Bloody Crimes

A murderous atmosphere pervaded 19th-century America marked by lurid newspaper accounts and remembered in ballad and verse. The Bloody Century presents 50 of the most intriguing murder cases from the archives of American crime. It is a collection of fascinating stories - some famous, some long-buried - of Americans, driven by desperation, greed, jealousy, or an irrational bloodlust, to take another’s life.

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 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.

When Amy MacKenzie agrees to attend a meeting at a local spiritualist church, the last person she expects to hear calling to her from beyond the grave is her son. The son whom she'd only spoken to an hour before. Then the body of a young man is found inside a Neolithic stone circle high above the city of Glasgow and forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod is soon on the case. The hands have been severed and there is a stone in the victim's mouth with the number five scratched on it. DI Michael McNab is certain it's a gangland murder, but Rhona isn't convinced.

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.

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.

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.

Charles Paris is on his way up again, career-wise. No longer ‘resting’ or playing a corpse in a cupboard, he finds himself doubling almost every role in a provincial production of the play dreaded by superstitious theatrefolk: Macbeth.

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.

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.

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.

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?

The remote farming community of Murdock, Nebraska, seemed to be the least likely setting for one of the heartland's most ruthless and bloody double murders in decades. In fact the little town had gone more than a century without a single homicide. But on the night of Easter 2006, Wayne and Sharmon Stock were brutally murdered in their home. The murders garnered sensational front-page headlines and drew immediate statewide attention. Practically everybody around Murdock was filled with fear, panic, and outrage. Who killed Wayne and Sharmon Stock? What was the motive?

Twenty years ago, a barmaid in a harbor town fell for a young sailor who turned pirate to make his fortune. But what truly became of Black Edward Tew remains a mystery, one that has just fallen into the lap of freelance sword jockey Eddie LaCrosse. For years, Eddie has kept his office above Angelina’s tavern, so when Angelina herself asks him to find out what happened to the dashing pirate who stole her heart years ago, he can hardly say no—even though the trail is two decades old. Some say Black Edward and his ship, The Bloody Angel, went to bottom of the sea, taking with it a king’s ransom in treasure.

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.

It’s 1927 and Great Britain is sweltering in an unprecedented heatwave. On the morning after her 80th birthday party, Lady Fitzhugh is discovered bound and butchered in her bed, with her family and staff the prime suspects.... Whilst holidaying at nearby Meadowford Village, Detective Dermot Carlyle is asked to help investigate the brutal murder.

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.

When a mistake in a run-of-the-mill reconnaissance mission is ruthlessly exploited as a pretext for war, the Grangers must scramble to expose the plan before casualties start mounting. To make matters worse, someone is using a powerful computer algorithm against the international intelligence community, raiding files and manipulating reports.

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....

Returning to Scotland to organise her wedding, Catriona is overcome with the jitters. She decides to tie up loose ends before settling permanently in Tuscany, and seeks out her ex-boyfriends. Only problem is, they all end up dead and Catriona is the prime suspect.