Showing results by publisher "Penguin Audio" in Crime Fiction

An underground chamber is exposed in a seedy, dilapidated house with sagging trim and peeling paint…In the dark cellar, a ritualistic display is revealed. A human skull rests on a cauldron, surrounded by slain chickens and bizarre figurines. Beads and antlers dangle overhead. Called to the scene is forensic anthropologist Dr Temperance Brennan. Bony architecture suggests that the skull is that of a young, black female.

The latest novel in the Will Trent series from number one best-selling author Karin Slaughter. A body is discovered in an empty Atlanta warehouse. It's the body of an ex-cop, and from the moment Special Agent Will Trent walks in he knows this could be the most devastating case of his career. Bloody footprints leading away from the scene reveal that another victim - a woman - has left the scene and vanished into thin air.

Jet is the daughter of one of the wealthiest families in Woodstock, Vermont. Twenty-seven years old, she’s still waiting for her life to begin. She’ll do it later, she always says. She has time. Until, on the night of Halloween, Jet is violently attacked by an unseen intruder. She suffers a catastrophic brain injury. The doctor is certain that within a week, she’ll suffer a deadly aneurysm. Jet never thought of herself as having enemies. But now she looks at everyone in a new light: her family, her ex-best friend turned sister-in-law, her former boyfriend.

In the far north of Norway a man lives a peaceful existence. However one day his younger brother, always the more successful and charming of the two, turns up to visit, accompanied by his new wife. It soon turns out that the little brother is not quite as angelic as he seems.

A small, broken town sits on the edge of a frozen lake surrounded by a forest, its wounds still raw from a tragedy that tore its fragile community in two. Beartown has lost its way. Now the cold and dark that surround the snowbound town creep in, and so do new conflicts and tensions. What was once a friendly rivalry with the neighbouring town is beginning to turn sinister and Beartown braces itself for another tragic blow. How far will the people of Beartown go to preserve their reputations for a second, deadly time?

Time and again, Texas Ranger Rory Yates has proved his strength on the field, but now he faces two of the toughest cases of his career. Two missing women. Both are Native American, but does anything else link them? Soon, he discovers that this is not the first time this has happened. Every year for the past four years, a Native American woman has gone missing on the summer solstice. There is never sign of a struggle. The captor leaves no trace, except for a single golden eagle feather.

Jack Reacher gets off the bus in a sleepy no-name town outside Nashville, Tennessee. He plans to grab a cup of coffee and move right along. Not going to happen. The town has been shut down by a cyber attack. At the centre of it all, whether he likes it or not, is Rusty Rutherford. He's an average IT guy, but he knows more than he thinks.

Every morning Håkan von Enke takes a walk in the forest near his apartment in Stockholm. However, one winter’s day he fails to come home. It seems that he has vanished without trace. Detective Kurt Wallander is not officially involved in the investigation but he has personal reasons for his interest in the case, as Håkan’s son is engaged to his daughter.... The return of Kurt Wallander, for his final case, confirms Henning Mankell’s position as the king of crime writing.

Una Richardson is devastated after the death of her mother. Hoping for a fresh start, she responds to an advertisement and steps into the rich, comforting world of elderly Mrs Elspeth McKenzie. But Elspeth's home is not as safe as it seems. Kathryn, her cold and bitter daughter, resents Una's presence. More disturbing is the evidence suggesting two girls lived here before. What happened to them? Why will the McKenzies not talk about them? As the walls close in around her, Una fears she'll end up just like the other girls.

You DO NOT MESS with the Special Investigators!The events of 9/11 changed Jack Reacher’s drifter life in a practical way. In addition to his folding toothbrush, he now needs to carry photo ID to get around. Yet he is still as close to untraceable as a human being in America can get. So when a member of his old Army unit manages to get a message to him, he knows it has to be deadly serious. The Special Investigators always watched each other’s backs. Now Reacher must put the old unit back together

1970s Atlanta: A time of great change and yet for many the fierce desire to keep things exactly the same is still strong. For women like Maggie Lawson and Kate Murphy every day is a battle. From different sides of the tracks they are united in their determination to be good cops. But they have to fight the prejudice of people like Maggie's uncle Terry who are convinced a woman's place is in the home. And all this in a city where 10 cops are killed a year and most of the city is a no-go area - even for their male colleagues.

July 1910: The grisly remains of Cora Crippen, music hall singer and wife of Dr Hawley Crippen, are discovered in the cellar of 39 Hilldrop Crescent, Camden. But the Doctor and his mistress, Ethel Le Neve, have vanished, much to the frustration of Scotland Yard and the outrage of a horrified London. Across the Channel in Antwerp, the SS Montrose sets sail on its two week voyage to Canada. Amongst its passengers are the overbearing Antonia Drake and her daughter Victoria, who is hell-bent on romance....

Dr Dylan Reinhart is an expert on criminal behaviour. But when his best-selling book is found at a gruesome murder scene, Dylan comes face to face with the real world of crime. And the killer is expecting him. Elizabeth Needham, the brilliant NYPD detective leading the case, recruits Dylan to help investigate another clue the killer has left behind - a playing card. Is this the killer's signature? Or will the cards lead them to the next victim, and right into the Dealer's hands? The Dealer's twisted game will test everything Dylan thought he knew about the criminal mind.

Washington DC is under siege and Detective Alex Cross has work to do. A controversial Senator is found murdered in his bed and a young girl is savagely killed. Alex Cross is under pressure from both sides and faced with an impossible choice. Alex must do the impossible but the people of Washington aren't safe, and the clock is ticking before the killer sets their sights on their ultimate target. Can he catch the killer behind these nefarious crimes in time?

Maggie Bird’s ‘book group’ is an unusual one – a group of retired spies living an anonymous life in the seaside town of Purity. And this summer they plan little more than ‘reading’ (whilst sipping martinis), and some gentle birdwatching. But trouble is just around the corner as the summer guests arrive. For acting Police Chief Jo Thibodeau, summer brings its own problems – packed streets, bar brawls, petty theft.

When Juan Cabrillo fails to capture the leader of Mexico's most dangerous drug cartel and loses an Oregon crew member, he wants revenge. But the explosion he narrowly escaped was merely the latest from a decades-old machine of war. Cabrillo's Corporation may have finally met its match in The Pipeline—a criminal syndicate with a torpedo so deadly it could level entire cities.

When Gregory Matthews, patriarch of the Poplars, is found dead one morning, imperious Aunt Harriet blames it on the roast duck he ate for supper. After all, she had warned him about his blood pressure. But a post-mortem determines that the cause of death is much more sinister. Murder. By poison. Suspicion falls immediately amongst his bitter, quarrelsome family. Each has a motive; each, opportunity. It falls to Superintendent Hannasyde to sift through all the secrets and lies and discover just who killed Gregory Matthews, before the killer strikes again....

When a distraught mother pleads with reporter Cindy Thomas to investigate the disappearance of her daughter, Tara, and her baby granddaughter, Cindy goes straight to SFPD Sergeant Lindsay Boxer. The prime suspect is Tara's husband, but he tells a conflicting story that paints Tara as a wayward wife, not a missing person. Is this a tragic case of domestic violence? Or is the truth linked to a more complex network of killings?

Random House presents the audiobook edition of Texas Ranger by James Patterson, read by Christopher Ragland. Rory Yates' skill and commitment to the badge have seen him rise through the ranks in the Texas Ranger division, but it came at a cost - his marriage. When he receives a worrying phone call from his ex-wife, Anne, Rory speeds to what used to be their marital home. He arrives to a horrifying crime scene and a scathing accusation: he is named a suspect in Anne's murder. Rory's only choice is to find the killer himself.

You probably already know my name. Lucy Chase, the woman who doesn’t remember murdering her best friend. Even though they couldn’t find enough evidence to charge me, I know you all think I did it. That’s OK. I realise being found wandering the streets the next day covered in her blood wasn't a great look. Believe me, I’m as frustrated as you are. I’d love to know if I’m a murderer – it’s the sort of thing you really should know about yourself, isn’t it? And now, thanks to true-crime podcast Listen for the Lie, I finally have the chance to find out.