True Crime 1
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 byNigel 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, tomodern day peace protestors, victims of labour camps, juntas, theholocaust and conscription. Some, like Sheila Cassidy, have won hugefollowings during the campaigns for their release.Contains violence. TB 9616.
FF8282. A prison diary. 2002. Read by Jeff Bellamy, 6hours 38minutes.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, 7hours 46minutes. 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 high-security prison in south London, to HMP Wayland, aCategory 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, 10hours 39minutes. 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 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,3hours 12minutes. 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, 2hours 16minutes. 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, 6hours 29minutes. 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.
Tales from the Newgate calendar. 1981. Read by Tom Crowe, 7hours 52minutes. 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, 14hours 46minutes. 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 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, 7hours. 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, 9hours 56minutes. 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 legaland social reformer. He was a political radical and a leading theorist inAnglo- American philosophy of law. He is best known for his advocacy ofutilitarianism, for the concept of animal rights and his opposition to theidea of natural rights. TB 18799.
Bowden, Mark
Killing Pablo: the hunt for the richest, most powerful criminal in history. 2001. Read by Garrick Hagon, 12hours 51minutes. 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.
Britton, Paul
The jigsaw man: the remarkable career of Britain'sforemost criminal psychologist. 1998. Read by Michael McStay, 17hours. 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, 8hours 53minutes. 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.
Campbell, James
Gate fever: voices from a prison. 1986. Read by David Rider, 7hours 36minutes. 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, 13hours 30minutes. 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 three-decade 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 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, 9hours 19minutes. 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, 11hours 7minutes. 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, 24hours 59minutes. 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.
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 ofBritain's armed police. 1998. Read by Nigel Carrington, 7 hours 6 minutes. TB 13623.
SO19, the Metropolitan Police Special Firearms Wing, is a squad ofgunfighters who daily defend the public from evil. Yardies, internationaldrug barons, IRA enforcers and celebrity South London gangsters and hitmenhave all been taken off the streets by the true-life heroes of SO19 eitherin 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, 12hours 45minutes. 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 re-examine the evidence in the Jack the Ripper murders. These include state-of-the-art DNA testing on various materials, computerenhancement of watermarks and expert examinations of hand-writing, 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, 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, 17hours 54minutes. 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, 8hours 39minutes. 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, 15hours 6minutes. 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.