True Crime
Talking Books
The titles in this booklist are just a selection of the titles available
for loan from the RNIB National Library Talking Book Service.
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Conscience be my guide: an anthology of prison writings.
1991. Read by Nigel Graham, 12 hours 14 minutes. TB 9616.
This remarkable collection of prison writings inspires us with the
faith, humanity and vision of prisoners of conscience through the
ages. Contributors range from early Christians persecuted for their
belief, to modern day peace protestors, victims of labour camps,
juntas, the holocaust and conscription. Some, like Sheila Cassidy,
have won huge followings during the campaigns for their release.
Contains violence. TB 9616.
FF8282. A prison diary. 2002. Read by Jeff Bellamy, 6 hours 38
minutes. TB 13241.
Prison Diaries; book 1. Jeffrey Archer was sentenced to four years'
imprisonment at 12.07pm on Thursday 19th July 2001. Within six
hours, Prisoner FF8282, as he is now known, was on suicide
watch in the medical wing of Belmarsh top security prison in south
London. This, he discovered, is standard procedure for first-time
offenders on their first night in jail. By 6.00am the next morning,
Archer had resolved to write a daily diary of everything he
experienced while incarcerated. The diary should be of interest to
anyone concerned with the improvement of our penal system,
whether they are concerned citizens, politicians or workers in the
prison service. Unsuitable for family reading. TB 13241.
FF8282. A prison diary. 2004. Read by Jeff Bellamy, 7 hours 46
minutes. TB 14133.
Prison Diaries; book 2. On 9 August 2001, twenty-two days after
Jeffrey Archer was sentenced to four years in prison for perjury, he
was transferred from HMP Belmarsh, a double-A Category highsecurity prison in south London, to HMP Wayland, a Category C
establishment in Norfolk. He served sixty-seven days in Wayland
and during that time, as this account testifies, encountered not only
the daily degradations of a dangerously overstretched prison
service, but the spirit and courage of his fellow inmates. Contains
strong language. TB 14133.
FF8282. A prison diary. 2004. Read by Jeff Bellamy, 10 hours
39 minutes. TB 14371.
Prison Diaries; book 3. The final volume of Jeffrey Archer's prison
diaries covers the period of his transfer from Wayland to his
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eventual release on parole in July 2003. It includes a shocking
account of the traumatic time he spent in the notorious Lincoln jail
and the events that led to his incarceration there - it also throws
light in a system that is close to breaking point. Contains strong
language. TB 14371.
Great British trials: Evans and Christie. 1999. Read by Ronald
Pickup, 3 hours 12 minutes. TB 12341.
"Great British Trials" provides a fascinating glimpse into some of
the most notorious crimes and trials of the last 500 years. Through
the original trial transcripts, eyewitness accounts and
contemporary newspaper reports, we witness the actual events
that made each trial a cause celebre of its day. In March 1950
Timothy Evans, aged 25, was hanged for the murder of his wife
and child. Sixteen years later the Queen was to grant him a full
pardon. The shocking truth of the sordid and tragic events that took
place behind the doors of number 10 Rillington Place was to horrify
the nation. TB 12341.
Great British trials: Ruth Ellis. 1999. Read by Jemma
Redgrave, 2 hours 16 minutes. TB 12012.
This series provides a glimpse into some of the most notorious
crimes and trials of the last 500 years. Through the original trial
transcripts, eyewitness accounts and contemporary newspaper
reports, we witness the actual events that made each trial a cause
celebre of its day. On Wednesday 13th July 1955, Ruth Ellis
became the last woman to hang in Britain. Convicted of shooting
her unfaithful lover in cold blood, the calm appearance of this
mother of two and the furore that accompanied her sentence
ensured this trial was to have a memorable place in the annals of
British justice. TB 12012.
The Seaside murders. 1985. Read by Robert Ashby, 6 hours
29 minutes. TB 6037.
Thirteen classic true stories of crimes which took place on British
beaches, they range from the pathos of the 40 year old heap of old
bones discovered in 1961 which was all that remained of pretty
Mamie Stuart, to the life and crimes of the infamous "Brides in the
Bath" murderer, George Joseph Smith. Unsuitable for family
reading. TB 6037.
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Tales from the Newgate calendar. 1981. Read by Tom Crowe, 7
hours 52 minutes. TB 4318.
This selection from the famous calendar chronicles the exploits of
infamous criminals such as Captain Kidd and Dick Turpin, who
were held in Newgate prison before standing trial. TB 4318.
Altick, Richard D
Victorian studies in scarlet. 1970. Read by Eric Gillett, 14
hours 46 minutes. TB 2398.
The author examines the Victorian delight in murder as a social
phenomenon, and classic murder cases that afford a vivid
perspective of the way people lived. TB 2398.
Aspden, Kester
The hounding of David Oluwale. 2008. Read by Richard
Teverson, 11 hours 4 minutes. TB 16849.
When the body of David Oluwale, a rough sleeper with a criminal
record and a history of mental illness, was pulled out of the River
Aire near Leeds in May 1969, nobody asked too many questions
about the circumstances of his death. A year and a half later,
rumours that the Nigerian man had been subject to a lengthy
campaign of abuse from two police officers led to the opening of
the grave and a difficult criminal investigation. Drawing on original
archival material only just released into the public domain, and
interviews with police officers and lawyers involved in the eventual
prosecution of two Leeds City Police officers, Kester Aspden's
book revisits one of the most notorious racist crimes in British
history. Contains strong language. TB 16849.
Auger, Michel
The biker who shot me: recollections of a crime reporter.
2001. Read by Phil Taylor, 8 hours 30 minutes. TB 17441.
As a journalist, Auger has observed and reported upon the growth
of the biker gangs and their increasing involvement in organized
crime. He has written a number of articles that exposed the Hells
Angels' links to the Mafia; articles that he knows enraged the
bikers enough to have him killed. This is an account of his life as a
crime reporter, with particular attention to his brush with death
when he was shot in the back six times with a pistol equipped with
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a silencer, and the events that followed. Contains violence. TB
17441.
Baron, Stanley Wade
The contact man: the story of Sidney Stanley and the Linskey
Tribunal. 1966. Read by John Richmond, 7 hours. TB 68.
A vivid description of Sidney Stanley and the Lynskey Tribunal of
1948, showing its effect on the Labour Party just after its sweeping
victory in the post-war General Election. TB 68.
Bell, Josephine
Crime in our time. 1962. Read by Arthur Bush, 9 hours 56
minutes. TB 737.
Written for the layman, this is a comparison of crimes over the last
60 years, and an examination of criminals, the police, prisons, and
detention centres. TB 737.
Bentham, Jeremy
Panopticon; or, The Inspection-House. 2008. Read by Greg
Wagland, 2 hours 48 minutes. TB 18799.
Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) was an English jurist, philosopher,
and legal and social reformer. He was a political radical and a
leading theorist in Anglo- American philosophy of law. He is best
known for his advocacy of utilitarianism, for the concept of animal
rights and his opposition to the idea of natural rights. TB 18799.
Bowden, Mark
Killing Pablo: the hunt for the richest, most powerful criminal
in history. 2001. Read by Garrick Hagon, 12 hours 51 minutes.
TB 13403.
This text charts the rise and fall of Pablo Escobar, the richest and
most violent criminal in history. It exposes for the first time the
massive covert operation by US Special Forces to hunt down and
assassinate the man described as the billionaire godfather of
international drug trafficking. This book also tells the story of the
men of the special forces who ultimately destroyed Pablo Escobar.
The author has had exclusive access to highly classified
intelligence documents, secret surveillance footage and Escobar's
wiretap transcripts, and has interviewed the major players in the
manhunt. Contains violence. TB 13403.
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Britton, Paul
The jigsaw man: the remarkable career of Britain's foremost
criminal psychologist. 1998. Read by Michael McStay, 17
hours. TB 12108.
The autobiography of Paul Britton, one of the foremost offender
profilers in the world. Over the past dozen years, Britton has
assisted the police in over 100 cases involving murder, rape,
arson, extortion and kidnapping. He has also advised the FBI and
the Russian Ministry of the Interior. Contains strong language. TB
12108.
Bronson, Charles
Bronson. 2008. Read by Gavin Crymble, 11 hours 6 minutes.
TB 17798.
Charlie Bronson has spent 28 of the last 30 years in solitary
confinement. When he is unlocked, up to 12 prison officers sometimes in riot gear and with dogs - are standing by. Yet this is
a man of great warmth and humour who has never killed anyone
and has often dealt with his gruelling life with humour - during a
siege in 1993 he demanded an inflatable doll and a cup of tea.
Charlie reveals the truth about his extraordinary life behind bars.
Contains strong language and violence. TB 17798.
Brown, Sandra
Where there is evil. 1999. Read by Carolyn Bonnyman, 8 hours
53 minutes. TB 12617.
An account of a woman's search for the truth about a child's
disappearance and her own fathers' involvement. After Sandra
Brown's 12 year old neighbour disappears the police investigation
draws a blank. But 27 years later Sandra's father confesses to his
involvement in the child's disappearance. Sandra delves into the
case and in doing so discovers that her father was a known
molester of children, whose activities were known not just to
everyone in the local community but also to the police. Unsuitable
for family reading. TB 12617.
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Campbell, James
Gate fever: voices from a prison. 1986. Read by David Rider, 7
hours 36 minutes. TB 6474.
In order to bring together this unusual chorus of voices - murders,
fraudsters, armed robbers, the wrongly imprisoned and the
trusties, nonces and grasses - the author was granted two
privileges: a room of his own inside a high-security prison, plus a
pass which enabled him to wander at random talking to whoever
he wished - not forgetting the screws. TB 6474.
Capote, Truman
In cold blood: a true account of a multiple murder and its
consequences. 1966. Read by Marvin Kane, 13 hours 30
minutes. TB 234.
The lives and deaths of a family of four, brutally murdered in
America in 1959, and two of their killers hanged in 1965. TB 234.
Carlo, Philip
The ice man: confessions of a Mafia contract killer. 2008.
Read by Jay Benedict, 16 hours 25 minutes. TB 16853.
Top Mafia hit man, and doting father, for 30 years, Richard 'the Ice
Man' Kuklinski led a double life, becoming one of the most
notorious professional assassins in American history while hosting
neighbourhood barbecues in suburban New Jersey. Kuklinski was
Sammy 'the Bull' Gravano's partner in the killing of Paul
Castellano, John Gotti hired him to kill his neighbour and he was
also intimately involved in the killing of Jimmy Hoffa. By his own
estimate, he killed over 200 men, taking enormous pride in his
cunning and the ferocity of his technique. The "Ice Man" is an
insight into the mind of one of the world's most prolific contract
killers. Contains strong language and violence. TB 16853.
Carlson, L Wayne
Breakfast with the devil: the story of a professional jail
breaker. 2001. Read by Phil Taylor, 15 hours 33 minutes. TB
17871.
In 1960, 18-year-old Wayne Carlson began his eventual threedecade stay in prisons across Canada and the U.S., managing to
escape a record 13 times. Since his release he has become a
respected activist for prison reform. These memoirs of the man
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known as "Houdini" are both a wild ride with an outlaw, and a
firsthand look at life behind bars in North America. Contains strong
language. TB 17871.
Carse, Robert
The age of piracy: a history. 1959. Read by Arthur Bush, 9
hours 19 minutes. TB 1264.
The history of an age of individualism and adventure from the early
buccaneers of Tudor times to the final decline of piracy. TB 1264.
Cassels, Lavender
The Archduke and the assassin: Sarajevo, June 28th, 1914.
1984. Read by George Hagan, 11 hours 7 minutes. TB 5784.
The personalities of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir apparent
to the Austrian Empire, and the student who shot him are
assessed by investigating the influences which shaped their
characters, together with the events which culminated in the
encounter at Sarajevo. This "small news item" in a "distant
country" was to prove the writing on the wall for a dynasty that had
reigned for 600 years. TB 5784.
Charriere, Henri
Papillon. 1970. Read by Robert Gladwell, 24 hours 59 minutes.
TB 1371.
Condemned in 1931 for a murder he did not commit Charriere,
nicknamed Papillon, was transported to French Guiana. In this
book he recounts his frequent attempts at escape from there and
from Devil's Island, the bestiality of the treatment he endured, and
the struggle to retain determination and the will to survive.
Unsuitable for family reading. TB 1371.
Charriere, Henri
Banco: the further adventures of Papillon. 1973. Read by
Michael Stirrup, 11 hours 33 minutes. TB 5022.
Sequel to: Papillon. Henri Charriere, nicknamed "Papillon" has
finally won his freedom in Venezuela after thirteen years of escape
and imprisonment. Despite his resolve to become an honest man
he is soon involved in hair-raising exploits with goldminers and
gamblers, bank robbers and revolutionairies. Contains strong
language. TB 5022.
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Cole, Harry
Policeman's patch. 1982. Read by Christopher Scott, 6 hours
56 minutes. TB 13154.
Autobiography; 1, (four more in series). Anything can happen to a
policeman on his patch; he may find his neck entwined with the
Rubenesque thighs of Rosie Rafferty; his search for a victim may
become a Pied Piper tour of a whole tower block; the vandaliser of
an old lady's flat may turn out to be the last person he'd imagined;
he may even find himself on duty at a Royal Wedding. Contains
strong language. TB 13154.
Collins, Steve
The good guys wear black: the true-life heroes of Britain's
armed police. 1998. Read by Nigel Carrington, 7 hours 6
minutes. TB 13623.
SO19, the Metropolitan Police Special Firearms Wing, is a squad
of gunfighters who daily defend the public from evil. Yardies,
international drug barons, IRA enforcers and celebrity South
London gangsters and hitmen have all been taken off the streets
by the true-life heroes of SO19 either in handcuffs or in bodybags.
Contains strong language. TB 13623.
Cornwell, Patricia
Portrait of a killer: Jack the Ripper - case closed. 2004. Read
by Lorelei King, 12 hours 45 minutes. TB 13714.
Using the firsthand expertise she has gained through writing the
bestselling Dr Kay Scarpetta novels, Patricia Cornwell utilizes the
demanding methods of modern forensic investigation to reexamine the evidence in the Jack the Ripper murders. These
include state-of-the-art DNA testing on various materials, computer
enhancement of watermarks and expert examinations of handwriting, paper, inks and other relics. She also uses her knowledge
of profiling on the possible suspects, as well as consulting experts
in the field. On presenting her conclusions to a very senior
Metropolitan Police officer she learns that had the investigators of
the time been presented with the facts she has unearthed, her
suspect would definitely have been arrested and would probably
have faced trial. Naming the killer as the artist, Walter Sickert,
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Cornwell details the reasons and evidence for this conclusion.
Contains strong language. TB 13714.
Dickie, John
Cosa Nostra: a history of the Sicilian Mafia. 2004. Read by
Jonathan Oliver, 17 hours 54 minutes. TB 14491.
The Mafia has been given many names since it was founded in the
mid-19th century - the Sect, the Brotherhood, the Honoured
Society, and now Cosa Nostra. Yet as times have changed, the
Mafia's subtle and bloody methods have remained the same. This
book reconstructs the complete history of the Sicilian Mafia from its
origins to the modern day, from the lemon groves and sulphur
mines of Sicily, to the streets of Manhattan. Contains strong
language. TB 14491.
Dunning, John
Cryptic crimes: a chilling catalogue of mysterious murders.
1990. Read by David Banks, 8 hours 39 minutes. TB 9254.
Twenty true murder mysteries, all set in Europe. Contains violence.
TB 9254.
Fairclough, Melvyn
The Ripper & the Royals. 1992. Read by Peter Baker, 15 hours
6 minutes. TB 11987.
More theories have been put forward about the Whitechapel
murders of 1888 than about any other unsolved crimes in the files
of Scotland Yard. Who was Jack the Ripper? Was he some lone
maniac 'down on whores'? Or were the Ripper murders, as this
book shows, the joint enterprise of a group of high-ranking
desperadoes acting to protect the Prince of Wales's heir, the Duke
of Clarence, from blackmail? Many new facts are presented in this
book which unravels the nexus of intrigue that has threatened the
Royal family for three generations. TB 11987.
Ferris, Paul
Villains: it takes one to know one. 2007. Read by Jonathan
Hackett, 9 hours 28 minutes. TB 16264.
Paul Ferris spent twenty-five years as one of Britain's most feared
gangsters. Now Ferris recounts the stories of a tough existence
that nobody knows better. The brutality you'd expect, the
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strangeness you might not. The stories cover the underbellies of
London, Liverpool, Glasgow, Manchester and beyond, but the
material couldn't be closer to home - from the job Paul's father,
Willie Ferris, pulled with a school bus full of kids as the getaway
vehicle, to the war Paul got caught up in between two of London's
biggest teams. And, as you'll discover, when it comes to villains, it
takes one to know one. Contains strong language. TB 16264.
Fordham, Peta
The robbers' tale: the real story of the great train robbery.
1965. Read by Arthur Bush, 7 hours 45 minutes. TB 111.
An enthralling, witty and true account of the Great Train Robbery of
1963, containing information supplied by some of the people
actually concerned. TB 111.
Foreman, Freddie
Respect: autobiography of Freddie Foreman - managing
director of British crime. 1997. Read by Steve Hodson, 12
hours 41 minutes. TB 15814.
Freddie Foreman's admission in this book that he was responsible
for the gangland killings of Ginger Marks and Frank 'the mad
axeman' Mitchell, who had been sprung from Dartmoor Prison by
the Kray twins, made headlines around the world. Freddie's chilling
but often humorous account of his life is a story from the inside of
how some of Britain's most famous and daring robberies were
committed, of bent coppers and the criminally insane, of loyalty
and betrayal, and fights to the death. Contains strong language.
TB 15814.
Forsyth, Neil
Other people's money. 2009. Read by Stephen Perring, 8
hours 51 minutes. TB 17339.
Elliot Castro was a gifted outsider, a working-class kid with
ambitions who wanted to live the high life but lacked the money to
do so. Until, at the tender age of sixteen, he worked out how to use
the credit card system to his advantage. Identifying the banks'
security weaknesses, utilising his intelligence and charm, Elliot
embarked on a massive spending spree. From London to New
York, Ibiza to Beverly Hills, he lived the fantasy life, staying in
famous hotels, flying first class, blowing a fortune on designer
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clothes. Time and time again Elliot managed to wriggle free of the
numerous authorities who were on his tail, while his life spiralled
out of control. Meanwhile, from a police station at Heathrow, a
detective was patiently tracking him down. TB 17339.
Fraser, Frankie
Mad Frank and friends. 1998. Read by Steve Hodson, 9 hours
30 minutes. TB 12694.
The text details Frankie Fraser's and his friends’ memoirs of life in
and out of prison. The text includes figures such as `Ruby' Sparks,
the famous pre-war burglar, and Spark's girlfriend, the `BobbedHaired Bandit', the first woman on a smash-and-grab team, with
Billy Hill and Bert Marsh, the self-styled Bosses of the Underworld,
and with the thieves they employed. Contains violence. TB 12694.
Ginzburg, Eugenia Semenovna
Into the whirlwind. 1967. Read by Gretel Davis, 15 hours 27
minutes. TB 7949.
This is the first of Eugenia Ginzburg's two volumes of memoirs
looking at her experiences during the Stalin years in the Soviet
Union. In 1937 she was wrongly accused of terrorism. She was
then tried and spent two years in Butyrki prison in Moscow before
being sent to the hard labour camps of Siberia in 1939 when this
volume ends. Ginzburg describes her life in captivity and how she
coped with it. TB 7949.
Gosch, Martin A
The last testament of Lucky Luciano. 1975. Read by Marvin
Kane, 18 hours 43 minutes. TB 3741.
Lucky organised crime in America like an industrial tycoon. Allpowerful, he controlled employers, unions and the police. Exiled at
the end of the war to Italy, he was never to return to the States. TB
3741.
Goulding, Warren
Just another Indian: a serial killer and Canada's indifference.
2001. Read by Arlene Wilson, 7 hours 14 minutes. TB 18416.
John Martin Crawford was convicted for brutally murdering three
Native Canadian women and is a suspect in the killing of at least
one other. Crawford has staked his claim as one of the nation's
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most prolific sex killers, despite the fact that his deeds are virtually
forgotten. Contains violence. TB 18416.
Grey, Anthony
Hostage in Peking. 1970. Read by Michael de Morgan, 13
hours 55 minutes. TB 1395.
The author, a journalist in China, was taken as a hostage by the
Chinese communist regime, and this account of his two years'
solitary confinement is based on the secret diaries he managed to
keep during this time. TB 1395.
Grisham, John
The innocent man. 2010. Read by Vincent Marzello, 14 hours
33 minutes. TB 18400.
John Grisham's first work of non-fiction is an exploration of small
town justice gone terribly awry. If you believe that in America you
are innocent until proven guilty, this book will shock you.. If you
believe in the death penalty, this book will disturb you. If you
believe the criminal justice system is fair, this book will infuriate
you. Contains strong language. TB 18400.
Grovier, Kelly
The gaol: the story of Newgate. 2009. Read by Richard Burnip,
9 hours 48 minutes. TB 17103.
For over 800 years, Newgate was the grimy axle around which
British society slowly twisted. From the Peasants' Revolt to the
Great Fire, it was at Newgate that England's greatest dramas
unfolded. This thrilling history goes in search of ghostly places,
erased by time. TB 17103.
Haines, Max
Bothersome bodies. 1989. Read by Ronald Markham, 5 hours
55 minutes. TB 8096.
A collection of 17 true murder stories. The focus of these grisly
tales is on the imaginative way in which each of the murderers and
murderesses dispose of the body of their victim, the area which
can mean the difference between walking free and the hangman's
noose. TB 8096.
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Halford, Alison
No way up the greasy pole. 1993. Read by Jacqueline King, 10
hours 2 minutes. TB 9898.
Alison Halford, the first woman to become an Assistant Chief
Constable, failed on nine occasions to win the further promotion
she wanted and believed she deserved. Backed by the Equal
Opportunities Commission she took the police authorities to law,
and received a pension and disability award. Here she reveals the
extent of male domination in the force and the ineffectiveness of
the Police Complaints Authority. TB 9898.
Hancock, Robert
Ruth Ellis. 1963. Read by Syd Ralph, 6 hours 36 minutes. TB
5701.
When Ruth Ellis heard the death sentence passed on her she
smiled and told her family that she was happy to die. The only
thing that bothered her was the way in which the story had been
told in court. Robert Hancock now reveals for the first time the full
background to the story of the last woman to be hanged in Britain.
TB 5701.
Harrison, Paul
Hunting evil: inside the Ipswich serial murders. 2008. Read by
Matthew Field, 9 hours 43 minutes. TB 17803.
The murder of five women in late 2006 shocked the nation and
kept many of us glued to our TV screens, horrified by the unfolding
tragedy. Journalist Paul Harrison and Professor of Criminology
David Wilson arrived in Ipswich just as the first body was
discovered. Their on-the-scene access, and Professor Wilson's
first-hand experience as a profiler, meant that they were first to put
forward the explosive theory that a serial killer was at large. In
Hunting Evil, Harrison and Wilson take the reader to the heart of
the story. Contains strong language and passages of a sexual
nature. TB 17803.
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Hatherill, George
A detective's story. 1971. Read by Michael de Morgan, 7 hours
45 minutes. TB 1752.
The author's career in the C.I.D., some of the interesting cases on
which he has worked, culminating with the Great Train Robbery.
TB 1752.
Hepburn, James
The black flag: true tales of twentieth century piracy. 1994.
Read by Michael Tudor Barnes, 8 hours 32 minutes. TB 10686.
Piracy died with the skull and crossbones: the world's navies have
made the sea safe. Think again. Not so safe for the Sunning,
caught in a nightmare on the China seas, nor for passengers on
the Morro Castle, sunk in flames off the New Jersey coast with the
loss of 134 lives. Nor for the Khalis III, found abandoned in the
Bahamas, a corpse floating in the wreckage, the deck splattered
with blood. This book shows that piracy is very much alive. TB
10686.
Hibbert, Christopher
The roots of evil: a social history of crime and punishment.
1963. Read by Duncan Carse, 19 hours 37 minutes. TB 1237.
A survey - containing some horrifying descriptions - of crime and
punishment from the Middle Ages to the present day. TB 1237.
Hughes, Robert
The fatal shore: a history of the transportation of convicts to
Australia, 1787-1868. 1987. Read by Nigel Graham, 31 hours
45 minutes. TB 8548.
In describing Australia's painful transition from prison camp to
open society, Robert Hughes draws on a wealth of documents,
private and official, never before consulted. Their vivid testimony
adds to the most complete account yet written of how 160,000
men, women and children, some innocent, some not, were shipped
off the face of the known world to suffer, to die, to succeed and to
go on to found a new nation. TB 8548.
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Innes, Brian
Serial killers. 2008. Read by Jon Cartwright, 9 hours 45
minutes. TB 17791.
This book explores, chronologically, the stories of over 50 of the
most vicious murderers in world history. For each, we hear of their
formative experiences, double lives, gruesome crimes and, for
those that did not - chillingly - evade capture, the psychological
profiles and forensic techniques used to ensnare them. From Jack
the Ripper, Ed Gein and The Boston Strangler to Ted Bundy, the
Moors Murderers and Jeffrey Dahmer, the story of the serial killer
is revealed, offering a shocking insight into the extremes of cruelty
and depravity to which man, or sometimes even woman, can sink.
TB 17791.
Irving, Clifford
Daddy's girl: the Campbell murder case: a true tale of
vengeance, betrayal and Texas justice. 1988. Read by Robert
Gladwell, 27 hours 53 minutes. TB 7507.
In 1982 James and Virginia Campbell were murdered in the middle
of the night. This Houston murder remained unsolved for over two
years - no leads, only speculation. The most likely suspects, their
daughter Cindy and her boyfriend, David West, but their alibi
cannot be cracked for a long time - a true case of vengeance and
betrayal. TB 7507.
Jackett, Sam
Heroes of Scotland Yard. 1965. Read by Robin Holmes, 6
hours 45 minutes. TB 1188.
Tales of the courage and resource shown by the Metropolitan
Police in protecting the public from criminals. TB 1188.
Jackson, Richard
Occupied with crime. 1967. Read by David Broomfield, 10
hours 28 minutes. TB 342.
Sir Richard, formerly Assistant Commissioner at Scotland Yard,
and President of Interpol, recalls his work and some interesting
cases. TB 342.
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Jonker, Joan
Victims of violence. 2004. Read by Nerys Hughes, 13 hours 33
minutes. TB 17481.
The innocent victims of violent crimes are often old, frail and
defenceless. Indignant at their plight, Joan Jonker founded 'Victims
of Violence' to help them. Here she tells of how she gathered
support, establishing two shelters in Liverpool. TB 17481.
Kampusch, Natascha
3,096 days. 2010. Read by Laura Murray, 8 hours 15 minutes.
TB 18296.
On 2 March 1998 ten-year-old Natascha Kampusch was snatched
off the street by a stranger and bundled into a white van. Hours
later she found herself in a dark cellar, wrapped in a blanket. When
she emerged eight years later, her childhood had gone. In "3,096
Days" Natascha tells her incredible story for the first time: her
difficult childhood, what exactly happened on the day of her
abduction, her imprisonment in a five-square-metre dungeon, and
the mental and physical abuse she suffered from her abductor,
Wolfgang Priklopil. Contains violence. TB 18296.
Keeble, Harry
Baby X: Britain's child abusers brought to justice. 2010. Read
by Harry Keeble, 9 hours 1 minutes. TB 18144.
When super-tough cop Sergeant Harry Keeble announced he was
joining Hackney's ailing Child Protection Team in 2000, his
colleagues were astounded. Known as the 'Cardigan Squad', its
officers were seen as glorified social workers dealing with
domestics. The reality was very different. In this book, Harry
describes how his team - working alongside dedicated but
chronically underfunded social workers - operated at the sharp end
of child protection. This is a shocking and unforgettable story of
how some of the UK's most disadvantaged children escaped their
tormentors - and explains why some cases, similar to that of Baby
P's, ended in tragedy. Contains strong language. TB 18144.
rnib.org.uk
Keeble, Harry
Crack house: the incredible true story of the man who took on
London's crack gangs and won. 2008. Read by Damian Lynch,
7 hours 40 minutes. TB 17692.
Narrated by the leader of the Haringey Drugs Squad team, this
book describes a series of breathtaking raids as well as arrests,
beatings, stabbings and shootings. Featuring a colourful team of
family men who regularly faced death, Crack House takes the
reader into the dark heart of our cities' most violent and terrifying
places, showing how the war on drugs can only be won by
constant and forceful vigilance. Contains strong language. TB
17692.
Keeble, Harry
Little victim : Britain's vulnerable children and the cops who
rescue them. 2011. Read by Damian Lynch, 8 hours 16
minutes. TB 18817.
In Baby X we learned how super-tough cop Harry Keeble and his
colleagues in Hackney's Child Protection Unit rescued dozens of
kids, faced lynch mobs and undertook the impossible job of
interviewing paedophiles. Now, in Little Victim, Harry takes us
through an extraordinary year in the life of the unit, as the team
investigates some of the worst cases of child abuse they've ever
encountered. These include a middle-class mother who shook her
baby to death, the children kept in a cage, the rape of a three-yearold boy and an innocent grandfather falsely accused of
paedophila. Little Victim provides a unique insight into the complex
issue of child abuse in the UK. Continuing his battle to bring
Britain's child abusers to justice, Harry is pushed right to the edge
as he confronts horrors past and present. Contains strong
language. TB 18817.
Kemp, Anthony
The secret hunters. 1986. Read by Stanley McGeagh, 3 hours
29 minutes. TB 6702.
When the SAS and SOE were disbanded after the war, some of
them were determined to discover the truth about their comrades
who had lost their lives and to bring justice to those responsible for
crimes. Making use of the first official report on the Nazi
concentration camps - written as early as 1944 but suppressed by
rnib.org.uk
Allied HQ - they searched for three years to establish the fates of
these missing men and women, a horrific indictment of official
inertia. TB 6702.
Keneally, Thomas
The commonwealth of thieves. 2007. Read by Richard Burnip,
15 hours 4 minutes. TB 15915.
In late18th-century Britain, people were hanged for petty offences,
yet crime was rife. The gaols were bursting and over-flow prisoners
were kept in notorious 'hulks': rotting old ships moored offshore.
Out of this situation was born the 'solution' - 'The Sydney
Experiment': criminals perceived to 'damage' British society would
be transported to Australia. Thus, Sydney was founded as 'an
open-air prison' with 'walls 14,000 miles thick'. There were orgies,
diseases, court marshalls, hangings, escapes and hunger. Tom
Keneally tells the fascinating story of how Governor Arthur Phillip,
despotic ruler of New South Wales, imposed order between the
convicts, sailors and native aboriginal tribespeople and how the
'open-air prison' eventually developed into one of the most vibrant
cities in the world. Contains strong language. TB 15915.
Kennedy, Ludovic
The airman and the carpenter: the Lindberg kidnapping. 1985.
Read by David Sinclair, 18 hours 41 minutes. TB 5812.
The airman is Charles Lindbergh, famous for his historic flight from
New York to Paris in 1927; the carpenter a German immigrant,
Richard Hauptmann. The tragic link between the two names is the
kidnap and death of Lindbergh's baby son. The author investigates
the justice or otherwise of the case. TB 5812.
Kirkpatrick, Sidney
A cast of killers. 1986. Read by John Rye, 8 hours 48 minutes.
TB 6440.
Working on a biography of King Vidor, the famous 1920s film
director, the author realised that, in an unusually well-documented
life, the year 1967 alone was a blank. Intrigued, he found that
Vidor had spent the year investigating the death of his friend and
fellow director, William Desmond Taylor and that his findings were
hidden - a true story that reads like a thriller. TB 6440.
rnib.org.uk
Kray, Reginald
Our story. 1988. Read by Gene Foad and Peter Wickham, 6
hours 28 minutes. TB 7570.
The Kray twins are the most notorious criminals in British history.
Convicted of murder in 1969 they write their story by turns; Ron is
in Broadmoor and accepts this but Reg, in Gartree, burns with a
fury to be free, convinced they have paid their debt to society. In
this frank autobiography they seek to explode some of the myths
that surround them. They succeed in describing a career of
unabashed violence in a sub-culture more potent than any myth.
TB 7570.
Lamothe, Lee
Bloodlines: the rise and fall of the Mafia's Royal family. 2001.
Read by Paul Klippenstein, 14 hours 45 minutes. TB 18439.
A gripping tale that crisscrosses Europe, Latin America, and the
United States and Canada, Bloodlines underscores the complexity
and sophistication of organized crime at its highest levels. It
illustrates how the Caruana-Cuntrera family operates in the
netherworld where the financial engineering that supports the
global economy bumps up against the billions of dollars of criminal
proceeds that need to be laundered.
Lee, Carol Ann
One of your own: the life and death of Myra Hindley. 2010.
Read by Victoria Gillmon, 16 hours 34 minutes. TB 17901.
On 15 November 2002, Myra Hindley died in prison, one of the
rare women whose crimes were deemed so indefensible that 'life'
really did mean 'life'. This book draws on a wide range of
resources, including Hindley's own unseen writings, recently
released prison files, fresh interviews and new research to provide
an in-depth study of Hindley, returning her humanity to her and
thereby revealing her crimes as even more incomprehensible.
Contains violence. TB 17901.
Lewis, Kevin
The kid: a true story. 2004. Read by Steven Alexander, 7 hours
47 minutes. TB 16134.
The Kid; book 1. Kevin Lewis grew up on a council estate in South
London. Beaten and starved by his parents, ignored by the social
rnib.org.uk
services and bullied at school, he was offered a chance to escape
this nightmare world and was put into care. At the age of 17, not
able to make a proper living, he became caught up in the criminal
underworld of London, where he was known as "The Kid". Kevin
tells the story of how he has managed to make a better life for
himself. Contains strong language. TB 16134.
Low, Donald A
Thieves' kitchen: the Regency underworld. 1982. Read by
Robert Gladwell, 9 hours 10 minutes. TB 4487.
A picture of the underworld of crime and vice that existed beneath
the elegant Regency society of Nash terraces and Pride and
Prejudice tea parties. TB 4487.
McKie, David
Jabez: the rise and fall of a Victorian scoundrel. 2004. Read by
Robbie MacNab, 7 hours 51 minutes. TB 13963.
Jabez, as he was universally known, was a business man,
philanthropist, politician, temperance campaigner and charmer. He
was also an astonishing scoundrel - a liar, adulterer and cheat who
perpetrated the most destructive fraud of the nineteenth century.
When the Liberator building collapsed under the weight of its own
extravagant malpractice, thousands of people were left defrauded
and destitute. Jabez, the Liberator's moving spirit, immediately
took flight to Argentina, accompanied (scandalously) by a female
ward half his age. Eventually, a determined Scotland Yard
detective caught up with Jabez, and kidnapped him on a highspeed train across South America from whence he was hauled
back to justice. TB 13963.
McLean, Lenny
The Guv'nor. 1998. Read by Ian Redford, 8 hours 5 minutes.
TB 11794.
Lenny McLean is the deadliest bare-knuckle fighter Britain has
ever seen. In this autobiography he tells how the Mafia flew him to
New York to take on their greatest bare-knuckle boxer in a multimillion pound illicit challenge bout. When the IRA fronted up a
London gang in a money-laundering scam, Lenny was brought in
to intimidate the terrorists. This is not a story glorifying violence,
rnib.org.uk
but a tale of one man's triumph against almost insurmountable
odds. Contains violence. TB 11794.
Manchester, William Raymond
The death of a president: November 20-November 25, 1963.
1967. Read by David Broomfield, 36 hours. TB 1375.
A history of the assassination of President Kennedy and the days
immediately preceding and following it. TB 1375.
Mark, Robert
In the office of constable. 1978. Read by Andrew Timothy, 14
hours 30 minutes. TB 3543.
The autobiography of the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police
during two famous London sieges; a man who fought hard to root
out corruption in the C.I.D. TB 3543.
Markman, Ronald
Alone with the devil: psychopathic killings that shocked the
world. 1990. Read by John Rye, 14 hours 47 minutes. TB 8781.
Dr Markman, a forensic psychiatrist, frequently finds himself alone
with someone who has killed without apparent reason, and he
must determine the degree of their responsibility at the time of the
crime. "Alone with the Devil" includes some of his toughest cases,
where particularly vicious murders have occurred. Markman seeks
to find why these men and women kill and how their minds work.
Contains violence. TB 8781.
Marnham, Patrick
Trail of havoc: in the steps of Lord Lucan. 1987. Read by
Christopher Saul, 6 hours 53 minutes. TB 6801.
The entry of a blood-stained and hysterical woman into the
Plumber's Arms on the evening of the 7th November 1974 sparked
off one of the greatest murder investigations since the war. Lady
Lucan said that she had escaped from a murderer, her husband.
But Lord Lucan subsequently disappeared - apparently off the face
of the earth. The author explores what happened in the preceding
years and draws some surprising conclusions. TB 6801.
rnib.org.uk
Marrison, James
The world's most bizarre murders: true stories that will shock
and amaze you. 2008. Read by James Parsons, 8 hours 9
minutes. TB 17749.
The stories in this collection range from high-profile cases to longforgotten crimes buried in police archives all over the world. From
real-life witches, to mad scientists and killer dwarves, all the stories
have one thing in common - a uniquely bizarre twist. Contains
strong language and violence. TB 17749.
Masters, Brian
'She must have known'. 1997. Read by Nigel Graham, 15
hours 41 minutes. TB 13925.
The trial of Rosemary West was the culmination of one of the
century's most notorious murder investigations. When Frederick
West hung himself, he seemed to have cheated justice. The trial of
his wife for the same crimes was a media sensation. In this
psychologically acute and legally penetrating account, the author
looks at how and why an evil psychopath was able to ensnare so
many. Contains violence. TB 13925.
Mendoza, Antonio
Killers on the loose: unsolved cases of serial murder. 2000.
Read by Stuart Milligan, 8 hours 53 minutes. TB 13768.
This text tracks suspected serial killer cases from the end of the
twentieth century. Alarmingly, most of the victims in this book are
prostitutes. Authorities estimate that there are between 35 and 50
serial killers on the loose in the USA, and new reports of suspected
killers are constantly surfacing all over the world. Contains
violence. TB 13768.
Millen, Ernest
Specialist in crime. 1972. Read by Andrew Timothy, 10 hours
38 minutes. TB 2234.
An ex-deputy commissioner of the CID tells of his career, from his
days on the beat in Knightsbridge to a desk in Scotland Yard with
2,700 men under his command. TB 2234.
rnib.org.uk
Morrison, Blake
As if. 1997. Read by Steve Hodson, 10 hours 15 minutes. TB
11076.
The death of the infant Jamie Bulger at the hands of two ten-yearold boys raised the questions of why two innocent boys killed
another, and whether childhood innocence is a myth. The author
sought explanations in the boys' families, and looked at the
violence that saturates the minds of modern children. He exposes
the hollowness of condemnation divorced from understanding. TB
11076.
Morton, James
Gangland: London's underworld. 1993. Read by Gavin
Crymble, 14 hours 23 minutes. TB 17974.
In this history of London's secret life, James Morton exposes some
startling conclusions about exactly who lurked - and still lurks - in
the powerhouses of the Underworld. From the Dover Road Gang
of the 1880s to the era of the Krays and up to the Triads and
Yardies of the present, Gangland reveals the people who ruled,
robbed and regulated vast areas of the capital - and those who
hold ominous power today. Contains strong language. TB 17974.
Nicholl, Charles
The fruit palace. 1985. Read by Robert Gladwell, 15 hours 51
minutes. TB 6429.
Nicholl's nervy quest for the truth about the cocaine underworld
takes him from seedy backstreet bars of Bogota to the high hidden
valleys of the Sierra Nevada passing, on the way, a kaleidoscope
of Columbian towns and villages, mountains and jungles, shanty
dockside barrios and fashionable resorts to meet fixers and
smugglers. TB 6429.
Nightingale, Rita
Freed for life. 1982. Read by Anne White, 8 hours 41 minutes.
TB 4671.
Rita Nightingale, a glamorous hostess in one of Hong Kong's
exotic night clubs, was arrested in 1977 at Bangkok Airport and
found to be carrying over three kilos of heroin in her luggage. She
was sentenced to twenty years although still claiming to be
innocent. Three years ago she was released but had already found
rnib.org.uk
a spiritual release while in prison and now works for the Prison
Christian Fellowship. TB 4671.
O'Mahoney, Bernard
Essex boys: a terrifying expose of the British drugs scene.
1999. Read by Steve Hodson, 9 hours 40 minutes. TB 12344.
A new edition of the book previously published as "So this is
Ecstasy?" It tells the story of one of the most violent and
successful criminal gangs of the 1990s, whose reign of terror was
finally terminated when the three leaders were brutally murdered.
On their way they had built the drug-dealing organisation which
supplied the pill that killed Leah Betts, and were responsible for a
wave of intimidation, beatings and murder. Contains violence. TB
12344.
O'Neill, Gilda
The good old days: crime, murder and mayhem in Victorian
London. 2006. Read by Michael Tudor Barnes, 7 hours 35
minutes. TB 14844.
Were things really better in the good old days? Only if you were
healthy, wealthy and male. For most, life in London was one of
grinding poverty, binge drinking, prostitution and gun-crime. Gilda
O'Neill explores the teeming underbelly dwelling in the fog-bound
streets, rat-infested slums, common lodging houses, boozers,
penny gaffs and brothels in the heart of the greatest empire that
the world has ever seen, revealing that Victoria's was actually a
most unruly reign. Contains strong language. TB 14844.
O'Reilly, Emily
Veronica Guerin: the life and death of a crime reporter. 1998.
Read by Maggie Cronin, 6 hours 32 minutes. TB 14185.
Veronica Guerin, a young crime reporter with the "Sunday
Independent", was shot dead in Dublin in June 1996 as a direct
consequence of her work - investigating the shadowy figures of
Dublin's underworld. This is an account of one of the biggest and
most shocking of Irish news stories. Contains strong language. TB
14185.
rnib.org.uk
Payne, Sara
Sara Payne: a mother's story. 2005. Read by Annie Aldington,
7 hours 18 minutes. TB 18019.
Ever since the tragic events of 1st July 2000 when their daughter
Sarah was snatched by known paedophile Roy Whiting, Sara and
Mike Payne have lived their lives in the public spotlight. Sara
Payne describes how Mike and she coped with the loss of their
daughter and the stress placed upon them by the media campaign
for Sarah's Law, and the rebuilding of a family in the aftermath of
such a trauma. Guilt, anger and grief pushed the childhood
sweethearts down into a spiral of alcohol abuse and violence. TB
18019.
Philbin, Tom
I, monster: serial killers in their own chilling words. 2010.
Read by Thomas Grube, 9 hours 29 minutes. TB 18705.
This is a macabre and brutally honest journey into the minds of
some of the world's most notorious serial killers - in their own
words. What goes through the dark minds of notorious killers such
as Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, David Berkowitz ('Son of Sam'),
John Wayne Gacey, and Dennis Rader (the 'BTK Killer'). In this
chilling book, you'll read in their own words exactly what they were
thinking as they committed their horrible crimes. Using court
transcripts and police interviews, veteran crime writer Tom Philbin
has compiled the testimony of twenty of the world's most infamous
serial killers - nineteen men and one woman. In each case, Philbin
provides readers with a background profile of the killer and their
crimes, offering a macabre glimpse into the most awful side of
human nature. Contains strong language, violence and passages
of a sexual nature. TB 18705.
Pierrepoint, Albert
Executioner Pierrepoint. 1974. Read by Robert Gladwell, 10
hours 37 minutes. TB 4290.
The autobiography of a man who from 1931 until 1956 followed the
careers of his father and uncle as Chief Executioner. During that
time he carried out over 400 executions, travelled abroad teaching
his methods and became converted to the abolition of capital
punishment. TB 4290.
rnib.org.uk
Randle, Michael
The Blake escape: how we freed George Blake and why. 1989.
Read by John Livesey, 10 hours 24 minutes. TB 8565.
Saturday 22 October 1966; 7pm. Roll-call at Wormwood Scrubs
and George Blake, the British double-agent serving a 42-year
sentence for espionage, is discovered to be missing. His escape
made headlines all over the world and led to an investigation that
defied the experts for over 22 years. TB 8565.
Ratushinskaya, Irina
Grey is the colour of hope. 1988. Read by Gretel Davis, 15
hours 42 minutes. TB 7280.
Already a leading writer of her generation at 28, Irina
Ratushinskaya was imprisoned for her "dissident" poetry and
nearly died there from a series of protest hunger strikes. She was
released through intense Western pressure after Gorbachev came
to power. For the record she describes the horror and the humour,
and above all, the selfless courage and mutual support of the other
women prisoners which makes it a story of hope. TB 7280.
Robins, Jane
The magnificent Spilsbury and the case of the brides in the
bath. 2010. Read by Sherry Baines, 10 hours 11 minutes. TB
17811.
In the dark opening months of the First World War, Britain became
engrossed by 'The Brides in the Bath' trial. The nation turned to a
young forensic pathologist, Bernard Spilsbury, to explain how it
was that young women were suddenly expiring in their baths. TB
17811.
Robins, Natalie
Savage grace. 1985. Read by Christopher Saul, 17 hours 34
minutes. TB 7040.
The Baekeland family had everything: genius, wealth and beauty.
At the turn of the century, Leo Baekeland made a fortune when he
invented the plastic Bakelite. His grandson, Brooks, married the
flamboyant society hostess, Barbara Daly. Brooks's son, Antony,
was strikingly handsome. But scandal broke. Brooks was living in
France with, everyone said, his son's girlfriend. In November 1972
rnib.org.uk
Antony stabbed his mother to death. The author shows how their
envied lives led to tragedy. TB 7040.
Rolph, C H
Living twice: an autobiography. 1974. Read by Alvar Lidell, 12
hours 15 minutes. TB 2615.
The author tells of his double life - as a policeman with sympathy
for the man in the dock, and as a famous journalist. TB 2615.
Rolph, C H
Further particulars. 1987. Read by David Rider, 8 hours 30
minutes. TB 8354.
The life and career of C.H. Rolph has had a multitude of facets and
these informal memoirs cover his varied experiences from the age
of seventeen in 1918 until 1985. Policeman, journalist, editor,
broadcaster, scriptwriter and crusader for law reform and civil
liberty, he was always a confidant of major figures of his time, and
many are embodied in this honest and perceptive book. TB 8354.
Rose, Andrew
Stinie: murder on the common. 1985. Read by Christopher
Saul, 8 hours 28 minutes. TB 6484.
Sentenced to death for the murder of Leon Beron on Clapham
Common in January 1911, Stinie Morrison was an odd man, even
by criminal standards. The author reveals what may have been a
miscarriage of justice: the motives of Edwardian officialdom seem
to have been extremely dubious and there was a blatant
suppression of facts to bolster a weak case for the prosecution. TB
6484.
Ruddick, James
Death at The Priory. 2008. Read by Alistair Petrie, 6 hours 20
minutes. TB 16717.
It took three tortured days in 1876 for Charles Bravo to die from the
poison that burned its way through his body. The subsequent
investigation revealed many people with a grudge against the
young barrister. The dramatic inquest was covered in sensational
detail by the press, but no one was convicted of his murder. Over a
century later James Ruddick draws on new evidence to solve one
of the most famous murders in criminal history. TB 16717.
rnib.org.uk
Sachs, Albie
The jail diary of Albie Sachs. 1966. Read by Michael de
Morgan, 12 hours 45 minutes. TB 94.
The author, a South African barrister, arrested for his part in the
Anti-Apartheid movement under the Ninety Days Law, was in
solitary confinement for 168 days. TB 94.
Shaw, Roy
Pretty Boy. 1999. Read by Jonathan Oliver, 7 hours 14
minutes. TB 12410.
Roy "Pretty Boy" Shaw is reported to be the most vicious man in
England. But the heavy electric gates that protect the grounds of
his Essex home cannot hide his chequered past - Roy has been in
every secure institution in the country. Contains violence. TB
12410.
Simon, David
Homicide: a year on the killing streets. 2009. Read by Michael
Fitzpatrick, 28 hours 16 minutes. TB 17040.
The scene is Baltimore. Twice every three days another citizen is
shot, stabbed, or bludgeoned to death. At the centre of this
hurricane of crime is the city's homicide unit, a small brotherhood
of men confronted by the darkest of American visions. David
Simon was the first reporter ever to gain unlimited access to a
homicide unit, and his book is both an account of casework and an
investigation into our culture of violence. Contains strong
language. TB 17040.
Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr
The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956: an experiment in literary
investigation. Vol. 1. 1973. Read by Stanley Pritchard, 28
hours. TB 2495.
An account, drawn from both personal experience and the
testimony of others, of life in Soviet prisons and labour camps. TB
2495.
rnib.org.uk
Solzhenitsyn, Aleksandr
The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956: an experiment in literary
investigation. Vol. 2. 1975. Read by Andrew Timothy, 28 hours
45 minutes. TB 2966.
Sequel to: The Gulag Archipelago, 1918-1956: an experiment in
literary investigation. Volume 1. The description of eight years after
the arrest of the author in 1945. TB 2966.
Sounes, Howard
Heist: the true story of the world's biggest cash robbery. 2009.
Read by Damian Lynch, 13 hours 29 minutes. TB 17895.
The world's biggest cash robbery took place in Tonbridge, Kent, in
February 2006, when an armed gang burst into a high-security
depot and stole GBH53 million. This is the full story that can be
told for the first time. Contains strong language and passages of
violence. TB 17895.
Stalker, John
Stalker. 1988. Read by Ray Jones, 10 hours 26 minutes. TB
7090.
In May 1984 John Stalker, Detective Chief Constable of the
Greater Manchester Police Force, was asked to undertake an
enquiry into the deaths of six men in Northern Ireland in 1982. He
was removed from all duties only days before he was about to gain
access to material highly embarrassing to the RUC. He reveals the
circumstances surrounding this case and writes frankly about his
relationships with Sir John Hermon, the RUC and James Anderton,
his chief at Manchester. TB 7090.
Summerscale, Kate
The suspicions of Mr. Whicher: or, The murder at Road Hill
House. 2008. Read by Beth Chalmers, 10 hours 26 minutes.
TB 16062.
A true story that inspired a generation of writers such as Wilkie
Collins, Charles Dickens and Arthur Conan Doyle, this has all the
hallmarks of the classic murder mystery - a body; a detective; and,
a country house steeped in secrets. In "The suspicions of Mr.
Whicher", Kate Summerscale untangles the facts behind this
notorious case, bringing it back to vivid, extraordinary life. TB
16062.
rnib.org.uk
Taylor, Laurie
In the underworld. 1984. Read by Christopher Scott, 6 hours
59 minutes. TB 5338.
The author set out with a tape recorder, plus John McVicar as
protector and generally sympathetic guide, to explore London's
criminal world. He was given privileged access to the clubs and
pubs where "top" villains relax and gamble. He met every kind of
criminal, from the armed raider to the conman and learnt various
tricks of the trade. TB 5338.
Thompson, Shawn
Letters from prison: felons write about the struggle for life
and sanity behind bars. 2002. Read by David Mills, 9 hours 56
minutes. TB 18793.
Curious about life in prison, journalist Thompson wrote to
Canadian and American convicts and asked for their stories and
insights. The letters he received explained such facets as the rules
for prison survival, what life inside is like, and what it feels like to
be exiled from the natural world. Includes Thompson's reflections
on the brutally honest letters. Contains strong language, violence
and passages of a sexual nature. TB 18793.
Thomson, Mary Turner
The other Mrs Jordan: a true story of bigamy and betrayal.
2008. Read by Carolyn Bonnyman, 6 hours 49 minutes. TB
15752.
In April 2006, Mary Turner Thomson received a call that was to
blow her life apart. The woman on the other end of the line calmly
told her that she and Will Jordan, Mary's husband and the father of
her two younger children, had been married for fourteen years and
had five children together. The Other Mrs Jordan is the shocking
true story of how one man manipulated an intelligent, independent
woman, conning her out of £200,000 and leaving her to bring up
the children he originally claimed he was physically incapable of
fathering. TB 15752.
rnib.org.uk
Tinniswood, Adrian
Pirates of Barbary: corsairs, conquests and captivity in the
seventeenth-century Mediterranean. 2010. Read by Gordon
Griffin, 12 hours 43 minutes. TB 17813.
This is an extraordinary record of the European renegades and
Islamic sea-rovers who terrorised the Mediterranean and beyond
throughout the seventeenth century. Studying the origins of these
men, their culture and practices - from pirate etiquette to
intimidation tactics - the author recreates the twilight world of the
corsairs in details, and uncovers a remarkable clash of
civilisations. TB 17813.
Topping, Peter
Topping: the autobiography of the police chief in the Moors
murder case. 1989. Read by Robert Ashby, 9 hours 24
minutes. TB 8154.
A Manchester policeman all his working life, Topping
masterminded the search for two of the victims of Hindley and
Brady - Pauline Reade and Keith Bennett. Topping reveals the
astonishing confession of Hindley - who tells the truth as she saw
it, about the murders - and a wealth of detail about Brady. Topping
was once a colleague of John Stalker and as head of CID he had
regular contact with James Anderton. Peter Topping's story is a
fascinating insight. TB 8154.
Vallée, Brian
The torso murder: the untold story of Evelyn Dick. 2001. Read
by Dorothy Hayward, 11 hours 10 minutes. TB 18425.
The "torso" murder trial of 1946 and 1947 grabbed headlines
across Canada, after Evelyn Dick had been accused of killing,
dismembering, and burning the head and limbs of her husband.
When the remains of her newborn baby were later found, she was
sent to prison. Released in 1958 with a new identity, rumours and
sightings of Dick have abounded, resulting in this new account of
the trial and her life after prison. TB 18425.
rnib.org.uk
Walters, Guy
Hunting evil: how the Nazi war criminals escaped and the hunt
to bring them to justice. 2009. Read by Richard Burnip, 18
hours 15 minutes. TB 16925.
At the end of the Second World War some of the highest ranking
members of the Nazi party escaped from justice. Guy Walters has
travelled the world in pursuit of the real account of how the Nazis
escaped at the end of the war, the attempts, sometimes
successful, to bring them to justice, and what really happened to
those that got away. He has interviewed Nazi hunters, former
members of Mossad, travelled the 'rat lines', and poured through
archives across the globe to bring this period of our recent history
to life. Contains strong language. TB 16925.
Wambaugh, Joseph
Echoes in the darkness. 1987. Read by John Chancer, 15
hours 57 minutes. TB 7667.
Bill Bradfield is an outstanding teacher and self-styled expert in
Greek. He collects poetry and women. Dr Jay Smith, his Principal,
has strange nocturnal habits. Both men are at the core of the Main
Line Murder Case, the baffling murder of a colleague whose nude
body is found in her car. Her two children have vanished, and
seven years of investigation by the FBI result in a unique murder
trial. TB 7667.
Watson, Katherine D
Poisoned lives: English poisoners and their victims. 2004.
Read by Diana Bishop, 9 hours 51 minutes. TB 13965.
The book is based on the stories of 540 English poisoners, most of
whom being poor and illiterate had previously been lost to history.
Using original historical sources, it challenges old assumptions and
breaks new ground, by studying the majority, rather than the small
minority that journalistic true crime books tend to focus on. Most
people assume that the typical English poisoner was a woman or a
doctor, but this was not the case. A highly readable account of a
subject that both fascinates and horrifies. Unsuitable for family
reading. TB 13965.
rnib.org.uk
Wells, Simon
Charles Manson: a chilling biography : coming down fast.
2009. Read by Benedick Blythe, 17 hours 35 minutes. TB
16926.
Collecting testimony from previous members of the Manson family
alongside new evidence linking a cult member to a murder in
London, and including never-before-published crime scene
photographs, this book charts Manson's terrifying rise from pettycriminal drifter to one of the most recognisable icons in criminal
history, and explores the long reach of his crimes that to this day,
so vex and shock the public imagination. TB 16926.
Whittle, Brian
Prescription for murder: the true story of mass murderer Dr
Harold Frederick Shipman. 2000. Read by David Banks, 12
hours. TB 12232.
Harold Shipman was a pillar of the community, serving on local
committees, donating prizes to the rugby club, organising charity
collections. His patients thought the world of him: he was attentive,
kind and never too busy to chat. Yet Dr Shipman was also the
most prolific serial killer the world has ever known, with between
200 and 300 victims. This text is an account of these crimes and
the man who committed them. Contains violence. TB 12232.
Wideman, John Edgar
Brothers and keepers. 1985. Read by Raymond Adamson, 11
hours 30 minutes. TB 6977.
John and Robert Wideman grew up in the same family, went to the
same schools, in the same area - Homewood - the black ghetto of
Pittsburgh. Yet while John Wideman - champion basketball player,
former Rhodes scholar and newly appointed professor of English
at Wyoming - was beginning to make a new reputation as an
outstanding novelist, his rebellious younger brother was involved in
drugs and petty crime. Contains strong language. TB 6977.
Wiesenthal, Simon
Justice not vengeance. 1989. Read by Tom Crowe, 17 hours
37 minutes. TB 7934.
Simon Wiesenthal is the world's most famous Nazi-hunter. Here, at
last, he tells his life story; his horrifying ordeals in Hitler's
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concentration camps, his near-miraculous survival of the
Holocaust, and his unswerving devotion to a single sacred cause:
justice. TB 7934.
Wilson, Colin
Mammoth book of true crime. 1998. Read by Charles Carroll,
25 hours 20 minutes. TB 12721.
The text describes and analyses some of history's most infamous
crimes and their perpetrators: the Moors Murderers, William
Heirens and the Chicago sex killings, the Lindbergh baby case,
Machine Gun Kelly, John Christie and the death house at 10
Rillington Place, the Dusseldorf Sadist and other horrors from the
dark side of human history. Contains violence. TB 12721.
Yallop, David
The day the laughter stopped: the true story behind the Fatty
Arbuckle scandal. 1991. Read by Jon Cartwright, 12 hours 6
minutes. TB 9495.
The true story of the Fatty Arbuckle scandal when, in 1921, the fat
film comedian stood accused of the rape and murder of a pretty
screen actress. Arbuckle, born in poverty, rose to the heights and
had his career snatched away by a wave of hysteria and bigotry,
amid the political corruption of San Francisco and the immorality of
a President. He saved Charlie Chaplin's career, and began Buster
Keaton's. His is a life story ranging from comic heights to tragic
depths. Contains passages of a sexual nature. TB 9495.
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