Historical Audiobooks | Mystery, Thriller & Horror

New York, 1886: Lower Manhattan's underworld is ruled by a new generation of cold-blooded criminals...Police Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt battles widespread corruption within the department's ranks...and a shockingly brutal murder sets off an investigation that could change crime-fighting forever. In the middle of a wintry March night, New York Times reporter John Moore is summoned to the East River by his friend Dr. Laszlo Kreizler, a brilliant pioneer in the new and much-maligned discipline of psychology, the emerging study of society's "alienated" mentally ill. There they view the horribly mutilated body of a young boy, a prostitute from one of Manhattan's infamous brothels. Supervised by Commissioner Roosevelt, the newsman and his "alienist" mentor embark on a revolutionary attempt to identify the killer by assembling his psychological profile -- a dangerous quest that takes them into the tortured past and twisted mind of a murderer who has killed before...and will kill again before the hunt is over. As rich in vivid period ambience as Ragtime and Time and Again, and as relentlessly suspenseful as Red Dragon or The Silence of the Lambs, The Alienist will take you to a New York that no longer exists -- to confront an evil of timeless savagery.

Caleb Carr (Author), George Guidall (Narrator)

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Death in the Floating City

Celebrated by the Huffington Post as" one to watch -- and read," Tasha Alexander has won fans the world over for her lush descriptions and clever plotting. In Death in the Floating City, Emily is surprised to receive a plea for help from her childhood nemesis, Emma, whose father-in-law has been murdered and whose husband has vanished. Digging into the mystery, Emily unearths a centuries-old puzzle -- and raises the ire of those who will do anything to keep their secrets hidden.

Tasha Alexander (Author), Bianca Amato (Narrator)

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Garment of Shadows

In a strange room in Morocco, Mary Russell is trying to solve a pressing mystery: Who am I? She has awakened with shadows in her mind, blood on her hands, and soldiers pounding on the door. Out in the hivelike streets, she discovers herself strangely adept in the skills of the underworld, escaping through alleys and rooftops, picking pockets and locks. She is clothed like a man, and armed only with her wits and a scrap of paper containing a mysterious Arabic phrase. Overhead, warplanes pass ominously north. Meanwhile, Holmes is pulled by two old friends and a distant relation into the growing war between France, Spain, and the Rif Revolt led by Emir Abd el-Krim-who may be a Robin Hood or a power mad tribesman. The shadows of war are drawing over the ancient city of Fez, and Holmes badly wants the wisdom and courage of his wife, whom he's learned, to his horror, has gone missing. As Holmes searches for her, and Russell searches for herself, each tries to crack deadly parallel puzzles before it's too late for them, for Africa, and for the peace of Europe.

Laurie R. King (Author), Jenny Sterlin, Robert Ian Mackenzie, Robert Ian McKenzie (Narrator)

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Fires of Alexandria

The greatest mystery of the ancient world remains the identity of who set fire to the Great Library in Alexandria. One hundred years later, Heron of Alexandria—the city's most renown inventor and creator of Temple miracles—receives coin from a mysterious patron to investigate the crime. Desperate to be free of the debts incurred by her twin brother, she accepts and sets in motion a chain of events that will shake the Roman Empire and change the course of history forever.

Thomas K. Carpenter (Author), Elizabeth Klett (Narrator)

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A Poisoned Season

Stolen jewels, secret identities, and death abound in this sparkling tale of suspense set in Victorian England, from New York Times bestselling author Tasha Alexander. London's social season is in full swing, and Victorian aristocracy can't stop whispering about a certain gentleman who claims to be the direct descendant of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. But he's not the only topic of wagging tongues. Drawing rooms, boudoirs, and ballrooms are abuzz with the latest news of an audacious cat burglar who has been systematically stealing valuable items that once belonged to the ill-fated queen. Light gossip turns serious when the owner of one of the pilfered treasures is found murdered, and the mysterious thief develops a twisted obsession with Lady Emily Ashton. It will take all of Lady Emily's wit and perseverance to unmask her stalker and ferret out the murderer, while faced with a brewing scandal that threatens both her reputation and her romance with her late husband's best friend, the dashing Colin Hargreaves.

Tasha Alexander (Author), Nic Frances (Narrator)

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The Third Gate: A Novel

Under the direction of famed explorer Porter Stone, an archaeological team is secretly attempting to locate the tomb of an ancient pharaoh who was unlike any other in history. Stone believes he has found the burial chamber of King Narmer, the near mythical god- king who united upper and lower Egypt in 3200 B.C., and the archaeologist has reason to believe that the greatest prize of all Narmer's crown might be buried with him. No crown of an Egyptian king has ever been discovered, and Narmer's is the elusive double crown of the two Egypts, supposedly possessed of awesome powers. The dig itself is located in one of the most forbidding places on earth the Sudd, a nearly impassable swamp in northern Sudan. Amid the nightmarish, disorienting tangle of mud and dead vegetation, a series of harrowing and inexplicable occurrences are causing people on the expedition to fear a centuries- old curse. With a monumental discovery in reach, Professor Jeremy Logan is brought onto the project to investigate. What he finds will raise new questions . . . and alarm. In the hands of master storyteller Lincoln Child, The Third Gate breaks new ground and introduces a fascinating new protagonist to the thriller world.

Lincoln Child (Author), Johnathan McClain (Narrator)

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The 17th Day,

Seventeen days...the average life expectancy of a British aviator during World War I. Last three weeks and you were practically a veteran. Paul Hyde dropped out of college to join the Royal Flying Corps, looking for a grand adventure. And grand it was, or so he assured himself when planes were crashing all around him. Today is his seventeenth day. Will he be able to beat the odds?

Stephen Coonts (Author), Dick Hill (Narrator)

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The Prague Cemetery

Nineteenth-century Europe, from Turin to Prague to Paris, abounds with the ghastly and the mysterious. Conspiracies rule history. Jesuits plot against Freemasons. Italian priests are strangled with their own intestines. French criminals plan bombings by day and celebrate black masses by night. Every nation has its own secret service, perpetrating forgeries, plots, and massacres. From the unification of Italy to the Paris Commune to the Dreyfus Affair to the notorious forgery The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, Europe is in tumult and everyone needs a scapegoat. But what if, behind all of these conspiracies both real and imagined, lay just one man? What if that evil genius created the most infamous document of all?

Umberto Eco (Author), Sean Barrett (Narrator)

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Beekeeping for Beginners

Best-selling, award-winning author Laurie R. King's tales featuring Sherlock Holmes and Mary Russell are among the most popular mysteries being published. Here, King explores the great detective's initial meeting with Russell. Holmes is in a decidedly dark temper as he searches the countryside for wild bees, until he meets the headstrong young woman who will become his apprentice and eventual bride.

Laurie R. King (Author), Robert Ian Mackenzie (Narrator)

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A Bitter Veil: An American Woman Trapped in Khomeini's Iran

Anna, a young American studying in Chicago falls in love with fellow-student Nouri, the son of a wealthy Iranian. Anna, whose parents are divorced, eagerly moves to Tehran where she marries and is embraced by Nouri's family. A few months later, however, in February 1978, the Shah is deposed and the Islamic Republic of Iran is formed. Life turns upside down for the couple as men, but especially women, are restricted in their activities, clothing, and behavior. Arrests and torture are frequent, education for women is prohibited, and Anna cannot travel without her husband's permission. Although she tries to conform to please her husband and new family, Anna chafes under the oppression, while Nouri seems to embrace it. Anna becomes desperate to return to America, but Nouri refuses to allow it. Tension builds until a shattering event changes everything and plunges Anna into a tumultuous and dangerous vortex, raising the possibility she will never leave Iran alive. Hellmann crafts a tragically beautiful story that is both subtle and vibrant. The author does an amazing job of never by sacrificing the quality of her storytelling... A bleak and heart-wrenching tale that will stay with the reader long after they finish. Bryan VanMeter, Crimespree Magazine The Iranian revolution provides the backdrop for this meticulously researched, fast-paced stand-alone... A significant departure from the author's Chicago-based mystery series, this political thriller will please fans and newcomers alike. Publishers Weekly Readers will be drawn in through the well-researched inside look at Iran in the late 1970s and gain perspective on what the people in that time and place endured. A Bitter Veil is so thought-provoking that it especially would be a great title for book clubs. Amy Alessio, BookReporter.com

Libby Fischer Hellmann (Author), Diane Piron Gelman (Narrator)

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The Confession: An Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery

Scotland Yard's best detective, Inspector Ian Rutledge, must solve a dangerous case that reaches far into the past in this superb mystery in the acclaimed series Declaring he needs to clear his conscience, a dying man walks into Scotland Yard and confesses that he killed his cousin five years earlier during the Great War. When Inspector Ian Rutledge presses for details, the man evades his questions, revealing only that he hails from a village east of London. With little information and no body to open an official inquiry, Rutledge begins to look into the case on his own. Less than two weeks later, the alleged killer's body is found floating in the Thames, a bullet in the back of his head. Searching for answers, Rutledge discovers that the dead man was not who he claimed to be. What was his real name'and who put a bullet in his head? Were the 'confession' and his own death related? Or was there something else in the victim's past that led to his murder? The inspector's only clue is a gold locket, found around the dead man's neck, that leads back to Essex and an insular village whose occupants will do anything to protect themselves from notoriety. For notoriety brings the curious, and with the curious come change and an unwelcome spotlight on a centuries-old act of evil that even now can damn them all.

Charles Todd (Author), Simon Prebble (Narrator)

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The Book of Secrets

In a snowbound village in the German mountains, a young woman discovers an extraordinary secret. Before she can reveal it, she disappears. All that survives is a picture of a mysterious medieval playing card that has perplexed scholars for centuries.Nick Ash does research for the FBI in New York. Six months ago his girlfriend Gillian walked out and broke his heart. Now he's the only person who can save her - if it's not too late. Within hours of getting her message, Nick finds himself on the run, delving deep into the past before it catches up with him.Hunted across Europe, Nick follows Gillian's trail into the heart of a five-hundred-year-old mystery. But across the centuries, powerful forces are closing around him. There are men who have devoted their lives to keeping the secret, and they will stop at nothing to protect it.

Tom Harper (Author), Francis Greenslade (Narrator)

Audiobook

Historical Audiobooks in Mystery, Thriller & Horror