Psychological Crime and ThrillersTalking Books
The titles in this booklist are just a selection of the titles available for loan from the RNIB National Library Talking Book Service.
Don’t forget you are allowed to have up to 6 books on loan. When you return a title, you will then receive another one.
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Ablow, Keith
Psychopath. 2005. Read by Jeff Harding, 10hours 8minutes. TB 14118.
Forensic psychiatrist Frank Clevenger is tapped by the FBI to catch an elusive murderer known as the 'Highway Killer', who has left twelve bodies strewn across twelve states. Clevenger reluctantly accepts the case, but what he and the authorities cannot know is that the Highway Killer isn't just a serial killer - he is also a psychiatrist, whose brilliance as a doctor is matched only by his precision as a murderer. Contains strong language. TB 14118.
Banerji, Sara
The waiting time. 2005. Read by Stephanie Beattie, 7hours 35minutes. TB 14640.
Julia has given up on love in her middle age but is searching for a vanished brother and a lost identity. In doing so, she collides with Kitty, a woman of a different age, lifestyle and aspirations. The proof of Julia's identity lies somewhere under Kitty's home. The literal digging up of the past changes life for both of them, though what they eventually find is very different to their expectations. Ahead are surprises, conflict, terror, disappointment, love - and unexpected happiness. TB 14640.
Banks, Carla
The forest of souls. 2005. Read by Jilly Bond, 13hours 3minutes. TB 14700.
A passion for history cost Helen Kovacs her life. Helen had told no one of her research; even her closest friend, Faith Lange, had no idea - until she began retracing the dead woman's steps. She is troubled, too, by the presence of Jake Denbigh, a journalist investigating her grandfather, a refugee from the Eastern front. Helen's murder, and its consequences, will take Jake and Faith on terrifying journeys: from the mass graves of the KurapatyForest to the heart of Faith's own family, where a tragic secret lies hidden. Unsuitable for family reading. TB 14700.
Banville, John
The book of evidence. 1989. Read by Tom Crowe, 7hours 41minutes. TB 7855.
A remarkable blend of thriller, farce and dramatic tragedy, the book of evidence is the first person testimony of Freddie Montgomery - convicted of the ghastly and seemingly motiveless kidnap and murder of a young woman. Trying to make sense of the crime that destroys his life, Freddie's monologue is also an attempt to come to terms with 40 years of aimless drifting and dissolution. Contains violence. TB 7855.
Barker, Pat
Border crossing. 2001. Read by James Wilby, 6hours 54minutes. TB 13498.
Tom Seymour is a child psychiatrist who has worked in the north of England for many years. One day, while walking by the river, he rescues a young man from drowning, and realises it's a child murderer at whose trial he gave flawed evidence. TB 13498.
Black, Ingrid
The dead. 2005. Read by Tara Ward, 12hours 44minutes. TB 14818.
Five years ago Ed Fagan disappeared and since then nothing has been heard from the serial killer known as the Night Hunter. Now a Dublin newspaper has received a letter claiming to be from Fagan with a chilling message: he's going to kill again. At first, the Dublin Metropolitan Police are inclined to dismiss the letter as the work of a crank. Then the body of prostitute Mary Lynch is found and it's only too clear that a murderer is at large again. But is it Fagan? Saxon, a former FBI agent, was writing a book about Fagan when he disappeared and is certain that the killings are not the works of Fagan. But how can she convince the police to look beyond the obvious and to go after the real killer. Contains violence. TB 14818.
Bonner, Hilary
A moment of madness. 2002. Read by Gordon Griffin, 13hours 27minutes. TB 13841.
John Kelly series; book 1. When rock idol Scott Silver is found murdered, the prime suspect lies dead next to him. For Silver's killer broke into his mansion home on the South Devon coast and it appears that the rock star's mesmerising widow Angel killed the intruder in self-defence. Gradually, however, an intense and complex tale of intrigue and deception is revealed. Local paper journalist John Kelly, a man with a past that still haunts him, begins to investigate. Unsuitable for family reading. TB 13841.
Bonner, Hilary
When the dead cry out. 2006. Read by Annie Aldington, 10hours 55minutes. TB 14861.
John Kelly series; book 2. One summer day, Clara Marshall vanished without a trace. A few days later, her two young daughters also disappeared. Clara's husband claimed he had discovered his wife was having an affair with an Australian backpacker and that she had run away taking the children with her. Police investigations find no trace of a backpacker and no trace of them. It is 27 years later that the case and the real truth is found. Contains violence. TB 14861.
Bonner, Hilary
No reason to die. 2004. Read by Richard Derrington, 12hours 21minutes. TB 13775.
John Kelly series; book 3. By a freak chance John Kelly, once a reporter, always a maverick, becomes embroiled in the mystery surrounding a series of disturbing deaths at a tough Dartmoor army training camp. Several young men and women stationed at the bleakly remote Hangridge have died suddenly and tragically, mostly from gunshot wounds that the army claim have been self-inflicted. The army has a plausible explanation for each death individually, but when put together these explanations look very suspicious indeed-Kelly takes his concerns to his old friend Detective Superintendent Karen Meadows and together they attempt to break through the wall of secrecy which the army has erected. Contains language which might be considered offensive. TB 13775.
Bonner, Hilary
A kind of wild justice. 2001. Read by Julia Franklin, 13hours 20minutes. TB 12905.
He's a barbaric killer, guilty of the most terrible crime. He abducted and tortured an innocent seventeen-year-old girl, brutally raped her, then left her to die. Yet when James Martin O'Donnell stood trial at Exeter Crown Court he was acquitted. Twenty years later a chance DNA test makes it tragically clear that there has been a shocking miscarriage of justice. But the law of double jeopardy means that O'Donnell cannot be tried again. Contains violence. TB 12905.
Brett, Simon
Singled out. 1996. Read by Simon Brett, 5hours 55minutes. TB 10972.
In 1973, successful television producer Laura Fisher sets out to have a baby before her thirtieth birthday. The child will be the ultimate assertion of her independence, a sign that she has overcome an upbringing of terrifying violence. Laura needs someone to love. All goes according to plan. Then on the day she gives birth Laura sees something in the newspaper which shocks her to the core. Something that makes her see the father of her child in a totally different light... Contains strong language. TB 10972.
Brown, Molly
Cracker: to say I love you. 1999. Read by Steven Hartley, 8hours 20minutes. TB 12848.
Cracker series; book 2. Sequel to: Cracker: the mad woman in the attic, TB 12872. Fitz can find a murderer, prevent catastrophe and still find time to flirt with a pretty policewoman. But he knows only too well the motivations that drive Judith into another man's bed and that push him to the edge of self-destruction. Compared to the complications of Fitz's own life, tracking down a team of co-killers is simple. TB 12848.
Cordy, Michael
Crime zero. 2002. Read by Garrick Hagon, 12hours. TB 12825.
The year is 2008. Violent crime has become an epidemic, nowhere more so than in the United States. Everything from the death penalty to liberal reforms has failed. Nothing has been effective, until now. Project Conscience promises to be the solution. It is a bold attempt by a powerful group of scientists, politicians and senior law-enforcement personnel to use gene therapy to treat male criminals and cure violent crime. But among their number are those with a more sinister agenda, who would go further and turn the dream of Project Conscience into the nightmare of Crime Zero. TB 12825.
Diamond, Sarah
The spider's house. 2005. Read by Lucy Scott, 12hours 15minutes. TB 14719.
When Anna's husband is offered a job in Dorset she is as happy to move as he is. After the move, however it's a different story. With few ideas for her new novel and little else to do, Anna's getting increasingly restless when she makes a shocking discovery - Rebecca Fisher, the notorious child murderess of the 1960s, was the previous inhabitant of their picturesque old cottage. At first she is just curious, and begins reading up on the case and then appalled and fascinated the nation decades ago. Yet as she learns more, she becomes increasingly convinced that she's close todiscovering secrets that have been hidden for years... Unsuitable for family reading. TB 14719.
Dobyns, Stephen
The church of dead girls. 1997. Read by Jeff Harding, 14hours 23minutes. TB 12138.
One after another, three girls vanish from a small American town. After the first disappearance, the townspeople begin to mistrust outsiders, oddballs and strangers. When a second girl goes missing, neighbours and lifelong friends start to look at each other with suspicious eyes. Finally, with the third disappearance, the sleepy little town wakens to an horrific nightmare. Contains violence. TB 12138.
Dostoevskii, F M
Crime and punishment. 1866. Read by Corbett Woodall, 23hours 50minutes. TB 1507.
A psychological study of a young student who kills an old money-lender and his subsequent fear and remorse. TB 1507.
Eco, Umberto
Foucault's pendulum. 1989. Read by David Banks, 26hours 16minutes. TB 8335.
Three editors in a Milan publishing house produce a computer file of mediaeval occultism, after receiving a manuscript on Templar mysticism. "Foucault's Pendulum" is a modern thriller wrapped around a maze of ancient mysteries, as people begin to disappear without explanation. TB 8335.
French, Nicci
Catch me when I fall. 2005. Read by Beth Chalmers, 9hours 18minutes. TB 14816.
Holly Krauss lives life in a whirlwind her husband Charlie, her business partner Meg and her colleagues at KS Associates are left breathless by her energy. But sometimes her wild behaviour leads to reckless mistakes, which soon leave her life spiralling out of control and Holly can do little to stop it. This is most definitely a woman on the edge of a nervous breakdown. But is Holly solely responsible for what is happening to her? Are her fears for her own safety caused by the paranoia of her illness - or very real danger? Contains strong language. TB 14816.
French, Nicci
Land of the living. 2004. Read by Anne Flosnik, 10hours 56minutes. TB 14003.
Abbie Devereaux wakes in the dark, hooded and bound. She doesn't know where she is nor who it is feeding her, talking to her, threatening to kill her. Yet Abbie has courage and, above all, hope. She escapes her captor and runs back into the light. But the real world, the safe one, isn't as she remembers it. There are days missing before she disappeared - days when she quit her job and left her boyfriend, did things she can't explain to the police, her friends or even herself. Why won't anyone take her story seriously? Because if Abbie can't convince anybody that it really happened, then maybe he will come for her again. Contains strong language. TB 14003.
French, Nicci
Secret smile. 2004. Read by Anne Flosnik, 9hours 52minutes. TB 14472.
When Miranda Cotton gets home from work to find her new boyfriend, Brendan, reading her diary, she breaks off the relationship and throws him out. Getting Brendan out of her life, however, is not so easy. When he starts seeing her sister, what begins as an embarrassment turns into a nightmare. TB 14472.
French, Nicci
Beneath the skin. 2001. Read by various narrators, 10hours 50minutes. TB 13414.
Zoe, Jenny and Nadia, different ages, different walks of life, all receive anonymous notes saying they are going to be killed. The three lives are turned upside down as the police search for what has attracted the attention of a killer. Contains strong language. TB 13414.
French, Nicci
The red room. 2001. Read by Jane Markham, 12hours 20minutes. TB 13514.
Kit Quinn is a young woman who inhabits dangerous worlds: crime scenes, interrogations, hospitals for the criminally insane. Horribly wounded in a brutal attack, she must return to the site of her worst fears. She is asked by the police to advise them on a simple murder inquiry. A young runaway has been found dead near a London canal and the chief suspect is the man who wounded her. But it isn't a simple case. Contains passages of violence which may be offensive. TB 13514.
French, Nicci.
Killing me softly. 2000. Read by Julia Franklin, 12hours. TB 12542.
Alice Loudon is a young woman who seems to have it all: close friends, a loving boyfriend, and a successful career. Then she meets a stranger and immediately embarks upon a passionate and dangerous affair. TB 12542.
French, Nicci
The safe house. 1999. Read by Julia Franklin, 10hours 56minutes. TB 13818.
When Dr Sam Laschen, expert in post-traumatic stress, agrees against her better judgement to provide a haven for the survivor of a horrific assult, she thinks she's helping out. Not putting herself - and her child Elsie - at risk. But as Fiona finds her way into the hearts of her hosts, nowhere and nobody is safe any longer... Contains strong language. TB 13818.
Fyfield, Frances
Blind date. 1998. Read by Rula Lenska, 10hours 26minutes. TB 12082.
Elisabeth Kennedy, a disgraced ex-police officer, is haunted by hersister's horrific murder and her own humiliating attempts to lure thekiller into a confession. Then she is the victim of a senseless attackand, wanting to hide from the world, she flees the comfort of her mother's house for her own eccentric home - high above the ground in a disused London belltower. But even the safest places are not sacrosanct. Contains strong language. TB 12082.
Fyfield, Frances
Without consent. 1997. Read by Rula Lenska, 8hours 7minutes. TB 11500.
Police officer DS Ryan is accused of rape. He maintains a stubborn silence in the face of the charge; indeed he seems obsessed with the capture of the stalker. The evidence suggests to Prosecutor Helen West and her lover Superintendent Bailey that he is guilty. But slowly Ryan's prey begins to emerge. A man who knows how to avoid the law, a man who believes there is no legal formula to deal with someone who brings chocolates and flowers, leaves without trace, and learns how to kill with impunity. Contains strong language. TB 11500.
Gardner, Katy
Hidden. 2006. Read by Penelope Freeman, 10hours 2minutes. TB 14862.
A trail of blood winding through a squalid flat in Margate leads DCI Dave Gosworth to the body of Jacqui Jennings, her skull smashed with a chisel. For Dave it is just the start of a long and puzzling case. Forty miles away in South London, a young single mother named Melanie Stenning is blissfully unaware of Jacqui's life and death. But that trail of blood will one day lead straight to her door, with terrifying repercussions. Contains strong language. TB 14862.
Hardy, Jules
Mister candid. 2004. Read by William Dufris, 12hours 30minutes. TB 14604.
The mind of a murderer; the heart of a saint. For seventeen years the FBI have been hunting down "Mr Candid": a killer with a difference. His victims are evildoers the law can't touch. But are his actions those of a maniac or a saviour? Born into a life of privilege and wealth on America's East Coast, Charlie Kane was a child prodigy. Reading the 'New York Times' at the age of three, a mathematical genius at thirteen, he went to Harvard where he found the love of his life and a place in the world. Until one Thanksgiving; seventeen years ago; when Charlie's world was torn apart and the entire Kane family all but vanished. Contains violence. TB 14604.
Harris, Thomas
Hannibal. 1999. Read by Daniel Gerroll, 13hours. TB 12602.
Hannibal Lecter Series; book 3. Sequel to: Silence of the lambs, TB 8469. One of Hannibal's victims, the influential and rich Mason Verger - a paraplegic confined to a respirator thanks to Hannibal - is bent on revenge and FBI agent Clarice Starling provides the perfect bait. Contains violence. TB 12602.
Hayder, Mo
Birdman. 2003. Read by Damien Goodwin, 11hours 20minutes. TB 13838.
D I Jack Caffrey series; book 1. Greenwich, south-east London. The Met's crack murder squad is called out by nervous CID detectives to a grim discovery. Five bodies have been found, all young women, all ritualistically murdered, dumped on wasteland
near the Millennium Dome. Detective Inspector Jack Caffery, young, driven, unshockable, finds himself facing hostility within the force and echoes of his past in this. Tortured by a death long ago that he might have prevented, he now employs every weapon forensic science can offer, he knows time is limited; this sadistic killer will strike again. Contains strong language. TB 13838.