Listen to Popular Authors Full Audiobooks in Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

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Title: The Glass Rainbow

Subtitle: A Dave Robicheaux Novel

Author: James Lee Burke

Narrator: Will Patton

Format: Unabridged

Length: 15 hrs and 7 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-13-10

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 2851 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

James Lee Burkes eagerly awaited new novel finds Detective Dave Robicheaux back in New Iberia, Louisiana, and embroiled in the most harrowing and dangerous case of his career. Seven young women in neighboring Jefferson Davis Parish have been brutally murdered. While the crimes have all the telltale signs of a serial killer, the death of Bernadette Latiolais, a high-school honor student, doesnt fit: she is not the kind of hapless and marginalized victim psychopaths usually prey upon. Robicheaux and his best friend, Clete Purcel, confront Herman Stanga, a notorious pimp and crack dealer whom both men despise. When Stanga turns up dead shortly after a fierce beating by Purcel, in front of numerous witnesses, the case takes a nasty turn, and Cletes career and life are hanging by threads over the abyss.

Adding to Robicheauxs troubles is the matter of his daughter, Alafair, on leave from Stanford Law to put the finishing touches on her novel. Her literary pursuit has led her into the arms of Kermit Abelard, celebrated novelist and scion of a once prominent Louisiana family whose fortunes are slowly sinking into the corruption of Louisianas subculture. Abelards association with best-selling ex-convict author Robert Weingart, a man who uses and discards people like Kleenex, causes Robicheaux to fear that Alafair might be destroyed by the man she loves. As his daughter seems to drift away from him, he wonders if he has become a victim of his own paranoia. But as usual, Robicheauxs instincts are proven correct and he finds himself dealing with a level of evil that is greater than any enemy he has confronted in the past.

Set against the backdrop of an Edenic paradise threatened by pernicious forces, James Lee Burkes The Glass Rainbow is already being hailed as perhaps the best novel in the Robicheaux series.

Critic Reviews:

"MWA Grand Master Burke offers everything his readers expect - brilliant prose, prosaic situations that suddenly become mystic experiences, and a complex plot that repeatedly plumbs the depths of human depravity and the heights of nobility - in his superlative 18th novel featuring Iberia, La., deputy sheriff Dave Robicheaux." (

Publishers Weekly)

"[S]uperb suspense leading to a gripping, set-piece finale that is a masterpiece of texture and mood, with the high-energy climax in the foreground both contrasted against and supported by the intensely lyrical, heavily melancholic prose that swells and recedes underneath the action. Not to be missed by any follower of the landmark series." (

Booklist)

Members Reviews:

God help me if I outlive James Lee Burke

Once again, my favorite author and my favorite narrator on the same piece. No one lets you escape or puts you in a place like James Lee Burke and I find myself seaching for Patton's work on Audible just because he is so outstanding.

Right up there with "Tin Roof"

Best Yet... Almost

As I listened I thought three things: 1. Best Robicheaux book yet: descriptive, exciting, convoluted. 2. Will Paton is really the only person who should ever be allowed to narrate these books. 3. Does everybody in Louisiana have a professorial knowledge of classical literature and a poet's eye?

The "almost" comes from a real disappointment in the novel which I can't in good conscience list for fear of spoiling what was almost a five star book.

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Title: Sizzling Sixteen

Subtitle: A Stephanie Plum Novel

Author: Janet Evanovich

Narrator: Lorelei King

Format: Unabridged

Length: 5 hrs and 56 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-22-10

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 2243 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

Trenton, New Jersey, bounty hunter Stephanie Plum has inherited a "lucky" bottle from her Uncle Pip. Problem is, Uncle Pip didn't specify if the bottle brought good luck or bad luck....

Bad Luck:

Vinnie, of Vincent Plum Bail Bonds, has run up a gambling debt of $786,000 with mobster Bobby Sunflower and is being held until the cash can be produced. Nobody else will pay to get Vinnie back, leaving it up to Stephanie, office manager Connie, and file clerk Lula to raise the money if they want to save their jobs.

Good Luck:

Being in the business of tracking down people, Stephanie, Lula, and Connie have an advantage in finding Vinnie. If they can rescue him, it will buy them some time to raise the cash.

Bad Luck:

Finding a safe place to hide Vinnie turns out to be harder than raising $786,000. Vinnie's messing up Mooner's vibe, running up pay-per-view porn charges in Ranger's apartment, and making Stephanie question genetics.

Good Luck:

Between a bonds office yard sale that has the entire Burg turning out, Mooner's Hobbit-Con charity event, and Uncle Pip's lucky bottle, they just might raise enough money to save the business, and Vinnie, from ruin.

Bad Luck:

Saving Vincent Plum Bail Bonds means Stephanie can keep being a bounty hunter. In Trenton, this involves hunting down a man wanted for polygamy, a turnpike toilet paper bandit, and a drug dealer with a pet alligator named Mr. Jingles.

Good Luck:

The job of bounty hunter comes with perks in the guise of Trenton's hottest cop, Joe Morelli, and the dark and dangerous security expert, Ranger. With any luck at all, Uncle Pip's lucky bottle will have Stephanie getting lucky - the only question is...with whom?

Sizzling Sixteen - so hot, it might spontaneously combust!

Members Reviews:

16... is a fizzle not a sizzle!

This one was a real snooze. If it hadn't been for Lorelei King, I might have stopped listening but she is always so entertaining. Evanovich just rehashed all the same characters with all the same descriptions that she has used in previous books. The story line was boring, as well. I have all the Stephanie Plum novels in hard copy and audiobook and this one was a let down. I re-downloaded Ten Big Ones to get my Stephanie fix. "Ten" has new characters, a wedding, an invasion of Ranger's private space, persuit by a gang, an hilarious FTA-doodle lady, etc. Jam packed funny adventure. Sizzling Sixteen is a major disappointment.

15 was a disappointment, 16 was worse

I never thought I'd wish for a Plum series book to just be over with. I finished listening about 8 hours ago and I can't even remember the point of the book. Oh, maybe there wasn't one. The narrator like usual was fantastic and Lula's lines were great. Lula was the only bright spot of the book. There were a couple grandma zingers but she wasn't highlighted much.

At first when I saw the length of the unabridged book for a full price, I was disappointed. Now I'm thankful it was short. BTW, if you scroll through the length of the Plum series books, they are getting significantly shorter in length. As another reviewer mentioned, perhaps J. Evanovich has run out of Stephanie's adventures.

Fluffy

This is a light fluffy book, with no pretensions to great plotting or character development. It's an amusing read that doesn't require much of the listener.

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Title: Free Fire

Author: C. J. Box

Narrator: David Chandler

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-16-10

Publisher: Recorded Books

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 1422 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

Best-selling author C. J. Boxan Anthony and Macavity Award winnerearned starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Booklist for this exceptional mystery. Taking advantage of a legal loophole, a lawyer kills four people in Yellowstone National Park and walks away a free man. As the public outcry intensifies, the governor hires former game warden Joe Pickett to conduct a private investigation.

Members Reviews:

One of the best Joe Pickett books

All of the Joe Pickett books are great, but this one is exceptional. Wyoming Game Warden Joe is on temporary assignment to Yellowstone Park, where he comes face to face with part of his traumatic childhood which has not been revealed before. He is also traveling with his bad-ass mirror image, Nate Romanowski, who shows him some of his black ops secrets of Yellowstone. You'll never look at a visitor's center or national park hotel the same way.

Another skillful plot by Box, which ties up good-guy local rangers, corrupt bureaucrats, bad/good feds, a very weird legal loophole making murder legal in a corner of the park, and bio-mining skullduggery. Box has an amazing way of capturing the potential for good and evil at all levels of government & the private sector.

A very fun read!

Free Fire is the best of the three Joe Pickett novels I've "read" so far. The plot is complex, yet not convoluted. The characters act believably. Most of all, it's a fun read.

Another great CJ Box book

What made the experience of listening to Free Fire the most enjoyable?

This entire review contains SPOILERS:

David Chandler's narration was outstanding. Because Chandler has done all the CJ Box books I've listened to, he IS Joe Pickett, et al, to me.

The story was wrapped around a bizarre legal point about venue and the requirement for local juriesthere are no courts, so no venue, and since no one lives in that part of the park, so a local jury could not be found. The book made the complicated legal mess pretty simple and worked the story into the framework of the laws, or lack thereof.

The guy who believed the Yellowstone "volcano" (actually, the Yellowstone Caldera, there are six other super-volcanos hiding under caldera in the world) wasn't crazy, everything he mentioned is supported scientifically. The caldera erupts about every 600,000 years and we are overdue for an eruption.I live about 4 hours away from Yellowstone and will be one of the first to get wiped out by the eruption; most of us here think that's better than having to live with the aftermath of the eruption.

The discussion of the thermophiles and the fact they are legally mined in the park was a good center point for the plot to hinge on. It really made you hate the bad guys without revealing who they were until the end.

Overall a great book, with a great narrator. A good book to add to any CJ Box enthusiast's collection. This, and Savage Run, are Box's best books.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Free Fire?

Any of Box's books where Nate Romanoski plays a significant part are among his best. SPOILER: When Nate showed up in the 'Free Fire Zone' and shot the guy with his .454 Casull to save Joe. As an paramedic, I can tell you that the guy probably wouldn't have survived. Each .454 slug is about as big as your little finger.

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Title: Caught

Author: Harlan Coben

Narrator: Carrington MacDuffie, Danny Campbell

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 53 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-23-10

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 1487 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

From the number-one New York Times best-selling master of suspense comes a fast-paced, emotion-packed novel about guilt, grief, and our capacity to forgive.

Seventeen-year-old Haley McWaid is a good girl, the pride of her suburban New Jersey family, captain of the lacrosse team, headed off to college next year with all the hopes and dreams her doting parents can pin on her. Which is why, when her mother wakes one morning to find that Haley never came home the night before, and three months quickly pass without word from the girl, the community assumes the worst.

Wendy Tynes is a reporter on a mission, to identify and bring down sexual predators via elaborate and nationally televised sting operations. Working with local police on her news program Caught in the Act, Wendy and her team have publicly shamed dozens of men by the time she encounters her latest target. Dan Mercer is a social worker known as a friend to troubled teens, but his story soon becomes more complicated than Wendy could have imagined.

In a novel that challenges as much as it thrills, filled with the astonishing tension and unseen suburban machinations that have become Coben's trademark, Caught tells the story of a missing girl, the community stunned by her loss, the predator who may have taken her, and the reporter who suddenly realizes she can't trust her own instincts about this story - or the motives of the people around her.

Members Reviews:

Couldn't finish it

I have several hundred books in my Audible library and this may be the worst. Don't know how much of it is the narrator, though. All the male characters sound like Mae West. Just awful. Had to delete it without finishing, and I usually slog through it no matter how bad it is.

Duped

It's hard for me to say 100% how I feel about this book due to the bait and switch with the narrator. I pick my audiobooks extremely carefully, just as often due to the narrator or quality of narration. This particular reader, Carrington MacDuffie I had never heard of so... I played the sample. After hearing a male narrator with a pleasant enough sounding voice, I purchased the book.

Due to the fact that the actual narrators name could be either male or female, I naturally assumed it was male because of the sample provided. Wrong. As far as I can tell the sample reader only reads the lead-in, although I can't be positive he does not appear anywhere else due to the fact it is unlistenable. There are certain genres and titles where a female narrator is just fine, but in my opinion they tend to caricaturize male voices, making them sound ridiculous. Picture your mom talking to you sternly as a child. This one is no different. Women characters sound just fine, but the males to a man sound like a bad noir film. I am disappointed Mr Coben did not choose Scott Brick, but at least he did not attempt to read it himself again. The story seems interesting, but the misleading sample really left a bad taste in my mouth. So, members beware: The sample is not the narrator!

Agree and Disagree with other reviewers

Yes the narration was pretty bad, ok, really bad. The story however, I liked for the following reasons: the premise of someone being accused of molestation and the what if they are innocent conflict is interesting, the realistic portrayal of the relationship between the mother and her teen son was very dear really, and because I recently saw on J.

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Title: Voodoo River

Subtitle: An Elvis Cole - Joe Pike Novel, Book 5

Author: Robert Crais

Narrator: Mel Foster

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-15-10

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 537 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

L.A. private eye Elvis Cole is hired by popular television star Jodie Taylor to delve into her past and identify the biological parents who gave her up for adoption 36 years before. Cole's assignment is to find out their biological history and report back.

It seems all too clear cut. But when he gets to Louisiana and begins his search, he finds out there's something much darker going on. Other people are also looking for Taylor's parents - and some are ending up dead.

And when Cole realizes that his employer knew more than she was telling, Voodoo River becomes a twisting tale of identity, secrets, and murder.

Critic Reviews:

"Cole, in his fifth appearance, is in fine form. He's as tough, witty, and clever as ever, and his partner Pike exudes danger like no one in suspense fiction this side of Spenser's Hawk. The series has been nominated for Edgars and has won Anthonys. This installment is every bit as good as its predecessors." (Booklist)

Members Reviews:

Wonderful story...great narrator

If you like Elvis, he's in fine form in this Crais offering.

Outstanding mystery with just a note of sadness. Compelling characters, delightful plotting that clips along. This is Crais at his best.

Who worte this book

It doesn't appear to have been Robert Crais. Elvis and Pike are here, Pike a lot more to character than Elvis. The story drags, Elvis acts in was not like Elvis. The one main flaw... Mel Foster has to go. He doesn't get the characters. I believe I tried to listen to this story a while back, Luther the snapping turtle jolted my memory. I think I got bored and never finished it. Well this time I did finish, and I'm disappointed.

Narrator's Voice Did Not Fit the Narrative

Narrator's voice was too deep. Did not match my mental image of Elvis Cole. The narrator did not do other voices well at all, especially female voices.

You can skip this one

Story - average for all, below average Cole/Pike. Narrator - bad, sounds a lot like Dick Hill, his Cajun is strained and just wrong at times, his Joe Pike is way off. Not sure if authors are part of the process to choose narrators, but Cole's quirky personality which comes through with all other narrators in the series is completely lost here. Sounds as dry as a procedural. Don't waste your credits.

great story. good characters. Nice Romance.

Elvis is quite enjoyable as a smart alec private eye. romance with Lady attorney was quite touching. you know by the end there has to be more at the next story. narration was weak. he had trouble giving authentic voices to other characters. this did not take away substantially from the enjoyment of the story. I look forward to more Elvis Cole stories.

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Title: The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag

Subtitle: A Flavia de Luce Mystery

Author: Alan Bradley

Narrator: Jayne Entwistle

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-09-10

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 1460 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

From Dagger Award-winning and internationally best-selling author Alan Bradley comes this utterly beguiling mystery, starring one of fictions most remarkable sleuths: Flavia de Luce, a dangerously brilliant 11-year-old with a passion for chemistry and a genius for solving murders. This time, Flavia finds herself untangling two deathsseparated by time but linked by the unlikeliest of threads.

Flavia thinks that her days of crime-solving in the bucolic English hamlet of Bishops Lacy are overand then Rupert Porson has an unfortunate rendezvous with electricity. The beloved puppeteer has had his own strings sizzled, but whod do such a thing and why? For Flavia, the questions are intriguing enough to make her put aside her chemistry experiments and schemes of vengeance against her insufferable big sisters. Astride Gladys, her trusty bicycle, Flavia sets out from the de Luces crumbling family mansion in search of Bishops Laceys deadliest secrets.

Does the madwoman who lives in Gibbet Wood know more than shes letting on? What of the vicars odd ministrations to the catatonic woman in the dovecote? Then theres a German pilot obsessed with the Brontë sisters, a reproachful spinster aunt, and even a box of poisoned chocolates. Most troubling of all is Porsons assistant, the charming but erratic Nialla. All clues point toward a suspicious death years earlier and a case the local constables cant solvewithout Flavias help. But in getting so close to whos secretly pulling the strings of this dance of death, has our precocious heroine finally gotten in way over her head?

Critic Reviews:

"Billiant, irresistible and incorrigible, Flavia has a long future ahead of her. Bradley's mystery debut is a standout." (Kirkus Reviews)

Members Reviews:

delightful!

This is one of two (so far) Flavia de Luce books by Alan Bradley - both are delightful. I can't recommend them more highly. The main character is a smart, witty, observant, precocious (but in fun and amusing kind of way) Pippi Longstocking type character - full of mischief, independent spirit and bursting with the sheer joy of being alive. Flavia loves scientific experients and solving mysteries, and peppers her observations of science and life with historical facts that never get in the way of the flow of the story. The descriptions of English country life and of the landscape and village characters are also good and add to the experience of the story. Thank you Audible, for pairing this delightful heroine, the11 year old Flavia de Luce, with the pitch perfect narration of Jayne Entwhistle! It's a great combination. I have been a member of audible for years and cannot remember enjoying a character or a story more. The combination of character and narrator really add to what is already a fun and absorbing story! This was not written as a children's book, but it will appeal to the adventurous young girl within readers of all ages. This book (as well as The Sweetness at The Bottom of the Pie) have made me laugh and smile with the wit, spunkiness and sheer joy in life that Entwhistle conveys through her narration of the character of Flavia. Please bring us more, Mr. Bradley, and please have Entwhistle narrate any forthcoming books in the series, Audible. Thank you for bringing this lovely character to life through these audio books.

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Title: The Monkey's Raincoat

Subtitle: An Elvis Cole - Joe Pike Novel, Book 1

Author: Robert Crais

Narrator: David Stuart

Format: Abridged

Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-16-10

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 159 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

When Ellen Lang's husband disappears with their son, she hires Elvis Cole to track him down. A quiet and seemingly submissive wife, Ellen can't even write a check without him. All she wants is to get him and her son back - no questions asked.

The search for Ellen's errant husband leads Elvis into the seamier side of Hollywood. He soon learns that Mort Lang is a down-on-his-luck talent agent who associates with a schlocky movie producer, and the last place he was spotted was at a party thrown by a famous and very well-connected ex-Matador. But no one has seen him since - including his B-movie girlfriend.

At the same time the police find Mort in his parked car with four gunshots in his chest - and no kid in sight - Ellen disappears. Now nothing is what it seems, and the heat is on. It's up to Elvis Cole and his partner Joe Pike to find the connection between sleazy Hollywood players and an ex-Matador.

Critic Reviews:

"Far and away the most satisfying private eye novel in years. Grab this one - it's a winner!" (Lawrence Block)

"Robert B. Parker has some competition on his hands....Elvis Cole is an appealing character and Crais' style is fresh and funny." (Sue Grafton)

"Is Bob Crais good? Put it this way: if they're taking you out to put you against the firing squad wall, and you want to enjoy your last moments on earth, pass on the last cigarette and ask for an Elvis Cole novel." (Harlan Ellison)

Members Reviews:

This guy is interesting - and fun

I started off liking Elvis Cole, and through out the book it gets better and more interesting. He's got class, character. David Stuart (narrator) nails it. Robert does a great job not only with the main characters, Elvis and Pike, but the whole cast. You've met these people, seen them on the street, in a library or at the local PD. Robert knows how to write a gripping story without the sensationalism that most authors resort to in an attempt to make a story interesting. Enjoy!

First Time Listener

Big fan of mystery novels with ongoing lead characters. This one did not disappoint. Fast moving, well read, witty, and entertaining. Elvis Cole is now on my list of titles.

Good start to series

My 1st Elvis Cole Joe Pike story. Loved it. Great characters. Can't wait to listen to the next one.

Elvis Cole is a Favorite!

This was a great story and I loved David Stuart's narration! Well worth your time.

bet Crais has read some Spenser

This is light in mood, plenty of macho and plenty of suspense. Action got a little improbable (unsurvivable)

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Title: Worst Case

Author: James Patterson, Michael Ledwidge

Narrator: Bobby Cannavale, John Glover, Orlagh Cassidy

Format: Unabridged

Length: 6 hrs and 19 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-01-10

Publisher: Hachette Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 1418 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

One by one, children of New York's wealthiest are taken hostage. But the criminal doesn't crave money or power - he only wants to ask the elite if they know the price others pay for their luxurious lifestyles. And, if they don't, he corrects their ignorance - by killing them.

To Detective Michael Bennett, it becomes clear that these murders are linked and must be part of a greater, more public demonstration. With the city thrown into chaos, he is forced to team up with FBI agent Emily Parker, and the two set out to capture the killer before he begins his most public lesson yet - a deadly message for the entire city to witness.

From the best-selling author who brought you the Alex Cross novels comes James Patterson's most action-packed series yet. With the heart-pounding suspense that only Patterson delivers, Worst Case will leave you gasping for breath until the very end.

Members Reviews:

Loved it!

It's one thing for you to give me an easy to follow story with good writing, but then you give me great narration to go with it? The cast did a bang up job. From work to the car ride back home I couldn't stop listening. I hope for more cases with Michael in the future.

was ok, but not a page turner

this is my first book in this series and not sure I'll get another. storyline has potential and started off great out of the gate, but became too erratic and disappointing by the end. Big fan of other Patterson stories, but this one was mediocre.

best case

I read over 100 books a year and it was one of the ten best I have read.

Patterson fails again

Two Patterson books ago I promised myself that I would give up on this author after enjoying years of reading/listening to his books. I saw that this book had such good reviews, so I thought I should give this one a chance.

Well, I was disappointed and wish I had not wasted my credit. I found none of the characters to be well fleshed out, the plot to be predictable (as some have said previously), and the story not able to hold my interest as it should have.

The basic premise of the plot could be engaging, but it feels like the authors lacked interest in giving the story any real meat, maybe they wrote this in a long weekend, as someone else suggested.

The bad guy and the good guys are shallow and this makes for a book that is short on substance. Oh well.......

Wonderful Narration

I'v listened to 4 Patterson books in the last week, and the best by far was this one. Having male and female voices makes a huge difference as one follows the dialogue. I will look for that feature as I search for my future books. I just hope the writers read these reviews and take note. Multiple readers really makes for a much better listen.

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Title: U Is for Undertow

Subtitle: A Kinsey Millhone Mystery

Author: Sue Grafton

Narrator: Judy Kaye

Format: Unabridged

Length: 14 hrs and 5 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-01-09

Publisher: Random House Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 1797 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

It's a question worth pondering. Through 20 excursions into the dark side of the human soul, Sue Grafton has never written the same book twice. And so it is with this, her 21st. Once again, she breaks genre formulas, giving us a twisting, complex, surprise-filled, and totally satisfying thriller.

It's April 1988, a month before Kinsey Millhone's 38th birthday, and she's alone in her office doing paperwork when a young man arrives unannounced. He has a preppy air about him and looks as if he'd be carded if he tried to buy booze, but Michael Sutton is 27, an unemployed college dropout. Twenty-one years earlier, a four-year-old girl disappeared. A recent reference to her kidnapping has triggered a flood of memories. Sutton now believes he stumbled on her lonely burial when he was six years old. He wants Kinsey's help in locating the child's remains and finding the men who killed her. It's a long shot, but he's willing to pay cash up front, and Kinsey agrees to give him one day.

As her investigation unfolds, she discovers Michael Sutton has an uneasy relationship with the truth. In essence, he's the boy who cried wolf. Is his current story true, or simply one more in a long line of fabrications?

Grafton moves the narrative between the 80s and the 60s, changing points of view, building multiple subplots, and creating memorable characters. Gradually, we see how they all connect. But at the beating center of the novel is Kinsey Millhone, sharp-tongued, observant, a loner - "a heroine", said The New York Times Book Review, "with foibles you can laugh at and faults you can forgive."

Critic Reviews:

"As this master of suspense continues to demonstrate in superb mystery after mystery, there are more ugly twists in the human heart than there are letters in the alphabet." (

Entertainment Weekly)"It's as if Grafton purposely begins with a standard situation-and then gleefully sets about breaking every cardinal rule of the mystery novel." (

Los Angeles Times Book Review)

Members Reviews:

A brilliant departure from the familiar

Who'd a thunk it? 21 installments into a series and, far from being a return to a comfort zone, Sue Grafton's latest effort is something of a departure from the routine. As the book opens private investigator Kinsey Millhone is asked to do a day's work by a young man, Michael Sutton. When he was six years old he saw two men burying something in the woods and he now believes they may have been burying the body of Mary Claire Fitzhugh, a four-year-old child who was kidnapped in 1967 and has never been seen since. Kinsey soon learns that it's not as clear-cut as Michael thought but, as always, she doggedly nuts out all the facts and builds her case.

With respect to the doggedness of Kinsey the book is as familiar as an old cardigan but the surprising element was that Kinsey's is only one of several stories that unfold. In addition there's a thread in the 1960's featuring a woman called Deborah Unrah whose grown son returns home greatly changed by the flower power movement and drug culture of the time and another 1988 thread featuring a middle-aged Walker McNally who is a repugnant alcoholic.

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Title: The General's Daughter

Author: Nelson DeMille

Narrator: Scott Brick

Format: Unabridged

Length: 17 hrs and 44 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-01-09

Publisher: Hachette Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 1096 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

Captain Ann Campbell is a West Point graduate, the daughter of legendary General "Fighting Joe" Campbell. She is the pride of Fort Hadley until, one morning, her body is found, naked and bound, on the firing range.

Paul Brenner is a member of the Army's elite undercover investigative unit and the man in charge of this politically explosive case. Teamed with rape specialist Cynthia Sunhill, with whom he once had a tempestuous, doomed affair, Brenner is about to learn just how many people were sexually, emotionally, and dangerously involved with the Army's "golden girl". And how the neatly pressed uniforms and honor codes of the military hide a corruption as rank as Ann Campbell's shocking secret life.

©1999 Nelson DeMille; (P)2009 Hachette

Critic Reviews:

"Long before the John Travolta film of The General's Daughter...Nelson DeMille's seventh mystery was the breakout hit of his career. The rapid-fire dialogue and scenes are cinematic, and the storytelling puts most movies to shame....This is one racy read, and it crackles with authenticity. DeMille is a Vietnam veteran who does for military justice what John Grisham does for civilians." (Amazon.com review)

Members Reviews:

One of DeMille's best, an American classic

Having been disappointed by some of the more recent DeMille books, I decided to listen to this one, in spite of having read it at least twice since it was published in 1992. I didn't see the 1999 film, but picking this one to listen to was one of my best ideas, ever. It's an amazing story, start to finish -- gripping and tense, but still funny, especially when DeMille's trademark smart-ass protagonist cuts loose. Just a great book.

It's always funny how differently a book comes off when you read it yourself, as compared to having it read to you by someone as excellent as Scott Brick. For this one, I knew 'who done it', I even knew why. And yet there was simply no good place to stop listening -- ever. This was one of those books where I kept manufacturing manual tasks so I could keep on listening.

The General's Daughter is a far more complex book than just "a murder mystery", as DeMille writes in a long and interesting foreword to this edition. As I was listening, I kept thinking that I wished I had a book club to discuss this one with -- there are so many issues, so many aspects of this tale that deserve discussion, that I longed for another reader to share ideas with.

As just one aspect of the story, the book deals with the integration of women into the armed services, not just as file clerks and secretaries, but equal to men in job assignments. DeMille makes the point in his introduction that he's all in favor of such equality in the military, but the book paints a slightly different picture -- or seems to. Even though I spent time as a Women Marine, I'm not at all as sure as DeMille is, that full equality for women across the board, including on the battlefield, is such a great idea. Men and women ARE different, in spite of a trend today to insist that they are not. Whether those differences can be sublimated so that they can easily serve together under battlefield conditions, is open to question -- at least in my mind.