Showing results by publisher "Penguin Audio" in Crime Fiction

Simon and Vicky couldn’t seem more normal: a wealthy Chicago couple, he a respected law professor, she an advocate for domestic violence victims. A stable, if unexciting marriage. But one thing’s for sure: absolutely nothing is what it seems. The pair are far from normal, and one of them just may be a killer. When the body of a beautiful socialite is found hanging in a mansion in a nearby suburb, Simon and Vicky’s secrets begin to unravel. A secret whirlwind affair. A twenty-million-dollar trust fund about to come due.

Jack Reacher - six foot five and dangerous. Adrift in the hellish heat of Texas. Moving like a shark in the water. Looking for a lift through the vast empty landscape. A Cadillac stops. A ride, but with a hitch. A pretty young woman, alone. Her husband's in jail. When he comes out, he's going to kill her. Her family's hostile, she can't trust the cops, and lawyers won't help. Reacher is her last option. Will this be the first time he says no - to a lady in distress?

French Kiss: French Detective Luc Moncrief joined the NYPD for a fresh start - but someone wants to make his first big case his last. The Christmas Mystery: two priceless paintings disappear from a Park Avenue murder scene - French Detective Luc Moncrief is in for a not-so-merry Christmas. French Twist: gorgeous women are dropping dead at upscale department stores in New York City. Detective Luc Moncrief and Detective Katherine Burke are close to solving the mystery, but looks can be deceiving.

"Death by self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head" is the on-scene assessment, but the victim's relatives are adamant in their rejection of suicide as an explanation. Discovered in a closet, a full week after death, the body is barely recognisable. Extreme heat has accelerated decomposition, and Dr Temperance Brennan's forensic expertise is required. Advanced putrefaction has made it virtually impossible to determine the trajectory of the bullet.

The sleepy town of Heartsdale, Georgia, is jolted into panic when Sara Linton, paediatrician and medical examiner, finds Sibyl Adams dead in the local diner. As well as being viciously raped, Sibyl has been cut: two deep knife wounds form a lethal cross over her stomach. But it's only once Sara starts to perform the post-mortem that the full extent of the killer's brutality becomes clear

Detective Alex Cross has never been on the wrong side of the law. Until now. Gary Soneji, an old nemesis of Alex Cross, has become the focus of a strange criminal cult. A violent encounter with them has Alex facing murder charges. Suspended from the police and fighting for his freedom, even Alex's family begin to doubt his innocence as shocking evidence against him emerges. With everything on the line, Alex knows that he's on his own. But there's a murderer lurking in the shadows that Alex must stop, even if it means he can't save himself.

The President of the United States is up for re-election. Her husband is on trial for murder. Is the First Gentleman a killer? A pair of brilliant investigative journalists set out to answer that burning question about the football star-turned-political spouse.

Former detective Ray Lennox is determined to start a new life. He has left Edinburgh Police behind for a fresh career and a fresh relationship in Brighton. Then he meets Mathew Cardingworth. Rich, smooth-talking and immaculately dressed, he is seemingly a pillar of the local community - yet he soon draws Lennox back to a past that he's desperate to forget. As Lennox identifies the links between Cardingworth, a series of violent attacks and the disappearances of a group of foster care boys, he is forced to ask himself: what must he sacrifice to expose the truth?

When Ernest Fletcher is found bludgeoned to death in his study, everyone is shocked and mystified: Ernest was well-liked and respected, so who would have a motive for killing him? Enter Superintendent Hannasyde, who, with consummate skill, begins to uncover the complexities of Fletcher's life. It seems the real Fletcher was far from the gentleman he pretended to be. There is, in fact, no shortage of people who wanted him dead. Then, a second murder is committed, with striking similarities to the first, giving a grotesque twist to a very unusual case.

'I've written three books and our deal is over.' That's what reluctant author Anthony Horowitz tells ex-detective Daniel Hawthorne in an awkward meeting. The truth is that Anthony has got other things on his mind. His new play, a thriller called Mindgame, is about to open at the famous Vaudeville theatre in Shoreditch. Not surprisingly, Hawthorne declines a ticket to the opening night. The play is not enjoyed by the critics. In particular, Sunday Times critic Harriet Throsby gives it a savage review, focusing particularly on the writing.

A picture-perfect village. A harrowing crime scene. A web of secrets. A victim who knew all of them. When Nicola Bridge moves back to Dorset after years as a CID detective in the big city, the last thing she expects is for the picturesque village of Fleetcombe to become a grisly crime scene. Jim Tiernan, landlord of the White Hart pub, has been found dead, the body staged with macabre relish on an isolated country road. As soon as she starts asking questions, Nicola realises everyone in the village has something to hide.

How can a child vanish without a trace? Last night, eight-year-old Daisy Mason disappeared from a summer party at her home. No-one at the party noticed her leave. Even her parents aren't sure of the last time they saw her. DI Adam Fawley is trying to keep an open mind. But he knows that in nine cases out of 10, it's someone close to the victim. When a pair of bloody tights is discovered, Fawley's worst suspicions are concerned. Someone knows where Daisy is. And her time is running out.

The unabridged, digital audiobook edition of Jussi Adler-Olsen’s Mercy, Scandinavia’s new bestselling crime phenomenon. Read by the actor Steven Pacey. At first the prisoner scratches at the walls until her fingers bleed. But there is no escaping the room. With no way of measuring time, her days, weeks, months go unrecorded. She vows not to go mad. She will not give her captors the satisfaction.

A hot summer that ended in tragedy. An eccentric psychology professor specialising in psychopaths. An unexpected invitation. A killer hiding in plain sight. Are you ready to enter The Wasp Trap?

Stranded on a dark road in the middle of the night, a young woman accepts a lift from a passing stranger. It's the nightmare scenario that every girl is warned about, and she knows the dangers all too well - but what other choice does she have? As they drive, she alternates between fear and relief - one moment thinking he is just a good man doing a good thing, the next convinced he's a monster. But when he delivers her safely to her destination, she realizes her fears were unfounded. And her heart sinks. Because a monster is what she's looking for.

Since former US Marine Jack Morgan started Private, it has become the world's most effective investigation firm - sought out by the famous and the powerful to discreetly handle their most intimate problems. Private's investigators are the smartest, the fastest, and the most technologically advanced in the world - and they always uncover the truth. When his former lover is found murdered in Jack's bed, he is instantly the number one suspect.

After more than a year of laying low, Billie, Helen, Mary Alice, and Natalie are called back into action. They have enjoyed their time off, but the lack of excitement is starting to chafe: a professional killer can only take so many watercolor classes and yoga sessions without itching to strangle someone...literally. When they receive a call from the head of the elite assassin organization known as the Museum, they are ready tackle the greatest challenge of their careers.

Jack Reacher walks alone. No job, no ID, no last known address. Doesn’t want to be found. But he never turns down a plea for help. Especially from a woman. Now a woman tracks him down. A woman serving at the very heart of US power. A woman who needs Reacher’s native cunning, surly charm and controlled aggression to help her with her new job. Her job? Putting herself in the line of fire. Protecting the vice-president of the United States. Her problem? Someone wants the VP dead.

When Sloane sees a child in tears in a playground one afternoon, she can't help herself – she tells the girl's (very attractive) dad she's a nurse and helps him pull a bee sting from his daughter's foot. With this lie and chance encounter, Sloane becomes the nanny for Jay and Violet Lockhart who seem to have everything: a beautiful brownstone house, a daughter in private nursery school, and long summers on an idyllic island just off the coast of New York. Sloane wants to be just like them. But Sloane isn't the only one lying.

One spring morning, reclusive ex-movie star Lana Farrar invites a small group of her closest friends for a weekend away, on her small private island, just off the coast of Mykonos. Beneath the surface, old friendships conceal violent passions and resentments. And in forty-eight hours, one of them will be dead. But that was just the beginning.