Discover Most Popular Audiobooks in Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective Top 100

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Title: Quick Study

Subtitle: A Murder 101 Mystery, Book 3

Author: Maggie Barbieri

Narrator: Gayle Hendrix

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-30-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 45 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

College English professor Alison Bergeron thought that dating a cute NYPD detective like Bobby Crawford would be exciting and involve a lot of riding around in cruisers and putting away sleazy crooks, but he has yet to invite her on any stakeouts.... Then when a friend asks her to help him find his nephew, she goes to Bobby for advice only to find out that he already knows about the case. He pulled the boy out of the Hudson River a few days earlier. The boys employer calls it an accident, but Alison and Bobby arent convinced.

With matchmaking and sleuthing to spare, staying out of trouble isnt on the syllabus when Alison and Bobby team up in Quick Study, Maggie Barbieris most outrageous outing yet.

Editorial Reviews:

With some sleuthing experience already under her belt and a boyfriend who works for the NYPD, Alison Bergeron offers to help the Ecuadorian immigrant who she meets at the soup kitchen she works in find his missing nephew. But of course, in this, the third installment of Maggie Barbieris Murder 101 series, Alison finds herself getting involved in a more complex problem than she had imagined when the nephew turns up dead. Gayle Hendrix reprises her role, giving a sassy performance as the detective who gets by as much on her dry wit as her inspection skills. Here is another fun, light, mystery that will delight listeners.

Members Reviews:

Five Stars

Loved the characters, can't wait to read the next one.

a smart mouthed very likable sassy heroine

I really enjoy this series the heroine in very likeable so is the long suffering guy who loves her. the plots are on the light side, but the author pulls it off. Anyone how enjoys light mysteries will enjoy this book, read the first in series to start.

Must enjoy mystery

I enjoyed Murder 101 Mystery then ordered and read all available in order. Then missed reading what the charaters were doing.

Three Stars

Got boring.

Bad seller

This book was rated as in good condition. It was stained, the pages were ruffled and the cover was worn. Even though it was readable it was in very poor condition. I returned it and bought the same book, but a hard cover, on eBay for less money.

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Title: Cold Sacrifice

Subtitle: DI Ian Peterson, Book 1

Author: Leigh Russell

Narrator: Lucy Price-Lewis

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-26-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 17 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

When three dead bodies are discovered in quick succession on his home patch in Kent, DI Ian Peterson becomes too embroiled in a complex murder investigation to worry about his forthcoming promotion or the state of his marriage. The first victim is a middle class housewife, stabbed to death in a park. Her husband is in the clear until the prostitute who provided him with an alibi is murdered. While the police are busy gathering evidence, a second prostitute is killed. Ian and a young female constable, Polly, struggle to make sense of the case and find the elusive killer, before he strikes again. But by the time Ian realises the truth, it may be too late to save Polly.

Leigh Russell studied at the University of Kent and now works as a secondary school teacher, specialising in supporting pupils with Specific Learning Difficulties. Her first novel, Cut Short (2009) was shortlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger Award for Best First Novel. Road Closed (2010) was listed as a Top Read on Eurocrime and, with Dead End (2011), series protagonist Geraldine Steel became the #1 best-selling female sleuth on Amazon Kindle.

Members Reviews:

Police procedural...

Let me first say narration by Lucy Price-Lewis was very good

DI Ian Peterson a likable character is very dedicated and engaging, his new wife, high maintenance, flighty and insecure. I liked the ebb and flow of their relationship, curious enough to see how that works out.

The murder of a middle aged women, makes the husband a prime suspect, but you know from the onset there is more to the story and who the murderer and antagonists actually are. I like a bit more suspense and enjoy working who out the murderer is myself, you don't get that here.

It's a police procedural in the strictest sense and very realistic, nothing new and very understated and although I did not love it, I still had to listen to the end to see how things ended up.

Listen at your peril?

Would you try another book written by Leigh Russell or narrated by Lucy Price-Lewis?

Narrator not too bad; storyline appalling - NO

What was most disappointing about Leigh Russells story?

No idea of police procedure and Petersen is a Detective Sergeant, not an Inspector

Who might you have cast as narrator instead of Lucy Price-Lewis?

No one

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

All three

Any additional comments?

I usually read/listen to books that I intend to comment about in order to be fair to all. In this case, I gave up after a while. There were too many glaring problems with the plot especially with police procedure, a rather childish dialogue between some of the characters and a rather obvious perpetrator of the crime, while religious maniacs move on and that was the only realistic note. The tension between Detective Sgt. Peterson, not Inspector as advertised, and his grizzling wife had some claim to authenticity and mirrors experiences with which I am familiar. Of the many new writers of British crime, this is by far the most disappointing which is why I'm electing to return it.

love it. Great story

easy reading, hard to put down.

like a tv series wanting to know more.

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Title: The Tenth Witness

Subtitle: Henri Poincaré, Book 2

Author: Leonard Rosen

Narrator: Grover Gardner

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-15-13

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 73 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

The Tenth Witness,a prequel to the award-winning All Cry Chaos, is the tale of a man upended: a 28-year-old who rejects a brilliant career in engineering for a dark, uncertain one in international police work.

On the night of October 9, 1799, the frigate HMS Lutine broke apart on the shoals of the Frisian Islands off the Dutch coast. When the insurer Lloyds of London paid on the wreck, it took ownership and planned expeditions to recoup the lost millions in gold and silver. Nearly 200 years later, after a series of largely failed salvage operations, Lloyds tries again - this time on the strength of new technologies and a strategy devised by the gifted young engineer Henri Poincaré.

It is late spring 1978, and Poincaré has worked nearly to exhaustion preparing for the Lutine dive. Before the salvage season begins, however, he takes a rare holiday: a hike at low tide across the vast, muddy flats of the Wadden Sea. His guide is Liesel Kraus, who is smart, able, appealing - and troubled. She and her brother Anselm are haunted by a violent history that generates both rage and, as the directors of Kraus Steel, an enormous, corrupting wealth. The closer Poincaré draws to Liesel and Anselm, the more warped life becomes until, finally, love and a death threat compel him to investigate what no one else will - aside from Interpol. It seems that pain as well as treasure can be dredged up from the past to reshape the present.

Members Reviews:

Bit more historical than I like...

I did read the first book when it came out, so this prequel was not my first introduction to Henri. I have to admit I was lost at the start of the book because it was very difficult to bring my head back to Henri's past when it was so different from the present day story I had liked so much. Normally I don't like historical fiction, and this book did brush right along the edge of that (i.e. Nazi war crimes)... I read fiction for escapes from reality, not to recap the horrendous activities humans have gotten up to in the past. And I like justice that is meaningful (i.e. the bad guys get their just desserts asap after they commit their crimes)... in fact, I like vigilante justice where bad guys get their just desserts immediately. To read about Nazi crimes where most of the murderers got away and/or were brought to justice after they had lived the better parts of their lives free, is just not as satisfying. So they convict an 80 year old of war crimes - so what, he already lived the best part of his life off the backs of the people he murdered.

Okay, okay... rant over... anyway, it was a good story and I like Henri's character. It is not as action filled as I normally like, but Henri is pretty noir and the story is interesting. I hope the next in the series is more like the first book than this prequel though...

The narration is very good but I think that Gardner's voice does take a bit of getting used to. There isn't anything graphic in the book, and I will read more in this series.

This prequel better than sequel.

Although written later than "All Cry Choas," it actually takes place earlier. This fills in some gaps in the character of Henri Poincare, great-grandson of his famous namesake, and is an even better story than the other. Although there is much to be appreciated about the plot, the story sort of falls apart at the end.

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Title: The Flood

Author: David Hewson

Narrator: Saul Reichlin

Format: Original Recording

Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-01-13

Publisher: Whole Story Audiobooks

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 36 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

Florence, 1986. A seemingly inexplicable attack on a church fresco of Adam and Eve brings together an unlikely couple: Julia Wellbeloved, an art student, and Pino Fratelli, a semi-retired detective who longs to be back in the field. Their investigation leads them to the secret society that underpins the city: an elite underworld of excess, violence and desire.

Rich in the culture of Tuscanys most mysterious city, The Flood takes a dazzling journey into the history of Florence, and to the darkness in Florences past: the night of the great flood in 1966

This is a dazzling Italian mystery, rich with culture, intrigue and dark secrets, from an internationally bestselling crime writer at the height of his powers. David Hewsons many bestselling works include The Killing and the Nic Costa crime series set in Rome.

This full length novel from David Hewson is an audiobook exclusive from Whole Story Audiobooks. It is narrated by Saul Reichlin, whose multi- award-winning audiobook narrations have attracted many thousands of listeners.

Critic Reviews:

"Hewson is a daunting talent a writer who is master stylist, who respects the audiences intelligence and who effortlessly keeps the thrills coming a mile a minute" (Jeffery Deaver)

Members Reviews:

Interesting context

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, but better if you have been to Florence.

What did you like best about this story?

The narration very good. The characters are nicely fleshed out across the story.

Which scene was your favorite?

Detailed descriptions of interactions between characters in general.

New characters to engage with

Would you consider the audio edition of The Flood to be better than the print version?

There is no print version and this is disappointing because I would love to be able to annotate it for my next trip to Firenze.

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

I kept jumping for character to character, trying to decide who was the guilty one, which I am sure is what David was aiming at. OK ... you got me!

What about Saul Reichlins performance did you like?

Well performed, although Saul needs to get his pronunciation of the Italian words right and consistent. Occasionally I felt like reaching into the speaker and giving him a good shake.

Any additional comments?

I sincerely hope that David is going to continue writing the story of these characters. I want to know what happens to them next. He does need to be nicer to Firenze, though. It is a city that you grow to love. I did.

Not as good as te Rome series

If you're familiar with the author you'll know that his hall-mark is to hang his crime stories on Italian art and history. This book is set in Florence and is rich in these details. I don't think this book is as good as his Rome series which are centred on detective Nic Costa and his colleagues. The latter are well-rounded characters that enliven the books whereas, apart from ex-detective Flatelli and visiting academic Julia Welbeloved, the many characters in The Flood are not memorable. I also found the writing overly florid in tone and the interplay of art and crime more contrived than usual.

Saul Reichlin is one of my favourite narrators who kept me listening.

Best this year

I have enjoyed Hewson's bokks set in Rome, but this one-off, set in Florence was a really great read. Beautifully read by Saul Reichlin.

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Title: Dead Insider

Subtitle: Loon Lake Mystery, Book 13

Author: Victoria Houston

Narrator: Jennifer Van Dyck

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-18-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 29 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

In the midst of a catastrophic August rainstorm, a grisly discovery shatters the serenity of a summer evening in northern Wisconsin. Moving quickly to prevent a panic among tourists, Loon Lake Police Chief Lewellyn Ferris enlists the forensic and interrogation skills of her close friend and fellow fly fisherman, the retired dentist "Doc" Osborne. Within hours of launching their investigation, they find themselves faced with a national media circus as Loon Lake becomes the focus of a murderous scenario that links the murder to the race for the U.S. Senate by a woman who is heir to a Northwoods fortune and other, less savory, family traditions.

In the meantime, Doc Osborne's eldest daughter, Mallory, enters into a relationship that may put her life at risk - unless her father and Chief Ferris can find the killer stalking the residents of Loon Lake.

Members Reviews:

weak story, very weak.

bad story line. please please please please please please please please invest more effort into your writing.

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Title: The Tumbler

Subtitle: A Montana Mystery Featuring Gabriel Du Pré, Book 11

Author: Peter Bowen

Narrator: Jim Meskimen

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-05-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 25 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

Gabriel Du Pré, the old Montana fiddler at the center of Peter Bowen's atmospheric, engrossing series set in the dirty, dusty Montana that's rarely featured in travel brochures, has a knack for finding trouble. Or rather, trouble has a knack for finding him. There's a rumor going around that Du Pré and his old sorceror friend Benetsee have come across a parcel containing the lost journals of Lewis and Clark, and outsiders, drawn by the spirit of the legendary explorers, are beginning to invade Toussaint.

Du Pré won't say whether he's got the journals or not, preferring his usual routine of cigarettes, a whiskey ditch or two and a few fiddling gigs up and down Montana's highways to getting involved in this controversy. Benetsee isn't talking, either, but when a journalist goes a little too far in trying to get the story of the lost journals, and the two men's friends and family are put squarely in the face of danger, Du Pré doesn't have much choice but to wade in and set things right.

The Gabriel Du Pré mysteries have become required reading for fans of the vanishing West, and Peter Bowen's storytelling talent continues to thrive in The Tumbler, a dazzling entry in what has become a classic series.

Members Reviews:

hated this reading

What was most disappointing about Peter Bowens story?

Couldn't understand the reader. he spoke too fast and did not enunciate words. it became an annoying droning of words. after several playbacks, we just couldn't get interested in the story and we had to bail on the story.

What didnt you like about Jim Meskimens performance?

his voice inflections, speed & elocution. he completely lost the ambling demeanor of DuPre.. we wont listen to any more of these because of it

Any additional comments?

we had loved the DuPre character in previous novels but he became completely lost with this reader.

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Title: Murder of a Beauty Shop Queen

Subtitle: A Sheriff Dan Rhodes Mystery, Book 19

Author: Bill Crider

Narrator: George Guidall

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 6 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-23-13

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 28 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

Bill Crider is a two-time Anthony Award winner and an Edgar Award finalist. Sheriff Dan Rhodes has his hands full in Murder of a Beauty Shop Queen, the 19th book in this series. When hairdresser Lynn Ashton is found dead at the Beauty Shack, its up to Dan to figure out whodunit while dealing with a string of random thefts and a pregnant goat on the rampage.

Members Reviews:

Sheriff Dan Never Disappoints!

Bill Crider's series of Sheriff Dan Rhodes always manages to feel like coming 'home' to a friend, and yet surprising me with a clever, witty, and solid murder mystery to ponder as I read with hunger page to page.

Sheriff Dan Rhodes has a problem. A woman whose reputation far proceeds her, has been murdered at her job...The Beauty Shack. There is something jarring about both the shop's name as well as the crime itself.

Very quickly the case shows itself to be about prejudices. There are men staying in the rusted out building across the street. Are they murderers or vagrants or??? The beauty shop owner thinks the worst. The town has fallen into disrepair as the population has left or moved closer to the interstate and stores. The left behind residents are mourning the days past. This also colors their views of the case.

When another murder occurs, Sheriff Dan finds possibly another prejudice...that of fear of gays. While he tries to calm down the murdered partner's worries, the Sheriff realizes the cases most likely are connected.

Secrets, it all comes down to secrets.

This was an excellent study of perspectives and motives. The murder was compelling. The dialog had me chuckling and also saddened. This was a five star novel.

DELIGHTFUL MYSTERY

If you haven't read any of Bill Crider's Sheriff Dan Rhodes mysteries, you have many delightful mysteries awaiting you. They are well written, and the characters are well drawn. If the "modern" need for all authority figures to be painted as dishonorable, immoral thugs is right up your alley, avoid these mysteries. I am not Pollyanna, and am fully aware of the depravity of humankind, so I don't need novels to confirm my awareness of reality. If I need such confirmation, there is ample evidence in the news online, on tv and in my daily newspaper. As for me, give me a Bill Crider mystery!

Rhodes Gets It Done

Blacklin County Sheriff Dan Rhodes is investigating a murder where the owner opened one morning to find the body of one of her employees, Lynn Ashton. She'd had a late appointment and voluntered to close the shop. Lynn was young and beautiful and had somewhat of a reputation.

At the same time, he kept rnning into two hispanics that were living in the abandoned hotel across the street. They were also involved with some sort of operation being run out of an old reclamation center.

Suspects are many, but nothing solid, as Rhodes goes about talking to folks and piecing things together.

Another fine mystery by one of the best.

Another solid entry

It's always pleasant to spend a few hours with Sheriff Dan Rhodes. He and the rest of the cast of characters feel like old friends. The sheriff isn't flashy and prefers talk to trace evidence when solving murders, but his homespun style rings true.

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Title: The Puzzle of the Red Stallion

Subtitle: Hildegarde Withers, Book 6

Author: Stuart Palmer

Narrator: Julie McKay

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-03-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 6 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

Odds for murder...

Top model Violet Feverel should be a pretty picture riding the big red thoroughbred Siwash - but the front page photo on the tabloids is ugly as death. The police dub the tragedy an unfortunate accident. But Miss Hildegarde Withers, who stumbled across the girl's body on the Central Park bridle path, knows they are, unfortunately, wrong. Just plain horse sense tells her it was murder.

Who was the stranger in the too-small overcoat? What caused the spot of blood on the stallion's flank? What obvious clue at the scene of the crime was a red herring?

Joining forces with New York's grumpiest homicide inspector, Oscar Piper, Miss Withers is once again off and running after a killer. Then a day at the races ends with another dead body, and Miss Withers must play a deadly game of sleuth where the stakes are high and odds are growing higher.

Members Reviews:

Couldn't finish it.

Stereotypes. So many stereotypes, the worst being the "colored boy" -- a grown man, mind you -- who looks after the horses, written and spoken with an accent that's a throwback to the 1940s and '50s. Really insulting racist portrayal. I'm sure the author meant no harm, but one expects people to know better these days. This one really left a bad taste in my mouth.

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Title: The Damsel

Subtitle: Alan Grofield, Book 1

Author: Richard Stark

Narrator: R. C. Bray

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 55 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-01-13

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 22 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

Donald E. Westlake is one of the greats of crime fiction. Under the pseudonym Richard Stark, he wrote twenty-four fast-paced, hardboiled novels featuring Parker, a shrewd career criminal with a talent for heists. Using the same nom de plume, Westlake also completed a separate series in the Parker universe, starring Alan Grofield, an occasional colleague of Parker. While he shares events and characters with several Parker novels, Grofield is less calculating and more hot-blooded than Parker; think fewer guns, more dames.

Not that there isnt violence and adventure aplenty. The Damsel begins directly after the Parker novel The Handle. Following a wounded Grofield and his damsel on a scenic, action-packed road trip from Mexico City to Acapulco, The Damsel is full of wit, adrenaline, and political intrigue.

Members Reviews:

Almost as good as Parker

Very entertaining, but Grofield doesn't have the wonderful gravitas of Parker. Nevertheless, I highly recommend it.

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Title: Flykiller

Author: J. Robert Janes

Narrator: Jean Brassard

Format: Unabridged

Length: 16 hrs and 6 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-09-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 4 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

In Vichy, a dead mistress points to an assassination plot.

At the Battle of Verdun, Marshal Philippe Pétains heroic leadership won him the respect and admiration of all of France. In the decades that follow the Great War, his ambition is boundless, but not until Hitler arrives does he claim the job hes always wanted. When the Wehrmacht subdue the French army, Pétain takes the reins of his conquered nation, becoming World War IIs most infamous collaborator.

In February 1943, as the war turns against Germany, Pétain administers his puppet state from the spa town of Vichy. In his 80s, but still able to admire a pretty face, he asks to borrow the mistress of one of his subordinates. Before she arrives, the girl is murdered. Fearing a plot against his life, Pétain calls in inspectors Jean-Louis St-Cyr and Hermann Kohler. But they find something far more sinister than a conspiracy against the war hero who became a war criminal.

Members Reviews:

Too Many Women

Another in the long-running Kohler & St Cyr mysteries, as we follow what sometimes seem to be the only honest people--almost surely the only honest cops--left in occupied France. Each novel deals with some different aspect or setting of the Occupation. In this case, it's the internment of "enemy" women--English and American women married to Frenchmen, or just tourists at exactly the wrong time, now locked up until the war is over or the Allies retake France.. As usual, Kohler & St Cyr have to solve the murder keep all their various superiors happy--or at least not too upset--and try to bring about some measure of justice.

It's worth noting that in this outing almost all the suspects and witnesses are the internees. If you're like me and sometimes shorthand characters, be warned: to take this one seriously as a mystery, you'll probably need to take notes. I will next time--and there will be a next time.

All the Kohler & St Cyrs are passable fair play mysteries. They're written in sequence, and you can see attitudes and relationships change as the war progresses and both men take more punishment and have less hope. Be warned that Janes is the fastest POV-shifter in the English language, and to read closely is like watching a Ping-Pong match with POV changing sometimes with every line. German and French phrases are tossed about, but not promiscuously. If it's something you can't be expected to know or need to know, someone will give you the meaning within a paragraph or so. If you're up for that, hang on tight and enjoy the ride!

Five Stars

Just as advertised.