20 Best True Crime Audiobooks for Your Inner Detective

25 Best True Crime Audiobooks for Your Inner Detective

Do you enjoy murder mysteries or chilling criminal escapades? The best true crime audiobooks will have you on the edge of your seat, whether the story divulges details about well-known serial killers or unidentified villains of unsolved crimes. You won’t be able to stop listening as each mystery unravels, especially when these fascinating, gripping tales are read by some of the most captivating voices in audio. Here’s a selection of the best true crime audiobooks to satisfy your inner detective.
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    • By: Mark Olshaker, John E. Douglas
    • Narrated by: Jonathan Groff
    • Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
    • Release date: 07-05-2019
    • Language: English
    • 5 out of 5 stars 773 ratings
    • John E. Douglas is a legendary figure in the true crime world. The former FBI agent pioneered criminal profiling and studied some of America’s most notorious killers including Charles Manson, the ”Son of Sam” David Berkowitz, and Dennis Rader - the ”BTK Strangler”. In The Killer Across the Table, Douglas, a New York Times best-selling author, and the inspiration for the Netflix TV series Mindhunter, explores the lives and crimes of four of his most challenging cases. Douglas offers a real insight into the profiling process and reveals some of the strategies he used to catch the criminals. In a pleasant twist for fans of the TV show, The Killer Across the Table is narrated by US actor Jonathan Groff, who plays agent Holden Ford on the small-screen version.

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    • By: Audible Original
    • Length: 8 hrs
    • Release date: 07-02-2018
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 215 ratings
    • Just two days before Christmas 1996, Sophie Toscan du Plantier, a French television producer holidaying in Ireland, was brutally bludgeoned to death outside her home. The crime sent shockwaves through the small, tight-knit town of Schull, a coastal village in County Cork, a normally peaceful part of Ireland that rarely saw acts of violence. As the investigation unfolded, the answer to one question remained unclear - who would want to kill Sophie, a complete stranger to most of the townspeople? Listen in as hosts Sam Bungey and Jennifer Forde take a deep dive into the du Plantier murder and the ceaseless hunt for answers. What makes this breathtakingly atmospheric listen so special is the haunting sound design as well as the intimate participation of the case’s main suspect, an English journalist who maintains he was framed, but who many in West Cork are convinced got away with murder.

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    • One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer
    • By: Michelle McNamara
    • Narrated by: Gabra Zackman, Gillian Flynn - introduction, Patton Oswalt - afterword
    • Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins
    • Release date: 22-11-2018
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 2,770 ratings
    • Known today as the Golden State Killer, a mysterious serial rapist and murderer terrorised California for more than a decade between 1974 and 1986. Then the killer seemingly disappeared, eluding police and detectives—and denying his victims and their families any semblance of justice. Thirty years later, true crime journalist Michelle McNamara picked up the case on her own to try and put the pieces together. The result is I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, a detailed journal of her dogged obsession with uncovering the identity of a violent offender who had been allowed to roam free. McNamara tragically passed away while in the middle of her investigation, just two years before the subject of her research was finally identified and charged. With expert narration from the calm and composed Gabra Zackman, an introduction by Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn, and a touching afterword by McNamara’s husband, comedian Patton Oswalt, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark is a truly original take on the true crime genre and an exceedingly human portrait of the pursuit of truth.

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    • The Story of 'Granny Evil' Kathy Pettingill
    • By: Adrian Tame
    • Narrated by: Lewis Fitz-Gerald, Kelly Butler
    • Length: 10 hrs and 16 mins
    • Release date: 17-06-2019
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 154 ratings
    • A classic of Australian true crime, this revised and updated edition of Adrian Tame’s best-selling The Matriarch, reveals the horrific life and times of Kathy Pettingill, aka ‘Granny Evil’. First published in 1996, Tame’s epic tale documents the former brothel owners’ role as the matriarch at the head of a family associated with violence, drugs and death. Her eldest son, Dennis Allen was a ruthless drug dealer reported to have killed over a dozen people, including a Hell’s Angel gang member who was dismembered with a chainsaw. Two of Pettingill’s younger sons, Victor Peirce and Trevor Pettingill, were acquitted of the Walsh Street police shootings, the cold-blooded assassination of two police officers. The family was also involved in the infamous Melbourne gangland killings in the late 1990s and in 2002, Victor Peirce was shot in the street, the third son the matriarch buried. This is a hard-hitting tale of the darkest side of Melbourne’s criminal underworld.

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    • The Rise and Fall of George Pell
    • By: Louise Milligan
    • Narrated by: Louise Milligan, Thomas Keneally
    • Length: 15 hrs and 28 mins
    • Release date: 29-04-2019
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 150 ratings
    • Louise Milligan won the Walkley Book Award in 2017 for this harrowing investigation into Cardinal George Pell, Australia's most senior Catholic clergyman who was found guilty of sexual crimes against children. Milligan, an investigative reporter for the ABC TV Four Corners programme pieced together Pell’s past as a boy from Ballarat who went to university at Oxford and rose through the ranks of the Catholic Church, becoming an adviser to Pope Francis and treasurer of the Vatican. Back in Australia, during The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Abuse, Pell voiced his concerns on behalf of the Catholic Church. But as Milligan details, the Cardinal was part of the problem. Many of the complainants shared their story with Milligan who weaves a cautionary tale about power, conspiracy and a culture of entitlement. This audiobook includes new revelations and a foreword by novelist Thomas Keneally.

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    • Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
    • By: John Carreyrou
    • Narrated by: Will Damron
    • Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
    • Release date: 31-05-2018
    • Language: English
    • 5 out of 5 stars 2,509 ratings
    • Through the eyes of award-winning journalist John Carreyrou and the commanding, engaging tenor of Audie award winner Will Damron, Bad Blood gives listeners an inside look at the rise and fall of the fraudulent medical tech company Theranos. At its peak, the biotech start-up was valued at $10 billion with power-hitters like Henry Kissinger and General James Mattis serving on its board. A Stanford dropout in her early 20s, founder Elizabeth Holmes was widely considered to be a technological wunderkind, claiming she would transform not just the medical industry but also the world by making blood tests easier and more efficient. There was only one problem—the technology didn’t work. Bad Blood tells the story of how agencies and regulatory bodies turned a blind eye to the biggest corporate fraud case since Enron—an astonishing tale of a scam layered with greed, manipulation, and recklessness.

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    • Oil, Money, Murder and the Birth of the FBI
    • By: David Grann
    • Narrated by: Will Patton, Ann Marie Lee, Danny Campbell
    • Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
    • Release date: 20-04-2017
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 200 ratings
    • In the roaring ‘20s, the Osage Nation in Oklahoma, USA was home to the richest people per capita in the world, thanks to huge stores of oil beneath their land. Suddenly, the Osage began dying off, one by one, without explanation. When outsiders were called in to investigate, they too met mysterious ends. As the death toll climbed into the dozens and repeated investigations were bungled, J. Edgar Hoover, the director of the newly established FBI, exasperatedly called in a former Texas Ranger named Tom White to unravel the mystery. What they uncovered would amount to one of the most frightening conspiracies the United States had ever seen. Adding to this masterpiece of research and storytelling, three famed narrators - actor Will Patton (Remember the Titans, Armageddon), theatre and television veteran Ann Marie Lee, and classically trained actor Danny Campbell - tell this gripping tale of greed, racism, and murder in sections, underscoring each new piece of evidence as it’s revealed.

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    • By: Truman Capote
    • Narrated by: Scott Brick
    • Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins
    • Release date: 03-01-2006
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 282 ratings
    • Narrator Scott Brick (dubbed the “man with a golden voice”) brings an expertly executed narration, rich with intelligence and sensitivity, to this utterly captivating story you won’t be able to pause. In the masterwork that cemented him as a literary icon, Truman Capote tells the chilling story of the vicious murder of a quiet, good-natured family of four in rural Kansas. In November 1959, the Clutter family was killed by a series of shotgun blasts. It was the kind of murder often linked to a robbery - but there was little cash and few valuables in the family farmhouse. Baffled by this startling, seemingly senseless act of violence, local law enforcement was plunged into a furious scramble to uncover a motive. Each event leading up to and following the crime are painstakingly described, leaving you completely breathless right up to the killers’ identification and capture. Capote’s work, based on thousands of interviews with locals, investigators, and the perpetrator themselves, took over six years to complete - and each vivid detail and line of dialogue showcase the immense consideration and compassion that the author poured into his work.

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    • The Case That Inspired the Podcast Phenomenon Serial
    • By: Rabia Chaudry
    • Narrated by: Rabia Chaudry
    • Length: 14 hrs and 30 mins
    • Release date: 11-08-2016
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 520 ratings
    • A podcast-turned-cultural-phenomenon, Serial was the must-listen event of 2014, having been downloaded over 80 million times in less than two years. It told the story of Adnan Syed, a young man who was arrested and charged - perhaps erroneously - for the 1999 murder of his ex-girlfriend. Now, hear the story as never before from Rabia Chaudry, an attorney and family friend who jump-started a new investigation and trial for Syed. Despite a jury’s conclusion, Chaudry maintains that Adnan was wrongfully convicted, and claims she has the evidence to prove it. Sharing letters from Syed’s time in prison and illuminating key details missed during the trial, this inside look at a case that gripped national attention combines true crime with an in-depth look at America’s criminal justice system. Fervent, articulate, and passionate, Chaudry narrates her own unflinching work with unforgettable candour.

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    • How One True Crime Writer Started Solving Murders
    • By: Billy Jensen, Karen Kilgariff - foreword
    • Narrated by: Karen Kilgariff, Billy Jensen
    • Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
    • Release date: 11-04-2019
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 331 ratings
    • When his friend and fellow crime writer Michelle McNamara died unexpectedly in 2016, Billy Jensen helped finish her memoir I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, which went on to become a major best-seller. In Chase Darkness with Me, Jensen shares intimate details of the hunt for the Golden State Killer, as well as his own investigations into unsolved crimes such as the elusive murder of the Allenstown Four. Follow Jensen on his journeys into the depths of true crime, as he searches for clues, from tracking down the Halloween Mask Murderer to finding a missing girl in the California Redwoods. Narrated by My Favorite Murder podcast host Karen Kilgariff, this part memoir, part true crime story gives the listener a look into how a true crime enthusiast becomes a professional. After listening to Jensen’s gripping, complex story - and hearing his tips and tools on how to crack any case - you might even feel equipped to go out and try solving a few murders yourself.

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    • A True Story Of Murder and Memory In Northern Ireland
    • By: Patrick Radden Keefe
    • Narrated by: Matt Blaney
    • Length: 14 hrs and 43 mins
    • Release date: 01-11-2018
    • Language: English
    • 5 out of 5 stars 383 ratings
    • In December 1972, Jean McConville, a mother of 10, was dragged out of her home in Northern Ireland with her children clutching at her legs. Her family would never lay eyes on her again - until, that is, her bones washed up on a beach in 2003. Author and New Yorker staff writer Patrick Radden Keefe weaves the story of McConville’s disappearance with the larger context of the bitter conflicts that plagued Ireland throughout the latter half of the 20th century. The result is a mesmerising tale set against the backdrop of a low-level war that raged in Ireland, known as “The Troubles,” a seemingly endless era of violence, terrorism, and acts of rebellion. In his natural Irish brogue, Matthew Blaney lends an additional layer to the audio, immersing you in a world brimming with every scale of horror imaginable - from individual murders to bombs that brought entire communities to their knees.

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    • An Unsolved American Mystery
    • By: Robert Kolker
    • Narrated by: Sean Pratt
    • Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
    • Release date: 09-07-2013
    • Language: English
    • 4 out of 5 stars 30 ratings
    • This riveting account of a series of unsolved murders on America’s east coast pulls the curtain back on the shadowy world of Internet escorts and prostitution. Robert Kolker, an award-winning investigative reporter travelled to Long Island to search for a serial killer believed to be responsible for the murder of four prostitutes, a killer who still hasn’t been found. Kolker interviewed the family and friends of the women and painted a picture of their lives and how they ended up wrapped in burlap sacks in a shallow grave in the sleepy, seaside community of Oak Beach on Long Island. As well as a compelling whodunnit, Lost Girls explores the brutal reality of prostitution and its victims. Narrated by Sean Pratt, a veteran voice actor with over 1000 audiobooks to his credit, his sensitive, soothing tones complete a compelling package and a worthwhile addition to your true crime collection.

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    • By: Beau Donelly, Nick Toscano
    • Narrated by: James Saunders
    • Length: 10 hrs
    • Release date: 18-12-2017
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 328 ratings
    • Tasmanian wellness guru Belle Gibson built a global following by convincing her followers she had cured herself of brain cancer with a healthy diet, exercise and alternative therapies. It would have been a great story, if it was true. Gibson never had cancer. In 2015 her lies caught up with her when award-winning journalists Beau Donelly and Nick Toscano exposed her as a scam. This audiobook charts her rise - 200,000 followers, international book deals and a best-selling smartphone app - and her subsequent fall from grace. Through interviews with her family, friends and genuine cancer sufferers, the full extent of Gibson’s deception is revealed. It’s a fascinating insight into the dangerous power of social media and the potential for deception in the unregulated wellness industry.

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    • By: Kathryn Bonella
    • Narrated by: Nicholas Bell
    • Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
    • Release date: 03-02-2012
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 144 ratings
    • The name Schapelle Corby will be familiar to most Australians. The 27-year-old beauty school student was sentenced to 20 years in jail after she was arrested at Bali airport with marijuana in her body-board bag. She served her time in the notorious Kerobokan Prison where journalist Kathryn Bonella covered her story for the Australian current affairs programme 60 Minutes. Bonella returned to Bali to ghostwrite Corby’s autobiography and the two of them came up with the nickname ‘Hotel K’ which was the obvious title when Bonella decided to write a book about life inside the prison. Bonella spent hundreds of hours interviewing prison guards and prisoners, past and present. Hotel K is an incredible exposé of the violent world that revolves around sex, drugs and corruption. Tourists from around the world have seen their holiday in paradise turn into a living hell at Hotel K, sharing tiny, filthy cells, with killers, rapists and hardcore gangsters. You’ll never think about Bali the same way after listening to this compelling, frightening tale.

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    • The Untold Story of the DC Sniper Investigation
    • By: Jim Clemente, Tim Clemente
    • Narrated by: Maureen O'Connell
    • Length: 7 hrs
    • Release date: 24-10-2019
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 157 ratings
    • For a headline-dominating crime story that completely captured America’s attention when it happened in 2002, there was surprisingly little information on the D.C. (District of Columbia) Sniper investigation—until this comprehensive audio documentary came along. Using thorough reporting, victim interviews, and firsthand accounts from the lead FBI investigators on the case (including agents and brothers Jim and Tim Clemente), Call Me God exposes the seams at which judicial infrastructure breaks down, while elevating the moments of heroism and triumph where both tireless work and a little good luck can deliver justice. Harrowing and immediate, Call Me God is a documentary that feels like an edge-of-your-seat thriller, but with very real-life stakes.

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    • The Shocking True Story of Serial Killer Ted Bundy
    • By: Ann Rule
    • Narrated by: Lorelei King
    • Length: 18 hrs and 29 mins
    • Release date: 23-03-2012
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 219 ratings
    • When Ann Rule met co-worker Ted Bundy in 1971, they became fast friends, chatting over shared lunches. Over the next two years, their bond continued to develop and Rule warmly regarded him as kind and empathic. The last thing Rule expected of Bundy was that he was quickly and quietly becoming one of the most prolific serial killers in American history. As a charming and handsome young man studying to be an attorney, he managed to evade suspicion for nearly five years. By then he had murdered over 35 women. Actress and veteran narrator Lorelei King gives what one Audible listener called an “effortless performance” as she enlivens each pang of emotion throughout Rule’s pained recollections. The Stranger Beside Me is one of the most terrifying selections on this list. It doubles as an in-depth look at the details of the Bundy murders and as a testament to how one man’s magnetism helped him hide in plain sight as an upstanding citizen while committing some of the most vicious acts imaginable.

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    • The Untold Story of the Golden State Killer Investigation
    • By: Paul Holes, Jim Clemente, Peter McDonnell
    • Narrated by: Paul Holes, Jim Clemente
    • Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins
    • Release date: 15-11-2018
    • Language: English
    • 5 out of 5 stars 1,690 ratings
    • Evil Has a Name is another audio entry in the canon of work written about the elusive Golden State Killer, also known as the East Area Rapist and the Original Night Stalker. But even if you’re already familiar with the crimes of now-identified suspect Joseph James DeAngelo, this audio, led by Paul Holes (the cold-case investigator who helped track down DeAngelo) and Jim Clemente (a former FBI profiler, prosecutor, and current podcast host) is a new perspective that has never been revealed before. Holes and Clemente walk listeners through the steps it took to close the case over four decades, from examining evidence to identifying suspects to the innovative forensic genealogy that finally cracked the case. Featuring a collection of first-person interviews and intimate conversations with law enforcement, family of victims, and survivors of the attacks, this listen is a window into the tenacity and strength it takes to maintain your humanity while you’re investigating the crimes of a monster.

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    • The True Story of the Manson Murders
    • By: Vincent Bugliosi, Curt Gentry
    • Narrated by: Scott Brick
    • Length: 26 hrs and 29 mins
    • Release date: 13-09-2011
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 214 ratings
    • Considered one of the foremost entries in the true crime canon, Vincent Bugliosi’s Helter Skelter sheds light on one of America’s most darkly fascinating cases: the cold-blooded homicides carried out by the Manson family. In the summer of 1969, a group of young men and women entered the house of actress-model Sharon Tate under the orders of cult leader Charles Manson and barbarically murdered all five inhabitants, before killing two more the next day. A savagely cruel and senseless crime committed in star-studded Beverly Crest, the story drew massive media attention and became a national obsession. Narrated by acclaimed voice artist Scott Brick, Helter Skelter offers an expert perspective on the case (Bugliosi was the prosecutor in the case), from the bizarre twists in both the crime and the trial to the sinister ways Manson mindlessly selected his victims.

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    • By: Jack Olsen
    • Narrated by: Kevin Pierce
    • Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
    • Release date: 25-10-2018
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 84 ratings
    • When John Sosnovke and Laverne Pavlinac were convicted of the rape and murder of Taunja Bennett in 1990, Keith Hunter Jesperson wasn’t about to let someone else take credit for his kill. On the wall of a truck stop bathroom, Jesperson scrawled a chilling confession to the murder, signing the ominous note with a smiley face. Soon, messages from the so-called “Happy Face Killer” surfaced in the mailboxes of newspaper editors, taunting investigators and the public. As the letters continued, so did the murders - eight of them confirmed. Jesperson later claimed to have killed 185 people. The riveting chase to catch a serial killer is told from the first-hand perspective of journalist Jack Olsen and brought to life by prolific narrator Kevin Pierce (playfully monikered “The Voice of the Apocalypse” for his work in dark, life-and-death audio), carefully unpacking the crimes, the letters, and the tragic backstory of how such a vicious killer came to be.

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    • The Murky World of Michael Mc Gurk and Ron Medich
    • By: Kate McClymont
    • Narrated by: Kate McClymont
    • Length: 14 hrs
    • Release date: 17-09-2019
    • Language: English
    • 4.5 out of 5 stars 84 ratings
    • Kate McClymont is Australia’s best-known and most-awarded journalist and Dead Man Walking is her incredible tale of business, corruption and crime in Sydney. It’s not just a local story. McClymont’s investigation takes her to Moscow, Brunei, Indonesia and Hawaii to unravel the complicated business relationship between Michael McGurk and Ron Medich. McGurk originally contacted the author because he was convinced there was a hit out on him. Considering McGurk’s past which included a history of violence, threats, arson and intimidation, McClymont believed him and agreed to meet. McGurk was killed in the driveway of his home in a posh Sydney suburb before that meeting took place. McClymont received death threats and moved her family to a hotel for their own safety. She narrates a story of fraud, conspiracy, false identities, kidnapping, turncoats, snitches, and tragedy, that will leave you reeling.

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More in True Crime: Audible Original Podcasts

Blood Territory

Set against a sizzling Darwin backdrop, this is true crime 'Territory Style'. Brought to you by a Walkley Award-winning journo, the investigation has it all: murder, vigilantism, and allegations as wild as its landscape.

Ghosthunter

Part family memoir, part true crime story, this podcast sees a police investigation collide with paranormal activity and a family’s terrible forgotten secret. Our members have called it 'enthralling' and 'captivating'.

No Gangsters in Paradise

This is true crime told from the inside out. In Western Sydney circa 1999, gun-toting gangs ruled Western Sydney – with a family feud at its violent epicentre. Listeners have called it ‘bingeworthy’ and ‘unbelievably good’.

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