Discover the New Releases Audiobooks in Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

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Title: A Bespoke Murder

Author: Edward Marston

Narrator: Gordon Griffin

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 23 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-01-13

Publisher: Soundings

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 25 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

May 1915. With thousands of Britons fighting in the trenches, a severely depleted police force remains behind to keep the Home Front safe. Scotland Yard is already overstretched when the sinking of the Lusitania sparks an unprecedented wave of anti-German riots and arson attacks.

Among the victims is the immigrant tailor Jacob Stein, found dead in his burnt-out shop. Initially Jacobs killing appears to be the tragic excess of wartime hysteria but when it transpires that Jacob had been stabbed, his safe ransacked, and his daughter Ruth raped, the possibility that these assaults were long-premeditated crimes becomes unavoidable.

Detective Inspector Harvey Marmion and Sergeant Joe Keedy must take on this case of cover-ups and contradictions and track down Jacobs killer and Ruths assailants.

Members Reviews:

Very Disappointed in New Series

I have loved and read almost all of Edward Marston's books and series, but I must say this new series is off to a very bad start.

It moves along briskly enough but I found it hard to like the new detectives, Inspector Marmion and Sgt. Keedy. I am not sure why but I simply didn't like them and couldn't get interested in them.

The book has many subplots which ultimately coalesce into one plot -- who killed Jacob Stein and burned his tailoring shop. Yet the characters in the subplots were weak and unsympathetic. One thing I did not like was the emphasis and time spent on the home and personal life Inspector Marmion. I know the author is setting up a romantic involvement with Sgt. Keedy and Marmion's daughter Alice, but I still found that part of the book boring and more of a distraction.

The main story dealing with the murder of the tailor was interesting but I felt the reader got distracted from it with so much time wasted on subplots and family life of minor characters.

The beginning, with the sinking of the Lusitania was exciting, but the story of Irene and Dot which looked interesting rather ended with one sentence about a woman turning in the address of Ernie to a police station. We never even learn which of the sisters turned him. Yet this subplot took up quite a bit of time.

It is a quick read but not up to the caliber of the Railway Detective series or Doomsday Book series. Alas the latter is not available on Audible.

The only thing that saves this book is the outstanding narration of Gordon Griffin. He is one of the best narrator out there and he adds to much to a book and often overcomes the limitations of the author.

Scotland Yard puzzles me in this book

What disappointed you about A Bespoke Murder?

First I'll say that I haven't finished this yet & am trying to work up the interest to do so. I don't like not finishing a book.

I find it hard to believe how much the police tell possible suspects about crimes, all the details they give away. Why aren't they more careful? I also haven't warmed to the characters. Inspector Marmion guarantees he'll solve the murder & bring everyone to justice. Not realistic. I'm also disappointed by author's depiction of Jews. Jacob Stein's family seem cruel to his daughter. Is the author prejudiced against religions & portraying them incorrectly?

Has A Bespoke Murder turned you off from other books in this genre?

No, of course not. But I much prefer Charles Todd's Inspector Rutledge, who gives nothing away.

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Title: Blood Makes Noise

Author: Gregory Widen

Narrator: David de Vries

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-30-13

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 35 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

On a summers night in 1955, CIA officer Michael Suslov is summoned to a secret vault in the heart of Buenos Aires. His mission: transport the corpse of Eva Perón to a safe hiding place in the wake of her husbands fall from power. But before Michael can comply, everything goes tragically, horribly wrong....

Fifteen years later, Suslov is a ghost of a man living off the radar - and the only soul alive that knows where Evita is buried. When a shadow from his past appears and asks him for help in bringing the body home, as part of a peace deal to end the civil war tearing Argentina apart, Michael agrees, hoping this last mission will quiet the demons from his former life. But Michael Suslov isnt the only one on a recovery mission. Others are desperate to unearth Eva Perón first - and lay claim to the shattering secret she took to the grave.... Based on a little-known yet fascinating true story, Blood Makes Noise is both a riveting thriller and an examination of the power of the dead over the lives of the living.

Critic Reviews:

"ImpressiveWidens atmospheric thriller, full of broken men in a broken country, succeeds in capturing the hold that Evita had over so many, even in death." (Publishers Weekly)

Members Reviews:

Over-the-top absurd

This is a really neat idea for a book, but it went way beyond the believable and wound up on the corny side. In one word: disappointment.

blood review

I good story and narration. interest in going inter national settings and political and historical

Blood Makes Noise - story of men affected by Evita

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

Yes, if they are interested in historical novels of Latin America

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

Not really, but I already knew how the events really played out historically.

What about David de Vriess performance did you like?

He held a tone of resignation in his voice that made me think of the people I knew who lived and still live in Argentina. Added to the credibility.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

How Evita Peron's gigantic ego and narcissism led to her adoration by masses of otherwise sane people.

Any additional comments?

Argentina is the land where I was born. It still escapes my understanding.

disappointed

I read (listen to) 8 to 10 books a month in 1, 2 or 3 hour sessions so I've followed many story lines. I found this book to be difficult to follow. Perhaps it's one of the few that should be listened to in one sitting or with few and short breaks. After 4 hours of listening I am unable to effectively explain more than the basics of what is actually happening in this story. I don't think the character development was done well nor am I able to comfortably flow between scenes and time periods. David de Vries does a good job with the narration. His tempo, diction and emotion are what kept me going after 2 hours. I would not recommend this book to a friend.

No author's note in the audio

I suggest you read the paper book b/c it includes the author's note. I did like the story! VERY interesting in fact!

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Title: The Ides of April

Subtitle: Falco: The New Generation

Author: Lindsey Davis

Narrator: Lucy Brown

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 1 min

Language: English

Release date: 04-11-13

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 24 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Falco: the new generation - Introducing Flavia Albia. Flavia Albia is the adopted daughter of a famous investigating family. In defiance of tradition, she lives alone on the colourful Aventine Hill, and battles out a solo career in a male-dominated world. As a woman and an outsider, Albia has special insight into the best, and worst, of life in ancient Rome.

A female client dies in mysterious circumstances. Albia investigates and discovers there have been many other strange deaths all over the city, yet she is warned off by the authorities. The vigils are incompetent. The local magistrate is otherwise engaged, organising the Games of Ceres, notorious for its ancient fox-burning ritual.

Even Albia herself is preoccupied with a new love affair: Andronicus, an attractive archivist, offers all that a love-starved young widow can want, even though she knows better than to take him home to meet the parents...As the festival progresses, her neighbourhood descends into mayhem and becomes the heartless killer's territory. While Albia and her allies search for him, he stalks them through familiar byways and brings murder ever closer to home.

The Ides of April is vintage Lindsey Davis, offering wit, intrigue, action and a brilliant new heroine who promises to be as celebrated as Marcus Didius Falco and Helena Justina, her fictional predecessors.

Critic Reviews:

"Davis's descriptions of Rome are vivid and lively...this is a great yarn" (Daily Mail)

'While this book is a departure from her usual Falco novels, the trademark charm, piercing intelligence and ready wit are as abundant as ever... dramatic and enthralling, all the more so for being full of historical fact. The characters are intriguing and three-dimensional, and the whole is told with a humour and insight which means the reader will find the book impossible to put down." (www.thebookbag.co.uk)

Members Reviews:

Are women really that stupid?

The lead character is dumb. She couldn't think her way out of a paper bag. The climax of the story made no sense. I have read some of this authors Falco mysteries and they are much better than this one.

Slightly rocky start to "Falco - the daughter"

I was delighted when I saw that Lyndsey Davis had launched a series featuring Falco's adopted daughter as an informer in imperial Rome.

I caught the Falco bug in 2002 when I found "The Silver Pigs" about ten years after everyone else. I snorted down the first four books that year and then settled down to read one or two books a year thereafter. Last year I read "Nemisis", the twentieth, last and the darkest book in the series, where Falco finally has to replace flippancy and stubborn insubordination with grim responsiblity. He had become a Roman of substance, with things to lose and lies to hide. His days as an informer were clearly over. I regretted his passing but thought that Lyndsey Davis had done the right thing by him.

"The Ides of April" is set more than a decade later, The child Thalia was pregnant with in "Nemisis" is now an eleven year old boy. Falvia Albia is a twenty-eight year old widow and has been an informer for a number of years. Falco has "retired" to being an art dealer.

This gives everytihng a fresh start while providing enough continuity that I didn't feel set adrift.

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Title: The Meeker Massacre

Author: Wayne D. Overholser, Lewis B. Patten

Narrator: Jeff Harding

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 48 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-01-13

Publisher: Isis Publishing Ltd

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

This thrilling adventure novel tells the story of a famous massacre on a Ute reservation in Colorado in 1879, three years after the Custer disaster at Little Big Horn.

Members Reviews:

- Think of the worst John Wayne western you ever saw

Written for a different time (published 1969) and for a white audience of that period. - Think of the worst John Wayne western you ever saw.

Most, if not all, of the dialogue is imagined. All the main characters are white and the brief mentions of Ute Indians are incidental. Given that this event was about a Ute battle with the US Army as they entered the Ute reservation and the killing of agent Nathan Meeker and his white male employees at the agency in response to Meeker calling in the Army as a show of force, there is little about the Ute people involved in this mostly fictionalized account of events. This portrayal of Meeker only slightly conforms to what he wrote and did at the time.

It is like a novel about apartheid in South Africa where all the main characters are white Europeans and native Africans have only an occasional mention.

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Title: Mayhem

Author: J. Robert Janes

Narrator: Jean Brassard

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-25-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 8 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

December, 1942. The body of a bicyclist is found on a deserted road in the Forest of Fontainebleau. A Resistance execution is suspected, and the Germans want the killer found within two days, or else. This is the debut adventure of St-Cyr and Kohler, originally published in the United States as Mirage.

Members Reviews:

Great Historical Novel

I love this series. It is very atmospheric and gives you a real idea of what detection of ordinary crimes was like in occupied France. Of course there ae not really ordinary crimes in WW2 France which did not ultimately involve the Gestapo - so we have an unlikely pair who are friends - a Gestapo agent and an Insp. General of the Securite. It make for an interesting duo.

The narrator is excellent with his heavy French accent and French pronounciation of English words gives the book a whole lot of atmosphere. He really adds to the story.

This particular mystery involved an unidentified corpse found in Fontainbleu Forest. The Reistance is suspected. But there is whole lot more to this -- it takes unexpected twist and turns, involved prominent families, and an intervention from the main Paris office of the Gestapo. At the end the duo, are in semi-disgrace and sent off to investiage the murder on a Carouset -- they exposed a few too many secret!

It captures the atmophere of wartime France like no other series of novels have for me. I highly recommend this series.

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Title: The Ionian Mission

Subtitle: Aubrey-Maturin Series, Book 8

Author: Patrick O'Brian

Narrator: Ric Jerrom

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 42 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-01-13

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 33 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin, veterans of many battles, return in this novel to the seas where they first sailed as shipmates. But Jack is now a senior captain, commanding a line-of-battle ship sent out to reinforce the squadron blockading Toulon, and this is a longer, harder, colder war than the dashing frigate action of his early days.... A sudden turn of events takes him and Stephen off on a hazardous mission to the Greek islands. All his old skills of seamanship - and luck when fighting against odds - come triumphantly into their own as the story concludes with some fierce and thrilling action.

Members Reviews:

compelling

Narrator was excellent, love the tone on the different characters.

Story has accurate historical points of interest.

a tot of fine naval gazing ,

a broadside of high jinks rounded off with a dousing of grapeshot from Catain Aubrey et al.

Great

This might have been my favourite in the series so far. It shows great skill that with so many volumes already completed O'Brien can still come out with something new.

Great narration as always

the whole series i excellent

the original books are amazing but the narration really brings it to life with excellent performances for every one of the books

As expected, brilliant,

Ric Jerome takes you there. Brilliant reading of a great story, can't wait for next

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Title: Little Wolves

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Thomas Maltman

Narrator: Hillary Huber

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 24 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-16-13

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 26 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Set on the Minnesota prairies in 1987, during a drought season that is fostering the demise of the family farms, the story features two intertwining narrators: a father searching for answers after his son commits a heinous murder, and a pastor's wife who has returned to the town for mysterious reasons of her own. A penetrating look at small-town America, reminiscent of Russell Banks' Sweet Hereafter or Affliction, driven by a powerful murder mystery, Little Wolves is a literary triumph.

Members Reviews:

What a strange book...

Can't quite get my mind around this one yet. I have few doubts that book clubs, having picked this book, will spend many hours debating what it all really means.

The plot swings from one extreme to another -- at points, it's almost too harsh to bear. A young suicide victim is refused burial in the "regular" part of the cemetery, shunted off, instead, to the section for the damned, those hopelessly beyond salvation. And then there's the 'prairie raw', parts, where the bleak and bitter nature of farm life is laid on with a trowel. For me, the dead animal quotient came perilously close to being too high. Time after time, I was within a hair of signing off, finding something a little easier to listen to.

But I didn't turn it off -- which says something else about this book.

It has its delightful moments too, some of them hilarious. This is a German Lutheran town -- seriously judgemental and harsh in its own right, in terms of how 'newcomers' are treated, in terms of what's done and what's not done. In that sense, Clara is a fish out of water. As a pastor's wife, certain standards of conduct are imposed upon her, and she is expected to comply. But she seems blithely unaware, or better yet, doesn't much care. One absolutely hilarious scene has her showing up, seriously pregnant, at a women's circle meeting in shorts, an incident that will no doubt be recounted with titillation and delighted horror for the next hundred years or so. That vignette is wonderful, exceptionally well written and insightful. I wish there'd been more scenes like that.

The narrator? Once again, this one didn't do her homework. I don't understand why professional narrators don't check for the correct pronunciation of local place names. In this one, Hillary Huber, who otherwise does a good job, repeatedly renders the Minnesota town of "Mankato" as man-KHAAT-o, whereas any real prairie kid will know it's man-KAY-o. Stupid error -- would only have taken a moment to check, and instead, it renders her as less than professional.

Would I recommend "Little Wolves"? Maybe. Sort of. I guess. I'm glad I listened, and I know parts of it will stick in my mind for a long time. Other parts are sufficiently disturbing I can't forget them soon enough. If you like prairie stories, with all that entails, you might find it as intriguing as I did.

Great Mystery - Great Narration

This story grabbed me early on. Hillary Huber's excellent performance made me glad I was listening to it.

Very Interesting

This is the first book I have read or listened to by Thomas Maltman; it is very well written and the audio book kept me very interested. The pastor's wife story kept me wanting more throughout.

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Title: Unsolved Murder Mysteries

Author: Charles E. Pearce

Narrator: Cathy Dobson

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-08-13

Publisher: Red Door Audiobooks

Ratings: 2.5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

First published in 1924, Charles E. Pearces account of some of the most gruesome and intriguing unsolved murders of the 19th century continues to captivate amateur sleuths to this day. Pearce guides us through a fascinating world of wicked assassinations, missed clues, ingenious stratagems, and cunning deceits in one last attempt to track down historical villains who evaded justice. It is impossible to establish the truth beyond reasonable doubt in any of the cases at this distance, but the light which Pearce sheds on the investigations and contemporary testimony, encourages us to evaluate the evidence anew and using our own Holmesian powers, to come up with new theories.

Members Reviews:

Good book if you can tolerate narrator

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

It's a very good book and includes unsolved mysteries I was unfamiliar with. I enjoyed the book itself. I probably would have liked it better had I just read it instead of listening to it, as I found the narrator distracting.

Would you be willing to try another one of Cathy Dobsons performances?

Not unless it was a book I just couldn't find elsewhere in any other format. The narration is very clear, but very offputting. Her voice and intonation sounded almost exactly like Liza Doolittle in the "My Fair Lady" scene where she describes ( in a very stilted posh voice) the supposed murder of her relative and theft of a bonnet. Very distracting from the story.

Was Unsolved Murder Mysteries worth the listening time?

Yes, because the book was enjoyable - other than narration.

Jackanory?!?!

I'm sure the subject matter is of significant interest yet just 3 minutes in I feel as though I should be sat on a mat as teacher reads aloud. Truly awful narration.

Dire performance

Would you try another book written by Charles E. Pearce or narrated by Cathy Dobson?

I would avoid anything narrated by Cathy Dobson like the plague, dreadful delivery. I managed about thirty minutes before I gave up and deleted it.

Any additional comments?

A great book, but ruined by the narration.

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Title: Iron Dust

Author: Max Brand

Narrator: Jeff Harding

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-01-13

Publisher: Isis Publishing Ltd

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 6 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

When mild-mannered Andrew Lanning believes that he has killed a man, he takes to the wilderness. Pursued by Sheriff Bill Dozier, matters become more complicated when Andrew takes a direct shot at the law.

Members Reviews:

A good story

Max Brand was a pseudonym for Frederick Schiller Faust, the famous poet. Faust wrote under many names and was a prolific writer in many genre such as romances, fairy tales, legends, mysteries , psycho-dramas and of course, westerns from the early 1900 to the 1950's. He wrote over 300 westerns alone. He said he wrote poetry in the morning and the fiction in the afternoon to paid the bills so he could write poetry. His college degree was in the Classics and he often worked one of the classic tales into his writing. He was considered one of the most significant American literary artists of the 20th Century. In this story he has a young man, hit a man and thinks he kills him and rides away, then kills one the men chasing him. The underlying theme is he an outlaw or not. I will not give away the ending nor the "women" who believed in him. There is action, suspense and the classic chase on horseback. I find reading a western a great change of pace from the other books I read and a great way to just relax. Jeff Harding did a good job reading the story.

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Title: High Water

Author: Douglas Reeman

Narrator: David Rintoul

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 28 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-13-12

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 2 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

With his own boat, the motor yacht Sea Fox, former naval officer Philip Vivian had hoped to earn a living free from the petty restrictions of everyday life, close to the sea he loved. Now, however, his dream is threatened by financial difficulties.

So when a profitable, if legally dubious, proposition is put to him by an old naval comrade in arms, Vivian is willing to listen. But what starts out as a harmless adventure soon turns into something altogether more sinister. And Vivian finds himself trapped in a treacherous web of violence and crime....

Members Reviews:

Mystery not in Reeman's wheelhouse

What would have made High Water better?

A more believable plot, better character development, some sense of flow in the story, and so forth. This is as bad as seeing John Wayne try to be a modern detective. Nothing about the performance fit. Reeman tells wonderful sea stories with off-beat characters (and ships) to evoke the desperation of battle against incredible odds. This was a cheap spy story that hardly kept me interested and felt wrong throughout.

Has High Water turned you off from other books in this genre?

Yes.

Have you listened to any of David Rintouls other performances before? How does this one compare?

He does a serviceable job. One of my problems is his tendency to 'low talk' too much. I listen while commuting and in noisier stretches it was totally inaudible at any volume.

You didnt love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

I listened to the end in hope but....

Rubbish

Would you try another book written by Douglas Reeman or narrated by David Rintoul?

I have read nealy all of Duglas Reeman books and Alexander Kent-the same auther as well-I do not belive that this book was written by him,also fom the phrasing I would think that this was written by a woman who normally writes for a fashion magazine

Has High Water put you off other books in this genre?

Certainly would

Would you be willing to try another one of David Rintouls performances?

Without doubt

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from High Water?

All of it- a compelete waste of time. I bought twelve credits to go on my six weeks holiday in April and lucky for me this book was the last one I attempted to Listen too, giving up after the first two chapters.If I had known that is was so bad I would have sent it back to you and claimed my credit back to have a decent book to listen to when I go back on the Continent in my caravan in two weeks time for a six weeks stay in the south of France. Looks like I will be useing my own library 'paper backs' of Douglas Reeman again!

Any additional comments?

If in fruture iI order any more Alexander Kent or Douglas Reeman ,please make sure they have written them