Mystery Biography

Dashiell Hammett changed the face of crime fiction. In five novels published over five years as well as a string of stories, he transformed the mystery genre into literature and left us with the figure of the hard-boiled detective, from the Continental Op to Sam Spade - immortalized on film by Humphrey Bogart in The Maltese Falcon - and the more glamorous Thin Man, also made iconic with the aid of Hollywood.

Canada’s greatest modern-day explorer sets out into the arctic wilderness to solve a mystery more than 100 years old.

July 22, 2011, was the darkest day in Norway's history since Nazi Germany's invasion. It was 189 minutes of terror - from the moment the bomb exploded outside a government building until Anders Behring Breivik was apprehended by the police at Utoya Island. Breivik murdered 77 people, most of them teenagers and young adults, and wounded hundreds more. Breivik is a "lone wolf killer", often overlooked until they commit their crime. Breivik is also unique as he is the only lone wolf killer in recent history to still be alive and in captivity.

On October 26, 1961, after an evening of studying with friends on the campus of Transylvania University, 19-year-old student Betty Gail Brown got into her car around midnight - presumably headed for home. But she would never arrive. Three hours later, Brown was found dead in a driveway near the center of campus, strangled to death with her own brassiere. Kentuckians from across the state became engrossed in the proceedings as lead after lead went nowhere. Four years later, the police investigation completely stalled.

On a bitterly cold morning in January 1963, Daisy Zick was brutally murdered in her Battle Creek home. No fewer than three witnesses caught a glimpse of the killer, yet today, it remains one of Michigan's most sensational unsolved crimes. The act of pure savagery rocked not only the community but also the Kellogg Company, where she worked. Here, Blaine Pardoe artfully takes the listener into this true crime thriller.

Dublin, November 1856: George Little, the chief cashier of the Broadstone railway terminus, is found dead, lying in a pool of blood beneath his desk. He has been savagely beaten, his head almost severed; there is no sign of a murder weapon, and the office door is locked, apparently from the inside. Thousands of pounds in gold and silver are left untouched at the scene of the crime. Augustus Guy, Ireland's most experienced detective, teams up with Dublin's leading lawyer to investigate the murder. But the mystery defies all explanation.

In about 1850, spiritualism reached a high interest and continued for a number of years, not only in America, but worldwide. The poets, philosophers, artists, and politicians of the time, along with the ordinary man and woman, in surprising numbers came to accept spirit communication as a comforting and fulfilling life experience.

Australia has always been a land of mysteries. Some are ancient, some are historical and many continue to perplex us today—and will probably continue to do so tomorrow. More often than most of us would like to think, things simply vanish and people disappear without explanation, leaving a trail of heartbreak across generations. Australia also has its fair share of buried loot and fabulous riches gone missing—somewhere. Master storyteller Graham Seal has gathered mysteries from around Australia.

For every child who has ever looked up at the stars and asked, "What are they?" comes the story of a curious boy who never stopped wondering: Carl Sagan. When Carl Sagan was a young boy he went to the 1939 World's Fair and his life was changed forever. From that day on he never stopped marveling at the universe and seeking to understand it better.

What makes people want to solve a mystery? Listen to these seven stories and you might decide there are some things that can never be explained. Find out how one woman checked into a Parisian hotel - and then disappeared; why Flight 19 never returned, with no sign of wreckage or survivors; and if the ghosts of Borley rectory can ever rest in peace. With gripping accounts and dramatic fact files, uncover some mysterious events from real life and decide what you think really happened.

In 1928, Eric and Mabel Smith arrived from India to take over the lonely parish of Borley on the northern border of Essex. When they moved into Borley Rectory, Mrs Smith made a gruesome discovery in a cupboard: a human skull. Soon the house was electric with ghosts. Within three months, the Smiths had abandoned it and the Rectory became notorious as the ‘most haunted house in England’.

Shannon Reed did not want to be a teacher, but now, after twenty years of working with children from preschool to college, there’s nothing she’d rather be. “With an irresistible combination of compassion, humor, and engaged storytelling” (Shelf Awareness), her essays illuminate the highs and lows of a job located at the intersection of youth and wisdom.

In this audiobook you will be able to learn more about this supposed secret society that has fascinated many scholars, and even average people, since it first came into public consciousness. What is this group, exactly?

In 1989, country newcomer Sammy Sadler had already charted several critically acclaimed singles and was ready to release his first album when he was shot during the assassination of then Cash Box chart manager Kevin Hughes, an incident known around the world as the “Murder on Music Row”. The police had no suspects, and even though Sammy suffered a nearly fatal bullet wound, the officers kept him under suspicion during the 13-year investigation.

A revered Buddhist monk tells the bracing and beautiful story of a singular life compelled to contemplation, sharing lessons about the power of mentorship and an open mind.

The nice guy next door was hiding a dark secret - a homicidal obsession with young girls. It didn't end until his final victim, still bound in handcuffs, escaped while he slept. She recounted the details of a night of horror spent with an elusive serial killer. Neither family nor friends saw Richard Marc Evonitz's dark side - he saved that for his victims - until his double life came undone by a courageous, resourceful 15-year-old. The authorities had questions about many unsolved cold cases, but Evonitz had one more shocking surprise in store for everyone. Into the Water is a cautionary tale about the vulnerability of our children.

Outsiders call Manuel a villain. After spending his youth entangled in inner-city gang warfare, he’s lied, robbed, and murdered his way to the top. His path was set long ago, when two killers massacred his family in front of him. While Manuel was able to take down one of the murderers, his bloodlust has grown for the killer who got away. When he gets the chance to complete his vengeance, the city cowers beneath his thirst for retribution....

In 1931, the tensions of the Great Depression took hold of Detroit at every level—even spilling over into the investigation of a mysterious murder at the Delray boardinghouse. Amid accusations of witchcraft, Hungarian immigrant Rose Veres and her son Bill were convicted of the brutal killing and suspected in a dozen more. Their cries of innocence went unheeded—until one lawyer, determined to seek justice, took on the case.

Imprescindible escritor bohemio de idioma alemán, cuya obra, catalogada como una de las más influyentes de la literatura universal a pesar de no ser muy extensa, lo llevó con justicia al Olimpo Literario. Nuestra biografía del autor de La Metamorfosis busca recorrer no sólo su afición por las letras, sino escarbar en su misterioso pasado, lleno de traumas, sombras y destellos de una personalidad fascinante.

Marcus Heavy is the founder of the Heavy Sinners Motorcycle Club. They specialize in the drug game, prostitution, blackmail, and murder. You cross any member of the club, and that’s the end of your life. Marcus’ son, Darius, was supposed to take up the mantle as leader of the club, but Darius doesn’t want that life.