a bite mark on Sherri's arm revealed her killer was in fact female, not male. A DNA match led to the arrest and conviction of veteran LAPD Detective Stephanie Lazarus, John's onetime girlfriend. The Lazarus Files delivers the visceral experience of being inside a real-life murder mystery. McGough reconstructs the lives of Sherri, John and Stephanie; the love triangle that led to Sherri's murder; and the homicide investigation that followed. Was Stephanie protected by her fellow officers? What did the LAPD know, and when did they know it? Are there other LAPD cold cases with a police connection that remain unsolved?

Matthew Mcgough (Author), Matthew Mcgough (Narrator)

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Death on the River: A Fiancee's Dark Secrets and a Kayak Trip Turned Deadly

In Death on the River, bestselling true crime author Diane Fanning recounts a tragic kayak accident that left one man dead-and his fiancee arrested for his murder. A DREAM GETAWAY. A REAL-LIFE NIGHTMARE ... It seemed like the perfect romantic afternoon: a kayaking trip for two on the Hudson River. But it ended in tragedy when beautiful, blonde Angelika Graswald called 911 to report that her fiance, the handsome and athletic Vincent Viafore, had fallen into the choppy frigid waters. Authorities assumed it was an accident. But when the bereft bride-to-be posted videos of herself doing cartwheels on social media-shortly before Vincent's body was found-suspicions of murder rose to the surface . . . After hours of questioning, Angelika made several shocking admissions. She said she felt 'trapped' and fed up with Vincent's 'demanding' sexual lifestyle: the nightlife, the strip clubs, the threeways. 'I wanted him dead,' she had said, even though she insisted that she didn't kill him. But as more lurid details emerged-including a $250,000 life insurance policy-a killer question remained: Did Angelika remove the plug of her fiance's boat . . . and knock away his paddle as he sank?

Diane Fanning (Author), Callie Beaulieu (Narrator)

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Mafia Spies: The Inside Story of the CIA, Gangsters, JFK, and Castro

From the Bestselling Author and Television Producer of Masters of Sex, a True Story of Espionage and Mobsters, Based on the Never-Before-Released JFK Files, and Optioned by Warner Bros. Mafia Spies is the definitive account of America’s most remarkable espionage plots ever—with CIA agents, mob hitmen, “kompromat” sex, presidential indiscretion, and James Bond-like killing devices together in a top-secret mystery full of surprise twists and deadly intrigue. In the early 1960s, two top gangsters, Johnny Roselli and Sam Giancana, were hired by the CIA to kill Cuba’s Communist leader, Fidel Castro, only to wind up murdered themselves amidst Congressional hearings and a national debate about the JFK assassination. Mafia Spies revolves around the outlaw friendship of these two mob buddies and their fascinating world of CIA spies, fellow Mafioso in Chicago, Cuban exile commandos in Miami, beautiful Hollywood women, famous entertainers like Frank Sinatra’s Rat Pack in Las Vegas, Castro’s own spies in Havana and his double agents hidden in Florida, J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI snooping, and the Kennedy administration’s “Get Castro” obsession in Washington. Thomas Maier is among the first to take full advantage of the National Archives’ 2017–18 release of the long-suppressed JFK files, many of which deal with the CIA’s top secret anti-Castro operation in Florida and Cuba. With several new investigative findings, Mafia Spies is a spy exposé, murder mystery, and shocking true story that recounts America’s first foray into the assassination business, a tale with profound impact for today’s Trump era. Who killed Johnny and Sam—and why wasn’t Castro assassinated despite the CIA’s many clandestine efforts?

Thomas Maier (Author), Fred Stella (Narrator)

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السفاح .. كذبة البطل الشعبي

عشت الحياة كما يحلو لي، تزوجت مرات عدة، قضيت عمرًا أمقت الثبات، أتحرك من مكان إلى الآخر، ألتقى عصابتي الصغيرة للتخطيط لمغامرة جديدة. ولدي عالم آخر أعيشه في كُل يوم بعيدًا عن الدنيا البسيطة التي تراها أسرتي جنة الله على الأرض، في المساء أسرق، وفي الليلة الثانية أعيش حياة مرفهة، أتتبع أخبار النجوم، أعرف أين يقضون سهراتهم، أرتدي ملابس جيدة وأنطلق إلى الفنادق الفاخرة والملاهي الليلية الشهيرة، أحاول التعرف عليهم عن قُرب، أتذكر أنني تحدثت مرة إلى عبدالحليم حافظ، يختلف عن تلك الصورة التي رسُمت في أذهان جمهوره، ليس ضعيفًا أو هشَا كما يبدو في أغانيه، نظرته صارمة مُخيفة لكنه ينصت باهتمام إن أعجبه الكلام، لماذا أتذكر هذا الآن؟ محاولة لقتل الوقت؟ أم استعادة ما جرى قبل أن أُقتل؟ ندخل إلى موقع الجريمة، نكشف أسرارها، نتتبع خطوات القاتل، نستمع إلى الشهود، وننقل لكم صوت الحقيقة، فاستمعوا الآن. هذه تحقيقات صحفية عن جرائم حقيقية مقدمة لكم بشكل درامي الحلقة الثانية من سلسلة بدم بارد، إنتاج أصلي من كتاب صوتي.

محمد مهدي (Author), دراما جماعية (Narrator)

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True Crime Audiobooks in Mystery, Thriller & Horror