True Crime Audiobooks | Non-Fiction

If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer Audiobook

In 1994, Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson were brutally murdered at her home in Brentwood, California. O.J. Simpson was tried for the crime in a case that captured the attention of the American people, but was ultimately found not guilty of criminal charges. The victims' families brought civil cases against Simpson, in which he was found liable for willfully and wrongfully causing the deaths of Ron and Nicole by committing battery with malice and oppression. In 2006, HarperCollins announced the publication for a book in which O.J. Simpson told how he hypothetically would have committed the murders. In response to public outrage that Simpson stood to profit from these crimes, HarperCollins canceled the book. A Florida bankruptcy court awarded the rights to the Goldmans in August 2007 to partially satisfy the unpaid civil judgment, which has risen, with interest, to over $38 million. The Goldman family views this book as his confession, and has worked hard to ensure that the public will read this book and learn the truth. This is the original manuscript approved by O.J. Simpson, with additional insight from the Goldman Family, Pablo F. Fenjves, and Dominick Dunne.

Pablo F. Fenjves, The Goldman Family (Author), G. Valmont Thomas, Grover Gardner, Kim Goldman, Pablo Fenjves, Various, Various Narrators, Various Narrators (Narrator)

Audiobook

Beyond the Body Farm: A Legendary Bone Detective Explores Murders, Mysteries, and the Revolution in

The Dead Do Tell Tales... A pioneer in forensic anthropology, Dr. Bill Bass created the world's first laboratory dedicated to the study of human decomposition. Bill Bass's research at "the Body Farm" has revolutionized forensic science, helping police crack cold cases and pinpoint time since death. In this riveting book, the bone sleuth explores the rise of modern forensic science, using cases from his career to take readers into the real world of "CSI." Some of Bill Bass's cases rely on the simplest of tools and techniques, while other cases hinge on sophisticated techniques Dr. Bass could not have imagined when he began his career: using computer data and video image processing to help identify murder victims; harnessing scanning electron microscopy to detect trace elements in knife wounds; and extracting DNA from a long-buried corpse, only to find that the female murder victim may have been mistakenly identified a quarter-century before. Witty and engaging, Bass dissects the methods used by homicide investigators every day, leading readers on an extraordinary journey into the high-tech science that it takes to crack a case.

Bill Bass, Dr. Bill Bass, Jon Jefferson (Author), Tom McKeon (Narrator)

Audiobook

Armed and Dangerous

From the New York Times bestselling author of Under and Alone comes an intimate and riveting account of federal law-enforcement agent William Queen's relentless hunt for one of America's most cold-blooded criminals. As an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, William Queen must tackle a number of challenging cases, including going undercover to investigate a group of violent skinheads and infiltrating and busting a ring trafficking in high-powered explosives, drugs, and firearms. In the winter of 1985, he faces his toughest mission to date: he must apprehend Mark Stephens, a notorious narcotics trafficker who has been terrorizing the communities around Los Angeles with frequent rampages involving machine guns and hand grenades. A recluse living in the treacherous backwoods outside the city, Stephens is a cunning survivalist. Nobody has been able to catch him, but Queen is determined to take him down. Queen's unique expertise is not taught in any police academy or ATF training seminar'he honed his outdoorsman abilities as a kid. Stephens may have finally met his match in the unwavering Queen, who is adept at hunting and trapping and living for weeks in the wild. Queen will use these skills'along with surveillance, confidential informants, and intelligence gathering'as he doggedly tracks his dangerous quarry, a chase that culminates in a gripping showdown high in the San Bernardino Mountains. A fascinating look into the daily life of an ATF agent and a taut portrayal of a monthlong manhunt, Armed and Dangerous depicts a classic race against time'lawman versus outlaw'in a harrowing true story of life-or-death suspense.

Douglas Century, William Queen (Author), Charles Kahlenberg, Douglas Century (Narrator)

Audiobook

Final Analysis: The Untold Story of the Susan Polk Murder Case

In October 2002, Susan Polk was arrested for the murder of her husband, Felix, kicking off what would become one of the most captivating murder trials in recent memory. Now, former judge and current Court TV host Catherine Crier turns an analytical eye to Susan's story, delving into her past and examining how over twenty years of marriage culminated in murder. When Susan was in high school, Felix, who was more than twenty years her senior, had been her psychologist, and during their sessions as therapist and patient, a romantic entanglement began. These troubling beginnings grew into a difficult marriage that produced three healthy boys but led to disturbing accusations of abuse from both Felix and Susan. Crier dissects this dangerous relationship, exposing the painful psychology that motivated this complex marriage. She masterfully reconstructs the tumultuous chronology of the Polk family, telling how Susan and Felix struggled to control their rambunctious sons and disintegrating marriage in the years and months leading up to Felix's death. Here Crier also elucidates the methodic police work of the murder investigation and scrutinizes the remarkable trial, exploring Susan's struggles with her defense attorneys and her shocking decision to represent herself. Dark, psychological, and terrifying, Final Analysis is a harrowing look at the recesses of the human mind and the trauma that reveals them.

Catherine Crier (Author), Catherine Crier (Narrator)

Audiobook

Murder in Brentwood

For O.J. Simpson to get away with murder, an innocent cop had to be destroyed. That was the cynical strategy of the Simpson defense. But as certainty about Simpson's guilt grew, so did outrage about the scapegoating of the brilliant detective Mark Fuhrman. Now, the former LAPD detective tells his side of the story in this damning exposé. Fuhrman takes the reader on a detective's journey through the crucial first twenty-four hours of the investigation. We uncover not only the bloody glove but explosive new evidence, recorded by Fuhrman and his partner at the scene but astonishingly never presented at the trial. Fuhrman's own hand-drawn maps of the crime scene and his reconstruction of the murders leave no doubt about what really happened on June 12, 1994. New revelations about the incompetence and corruption that pervaded the "Trial of the Century" will set the record straight. "[A] badly needed, if one-sided retrospective on how [Fuhrman's] role unfolded. It is not necessary to absolve him to know that something was lost when Mr. Fuhrman fell out of the case."-New York Times Book Review

Mark Fuhrman (Author), Jeff Riggenbach (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Brotherhoods: The True Story of Two Cops Who Murdered for the Mafia

The Brotherhoods is the chilling chronicle of the shocking crimes of NYPD detectives Stephen Caracappa and Louis Eppolito, notorious rogue cops convicted in April 2006 of the ultimate form of police corruption-shielding their acts behind their badges while they worked for the mob. Their crimes included participation in the murders of at least eight men, kidnapping, torture, and the betrayal of an entire generation of New York City detectives and federal agents. "one of the most spectacular police corruption scandals in the city's history," proclaimed the New York Times in its front-page coverage of the verdict. This gripping, true-life detective story is remarkable for its psychological intrigue, criminal audacity, and paranoid, blood-soaked fury. Written by prize-winning journalist Guy Lawson and William Oldham, the brilliant detective who quietly investigated the rogue cops for seven years, The Brotherhoods provides unparalleled access to the secretive workings of both the NYPD and organized crime-their hierarchies, rituals, and codes of conduct. Sprawling from Brooklyn to Las Vegas, this incredible story features wiseguys, informants, hit men on the lam, snitches, cops on the take, a crooked accountant, flamboyant defense attorneys, and many other colorful characters. Destined to rank with such modern crime classics as Serpico, Donnie Brasco, and Wiseguy, this quintessential American mob tale goes to the heart of two brotherhoods-the police and the mafia-and the two cops who belonged to both.

Guy Lawson, William Oldham (Author), Dick Hill (Narrator)

Audiobook

Under and Alone

In 1998, William Queen was a veteran law enforcement agent with a lifelong love of motorcycles and a lack of patience with paperwork. When a "confidential informant" made contact with his boss at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, offering to take an agent inside the San Fernando chapter of the Mongols (the scourge of Southern California, and one of the most dangerous gangs in America), Queen jumped at the chance, not realizing that he was kicking-starting the most extensive undercover operation inside an outlaw motorcycle gang in the history of American law enforcement. Nor did Queen suspect that he would penetrate the gang so successfully that he would become a fully "patched-in" member, eventually rising through their ranks to the office of treasurer, where he had unprecedented access to evidence of their criminal activity. After Queen spent twenty-eight months as "Billy St. John," the bearded, beer-swilling, Harley-riding gang-banger, the truth of his identity became blurry, even to himself. During his initial "prospecting" phase, Queen was at the mercy of crank-fueled criminal psychopaths who sought to have him test his mettle and prove his fealty by any means necessary, from selling (and doing) drugs, to arms trafficking, stealing motorcycles, driving getaway cars, and, in one shocking instance, stitching up the face of a Mongol "ol' lady" after a particularly brutal beating at the hands of her boyfriend. Yet despite the constant criminality of the gang, for whom planning cop killings and gang rapes were business as usual, Queen also came to see the genuine camaraderie they shared. When his lengthy undercover work totally isolated Queen from family, his friends, and ATF colleagues, the Mongols felt like the only family he had left. "I had no doubt these guys genuinely loved Billy St. John and would have laid down their lives for him. But they wouldn't hesitate to murder Billy Queen." From Queen's first sleight of hand with a line of methamphetamine in front of him and a knife at his throat, to the fearsome face-off with their decades-old enemy, the Hell's Angels (a brawl that left three bikers dead), to the heartbreaking scene of a father ostracized at Parents' Night because his deranged-outlaw appearance precluded any interaction with regular citizens, Under and Alone is a breathless, adrenaline-charged read that puts you on the street with some of the most dangerous men in America and with the law enforcement agents who risk everything to bring them in.

William Queen (Author), Don Leslie (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town

When Ron Williamson signed with the Oakland A's in 1971, he said goodbye to his hometown of Ada and left to pursue his dreams of big-league glory. Six years later he was back, his dreams broken by a bad arm and bad habits. He moved in with his mother and slept twenty hours a day on her sofa. In 1982, a twenty-one-year-old cocktail waitress in Ada named Debra Sue Carter was raped and murdered, and for reasons that were never clear, they suspected Ron Williamson and his friend Dennis Fritz. The two were arrested and charged with capital murder. The prosecution's case was built on junk science and the testimony of jailhouse snitches and convicts. Dennis Fritz was found guilty and given a life sentence. Ron Williamson was sent to death row. If you believe that in America you are innocent until proven guilty, this audiobook will shock you. If you believe in the death penalty, this book will disturb you. If you believe the criminal justice system is fair, this book will infuriate you.

John Grisham (Author), Craig Wasson, Dennis Boutsikaris (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town

In the major league draft of 1971, the first player chosen from the State of Oklahoma was Ron Williamson. When he signed with the Oakland A’s, he said goodbye to his hometown of Ada and left to pursue his dreams of big league glory. Six years later he was back, his dreams broken by a bad arm and bad habits—drinking, drugs, and women. He began to show signs of mental illness. Unable to keep a job, he moved in with his mother and slept twenty hours a day on her sofa. In 1982, a 21-year-old cocktail waitress in Ada named Debra Sue Carter was raped and murdered, and for five years the police could not solve the crime. For reasons that were never clear, they suspected Ron Williamson and his friend Dennis Fritz. The two were finally arrested in 1987 and charged with capital murder. With no physical evidence, the prosecution’s case was built on junk science and the testimony of jailhouse snitches and convicts. Dennis Fritz was found guilty and given a life sentence. Ron Williamson was sent to death row. If you believe that in America you are innocent until proven guilty, this book will shock you. If you believe in the death penalty, this book will disturb you. If you believe the criminal justice system is fair, this book will infuriate you.

John Grisham (Author), Craig Wasson (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Innocent Man

John Grisham's first work of non-fiction, an exploration of small town justice gone terribly awry, in his most extraordinary legal thriller yet. In the major league draft of 1971, the first player chosen from the State of Oklahoma was Ron Williamson. When he signed with the Oakland A's, he said goodbye to his hometown of Ada and left to pursue his dreams of big league glory. Six years later he was back, his dreams broken by a bad arm and bad habits - drinking, drugs and women. He began to show signs of mental illness. Unable to keep a job, he moved in with his mother and slept 20 hours a day on her sofa. In 1982, a 21 year-old cocktail waitress in Ada named Debra Sue Carter was raped and murdered, and for five years the police could not solve the crime. For reasons that were never clear, they suspected Ron Williamson and his friend Dennis Fritz. The two were finally arrested in 1987 and charged with capital murder. With no physical evidence, the prosecution's case was built on junk science and the testimony of jaihouse snitches and convicts. Dennis Fritz was found guilty and given a life sentence. Ron Williamson was sent to Death Row. If you believe that in America you are innocent until proven guilty, this book will shock you. If you believe in the death penalty, this book will disturb you. If you believe the criminal justice system is fair, this book will infuriate you.

John Grisham (Author), Dennis Boutsikaris (Narrator)

Audiobook

Restless Sleep: Inside New York City's Cold Case Squad

Journalist Stacy Horn is a contributor to NPR's All Things Considered program. In her enticing narrative The Restless Sleep, she sheds light on the dark world of the NYPD's real-life Cold Case Squad'a special command of detectives who take on the homicide cases that remain unsolved after their initial period of investigation. Those who comprise its ranks are often characterized as misfits and lone wolves'but brilliant ones, to be sure. Here, their fascinating and deeply troubling stories of cases closed'and others that remain open'are conveyed in chilling detail.

Stacy Horn (Author), Eliza Foss (Narrator)

Audiobook

Unholy Messenger: The Life and Crimes of the BTK Serial Killer

To all appearances, Dennis Rader was a model citizen in the small town of Park City, Kansas, where he had lived with his family almost his entire life. He was a town compliance officer, a former Boy Scout leader, the president of his church congregation, and a seemingly ordinary father and husband. But Rader's average life belied the existence of his dark, sadistic other self: he was the BTK serial killer. The self-named BTK (for Bind, Torture, Kill) had terrorized Wichita for thirty-one years, not only with his brutal, sexually motivated crimes, but also through his taunting, elusive communications with the media and law enforcement. In 1974, BTK committed his first murders-torturing and strangling four members of the Otero family-and wrote the police an audacious letter declaring his responsibility for the Oteros' deaths and labeling himself, for the first time, BTK. Thus he established a pattern-stalking and killing a series of ten victims, then bragging and claiming ownership of his crimes-that ended in 1991 but left law enforcement confounded and the public with deeply troubling memories. Until, that is, he resurfaced in 2004 with another string of letters that would finally lead to his arrest. Drawing from extensive interviews with Rader's pastor, congregation, detectives, and psychologists who worked the case, and from his unnervingly detailed thirty-two-hour confession, bestselling author Stephen Singular delves into the disturbing life and crimes of BTK to explore fully-for the first time-the most dangerous and complex serial killer of our generation and the man who embodied, at once, astonishing extremes of normality and abnormality. The result is a chilling story of a man considered a "spiritual leader" by his pastor and congregation, who turned out to be the devil next door. More than just true crime, Unholy Messenger is a powerful, thoroughly engrossing examination of the intersection between good and evil, and of the psychology and spirituality of a killer in whom faith and bloodshed converged.

Stephen Singular (Author), Alan Sklar (Narrator)

Audiobook

True Crime Audiobooks in Non-Fiction