Discover Best Sellers Audiobooks in Mysteries & Thrillers, Classic Detective

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Title: Playback

Author: Raymond Chandler

Narrator: Ray Porter

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 58 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-09-14

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 97 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Classic Detective

Publisher's Summary:

Stalking the tawdry neon wilderness of forties and fifties Los Angeles, Raymond Chandler's hard-drinking, wise-cracking Phillip Marlowe is one of the world's most famous fictional detectives.

Playback finds Marlowe mixing business with pleasure - getting paid to follow a mysterious and lovely red-head named Eleanor King. And wherever Miss King goes, trouble seems to follow. But she's easy on the eye and Marlowe's happy to do as he's told, all in the name of chivalry, of course. But one dead body later and what started out as a lazy afternoon's snooping soon becomes a deadly cocktail of blackmail, lies, mistaken identity - and murder...

Raymond Chandler was born in Chicago in 1888 and moved to England with his family when he was twelve. He attended Dulwich College, Alma Mater to some of the twentieth centurys most renowned writers. Returning to America in 1912, he settled in California, worked in a number of jobs, and later married. It was during the Depression era that he seriously turned his hand to writing and his first published story appeared in the pulp magazine Black Mask in 1933, followed six years later by his first novel.

The Big Sleep introduced the world to Philip Marlowe, the often imitated but never-bettered hard-boiled private investigator. It is in Marlowes long shadow that every fictional detective must stand and under the influence of Raymond Chandlers addictive prose that every crime author must write.

Critic Reviews:

"Anything Chandler writes about grips the mind from the first sentence." (Daily Telegraph)

"One of the greatest crime writers, who set standards others still try to attain." (Sunday Times)

"Chandler is an original stylist, creator of a character as immortal as Sherlock Holmes." (Anthony Burgess)

Members Reviews:

New to Chandler? End here. Don't start here.

Not my favorite Chandler. Actually, my least favorite Chandler novel. However, since almost everything else he has written deserves to be carved on a tablet and made into a Noir religion, I guess saying this one doesn't rate well against his other masterpieces isn't saying much.

I think part of my disappointment with this novel is it just seems hard when it should be easy and easy when it should be hard. Maybe part of my problem with it was Chandler just seemed tired of L.A. and tired of Marlowe. He exports Marlowe into a new town (Esmerelda, aka La Jolla) but it all just doesn't work. I ended up not caring much about Marlowe or the dame or the book. Which is sad because I read most of this damn book sitting in a San Diego hotel's basement laundry. If there were EVER a place to enjoy 'Playback' THAT would have been it. Alas, no.

Anyway, if you are new to Chandler end here, don't start here. Go read:

The Big Sleep (1939)

Farewell, My Lovely (1940)

The High Window (1942)

The Lady in the Lake (1943)

The Little Sister (1949)

Trouble is my Business

The Long Goodbye (1953)

Any of those will give you more bang for you buck.

Disappointing

Not sure what happened with this last one. It's almost like he wasn't even the author of the first quarter of the book. The style is noticeably different, lacking all of Marlowe's trademark perspective. It's odd, to say the least. Sadly, I can't recommend this one. The rest are great.

Ray Porter reads this wonderfully!

I am a long-time fan of Chandler's work.

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Title: The Tartan Ringers

Subtitle: (Lovejoy)

Author: Jonathan Gash

Narrator: Michael Fenton Stevens

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-09-14

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 12 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Classic Detective

Publisher's Summary:

The victim, and two other antiques dealers who also came to a sticky end, were all working the same Scottish connection that I had been cultivation, so I decided to make myself scarce for a while.Where better to hide than at the root of the problem in the wilds of Scotland? There may be nothing very Scottish about me but, when my life's on the line, I can blend into the Highlands like a haggis in the heather.It was also the best place to find out why the antiques trade down south had become such a dangerous business.

Members Reviews:

Lovejoy's in deep trouble in Scotland

In this book we find that Lovejoy has been caught in a web of deceit and violence and death. Lovejoy Has to vacate East Angela so he joins the travelling circus to provide a safe place for him to hide and get to the North f Scotland to trace a dodgy antique dresser.

As always a Lovejoy book is a good book to read.

Fun and fast.

I was so happy to find a Lovejoy novel I had not already read. The Tartan Ringers did not disappoint. Antiques, murder and scams. There's nothing better.

Truly love a book that makes me laugh and keeps me ...

I am a big fan of lovejoy. Truly love a book that makes me laugh and keeps me turning the pages.

Five Stars

AAAAA+++++!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Excellent

I bought this wet on wet technique of oil painting. It looks good and explains how to do by step by step. This book looks new and neatly. I gave five stars.

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Title: The Two-Penny Bar

Subtitle: Inspector Maigret, Book 11

Author: Georges Simenon

Narrator: Gareth Armstrong

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 20 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-04-14

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 31 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Classic Detective

Publisher's Summary:

In this new translation of Simenon's twisted tale, a forgotten crime comes to light in the Parisian summer. The sunshine almost as thick as syrup in the quiet streets of the Left Bank...there are days like this, when ordinary life seems heightened, when the people walking down the street, the trams and cars all seem to exist in a fairy tale. A story told by a condemned man leads Maigret to a bar by the Seine and into the sleazy underside of respectable Parisian life. In the oppressive heat of summer, a forgotten crime comes to light.

Penguin is publishing the entire series of Maigret novels. Georges Simenon was born in Liège, Belgium, in 1903. Best known in Britain as the author of the Maigret books, his prolific output of over 400 novels and short stories have made him a household name in continental Europe. He died in 1989 in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he had lived for the latter part of his life.

Critic Reviews:

"Compelling, remorseless, brilliant" John Gray

"One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century . . . Simenon was unequalled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories" (Guardian)

"A supreme writer . . . unforgettable vividness" (Independent)

Members Reviews:

At the haberdasher's

Maigret is on his way to meet his wife who is staying en famille in Alsace. But first, he'd better replace that tatty bowler. After all, as Madame said, "People are throwing coins in the street!"

At the haberdasher's, he meets with a top-hatted man on the way to the Two Penny Bar, a place that leads him back to a case six years before, and the words of a condemned man about the murder of a man named Ulrich.

Once more, Madame must wait. Maigret's off again, and his curiosity leads him into a group of riparian revelers and reprobates, a shooting that was probably not an accident, and a prisoner on the loose.

Madame writes to say the harvest of prunelles is extraordinary. Good thing, too. At this rate, she might still be there for the late mirabelles.

There are many comic touches in this one, as well as the usual quantity of sorrow and stress. Very well done.

Not the best Maigret

The story was a little hard to follow in the beginning. Toward the end it picked up and had a satisfactory conclusion.

Solid Maigret Tale

A conversation with a condemned man leads Maigret into the world of unusual group of people at The Two Penny Bar . Classic Maigret

Good

I really enjoyed this tale, there was just enough of a twist to make it enjoyable and unpredictable. Well read as usual.

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Titel: Starkes Gift (Ein Fall für Lord Peter Wimsey 5)

Autor:: Dorothy L. Sayers

Erzähler: Christian Brückner

Format: Abridged

Spieldauer: 5 hrs and 20 mins

Sprache: Deutsch

Veröffentlichungsdatum: 06-06-14

Herausgeber: Audiobuch Verlag OHG

Bewertung: 4 von 5 von 1 Stimmen

Kategorien: Mysteries & Thrillers, Classic Detective

Zusammenfassung des Herausgebers:

Allen im Gerichtssaal, auch dem vorsitzenden Richter, scheint es klar: Die Kriminalschriftstellerin Harriet Vane hat ihren Geliebten mit Arsen vergiftet. Nur einer - und das ist natürlich Lord Peter - findet die scheinbar so klare Beweisführung nicht stichhaltig. Er glaubt an die Unschuld Harriets und das nicht nur, weil er sich Hals über Kopf in sie verliebt hat.

Unbeschadet der Tatsache, daß ihn auch sein alter Freund Chefinspektor Parker von Scotland Yard für befangen hält und deswegen nicht unterstützt, macht sich der charmante Detektiv aus Passion daran, Licht in das Dunkel dieses äußerst komplizierten Falls zu bringen. Wird es ihm gelingen, die Frau, die er liebt, vor dem Galgen zu bewahren?

©2004 / 2014 Audiobuch Verlag OHG (P)2004 / 2014 Audiobuch Verlag OHG

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Title: The Grand Banks Café

Subtitle: Inspector Maigret; Book 9

Author: Georges Simenon, David Coward

Narrator: Gareth Armstrong

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 23 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-05-14

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 32 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Classic Detective

Publisher's Summary:

It was indeed a photo, a picture of a woman. But the face was completely hidden, scribbled all over in red ink. Someone had tried to obliterate the head, someone very angry. The pen had bitten into the paper. There were so many criss-crossed lines that not a single square millimetre had been left visible. On the other hand, below the head, the torso had not been touched. A pair of large breasts. A light-coloured silk dress, very tight and very low cut.

Sailors don't talk much to other men, especially not to policemen. But after Captain Fallut's body is found floating near his trawler, they all mention the Evil Eye when they speak of the Ocean's voyage.

Georges Simenon was born in Liège, Belgium, in 1903. Best known in Britain as the author of the Maigret books, his prolific output of over 400 novels and short stories have made him a household name in continental Europe. He died in 1989 in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he had lived for the latter part of his life.

David Coward is Emeritus Professor of French at the University of Leeds, England, and an award- winning translator of numerous works from French.

Critic Reviews:

"Compelling, remorseless, brilliant." (John Gray)

"One of the greatest writers of the 20th century...Simenon was unequalled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories." (Guardian)

"A supreme writer...unforgettable vividness." (Independent)

Members Reviews:

One of Simenon's best

This book contains some of the author's best-described characters. The pace is excellent. The moral ambiguities of life are captured well. And this is one of the few in the series in which Mme. Maigret plays a real role. I feel that the narrator has finally found his stride.

A good yarn full of humanity

Once again this shows that the essence of Simenon's books is not detection in the traditional sense, but detection through profound understanding of human psychology, particularly of women. Forgiving of those who trespass, dismissive of hide-bound bourgeoisie, Simenon has a pragmatic worldliness that is down to earth and reassuring. A cracking good, romantic story set against a background that Simenon himself knew so well; ships and the sea. If the world had more of Maigret's calm equilibrium and tolerance of human nature, it would be of benefit to all.

Delilah and the cod-fishers

Would you listen to The Grand Banks Café again? Why?

Yes, in a few years time, when the finer details of the story have slipped my memory.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Not entirely suprised

Which character as performed by Gareth Armstrong was your favourite?

Apart from Maigret himself of course, the brawling sailor, worried about that "wallet-business".

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, and I did.

Any additional comments?

In the series that is published so far ...its nr 8), this was the weakest story. Perhaps I should rephrase that. Weakest detective story. Simenon mostly uses the detective genre to tell little stories about human drama, and colours in the grey areas in the crimes committed. This book was very much a novella about how men can be, and were, driven to distraction by a Delilah figure.

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Titre: Sous les vents de Neptune (Commissaire Adamsberg 5)

Auteur: Fred Vargas

Narrateur: François Berland

Format: Unabridged

Durée: 10 hrs and 49 mins

Langue: Français

Date de publication: 03-27-14

Éditeur: Audiolib

Evaluation: 4.5 sur 5 sur 16 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Classic Detective

Résumé de l'éditeur:

La découverte d'une jeune fille assassinée de trois coups de couteau ramène violemment Adamsberg trente ans en arrière, et au souvenir de Raphaël, son jeune frère disparu, naguère soupçonné du meurtre de son amie. En effet, ce cadavre, puis d'autres, présentent les mêmes blessures en marque de trident... Adamsberg devra franchir l'Atlantique pour se rendre au Canada, à la poursuite d'un serial killer qui est sans doute le vrai meurtrier de l'amie de Raphaël.

Une enquête angoissante et sombre, où l'auteur amène son héros au bord du gouffre, à la limite de la rupture. Un très grand "rompol" de Fred Vargas. L'interprétation de François Berland excelle à restituer les angoisses et les fragilités d'un Adamsberg confronté à un ennemi qui se joue de ses émotions et même de sa mémoire.

©2004 Éditions Viviane Hamy / LIVRAPHONE (P)2014 Audiolib

Avis des membres:

Pas le meilleur...

Scénario un peu "téléphoné" au début et un peu improbable au final. Pas le meilleur même si il porté par une lecture excellente...

L'accent québécois dans le champs

J'adore Fred Vargas et ce livre ne fait pas exception. La narration était superbe...sauf pour l'accent du Québec. Il aurait été préférable d'avoir un narrateur québécois pour les caractères québécois. Ça sonnait tellement faux et absurde que j'avais un peu de difficulté à garder mon attention sur l'histoire.

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Title: The Yellow Dog

Subtitle: Inspector Maigret; Book 6

Author: Georges Simenon, Linda Asher (translator)

Narrator: Gareth Armstrong

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 28 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-06-14

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 61 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Classic Detective

Publisher's Summary:

Georges Simenon's gripping tale of small town suspicion and revenge, part of the new Maigret series.

There was an exaggerated humility about her. Her cowed eyes, her way of gliding noiselessly about without bumping into things, of quivering nervously at the slightest word, were the very image of a scullery maid accustomed to hardship. And yet he sensed, beneath that image, glints of pride held firmly in check. She was anaemic. Her flat chest was not formed to rouse desire. Nevertheless, she was strangely appealing, perhaps because she seemed troubled, despondent, sickly.

In the windswept seaside town of Concarneau, a local wine merchant is shot. In fact, someone is out to kill all the influential men and the entire town is soon sent into a state of panic. For Maigret, the answers lie with the pale, downtrodden waitress Emma, and a strange yellow dog lurking in the shadows...

Georges Simenon was born in Liège, Belgium, in 1903. Best known in Britain as the author of the Maigret books, his prolific output of over 400 novels and short stories have made him a household name in continental Europe. He died in 1989 in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he had lived for the latter part of his life.

Linda Asher is a former fiction editor of the New Yorker and the award winning translator of many works from French including those of Milan Kundera.

Critic Reviews:

Compelling, remorseless, brilliant (John Gray)

One of the greatest writers of the twentieth century ... Simenon was unequalled at making us look inside, though the ability was masked by his brilliance at absorbing us obsessively in his stories (Guardian)

A supreme writer ... unforgettable vividness (Independent)

Members Reviews:

A Pernod in Brittany

Maigret is seconded to Brittany when a wine merchant is attacked in Concarneau. While sitting down for a drink and a chat with a few of the town's denizens, the local doctor notices some white crystals floating in the Pernod. It's strychnine. And it's in the Calvados, too...

Shortly thereafter the doctor goes missing, and one mystery after another deepens the first. And what about this pathetic little dog that keeps reappearing? As if that were not enough, Maigret has to deal with the press, and they're getting right up his nose.

Simenon works his magic with characterizations, bringing to life Bretons with little to lose and much to hide. There are moments of pathos, and some louche and dispiriting situations, but this gritty realism is part of what makes a great Maigret story. The conclusion is as straightforward and satisfying as a dish of the local cotriade.

I always love it when our beloved detective is out of Paris.

Most definitely worth a listen.

Delighted to finally get Maigret audiobooks!

What did you love best about The Yellow Dog?

In this early story, we already see Maigret unique personality. And his approach to solving crimes by observing and understanding people's personalities. Quite different than the usual mysteries.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes. I had not read this particular Maigret book, so I did not know the story in advance, as with other books.

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Título: Las aventuras de Sherlock Holmes [The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes]

Autor: Arthur Conan Doyle

Narrador: Aldo Lumbia, Leonel Arias, Juan Santiago, Horacio Gramajo, Alejandro Vanegas, Franco Patiño, Melina Gordillo

Formato: Abridged

Duración: 2 hrs and 37 mins

Idioma: Español

Fecha de publicación: 02-17-14

Editor: Audiolibros Colección

Calificaciones: 4.5 de 5 de 4 votos

Categorías: Mysteries & Thrillers, Classic Detective

Resumen del editor:

Maestro de la lógica, observador preciso y sagaz, de una inteligencia formidable y gran experto en disfraces, regresa en formato de audiolibro. La eterna creación de Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, siempre acompañado de su fiel amigo el Doctor Watson. Las pistas, los malos, la sospecha y la intriga se multiplican. A su vez, las conversaciones entre Holmes y Watson, cargadas tanto de reflexiones coherentemente delirantes, como de un pensamiento profundo y revelador, retratan a la perfección el paradigma del detective. En La liga de los pelirrojos, Holmes se topa con un misterio de grandes dimensiones, mientras que en Un caso de identidad nos enseña que hasta el mínimo detalle puede ser fundamental; El aristócrata solterón devela la aguda inteligencia de Sherlock. Y finalmente, en Escándalo en Bohemia, una mujer se gana la admiración del detective. Presentamos un nuevo formato para dar vida a uno de los personajes más excelsos de la literatura universal. Brillantes efectos sonoros, magistrales actuaciones y grandiosa musicalización se unen para brindarnos una nueva lectura del inmortal Sherlock Holmes.

Please note: This audiobook is in Spanish

Opiniones de los miembros:

Es una buena obra si te gusta leer Sherlock Holmes.

Este libro es una colección de las obras clasicas del Señor Arthur Conan Doyle en español. A mí me encanta leer las obras de Sherlock Holmes en inglés y es muy interesante ver cómo traducían todo al español. Es una buena obra.

Bad Translation

Translation appears to have done by machine. Mistakes of every kind -- location 21. way of travel (camino) becomes manera, 51. a book lieing open is translated as mentira, 80. calves of the leg is translated as terneros (offspring of vacas). It's that way throughout. Having to do with location in space, Ser is used instead of estar. I hope the other Kindle translations of Sherlock are better.

Worst translation ever made

I'm a native Spanish speaker so I decided to buy the book translated to Spanish and it is the worst translation ever made, it is actually very hard to read to the many mistakes all over. Don't waste your money.

Horrible translation!

I wish I had read the 1 start reviews before wasting my money. The translation is horrible! There are English words interspersed. Pronouns are not located in the correct spots in the sentences. Verbs are conjugated incorrectly. I'm not even a native Spanish speaker, but I can tell that this is a terrible translation and it makes it confusing to read. I quit after only reading a chapter and a half because it was just too terrible.

Sherlock Homles would be very insulted

This is absolutely the worst translation ever put on the market. It is so bad that it is laughable except the joke is on me for having spent money for this awful product.

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Title: Halfway House

Author: Ellery Queen

Narrator: Fred Sullivan

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-06-13

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 19 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Classic Detective

Publisher's Summary:

The victim had lived two lives, but a single knife thrust ended both of them. The trail of suspicion led into the guilt-edged world of the beautiful people - and climaxed in a vicious courtroom battle that ended with a shattering verdict. It seemed that for the first time Ellery had met his match - until the sleuth blended his usual impeccable logic with a most unusual fling.

Members Reviews:

loved it

Kept met guessing until the end as always. Was ana amazing book. get it now

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Title: A Caribbean Mystery

Author: Agatha Christie

Narrator: Emilia Fox

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 37 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-05-13

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Classic Detective

Publisher's Summary:

A classic Marple mystery, read by Emilia Fox.

As Jane Marple sat basking in the Caribbean sunshine she felt mildly discontented with life. True, the warmth eased her rheumatism, but here in paradise nothing ever happened.Eventually, her interest was aroused by an old soldier's yarn about a strange coincidence. Infuriatingly, just as he was about to show her an astonishing photograph, the Major's attention wandered. He never did finish the story

Critic Reviews:

"Throws off the false clues and misleading events as only a master of the art can do." (New York Times)

"Liveliness infectious zest as good as anything Miss Christie has done." (Observer)

Members Reviews:

Wonderful classic.

No one writes a murder better than Christie. Excellent narration by Emilia Fox. Great listen.

Horribly acted

For such a good actress Emilia Fox is atrocious at all accents and voices. All the male characters have raspy voices, the Americans are shrill, the Latinos are ridiculously lisping and the local Carribbean accents are so slow and sing song (occasionally breaking into Irish!) that I had to skip sections all together.

The story is good but probably the most easily guessed plot of all the Christie that I've read.

What a performance.

What made the experience of listening to A Caribbean Mystery the most enjoyable?

In the introduction to the reading I heard that the story was performed by Emelia Fox, not read by. How right that was. This was not simply read, it was performed.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Caribbean Mystery?

When Miss Marple appears as Nemesis with her fluffy scarf to seek Mr Rafael's aid. The old woman, the older man in a wheelchair, the urgency in the scene with the underlying humour of the image.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

It would have to be the scene described above.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Quite frankly, films tend not to live up to the book. Not just with Ms Christie by any means. Too often the director/producer take liberties to meet their own vision

Any additional comments?

Compared to Ms Hickson's reading, this is much more leisurely - around an hour slower. Believe me, that does not translate into a lack of tension. This "performance" is far superior to the faster "reading". Thoroughly involving,very enjoyable, a superb performance, excellent clarity of diction.

Emilia Fox is outstanding

A fantastic performance from Emilia Fox, full of life, humour and warmth for the characters.

Wonderful story that takes you from a rainy cold day to palm trees and sunshine and..... Murder ....

I highly recommend this version, it's almost like watching a film thanks to narration. ( Emilia does 4.50 from Paddington if interested and gives another fantastic performance in that)

Highly recommended, perfect for dog walking and rainy days x

Very Enjoyable, Narrator Brilliant.

very good narration story enjoyable and good to listen to when resting looking forward to listening to nemesis Now