Bloody Crimes

In this gripping historical account, expert crime historian Joan Renner explores the shadowy world of fame and crime during Hollywood's most glamorous era. As Los Angeles transformed into the epicenter of film, it also became a haven for notorious criminals and mobsters, weaving a complex tapestry of allure and danger that is sure to intrigue.

Robert Wilhelm's long-awaited sequel to The Bloody Century takes the listener back to nineteenth-century America in all its gory glory. Nothing much has changed; people killed then as they do now for greed, jealousy, love and hate but this fascinating journey through the mindset of the century has much to tell us about detection methods and court decisions and has much that will surprise.

After more than a decade of being in prison for the brutal murder of two Stirling University students, Colin Sanderson has been released after his conviction was found to be unsafe. Returning home to a small village not far from Stirling, Sanderson refuses police protection, even in the face of a death threat. But the PR firm that has scooped him up to sell his story does know of a protection expert in Stirling. They want Connor Fraser.

For as long as it has gripped our imaginations, the Mafia has been tied to an ingrained image of masculinity. We learn about "made men," "wiseguys," and "goodfellas" leading criminal organizations whose culture prizes machismo, with women as ancillary and often-powerless characters: trivialized mistresses and long-suffering mob wives. The reality is far more complex.

Looking for an escape from childhood abuse, Reymundo Sanchez turned away from school and baseball to drugs, alcohol, and then sex and was left to fend for himself before age 14. The Latin Kings, one of the largest and most notorious street gangs in America, became his refuge and his world, but its violence cost him friends, freedom, self-respect, and nearly his life. This is a raw and powerful odyssey through the ranks of the new Mafia.

A burning sneer, a snide remark, and a stolen kiss. Three distinct memories among a million others that stain my childhood with Remy Luciano. Sour gummy worms and a nickname. Two more memories and everything I loved to hate started blurring at the edges. A wedding dress made for another. And one whispered confession that has gripped the three of us in its sticky fingers of heartbreak and doubt...you've always been Mine.

Jennifer MacKenzie being hit by a car was a tragic accident. Or so it seemed. Until Connor is summoned to a meeting with his girlfriend's dad, Duncan McKenzie. MacKenzie claims that Jen's accident was actually a message intended for him - and a way to force him to kill his trusted Lieutenant Paulie King, who has now mysteriously disappeared. His request to Connor is simple. Find Paulie and the men who hurt his daughter. Do whatever it takes.

At first the townspeople of Cherryvale welcome the rising medium Kate Bender and her family. Kate's messages from the Beyond give their tedious dreams hope and her mother's potions cure their little ills—for a price. No one knows about their other business, the shortcut to a better life. And why shouldn’t their family prosper? They’re careful. It’s only from those who are marked, those who travel alone and can easily disappear, that the Benders demand their pound of flesh.

Like the never-ending war on terror, the drugs war is a multi-billion-dollar industry that won’t go down without a fight. Pills, Powder, and Smoke explains why. The war on drugs has been official American policy since the 1970s, with the UK, Europe and much of the world following suit. It is at best a failed policy, according to best-selling author Antony Loewenstein. Its direct results have included mass incarceration in the US, extreme violence in different parts of the world, the backing of dictatorships and surging drug addiction globally.

After returning from being loaned out to another agency, Curt is anxious to get back to the quiet, small town police work that he really loves. Department personnel have changed while he was gone. One of the changes is a new dispatcher working behind the desk when he walks in that night.

La escuela Castrevenford está inmersa en los preparativos para celebrar el fin de curso, y el excéntrico profesor de Oxford y detective aficionado Gervase Fen (al que ya conocimos en La juguetería errante y El canto del cisne), liberado de sus obligaciones laborales, ha sido convocado a entregar los premios a los discursos más brillantes.

When dead mobsters start turning up in Blood Rock, Sheriff Serenity Adams joins forces with a new recruit, a US marshal, and her ex-partner to solve the cases, but can she trust any of them? Her old partner, Ryan Donavan, is not acting like himself, and Serenity fears he's keeping secrets. For all of his politeness, there's something about Officer Jerome Wilson that doesn't ring true, and Marshall Bryant always has his own agenda. Throw in the Moretti mafia family, a Mexican drug cartel, and a hillbilly moonshine making clan, and Serenity has her hands full.

Joe Barboza knew that there were two requirements for getting inducted into the Mafia. You had to be Sicilian. And you had to commit a contract killing. The New Bedford-born mobster was a proud Portuguese, not Sicilian, but his dream to be part of La Cosa Nostra proved so strong that he thought he could create a loophole. Barboza’s legacy, buried for years thanks to the murders or deaths of its participants, is finally coming to light and being told in its unvarnished brutality by one of America’s most respected true crime writers.

Avenging Serpents tells how two far-from-innocent men, who met by a freak coincidence, were inspired by an old myth to seek revenge on the perpetrators of ongoing abuses.

Life was already complicated enough for Apple Rose. After all, bubbly cheerleader by day and ruthless serial killer by night isn’t an easy feat to pull off. Even if her victims might deserve their twisted fate. But when her best friend, Cindy Nix, learns the truth, things becomes about as thorny as can be. In some ways, Apple has always wanted to be seen and to have someone know the truest nature of her heart. But even this turn catches her by surprise. Will her bond with Cindy shatter now that the ugly truth is known, or will Apple be surprised again?

It's the 80s. It's New York City. And life in the Big Apple is one mean and dangerous place. Crime is at an all time high. And out here there's a man that would like to think of himself as the biggest and baddest dude to ever grace these streets. One Michael "Madboy" Connelly. A real brawler, a real womanizer, a real player, and a real prick. Just an all around bad boy. But he's got his story, that of a newly released man that's planning for revenge, against those he believes had set him up and had him sent to the slammer.

While on holiday in Little Cayman, dive boat operator AJ Bailey expects a peaceful getaway. Nothing sounds better than uniquely-aged rum, crystal-clear water, and world-class diving. But, beneath the surface, the Bloody Bay Rum Club is hiding a dangerous secret, and when AJ uncovers the truth, things turn deadly.

Oliver Grant. Decorated soldier, then Major in Military Intelligence. Now a case-hardened mercenary - selling his services to the highest bidder wherever the going is rough. Seemingly the perfect choice to rescue the stepson of a millionaire Mafia boss from a Libyan prison fortress. Except for one tiny detail. Grant doesn't want the job. It takes kidnapping and threatening his younger sister before even Grant is forced to see sense. Dimitri Stavrou does not play games. But then Grant's beautiful, gentle lover turns up on the wrong end of a machine gun....

The murder was brutal. The scene resembled a slaughterhouse. "We need Nate Burns," Jack Mill said and set about getting the medically retired detective to Vegas. Such a simple request will lead Nate not only on a manhunt across the country but also back in time 30 years, where he will struggle to understand the implications of the Cold War.

Henry Morgan, a twenty-year-old Welshman, crossed the Atlantic in 1655, hell-bent on making his fortune. Over the next three decades, his exploits in the Caribbean in the service of the English became legendary. His daring attacks on the mighty Spanish Empire on land and at sea determined the fates of kings and queens, and his victories helped shape the destiny of the New World.