True Crime Audiobooks | Non-Fiction

In with the Devil: A Fallen Hero, a Serial Killer, and a Dangerous Bargain for Redemption

James Keene had it all: cars, girls, houses up and down the Gold Coast. But behind his well-connected star athlete façade was a money-obsessed drug dealer desperate to make the big score to get him out of the business. When he was sentenced to prison, it seemed the only lessons he would learn would be about navigating convict society. Instead, he was offered a chance to regain his freedom in return for going undercover in the nation's highest security prison for the criminally insane. His task: to get friendly with Larry Hall, a mentally unbalanced serial rapist and murderer, and obtain his confession. For nearly a year, Keene walked the line between the part he played and the self he hoped to redeem, all the while dodging punches from deranged inmates, currying favor with imprisoned Mafia dons, and staying beneath the radar of Larry's oddly protective psychiatrist.

Hillel Levin, James Keene (Author), Robertson Dean (Narrator)

Audiobook

Murder in the High Himalaya: Loyalty, Tragedy, and Escape from Tibet

The murder of a young Tibetan nun at the hands of Chinese border guards at the rooftop of the world offers a unique parable for the tale of modern Tibet. Chinese police are instructed to take any measures necessary to protect the border of Tibet. When a group of climbers witness the murder of a young Tibetan nun who is fleeing to India, two men have a choice: turn a blind eye and preserve their climbing careers or alert the world to the grand scale of human injustice played out daily in Tibet. Intrepid journalist Jonathan Green here investigates the clash of cultures at the rooftop of the world. As he gains entrance to a fascinating network of Tibetan guides and safe houses operating in the name of freedom, investigates the tradition of extreme mountaineering in Chinese-occupied Tibet, and establishes contact with surviving refugees, he offers a rare, affecting portrait of modern Tibet and raises enduring questions about morality and the lengths to which we go to achieve freedom. 'For three years, American journalist Green traveled to remote sections of Tibet to investigate the murder of a young nun who died at the hands of Chinese border officials. In clear, concise prose, the author deliberates over China's stranglehold on Tibet, its systematic dismantling of the indigenous culture and the terror tactics employed on families'.Green's steely, factually dense analysis of this unlawful conspiracy sheds light on a perennial human-rights crisis.''Kirkus Reviews

Jonathan Green (Author), William Hughes (Narrator)

Audiobook

Alone: Orphaned on the Ocean

Richard Logan, Tere Duperrault Fassbender, Tere Dupperault Fassbender (Author), Jo Anna Perrin, Johnny Heller (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Devil and Sherlock Holmes

Acclaimed New Yorker writer and author of the breakout debut bestseller The Lost City of Z, David Grann offers a collection of spellbinding narrative journalism. Whether he's reporting on the infiltration of the murderous Aryan Brotherhood into the U.S. prison system, tracking down a chameleon con artist in Europe, or riding in a cyclone- tossed skiff with a scientist hunting the elusive giant squid, David Grann revels in telling stories that explore the nature of obsession and that piece together true and unforgettable mysteries. Each of the dozen stories in this collection reveals a hidden and often dangerous world and, like Into Thin Air and The Orchid Thief, pivots around the gravitational pull of obsession and the captivating personalities of those caught in its grip. There is the world's foremost expert on Sherlock Holmes who is found dead in mysterious circumstances; an arson sleuth trying to prove that a man about to be executed is innocent; and sandhogs racing to complete the brutally dangerous job of building New York City's water tunnels before the old system collapses. Throughout, Grann's hypnotic accounts display the power and often the willful perversity of the human spirit. Compulsively readable, The Devil and Sherlock Holmes is a brilliant mosaic of ambition, madness, passion, and folly.From the Hardcover edition.

David Grann (Author), Mark Deakins (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Well-Mannered Assassin

Aline Countess of Romanones (Author), Susan O. Malley (Narrator)

Audiobook

Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History

On February 15, 2003, a group of thieves broke into an allegedly airtight vault in the international diamond capital of Antwerp, Belgium and made off with over $108 million dollars worth of diamonds and other valuables. They did so without tripping an alarm or injuring a single guard in the process. Although the crime was perfect, the getaway was not. The police zeroed in on a band of professional thieves fronted by Leonardo Notarbartolo, a dapper Italian who had rented an office in the Diamond Center and clandestinely cased its vault for over two years. The "who" of the crime had been answered, but the "how" remained largely a mystery. Enter Scott Andrew Selby, a Harvard Law grad and diamond expert, and Greg Campbell, author of Blood Diamonds, who undertook a global goose chase to uncover the true story behind the daring heist. Tracking the threads of the story throughout Europe-from Belgium to Italy, in seedy cafés and sleek diamond offices-the authors sorted through an array of conflicting details, divergent opinions and incongruous theories to put together the puzzle of what actually happened that Valentine's Day weekend. This real-life Ocean's Eleven-a combination of diamond history, journalistic reportage, and riveting true-crime story-provides a thrilling in-depth study detailing the better-than-fiction heist of the century.

Greg Campbell, Scott Andrew Selby, Scott Selby (Author), Don Hagen (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Autobiography of an Execution

Near the beginning of The Autobiography of an Execution, David Dow lays his cards on the table. "People think that because I am against the death penalty and don't think people should be executed, that I forgive those people for what they did. Well, it isn't my place to forgive people, and if it were, I probably wouldn't. I'm a judgmental and not very forgiving guy. Just ask my wife." It this spellbinding True-Crime narrative, Dow takes us inside of prisons, inside the complicated minds of judges, inside execution-administration chambers, into the lives of death row inmates (some shown to be innocent, others not) and even into his own home--where the toll of working on these gnarled and difficult cases is perhaps inevitably paid. He sheds insight onto unexpected phenomena-- how even religious lawyer and justices can evince deep rooted support for putting criminals to death-- and makes palpable the suspense that clings to every word and action when human lives hang in the balance.

David R. Dow (Author), David R. Dow (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Art of the Steal: How to Protect Yourself and Your Business from Fraud, America's #1 Crime

While technology may make it easier to track down criminals, cyberspace has spawned a skyrocketing number of ways to commit crime, much of it untraceable. In fact, punishment for fraud, much less recovery of stolen funds, is a rare occurrence. Prevention is the best form of protection. Frank Abagnale, former con artist and best-selling author of Catch Me If You Can, reveals the mind-boggling tricks of the scam trade with advice that has made him one of America's most sought after fraud-prevention experts. Drawn from his twenty-five-year career on the other side of the law, The Art of the Steal provides eye-opening stories of true scams with tips on how they could have been avoided. 'This is a book that's hard to turn off. There's just something about beating the system that's so entertaining and so American'.Barrett Whitener narrates the audiobook with the wily charm of a fellow who just sidled up to you and wants to know if 'you've heard the one about''''Audiobookstoday.com

Frank W. Abagnale (Author), Barrett Whitener (Narrator)

Audiobook

Marked for Death

Worldwide, nearly 75% of journalists who die on assignment are murdered for their pursuit of stories of injustice. Who are these journalists who have sacrificed literally everything for the story? Where did they find their courage? Investigative reporter Terry Gould traveled to the five most dangerous countries in which to be a journalist — Iraq, the Philippines, Russia, Colombia and Bangladesh. This audiobook presents Gould's unforgettable portraits of seven murdered journalists who carried on despite death threats from terrorists, corrupt politicians, gangsters and paramilitary leaders. Their stories show how selflessly humans can love justice and their fellow citizens; how dogged and resourceful people can be in attempts to thwart injustice; how vital it is to show the defeated and the indifferent, as well as the powerful; and that there really are some things worth dying for. ** Due to Extended Track Length this title may not be able to be transferred to regular audio CD.

Terry Gould (Author), Byron Wagner (Narrator)

Audiobook

Jack the Ripper: The Pocket Essential Guide

So who was Jack the Ripper? No-one in the annals of crime is capable of arousing such passionate debate as the perpetrator of the Whitechapel Murders in 1888. Was he a demented Royal, a Masonic assassin, a sexually-frustrated artist, a member of the Czarist secret police, a crazed reformist or even an escaped gorilla? More than a century has passed since this unknown killer murdered East End prostitutes under the very noses of the police and yet we seem no closer to uncovering the Ripper's identity. Countless volumes have been written by warring researchers, seemingly unable to agree even on the number of his victims. Is it possible that we will ever know the truth or is the Ripper destined to remain an enigma, his place in history secured as both an English-heritage crime icon and a universal bogeyman? This revised and updated edition contains a summary of Jack's crimes, victims and the ill-fated police investigation. It considers many of the Ripper's proposed identities, bringing you up to date with the latest suspects and includes a guide to the Ripper's many fictional outings, from The Lodger to From Hell.

Mark Whitehead, Miriam Rivett (Author), Lynsey Frost (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Amityville Horror

In December 1975, the Lutz family moved into their new home on suburban Long Island. George and Kathleen Lutz knew that, one year earlier, Ronald DeFeo had murdered his parents, brothers, and sisters in the house, but the property'complete with boathouse and swimming pool'and the price were too good to pass up. Twenty-eight days later, the entire Lutz family fled in terror. This is the spellbinding, best-selling true story that gripped the nation'the story of a house possessed by evil spirits, haunted by psychic phenomena almost too terrible to describe. 'A fascinating and frightening book.''Los Angeles Times

Jay Anson (Author), Ray Porter (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Rose Man of Sing Sing

Today, seventy-three years after his death, journalists still tell tales of Charles E. Chapin. As city editor of Pulitzeras New York Evening World, Chapin was the model of the take-no-prisoners newsroom tyrant: he drove reporters relentlesslyaand kept his paper in the center ring of the circus of big-city journalism. From the Harry K. Thaw trial to the sinking of the Titanic, Chapin set the pace for the evening press, the CNN of the pre-electronic world of journalism. In 1918, at the pinnacle of fame, Chapinas world collapsed. Facing financial ruin, sunk in depression, he decided to kill himself and his beloved wife Nellie. On a quiet September morning, he took not his own life, but Nellieas, shooting her as she slept. After his trialaand one hell of a story for the Worldas competitorsahe was sentenced to life in the infamous Sing Sing Prison in Ossining, New York. In this story of an extraordinary life set in the most thrilling epoch of American journalism, James McGrath Morris tracks Chapinas rise from legendary Chicago street reporter to celebrity powerbroker in media-mad New York. His was a human tragedy played out in the sensational stories of tabloids and broadsheets. But itas also an epic of redemption: in prison, Chapin started a newspaper to fight for prisoner rights, wrote a best-selling autobiography, had two long-distance love affairs, and tapped his prodigious talents to transform barren prison plots into world-famous rose gardens before dying peacefully in his cell in 1930. The first portrait of one of the founding figures of modern American journalism, and a vibrant chronicle of the cutthroat culture of scoops and scandals, The Rose Man of Sing Sing is also a hidden history of New York at its most colorful and passionate.James McGrath Morris is a former journalist, author of Jailhouse Journalism: The Fourth Estate Behind Bars, and a historian. He lives in Falls Church, Virginia, and teaches at West Springfield High School.

James McGrath Morris (Author), John H. Mayer (Narrator)

Audiobook

True Crime Audiobooks in Non-Fiction