Listen to Best Sellers Audiobooks in Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

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Title: Miss Treadway and the Field of Stars

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: Miranda Emmerson

Narrator: Luci Christian Bell

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-28-17

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

In this sparkling debut novel imbued with the rich intrigue of Kate Atkinson's literary mysteries and the spirited heart of Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, a disparate group of Londoners plunge into a search for a missing American actress.

In the dreary days of November 1965, American actress Iolanthe Green has become the toast of the West End. Charismatic, mysterious, and beautiful, she brings color and a sprinkling of glamour to the scuffed boards of Soho's Galaxy Theatre. But one evening, after another rapturously received performance, Iolanthe walks through the stage door and out into the cold London night - and vanishes.

All of London is riveted as Fleet Street speculates about the missing actress' fate. But as time passes and the case grows colder, the public's interest turns to the unfolding Moors Murders and erupting political scandals. Only Anna Treadway, Iolanthe's dresser at the Galaxy, still cares. A young woman of dogged determination with a few dark secrets of her own, she is determined to solve the mystery of the missing actress.

A disparate band of London émigrés - an Irish policeman, a Turkish coffeehouse owner and his rebellious daughter, and a literature-loving Jamaican accountant - joins Anna in her quest, an odyssey that leads them into a netherworld of jazz clubs, backstreet doctors, police brutality, and seaside ghost towns. Each of these unusual sleuths has come to London to escape the past and forge a new future. Yet as they draw closer to uncovering the truth of Iolanthe's disappearance, they may have to face the truth about themselves.

Members Reviews:

Disappointing

I expected to like this book a lot, but I'm afraid I found it rather dull. It tries to make important points about race and diversity in general, but it didn't engage me enough to make them with any force.

The story, set in late 1965 is ostensibly about the disappearance of an actress and the attempts of her dresser (the eponymous Anna Treadway) and the police to locate her. In fact, it is largely about the characters of the story and lengthy back-stories are rather ploddingly revealed of Anna herself, a West Indian man whom she meets, a Cypriot café-owner, a Northern Irish police sergeant and so on and so on. It was all reasonably competently done, but I never became involved enough in the characters to care sufficiently so it just got rather boring, I'm afraid.

Part of the problem is the period setting. I am, sadly, old enough to remember the mid-60s, and this just didn't feel like that time to me. Again, it wasn't badly done as such; there were only a few anachronisms in speech and nothing stood out as being out of place, but I never got any real sense of period either. There are some slightly clunky topical references to try to establish the period, but I just never felt that I was there somehow.

This is not an actively bad book by any means. Miranda Emerson writes decent prose and it's all perfectly competent, but I just couldn't find any real period atmosphere or interest in the characters.

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Title: The Unmourned

Subtitle: The Monsarrat Series, 2

Author: Tom Keneally, Meg Keneally

Narrator: Paul English

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-27-17

Publisher: Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Not all murder victims are mourned, but the perpetrator must always be punished....

For Robert Church, superintendent of the Parramatta Female Factory, the most enjoyable part of his job is access to young convict women. Inmate Grace O'Leary has made it her mission to protect the women from his nocturnal visits, and when Church is murdered with an awl thrust through his right eye, she becomes the chief suspect.

Recently arrived from Port Macquarie, ticket-of-leave gentleman convict Hugh Monsarrat now lives in Parramatta with his ever-loyal housekeeper, Mrs Mulrooney. Monsarrat, as an unofficial advisor on criminal and legal matters to the governor's secretary, is charged with uncovering the truth of Church's murder. Mrs Mulrooney accompanies him to the Female Factory, where he is taking depositions from prisoners, including Grace, and there the housekeeper strikes up friendships with certain women, which prove most intriguing.

Monsarrat and Mrs Mulrooney both believe that Grace is innocent, but in this they are alone, so to exonerate her they must find the murderer. Many hated Church and are relieved by his death, but who would go as far as killing him?

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Title: A New Line of Attack

Author: Orlando Pearson

Narrator: Steve White

Format: Unabridged

Length: 50 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-06-17

Publisher: MX Publishing

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Holmes recognizes his nonpareil as he watches cricketer, Don Bradman, at the Oval in 1930.

But Holmes's petitioner is none other than future England captain, Douglas Jardine, who wants Holmes to find a way of getting the better of the Australia star.

Holmes and Jardine devise tactics that meet with extreme success when England make their tour of Australia in the winter of 1932-1933, but are hugely controversial. And these are not the only dramatic events afoot at this time. England's tour coincides with a constitutional crisis in Germany and Holmes and Watson are commissioned by the Foreign Office to go to Germany to stop the march to power of Adolf Hitler.

But the rise of Hitler is not the only matter on the Foreign Office's agenda.

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Title: Privateer

Subtitle: Pirate Series, Book 4

Author: Tim Severin

Narrator: John Cormack

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 7 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-03-17

Publisher: Oakhill Publishing Ltd

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Diving for plunder in the Caribbean, Hector Lynch and his companions are spotted by a Spanish ship. Escaping capture by burning the vessel's sails - an act of piracy - they head for Tortuga, where Hector's wife Maria awaits. He longs for a better life for them both, on the right side of the law. But the crew run into Laurens de Graff - a renowned mercenary captain now in command of a royal French frigate - and after fleeing his clutches, they are cast away on a tiny desert island, Salt Tortuga. Hector tries desperately to make his way back to Maria, meanwhile she has decided to undertake the hazardous journey to find him....

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Title: Wild Horse Valley

Author: W. C. Tuttle

Narrator: Jeff Harding

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 53 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-01-17

Publisher: ISIS Audio Books

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Tonto County sees their good-natured sheriff and former vaudevillian Henry Conroy as a bit of a joke, but can he step up and take charge when trouble comes knocking?

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Title: Wild Justice

Author: James Pattinson

Narrator: Terry Wale

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 32 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-30-17

Publisher: Soundings

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

When Peter Hadley, second mate of the British tramp steamer Ocean Waif, goes ashore in Philadelphia looking for the sister from whom he has heard nothing for two years, he quickly finds himself caught up in a web of mystery and deceit.

It does not take him long to realise that his own life is in danger. But Hadley is a tough customer and knows how to look after himself. His inquiries bring him into contact with a number of colourful, bizarre and dangerous characters who both help and hinder him in his search: a striptease artist, a burlesque comedian, the proprietor of a nightclub, an attractive redhead dancer, professional killers, strong-arm men and dope peddlers.

Members Reviews:

Written in 1960 but as Good as Modern Pattinson Novels

Peter Hadley is second mate of a British steam ship called Ocean Waif. His life takes him wherever the Ocean Waif goes and when the ship docks in Philadelphia he sees this as a great opportunity to catch up with his sister which he hasn't seen for two years. Unfortunately he learns from a dancer whose prime days are long behind him that his sister has fallen in with the wrong crowd and gone to New York so on three days leave he sets off to find her. He does not find her there but instead finds a lot of trouble from a man named Schroder who was her former employer and lover. As the Ocean Waif is set to journey to Buenos Aires which is incidentally where Schroder also owns another strip club and Hadley's sister was apparently sent Hadley soon learns that his life will soon be over if he doesn't get answers quickly.

This novel hasn't dated at all and could easily be set in the 21st century. It is a great read as are other Pattinson books such as The Silent Voyage, Skeleton Island, The Time of Your Life, Away With Murder, Blind Date, The Murmansk Assignment, Obituary for Howard Grey, Crane, The Animal Gang, Spoilers, The Golden Reef and Life Preserver. Pattinson writes in an old man style where his characters use words that show Pattinson is obviously from a previous generation and not quite down with the lingo of today but this style does add something unique and enjoyable to his novels.

A suspenseful adventure story set in the 60s

Peter Hadley, second mate of the British cargo steamer Ocean Waif arrives in Philadelphia. In town he comes across a poster advertising Billie Corrinne, Queen of Strip-tease, at a bar called the Red Barn and he remembers that this name is somehow linked to his sister Mary McLaren - her stage name. Hadley meets Corrinne at the Red Barn and he tells him that he last saw Mary in New York.

Subsequently Hadley visits Corrinne at his flat but he finds him dead with a short notice telling that if he wants to find Mary he should contact Henry Schroder at the Bar Ten Club in New York. And that is how Peter Bradley becomes entangled in a web of deceit and treachery and has to run for his life.

A nicely designed and suspenseful plot in one of Pattinson's earlier adventure stories. The book is very well read by Terry Wale for Soundings audiobooks.

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Title: Soldier, Sail North

Author: James Pattinson

Narrator: Michael Tudor Barnes

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-25-17

Publisher: Soundings

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

The gunners on the Golden Ray were a strangely assorted bunch. There was the professional, Sergeant Willis, in love with his job, Vernon the intellectual, and Miller the tragic communistic misfit who found his Russian Mecca not quite what he expected.

Members Reviews:

A living hell

This book was written in 1954 and is republished. It narrates the hell on earth that were the Arctic runs. The allies had promised Stalin to send him material to use in his fight against the Germans. The result were convoys under constant attack by the German navy and airforce.

Flint Whitlock describes it like this:

The voyages across the North Atlantic and from Iceland to the Russian ports of Murmansk, Archangel, and Kola Inlet involved more hazards than in any other kind of naval duty. Severe weather was commonplace. Ice fields could be encountered at any time of year. Floating mines were a constant menace. German submarines, surface craft, and warplanes could strike at will from nearby bases in German-occupied Norway. And, prior to the spring of 1943, when an effective Allied antisubmarine offensive got underway, ships and men making the so-called âMurmansk Runâ had about one chance in three of returning.

This was no glamorous sea campaign, with full-sail, tall-masted men-of-war firing broadside after broadside into their enemyâs rigging. It was a cold, dirty, dangerous business in which seamen might be blown into a flaming sea of burning oil and left to die of wounds, burns, or hypothermia.

Once the convoys reached their destinations, there was no guarantee of safe harbor, either, for the Germans often attacked while the cargo ships were in port, unloading. Then there was the return trip.

The history of the convoy operations, which went on nearly continuously from the autumn of 1939 until May 1945, is one of intense suffering, great loss, unparalleled bravery, and uncompromising devotion to duty. The epic saga is one of the most remarkable chapters of World War IIâone that has for too long been overshadowed by other events.

It took many decades before those merchant sailors on the Murmansk runs were regarded as war veterans in the USA. No GI-bill benefits. And if I remember correctly only a few years ago the British survivors received a medal for having taken part in the campaign.

Most novels have one or maybe two or three central characters we readers can identify with. The heroes of the story. Here it is a whole team of gunners of the Maritime Royal Artillery who board the S.S. Golden Ray of Liverpool. The have to man the gun during the trip to Murmansk.

Of every gunner we come to know a bit of his background. But that is not enough to really bond with the person. However it is a great opportunity to narrate the different aspects of the war: The effects on marriages when the husband has to leave a few weeks into the marriage and only to return almost a year later, the bombardments on the British cities, the old officers who came back from retirement, the British communist and fascists movement, people surviving a sinking to see their mates die of hunger and thirst in the lifeboats, the very lives suddenly cut short. The book works well as a kind of history book.

The writer accomplishes to make you feel the stress. Icy waters with wolfpacks lurking in the depths, planes circling that are the scouts of the attack that will come.

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Title: Bullion

Author: James Pattinson

Narrator: Terry Wale

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-25-17

Publisher: Soundings

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Alan Caley was far from delighted to receive a phone call from his old school pal Chuck Brogan, inviting him to lunch. It was some time since he had last seen Brogan and he remembered that the man had taken part in a gold robbery and been sent to prison for a number of years.

Caley was reluctant to accept, Brogan was persuasive and hinted that the meeting might turn out to be to Caley's advantage - financially. Caley could use some help in that respect - his business was going down the drain and he was pushed for money. So he agreed to have lunch with Brogan, little suspecting what dire consequences would stem from the free meal....

Members Reviews:

You Haven't Struck a Gold Masterpiece. Still, a Good Read

Whilst Bullion is not Pattinson's greatest book it is still a good worthwhile simple read. Struggling to make ends meet with a wife who recently left him Alan Caley receives a call from a childhood friend recently out of jail. Not really liking him but persuaded to have lunch by the offer of it being worthwhile for himself Caley reluctantly accepts. A trip to the toilet after being given an unopen letter to look after has Caley witness the back of his exfriend's head blown away by a couple of thugs. Now the police are interested in him as are the thugs and they all suspect Caley knows where the stolen gold bullion is buried. He doesn't of course but he does have the contents of the envelope to help him find it.

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Title: Contact Mr Delgado

Author: James Pattinson

Narrator: Hayward Morse

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-25-17

Publisher: Soundings

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

English adventurer Harvey Landon agrees to help his old Oxford friend, Don Vargas, who is plotting the overthrow of a South American government. The Revolutionaries, however, are without aircraft and, to obtain their supply, Landon volunteers to take a letter out of the country to a mysterious Mr. Delgado in New York. Complications begin as Landon is stalked on board the New York-bound oil tanker by two agents intent on killing him and stealing the letter.

Members Reviews:

Book One of a Three Book Series. Readable but Better Pattinson Books Out There

Contact Mr Delgado was the first book published with Harvey Landon as the lead character. There were two more published with the last of the three appearing about ten years after this 1959 written adventure. Most of Pattinson's male lead characters are fairly similar, so you may not have even noticed if you were reading them between different Pattinson books. There's nothing wrong with the story, it'll pass the time adamantly, as most Pattinson books will. You pretty much know what you're going to get when you open one up if you've read others. Basically if you haven't they are either set at sea on a ship crossing a large part of ocean, a Richard Stark style crime novel, either that or a basic espionage novel usually set in South America or Cold War era Eastern Europe.

With Contact Mr Delgado we've got a combination of initially a South American espionage tale, which for the second half turns into a survival onboard a ship tale as Harvey Landon hopes to survive a trip from Argentina to Philadelphia. He's a carrying a letter of vital importance (this was written in the days before telephones and e-mail) that will change a civil war and net him $5000 once he hands it to Mr Delgado in New York. However he'd made a few mistakes before working out how he would get to the USA, and those mistakes may have followed him onboard. He's also infuriated a war criminal who is also his supervisor on the ship. Nothing new at all, but Pattinson was a pretty decent quality author, even though you pretty much know what you're going to get, it's still enjoyable enough to get to where you know the story is going to end up. Although the book is nothing that you'll be telling everyone you meet in the days ahead that they must read this.

I'd rate Contact Mr Delgado at three and a half stars, a worthwhile read if you've read the better stuff first. The best Pattinson novels in my opinion are Ocean Prize, Feast of the Scorpion, Avenger of Blood, Blind Date, Homecoming, The Silent Voyage, Skeleton Island, The Time of Your Life, Away With Murder, The Murmansk Assignment, Obituary for Howard Grey, Crane, The Animal Gang, Spoilers, The Golden Reef, A Car for Mr Bradley, Bavarian Sunset, The Sinister Stars, Fat Man from Colombia, the Spayde Conspiracy and Life Preserver.

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Title: McQuaid's Gun

Author: Wayne C. Lee

Narrator: Jeff Harding

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 19 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-23-17

Publisher: Isis Publishing Ltd

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Historical

Publisher's Summary:

Though Dan McQuaid's reputation as a gunfighter spread everywhere, his one wish is to hang up his pistol for keeps. But Cliff Usta tries to trick Dan into taking part in a family feud by offering him a choice piece of land.

Then the Patzels - Usta's opponents - use a cruder method to force Dan into taking their side in the family's desperate struggle for gold. Dan knows the Ustas and Patzels are foolish to fight each other. But only after much tragic bloodshed is he able to show both sides who their real enemies are. Only by that time, it's almost too late to stop total disaster!