Crime Heist

More than 200 stories of killers, con artists, master thieves, and brazen kidnappers—and strong survivors, detectives, forensic breakthroughs, and legal minds on all sides of the action. In other words, a mini-encyclopedia perfect for newcomers and hard-core crime fans alike. Here are the big names—Bundy, Manson, Berkowitz, Borden, and the Black Dahlia. The lingering mysteries—like JonBenet Ramsey and Natalie Wood. The disturbing puzzle of the Zodiac Killer. The true story behind the most lurid headline ever: “Headless Body in the Topless Bar.” And more.

What do Wyatt Earp, Belle Gunness, Big Foot the Renegade, Billy the Kid, Dr. H.H. Holmes, and The Black Hand have in common? They were all subjects of true crime newspaper reporting in the 1800s. Now their stories and that of many others are brought together in their original form in this compilation by New York Times best-selling author Mike Rothmiller. These classic works of journalism resurrect astonishing stories that will take the listener back to when these horrific tales mesmerized a nation.

On November 12, 1971, Bernard Patterson, a much-decorated Vietnam War hero, turned a real-life version of Don Quixote, Butch Cassidy, and Robin Hood all rolled into one package, robbed the Northern National Bank in Mars Hill, Maine. He escaped with $110,000; at the time, the largest bank robbery in the history of the state.

Frigid tells the story of the 1991 United Bank of Denver Robbery. Four guards were murdered. Six vault tellers were held at gunpoint. The book contains interviews with many people involved in the case. James W. King was tried and acquitted in 1992.

Growing up, Michael wanted nothing more than to follow in his dad’s footsteps and join the family business. Aged 18, he did just that and entered into the glamourous, dangerous world of organised crime. Michael’s father, a career criminal and contemporary of the infamous Krays, was a wayward role model. Soon, Michael’s criminal activities were funding a reckless lifestyle of drugs, sex, and violence.

This full-cast audiobook, featuring 11 different voice actors, and narrated by Hillary Huber, take on the roles of the Tandem Players, a group of community theater actors that love their community theater almost as much as they love the sweet old landlady who gave them a home to perform their plays in over the years. But when she passes away, and the will that was to leave the Broadtown Theater to the acting troupe disappears, they don’t even have time to mourn their loss. Her son comes in like a wrecking ball....

One bright Los Angeles day, a young Polish émigré named Viva is driving along the freeway when she’s flagged down by a dazzling, disheveled woman in green chiffon. The woman is Bobby Sleeper, a fellow Eastern European and an erstwhile art gallerist with a mysterious background and even more mysterious filmmaker husband. Within days the couple hire Viva as their assistant, then enlist her as an accomplice in an improbable scheme involving a long-lost Vermeer masterwork, a multi-million-dollar reward, and several shadowy ex-husbands.

Former federal agent Alexis Parker is tired of death, destruction, and mayhem. She wants to forget her past and focus on the present. She has a new gig guarding a priceless piece of art and a promising future with James Martin, but when she runs into an old friend while working in Paris, her new life comes crashing to an end. Armed thugs, stolen art, and a bag of cash are just the tip of the iceberg. The painting is a fake, and the insurance firm blames Alex for the theft. But the real thief is out there.

Steven Jencks has planned the perfect crime. Working with two skilled associates, he will hit the Reina, a super-luxury hotel off the coast of Spain, and then walk away with the haul of a lifetime. As the ultimate pro, Jencks has even run his plan through a complex computer simulation to account for every possible variable … Except three. Their names are Annette, Cynthia, and Jenny. And no computer could ever simulate what these three femmes fatales have up their sleeves.

International Jewel Thief Gregg Hadyn is stealing diamonds, and he can’t be caught. But when Gregg “accidentally” kidnaps Special Operative Carly Macklin during a heist, he finds that he escapes with more than he bargained for. As Gregg wrestles with attraction for Carly versus a career that puts them squarely at odds, Strategic Intelligence Response Unit Director Denny Garret, who is also the former FBI agent who chased Gregg unsuccessfully for 12 years—and is now Carly’s boss in the SIRU—renews his commitment to apprehend the notorious thief.

Once the most cunning luxury-car thief in the game, Ava Frost gladly gave it all up to become the wife of a successful Norfolk, Virginia, businessman, and raise their two children in better circumstances than she ever knew. But when the children are abducted—and held for a two-million-dollar ransom—Ava is stunned to discover her husband’s bad deals have drained their fortune. Determined, she pursues her best, and toughest, option: Her ex-boyfriend, the mastermind behind the South’s biggest car theft ring, offers her a chance to gain the money.

The new year starts with a bang in Sydney's Chinatown - and not just fireworks. While the rest of the country is celebrating, the biggest bank job in Australia's history is taking place. The press called it 'The Great Chinese Take-Away', but in those missing safety deposit boxes is something much more valuable than money. A gold key with a dragon on it. Why does the Chen family want it back so badly? What starts as a routine case soon leads Claudia Valentine into a world of ancient treasures and modern Triad killings, through the sleazy back streets and exotic oriental temples.

Nearly a decade after getting chased out of the Army for fighting back against abuse, Monna Locke's skill and discretion have made her the go-to safecracker for Los Angeles clients who need vaults opened and no questions asked. When a lawyer hires her to retrieve a box from his client's mansion, it seems like an easy payday—until she opens the safe and is immediately attacked by heavily-armed men.

Ex-con artist Bee Cardello is going legit. Divorced from her mafia boss husband, she is determined to stay on the straight and narrow. So, when ex-hubby Charlie steals $37.5 million from a dangerous kingpin, who puts out a hit on Bee and her ten-year-old son Oliver, she finds herself pulled back into the life she's worked so hard to escape. Part of that old life being one Adam Gage, an old flame and all-round sexy badass who Charlie's now employed to keep her and Oliver safe. Well, that's what he tells her.

The job's a classic jewel heist: quick, clean and simple. Except for one thing. Wyatt prefers to work alone, but this job belongs to Eddie Oberin and his very smart ex-wife, Lydia. She has the inside information; Wyatt has the planning genius and meticulous preparation. What could possibly go wrong? Plenty. But when you cross Wyatt, you don't walk away.

Australian jewel thief Wyatt has a bounty of stolen jewels and a yacht, but nothing can stop him from returning to his life of crime. He drugs his lover, police officer Liz Redding, and escapes into the night only to discover the gems he lifted are fakes. With his luck and his resources rapidly running out, Wyatt begrudgingly joins forces with Raymond, his estranged nephew and an established criminal himself, to lift some expensive artwork.

Charmante Dilettanten: Monsieur Lipaires Gauner-Truppe träumt vom großen Coup an der Côte d'Azur – doch irgendwas geht immer schief. Ein Rätsel, das zum Familienschatz einer südfranzösischen Adelsdynastie führt, versteckt im Kanallabyrinth der malerischen Küstenstadt Port Grimaud? Das klingt zu formidable, um wahr zu sein. Gelegenheitsgauner Guillaume Lipaire sieht endlich seine Chance, schnell an viel Geld zu kommen. Er versammelt ein ungewöhnliches Team um sich, das ihm dabei helfen soll, das Rätsel zu lösen.

The one place she never wanted to go back to. The one place she can’t escape. When she was just five years old, Lucy Murphy witnessed her mother’s brutal murder in their home on London’s notorious Griffin Estate. The case was never solved. Now a newly qualified police officer, Lucy has been given her first job: She’s going back to the Griffin Estate. She is there to protect the estate’s vulnerable residents, including Shannon and Kian Winters, two kids struggling to deal with their alcoholic mother.

Almost 100 years ago, a major terrestrial event reshaped the Earth’s coastlines. Goodbye entire cities. Goodbye entire states. Goodbye entire countries. And when the authorities outlawed salvaging from these underwater cities, why say hello to a new breed of criminal: Underwater reclamation specialists. Even 100 years later, there’s still a whole lot of loot for the reclaiming. But it’s not theft if you put it back, right? After cracking an underwater vault in their first major heist in the Seattle Isles, Isa and her crew think they’re on easy street again.

In 1907, the revolutionary Joseph Djugashvili - who would later take the name Joseph Stalin - met with an old friend, a clerk at the Tiflis branch of the State Bank of the Russian Empire, for a glass of milk. Over talk of national pride, the spirit of the new century and Djugashvili's poetry, they agreed on the beginnings of a plan. With the aid of the Outfit, Djugashvili's hardened crew of 'expropriators', they would pull off the biggest, bloodiest and most daring robbery in Georgia's history, and ruthlessly change the direction of the Bolshevik revolution forever.