Discover Most Popular Audiobooks in Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

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Title: Stardust

Author: Joseph Kanon

Narrator: T. Ryder Smith

Format: Unabridged

Length: 18 hrs and 5 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-21-11

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 112 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Hollywood, 1945. Ben Collier has just arrived from war-torn Europe to find his brother has died in mysterious circumstances. Why would a man with a beautiful wife, a successful movie career, and a heroic past choose to kill himself?

Ben enters the uneasy world beneath the glossy shine of the movie business, where politics and the dream factories collide and Communist witch hunts are rendering the biggest star makers vulnerable. Even here, where the devastation of Europe seems no more real than a painted movie set, the war casts long and dangerous shadows. When Ben learns troubling facts about his own family's past and embarks on a love affair that never should have happened, he is caught in a web of deception that shakes his moral foundation to its core.

Rich with atmosphere and period detail, Stardust flawlessly blends fact and fiction into a haunting thriller evoking both the glory days of the movies and the emergence of a dark strain of American political life.

Critic Reviews:

"Spectacular in every way.... wonderfully imagined, wonderfully written, an urgent personal mystery set against the sweep of glamorous and sinister history. Joseph Kanon owns this corner of the literary landscape and it's a joy to see him reassert his title with such emphatic authority." (Lee Child)

"The new Joe Kanon is one of the best, Stardust is the perfect combination of intrigue and accurate history brought to life." (Alan Furst)

"Stardust is sensational! No one writes period fiction with the same style and suspense - not to mention substance - as Joseph Kanon. A terrific read." (Scott Turow)

Members Reviews:

Joseph Kanon owns this little corner of history.

Where does Stardust rank among all the audiobooks youve listened to so far?

It's very good, but not among the top fifty, given that I've read about a thousand books, and I don't really enjoy history. Mr. Kanon, though, is a master of this little corner of the world, and Mr. Smith, whom I've never heard before, is a truly excellent narrator. The scope of the book is very large. It is about Hollywood during the period when WWII was turning into the Red Scare of the late '40's and early '50's, what came to be known as the McCarthy era. The protagonist is Ben Collier, a soldier who comes home to find that his brother Danny has died mysteriously, either at his own hand or that of another. Ben doesn't believe that his brother would kill himself. Ben very quickly becomes involved with Danny's widow, Liesl, and with the head of a movie studio, Carl Laszner. From there the plot winds around the hills and canyons of Los Angeles, with Minnesota's Senator Ken Minot standing in for Wisconsin's Senator McCarthy. The vicious hysteria which is whipped up by the anti-pinko forces is unstoppable, and it eventually comes very close to destroying the entertainment industry, taking with it, one cannot fail to note, the large expat Jewish community which has become the backbone of that industry. This is extremely good writing and narration, and held my interest in what eventually became a long book.

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

Yes, very much so, as I said above. The romance between Ben and Liesl is beautifully played, with the reader never really knowing what is real and what is scripted.

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Title: Valley of Dry Bones

Subtitle: A Medieval Mystery

Author: Priscilla Royal

Narrator: Wanda McCaddon

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 8 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-01-10

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 20 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

In the late summer of 1274, King Edward has finally been anointed Englands ruler, and his queen contemplates a pilgrimage in gratitude for their safe return from Outremer, a journey that will include a stay at Tyndal Priory. Envoys are sent to confirm that everything will be suitable for the kings wife, and Prioress Eleanor nervously awaits them, knowing that regal visits bring along expense and honor.

The cost is higher than expected, however, when Death arrives as the emissary. One of the courtiers is murdered near the hut where Brother Thomas now lives as a hermit. Each member of the party has reason to hate the dead man, including Crowner Ralfs eldest brother, Sir Fulke, and the prioresss nemesis, the man in black. Soon Eleanor is embroiled in the dangerous world of power games, both secular and religious. Indeed, Englands future under a new king may offer hope and relief, but skeletons from the past can come back to life like those in the biblical valley of dry bones. Which had cause enough to kill?

Priscilla Royal grew up in British Columbia, received a degree in World Literature from San Francisco State University, and lives in Northern California. She is a member of the California Writers Club, Sisters in Crime, and Mystery Writers of America.

Members Reviews:

A right royal dissapointment

I usually enjoy historical novels and with this being a murder mystery also I was eager to listen, sadly I found the narrator very bland not one character was memorable, the story itself was rather boring I didn't get any feel at all for the medieval period it was supposed to be set in.

My advice save your money.

If only the story was worthy of it narrator

Well the narrator was good, the pace of the story was sorely lacking. Such a shame since I bought another audiobook in this series and it was great.

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Title: The Wrecker

Author: Clive Cussler, Justin Scott

Narrator: Richard Ferrone

Format: Abridged

Length: 6 hrs

Language: English

Release date: 10-21-10

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 14 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

In The Chase, Clive Cussler introduced an electrifying new hero, the tall, lean, no-nonsense detective Isaac Bell, who, driven by his sense of justice, travels early-20th-century America pursuing thieves and killers - and sometimes criminals much worse.

It is 1907, a year of financial panic and labor unrest. Train wrecks, fires, and explosions sabotage the Southern Pacific Railroad's Cascades express line and, desperate, the railroad hires the fabled Van Dorn Detective Agency. Van Dorn sends in his best man, and Bell quickly discovers that a mysterious saboteur haunts the hobo jungles of the West, a man known as the Wrecker, who recruits accomplices from the down-and-out to attack the railroad, and then kills them afterward.

The Wrecker traverses the vast spaces of the American West as if he had wings, striking wherever he pleases, causing untold damage and loss of human life. Who is he? What does he want? Is he a striker? An anarchist? A revolutionary determined to displace the "privileged few"? A criminal mastermind engineering some as yet unexplained scheme

Whoever he is, whatever his motives, the Wrecker knows how to create maximum havoc, and Bell senses that he is far from done - that, in fact, the Wrecker is building up to a grand act unlike anything he has committed before. If Bell doesn't stop him in time, more than a railroad could be at risk - it could be the future of the entire country.

Members Reviews:

Great story

What did you love best about The Wrecker?

The mystery of trying to determine who The Wrecker was.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Wrecker?

Wondering if The Wrecker would take the bridge down.

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Title: The Sleepwalkers

Author: Paul Grossman

Narrator: Christian Contreras

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-12-10

Publisher: HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 17 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

During the final weeks of the Weimar Republic, a young woman washes up in the Havel River in picture-perfect Old Spandau. Bodies in rivers are hardly news in the chaos of 1932 Berlin, maddened by years of war, defeat, revolution, inflation, depravity, and now the Great Depression. But this one is different. Her dark hair is too short. Her wisdom teeth have been removed, something few German girls could afford. And her legs, dotted with suture marks, are bizarrely deformed, as if someone had taken giant pliers and turned them around inside her skin.

>Willi Kraus is a decorated soldier and Germany's most celebrated Jewish detective, thanks to his recent success at nabbing a monstrous child killer. Sent to investigate the floater, his search leads him into a German underworld he hardly recognizes. A princess goes missing, a hypnotist has dark secrets to hide, and a new power is ushering in the tides of change: the Third Reich.

Contact me for any questions: [email protected]

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Title: Roman Games

Subtitle: A Plinius Secundus Mystery

Author: Bruce Macbain

Narrator: Bronson Pinchot

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-01-10

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 35 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Rome, September A.D. 96.

When the body of Sextus Verpa, a notorious senatorial informer and libertine, is found stabbed to death in his bedroom, his slaves are suspected. Pliny, a very respectable young senator and lawyer, is ordered by the emperor Domitian to investigate. However, the Ludi Romani, the Roman Games, have just begun, and for the next 15 days the law courts are in recess. If Pliny cant identify the murderer in that time, Verpas entire slave household will be burned alive in the arena.

Pliny teams up with Martial, a starving author of bawdy verses and denizen of the Roman demimonde. Pooling their respective talents, they unravel a plot that involves Jewish and Christian atheists, exotic Egyptian cultists, and a missing horoscope that forecasts the emperors death. Their investigation leads them into the heart of the palace, where no one is safe from the paranoid Domitian. As the deadline approaches, Pliny struggles with the painful dilemma of a good man who is forced to serve a brutal regime - a situation familiar in our own age as well.

The novel provides an intimate glimpse into the palaces and tenements, bedrooms and brothels of imperial Romes most opulent and decadent age.

Bruce Macbain holds a B.A. in classics from the University of Chicago and a Ph.D. in ancient history from the University of Pennsylvania. He has taught Greek and Roman history at Vanderbilt University and Boston University. His special interest is religion in the Roman Empire.

Members Reviews:

terrible

I didn't listen to a sample when I saw this was read by Bronson Pinchot. I remember him as a good actor with a gift for voices. Well I don't know what happened but this is one of the worst listens I have ever heard. Its like the worst cartoon, painfully over acted with bad voices. The story is not well enough written to survive it. The dialog is clunky and the story is awkward. Its just bad. I like the Maddox books, spqr though I am sure the story would have been better served read by Simon Vance and love Ruth Downie and Colleen McCullough's rome books and Richard Harris with Cicero and Tiro to give u a sense of where I am coming from

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Title: Cross of St George

Author: Alexander Kent

Narrator: Michael Jayston

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-27-10

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 46 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

It is February 1813. With convoys from Canada and the Caribbean falling victim to American privateers, Sir Richard Bolitho returns to Halifax to pursue a war he knows will not be won, but which neither Britain nor the United States can afford to lose.

England's youngest admiral desires only peace. But peace will not be found in the icy Canadian waters, where a young, angry nation asserts its identity and men who share a common heritage die in close and bloody action. Nor will there be a peace for those who follow the Cross of St George: for the embittered Adam, mourning his lover and his ship, nor for Rear-Admiral Valentine Keen, who must confront both grief and responsibility. Nor will there be peace from those enemies who use this struggle between nations as an instrument of personal revenge.

Members Reviews:

Simply outstanding.

Anyone who has read the Richard Bolitho series will agree that Alexander Kent (real name--Douglas E. Reeman) is on a par with any naval fiction writer to date. As a former Royal Navy officer, Kent brings a unique and insightful point of veiw to his characters. This particular novel is rich with action, as well as the naval politics. Pipe yourself aboard and enjoy the ride.

Just plain bad !

This book wasnt for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I have just finished Cross of St George and In the King's Name.

Before I say more, Ive listen to the complete Alexander Kent Bolitho

series as well as the complete Master and Commander, Hornblower, Two

years before the mast and many many others. These two have got to be

the worst sailing books Ive listened to by far. Its hard to believe Kent even

wrote them. The story line is, well Im not sure what the story line was! Rambling

and full of phrases used over and over from passed books. Retrospective and introspective at the same time. All previous books are 5 stars. I came very close

to not finishing these two.

Would you ever listen to anything by Alexander Kent again?

Yes

Which scene was your favorite?

The last one

Classic Bolitho

Well that about does it for me now, I think that was the last although not in order. I missed this one somehow but oh what a series and for anyone who loves the sea, boats and history, the whole series (although not all are on Audible) these are a must for your library. Most of all, these books you can leave for a year and come back to with the same level of pleasure.

Last of this series for me

I have three other books from this series good action.This book is a soap opera.Almost three hours before anything happens.

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Title: Let the Dead Lie

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Malla Nunn

Narrator: Saul Reichlin

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-19-10

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 130 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

The follow-up to her much-acclaimed debut, A Beautiful Place to Die, Malla Nunns Let the Dead Lie takes listeners back to 1953 South Africa.

When Cooper discovers the body of a young child on the Durban docks, he resists the urge to figure out what happened and leaves it for the local police. But after he is accused of the crime, he has 48 hours to clear his name and find a depraved killer.

Critic Reviews:

"With this gripping sequel set in South Africa in 1953, Nunn, who is also a screenwriter, proves that her impressive debut novel, A Beautiful Place to Die, was no fluke....Nunn deftly balances suspense and deduction as she offers a revealing glimpse into South African society under the segregation laws promulgated by the ruling National Party." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Another winner!

Top notch story with well fleshed out and totally believable characters. Wonderful evocation of the subtropical port city of Durban in the 1950s and the apartheid-dominated milieu of this multi-ethnic city. The narrator, Saul Reichlin, is perfectly suited to the task. His multiple accents and pacing hit the mark. (I would hope we could hear Reichlin's renditions of yet another fine southern African author: Deon Meyer)

Really enjoy these characters

Any additional comments?

Really good narration and a satisfying follow up to the first novel. I eagerly await the third installation to be narrated and made available here.

Excellent Story!

If you could sum up Let the Dead Lie in three words, what would they be?

This is the second book I have read by Malla Nunn. It is a continuing story from her first book (A Beautiful Place to Die) with some of the same characters. The story takes place after apartheid and sense of place is very good. Characterization is strong, the story beautifully written capturing the frustrations and sorrows of the time. The narration by Saul Reichlin was excellent and I highly recommend this very enjoyable read!

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

Yes, as I was never sure who the enemies were.

Have you listened to any of Saul Reichlins other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not, but will look for him in the future.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No, sad....

Gritty Mystery

A young boy lies murdered in the stockyards of Durban, South Africa. A few days later, two women are killed in the rooming house where he lived. The South African police bring in their top suspect, Emmanuel Cooper. The problem? Cooper is not the killer.

Who is Emmanuel Cooper? He is a World War II veteran who returned to South Africa to become a Detective Sergent in the police force. When a new law sweeps through and reclassifies him as non-white, he loses his job and his status as a white man. He now does undercover work for Major van Niekerk, his former boss in the police. Unwilling to lose Cooper's skills, he now uses him undercover.

When Cooper is hauled in and about to be charged with the three murders, van Niekerk works out a deal. Cooper has forty-eight hours to find the real killers or else he will be charged and probably killed. As he races to solve the murders, he is helped by a strange collection of people, a Zulu ex-policeman, a Jewish doctor who has survived the German death camps, and the mistress of his mentor.

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Title: Ragtime in Simla

Author: Barbara Cleverly

Narrator: Terry Wale

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-12-10

Publisher: ISIS Audio Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 85 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Simla 1922, and the summer capital of the British Raj is fizzing with the energy of the Jazz Age. Simla is where detective Joe Sandilands is heading as the guest of Sir George Jardine, the Governor of Bengal.

But when Joes travelling companion, a Russian opera singer, is shot dead at his side in the governors car, he finds himself plunged into a murder investigation. Confronted by the mystery of an identical unsolved killing a year before, Joe realizes that Sir Georges hospitality comes at a high price.

Members Reviews:

Fascinating Story, Great Setting

Faulty bridge infrastructure derails a train travelling from Paris to Marseilles in 1919. The resulting 300-foot plunge into a rock-strewn ravine leaves only two survivors--or possibly there was a third--and maybe even a fourth? Three years later, Scotland Yard's Joe Sandilands arrives in Simla, India, high in the Himalaya and the summer capital of the British Raj, to investigate the apparent assassination of a prominent English trading executive. On the steep final approach to Simla--at the exact spot of the first murder--Joe's traveling companion is identically shot and killed. We are now at the end of Chapter 2. It is obvious early on that we are seeing the fruits of a case of identity theft. But the repercussions of the earlier events are many, varied, and surprising, and play out in an exotic locale and with a cast of characters that adds panache. Terry Wale's narration, in the rather flat intonations of a British military officer, becomes entirely part of the action and is totally believable. Highly recommended for those who like their mysteries with color, character, and complexity.

Atmospheric, well written classic mystery

This enjoyable mystery set in 1920's British India has all the elements of a good classic mystery plus lots of atmosphere. The intricate plot has some clever turns and twists. If you're fresh out of books by Dorothy Sayers, Patricia Wentworth, Agatha Christie, and Ngaio Marsh, Cleverly is a good choice--you don't get the wit and depth of character perception of a Marsh or a Sayers, but you do get a thoroughly entertaining and engaging story. Narrator is good; excellent characterizations, eloquent delivery.

Good historical mystery

The story was interesting and complex enough to hold my attention even through the sometimes clumsy or lengthy descriptions of the surroundings. I was at first put off by the archaic narrator and although I soon became accustomed to it, I can't help help but think the story would have been improved by a different voice.

WOW

Great characters. Amazing plot lines. Wonderful descriptive prose. A wonderful story. I really loved Ms Masie. The ending of the story was spot on!

Not a "cozy" mystery

If I understand the definition of a cozy - a mystery that has no graphic violence, no profanity, and no explicit sex - this book does not qualify. True, the book had no graphic violence, and no explicit sex, but it does contain profanity. Not overwhelming, but enough to annoy, and one F-bomb thrown in for good measure. It is a well-written mystery if you can overlook the moderate amount of profanity. Interesting, complex, engaging, yes. Kept me listening because I wanted to hear the solution. The narrator was quite good - I didn't find him annoying at all.

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Title: The Bee's Kiss

Author: Barbara Cleverly

Narrator: Terry Wale

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 1 min

Language: English

Release date: 05-12-10

Publisher: ISIS Audio Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 45 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

It's 1926: Joe Sandilands is back from India enjoying the frantic pleasures of Jazz Age London. But post-war gaiety soon wears off when Scotland Yard asks Joe to conduct a swift enquiry.

Dame Beatrice Joliffe, a much-respected member of the British establishment, has been bludgeoned to death in her suite at the Ritz. It seems that death dogged the footsteps of Dame Beatrice, and Joe finds himself investigating the apparent suicides of three young women who had been close to her.

When his superiors unexpectedly tell him to close the case and surrender the file, Joe is forced to battle on alone against pressure from unseen government forces, through to a shattering solution.

Members Reviews:

Another excellent British police procedural set in the 1920s!

This series is absolutely fantastic! If you enjoy a good old time who dun it, set in 1920s Britain, this book you will thoroughly enjoy.

Highly listenable vintage murder series

I have become completely hooked on this series and am gradually working my way through all the audio books available. This is the first tale set in London rather than India - and I was a little concerned about how the series would translate to its home setting. Whilst I missed the slightly surreal feel of the Indian tales on the whole I found this book equally satisfying. As with previous books in the series I had guessed the guilty party - and yet am not quite sure how this happens - because the twists and turns are numerous. The fact I am proved right certainly doesn't make the experience less satisfying. Unlike most series there is only one real constant Commander Joe Sandilands - and therefore each book brings with it a new setting and (mainly) new cast of characters. Very well read and thoroughly recommended.

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Title: Evil for Evil

Subtitle: A Billy Boyle World War II Mystery

Author: James R. Benn

Narrator: Marc Vietor

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 27 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-27-10

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 90 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Fifty BARs (Browning automatic rifles) have been stolen from a U.S. army base in Northern Ireland. His uncle Ike Eisenhower sends Billy to recover the weapons, which might be used in a German-sponsored IRA uprising. Bodies begin to accumulate as Billy finds unexpected challenges to his Boston-Irish upbringing and IRA sympathies. There are rogues on both sides, he learns.

Members Reviews:

Maybe the Best Billy Boyle Book

This series consistently delivers entertaining and engaging stories. This one adds an interesting backdrop of the Ireland conflict. For further details, see my review of: Billy Boyle: A World War II Mystery.

My only problem with this book

the book is a very good read. I've enjoyed the books I've read. I enjoy the reader. The only problem I'm having with this book is a small one. It comes from fact that neither the reader or the editor are familiar with military nomenclature. The story involves Billy Boyle's investigation into the theft of 50 Browning Automatic Rifles and ammunition. The reader constantly refers to the weapons as BARS. Any person familiar with military nomenclature knows the Browning Automatic Rifle is known as a B. A. R. The letters are pronounced individually. Other than that the book is another good story from James R. Benn. This minor issue will not deter me from getting more books about Billy Boyle. I look forward to the next book by James R. Benn

LOVE Billy Boyle!

Enjoyed all of these by James R Benn....I hope there are more to come! Great period mystery

Boyle Does It Again

Mark Vietor has done a wonderful job once again by reading another installment of Billy Boyle. I love these books. I very rarely find a series that captures my attention such as the works of James R. Benn. With the exception of The Rest is Silence, I've read/listened these books in order, and this has to be my third favorite so far, behind TRiS, and Billy Boyle (Book 1). I am immediately moving onto the next book, hoping that it surpasses my favorites. I have also preodered Blue Madona, the next book in the series, which releases in Sept.

James Benn delivers again!

Perhaps the best of the series at this point. The intrigue is well developed and gives a rare glimpse of life in WWII Northern Ireland and the sad struggle for Irish unity that still permeates the island today.

.