The Altar Boys
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $23.39
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Abbe Holmes
-
By:
-
Suzanne Smith
About this listen
Boys with everything to live for. A community betrayed. The whistle-blower priest who paid the ultimate price.
Glen Walsh and Steven Alward were childhood friends in their tight-knit working-class community in Shortland, on the outskirts of Newcastle, New South Wales. Both proud altar boys at the local Catholic church, they went on to attend the city's Catholic boys' highs schools: Glen to Marist Brothers and Steven to St Pius X. Both did well: Steven became a journalist; Glen a priest. But when Glen discovered another priest was sexually abusing boys, he reported the offending to police, breaking Canon Law and his vows to the Catholic 'brotherhood' in the process. Just weeks before he was due to give evidence at a key trial against the highest cleric to ever be charged with covering up child abuse, Father Glen Walsh was dead. Two months later, his friend Steven also died, only weeks before he was to marry the love of his life. Ensuing investigations revealed that at least 60 men in the region had taken their own lives. Why? What had happened, and why were so many from the three Catholic high schools in the area?
By six-time Walkley Award-winning investigative reporter Suzanne Smith, The Altar Boys is the powerful exposé of widespread and organised clerical abuse of children in an Australian city and how the cover-up in the Catholic church in Australia extended from parish priests to every echelon of the organisation. Focusing on two childhood friends, their families and community, this gripping and explosive story is backed by secret documents, diary notes and witness accounts and details a deliberate church strategy of using psychological warfare against witnesses in key trials involving paedophile priests.
©2020 Suzanne Smith (P)2020 Bolinda PublishingListeners also enjoyed...
-
Death of an Altar Boy
- The Unsolved Murder of Danny Croteau and the Culture of Abuse in the Catholic Church
- By: E. J. Fleming
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The tragic death of 13-year-old Danny Croteau in 1972 faded from headlines and memories for 20 years until the Boston abuse scandal - a string of assaults taking place within the Catholic Church - exploded in the early 2000s. Despite numerous indications, including 40 claims of sexual misconduct with minors, pointing to him as Croteau's killer, Reverend Richard R. Lavigne remains "innocent." Drawing on more than ten thousand pages of police and court findings and interviews with Danny's friends and family, fellow abuse victims, and church officials, the author uncovers the truth.
-
-
Extremely disgusting
- By R. G. Pickering on 04-05-21
By: E. J. Fleming
-
Dear Jacob
- By: Patty Wetterling, Joy Baker - contributor
- Narrated by: Rebecca Stern
- Length: 13 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On October 22, 1989, in the small town of St. Joseph, Minnesota, eleven-year-old Jacob Wetterling was kidnapped at gunpoint. Twenty-seven years later, Danny Heinrich led authorities to the boy’s remains. What lies between is the riveting story of the search for Jacob, told by his mother, Patty. With down-to-earth candor, she details the investigation as it unfolds, discusses her family’s struggles, and shows how she maintained her energy and optimism.
-
-
Beautifully written.
- By Christine on 11-04-23
By: Patty Wetterling, and others
-
She Said
- Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement
- By: Jodi Kantor, Megan Twohey
- Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman, Jodi Kantor, Megan Twohey
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On October 5, 2017, the New York Times published an article by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey - and then the world changed. For months, Kantor and Twohey had been having confidential discussions with top actresses, former Weinstein employees, and other sources, learning of disturbing long-buried allegations. But nothing could have prepared them for what followed the publication of their Weinstein story. With superlative detail, insight, and journalistic expertise, Kantor and Twohey take us for the first time into the very heart of this social shift.
-
-
Great until the Kavanaugh tangent
- By JC on 09-14-19
By: Jodi Kantor, and others
-
Adnan's Story
- The Search for Truth and Justice After Serial
- By: Rabia Chaudry
- Narrated by: Rabia Chaudry
- Length: 14 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In early 2000, Adnan Syed was convicted and sentenced to life plus thirty years for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee, a high school senior in Baltimore, Maryland. Syed has maintained his innocence, and Rabia Chaudry, a family friend, has always believed him. By 2013, after almost all appeals had been exhausted, Rabia contacted Sarah Koenig, a producer at This American Life, in hopes of finding a journalist who could shed light on Adnan’s story. In 2014, Koenig's investigation turned into Serial, a Peabody Award-winning podcast with more than 500 million international listeners.
-
-
Fascinating. Heartbreaking. Informative.
- By Angela on 08-11-16
By: Rabia Chaudry
-
Road to Jonestown
- Jim Jones and Peoples Temple
- By: Jeff Guinn
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the 1950s, a young Indianapolis minister named Jim Jones preached a curious blend of the gospel and Marxism. His congregation was racially mixed, and he was a leader in the early civil rights movement. Eventually, Jones moved his church, Peoples Temple, to northern California, where he got involved in electoral politics and became a prominent Bay Area leader. But underneath the surface lurked a terrible darkness.
-
-
An Important Accurate Historical Report
- By Julia on 08-24-17
By: Jeff Guinn
-
Furious Hours
- Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee
- By: Casey Cep
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Reverend Willie Maxwell was a rural preacher accused of murdering five of his family members for insurance money in the 1970s. With the help of a savvy lawyer, he escaped justice for years until a relative shot him dead at the funeral of his last victim. Despite hundreds of witnesses, Maxwell's murderer was acquitted—thanks to the same attorney who had previously defended the reverend. Casey Cep brings this story to life, from the shocking murders to the courtroom drama to the racial politics of the Deep South.
-
-
Great book, needs a Southern narrator
- By Joseph Wu on 06-06-19
By: Casey Cep
-
Death of an Altar Boy
- The Unsolved Murder of Danny Croteau and the Culture of Abuse in the Catholic Church
- By: E. J. Fleming
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The tragic death of 13-year-old Danny Croteau in 1972 faded from headlines and memories for 20 years until the Boston abuse scandal - a string of assaults taking place within the Catholic Church - exploded in the early 2000s. Despite numerous indications, including 40 claims of sexual misconduct with minors, pointing to him as Croteau's killer, Reverend Richard R. Lavigne remains "innocent." Drawing on more than ten thousand pages of police and court findings and interviews with Danny's friends and family, fellow abuse victims, and church officials, the author uncovers the truth.
-
-
Extremely disgusting
- By R. G. Pickering on 04-05-21
By: E. J. Fleming
-
Dear Jacob
- By: Patty Wetterling, Joy Baker - contributor
- Narrated by: Rebecca Stern
- Length: 13 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On October 22, 1989, in the small town of St. Joseph, Minnesota, eleven-year-old Jacob Wetterling was kidnapped at gunpoint. Twenty-seven years later, Danny Heinrich led authorities to the boy’s remains. What lies between is the riveting story of the search for Jacob, told by his mother, Patty. With down-to-earth candor, she details the investigation as it unfolds, discusses her family’s struggles, and shows how she maintained her energy and optimism.
-
-
Beautifully written.
- By Christine on 11-04-23
By: Patty Wetterling, and others
-
She Said
- Breaking the Sexual Harassment Story That Helped Ignite a Movement
- By: Jodi Kantor, Megan Twohey
- Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman, Jodi Kantor, Megan Twohey
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On October 5, 2017, the New York Times published an article by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey - and then the world changed. For months, Kantor and Twohey had been having confidential discussions with top actresses, former Weinstein employees, and other sources, learning of disturbing long-buried allegations. But nothing could have prepared them for what followed the publication of their Weinstein story. With superlative detail, insight, and journalistic expertise, Kantor and Twohey take us for the first time into the very heart of this social shift.
-
-
Great until the Kavanaugh tangent
- By JC on 09-14-19
By: Jodi Kantor, and others
-
Adnan's Story
- The Search for Truth and Justice After Serial
- By: Rabia Chaudry
- Narrated by: Rabia Chaudry
- Length: 14 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In early 2000, Adnan Syed was convicted and sentenced to life plus thirty years for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee, a high school senior in Baltimore, Maryland. Syed has maintained his innocence, and Rabia Chaudry, a family friend, has always believed him. By 2013, after almost all appeals had been exhausted, Rabia contacted Sarah Koenig, a producer at This American Life, in hopes of finding a journalist who could shed light on Adnan’s story. In 2014, Koenig's investigation turned into Serial, a Peabody Award-winning podcast with more than 500 million international listeners.
-
-
Fascinating. Heartbreaking. Informative.
- By Angela on 08-11-16
By: Rabia Chaudry
-
Road to Jonestown
- Jim Jones and Peoples Temple
- By: Jeff Guinn
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the 1950s, a young Indianapolis minister named Jim Jones preached a curious blend of the gospel and Marxism. His congregation was racially mixed, and he was a leader in the early civil rights movement. Eventually, Jones moved his church, Peoples Temple, to northern California, where he got involved in electoral politics and became a prominent Bay Area leader. But underneath the surface lurked a terrible darkness.
-
-
An Important Accurate Historical Report
- By Julia on 08-24-17
By: Jeff Guinn
-
Furious Hours
- Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee
- By: Casey Cep
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Reverend Willie Maxwell was a rural preacher accused of murdering five of his family members for insurance money in the 1970s. With the help of a savvy lawyer, he escaped justice for years until a relative shot him dead at the funeral of his last victim. Despite hundreds of witnesses, Maxwell's murderer was acquitted—thanks to the same attorney who had previously defended the reverend. Casey Cep brings this story to life, from the shocking murders to the courtroom drama to the racial politics of the Deep South.
-
-
Great book, needs a Southern narrator
- By Joseph Wu on 06-06-19
By: Casey Cep
-
Truth Be Told
- My Journey Through Life and the Law
- By: Beverley McLachlin
- Narrated by: Beverley McLachlin
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With warmth, honesty, and deep wisdom, McLachlin invites us into her legal and personal life - into the hopes and doubts, the triumphs and losses on and off the bench. Through it all, her constant faith in justice remained her true north. In an age of division and uncertainty, McLachlin’s memoir is a reminder that justice and the rule of law remain our best hope for a progressive and bright future.
-
-
Impressive
- By Jean on 12-02-19
-
Saint Padre Pio
- Man of Hope
- By: Renzo Allegri
- Narrated by: Douglas James
- Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Canonized on June 16, 2002, Padre Pio of Pietrelcina (1887-1968) was a Capuchin monk and mystic whose life was marked with miracles and wonders, but who said that his only desire was “to be a poor friar who prays.” In this intimate biography, you will see the results of this humble Capuchin's prayers and discover for yourself the source of his great hope. This updated edition contains five new chapters covering the years between beatification and canonization, St. Pio’s continued work in people’s lives, and the devotion of St. John Paul II to this extraordinary saint.
-
-
Occasional mispronunciations; otherwise awesome
- By Paul Grady on 12-22-20
By: Renzo Allegri
-
No Visible Bruises
- What We Don't Know About Domestic Violence Can Kill Us
- By: Rachel Louise Snyder
- Narrated by: Rachel Louise Snyder
- Length: 12 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We call it domestic violence. We call it private violence. Sometimes we call it intimate terrorism. But whatever we call it, we generally do not believe it has anything at all to do with us, despite the World Health Organization deeming it a 'global epidemic'. In No Visible Bruises, journalist Rachel Louise Snyder gives context for what we don't know we're seeing. She frames this urgent and immersive account of the scale of domestic violence in our country around key stories that explode the common myths....
-
-
Not yet ready
- By Alyssa E. on 05-17-19
-
Parish Priest
- Father Michael McGivney and American Catholicism
- By: Douglas Brinkley, Julie Fenster
- Narrated by: Julie Fenster
- Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Father Michael McGivney (1852-1890), born and raised in a Connecticut factory town, the modern era's ideal of the priesthood hit its zenith. The son of Irish immigrants, he was a man to whom "family values" represented more than mere rhetoric. And he left a legacy of hope still celebrated around the world.
-
-
Excellent
- By Phil on 08-03-08
By: Douglas Brinkley, and others
-
The Courage of Compassion
- A Journey from Judgment to Connection
- By: Robin Steinberg, Camilo Ramirez - contributor
- Narrated by: Robin Steinberg
- Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We all think we are compassionate just like we all think we are honest. But true compassion is not innate. Compassion for others, especially those that we don’t know or understand, must be learned. Our lack of compassion is perhaps most extreme in the exercise of criminal justice, where a person’s entire life, worth, and character are judged through the myopic lens of a single act. But no one, says Robin Steinberg, should be reduced to their worst moment. From the founder and CEO of The Bail Project, The Courage of Compassion unveils how we can reimagine justice through compassion.
-
-
Understanding the misunderstood
- By Melissa on 07-18-23
By: Robin Steinberg, and others
-
Black Box
- The Memoir That Sparked Japan’s #MeToo Movement
- By: Shiori Itō, Allison Markin Powell - translator
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 6 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2015, an aspiring young journalist named Shiori Ito charged prominent reporter Noriyuki Yamaguchi with rape. After meeting up for drinks and networking, Ito remembers regaining consciousness in a hotel room while being assaulted. But when she went to the police, Ito was told that her case was a “black box”—untouchable and unprosecutable. Upon publication in 2017, Ito’s searing account foregrounded the #MeToo movement in Japan and became the center of an urgent cultural and legal shift around recognizing sexual assault and gender-based violence.
By: Shiori Itō, and others
-
Game Over
- Jerry Sandusky, Penn State, and the Culture of Silence
- By: Bill Moushey, Robert Dvorchak
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's a scandal that began in a place called Happy Valley. But it's not as happy as it once was, as the child-sex-abuse charges against a longtime coach and the conspiracy of silence surrounding the allegations have rocked America and Division 1 college sports. In Game Over, journalists Bill Moushey and Bob Dvorchak investigate claims of a startling cover-up within the Penn State hierarchy that attempted to protect its football legacy, quite possibly at the expense of disenfranchised children.
-
-
Heartbreaking
- By Claire on 04-24-12
By: Bill Moushey, and others
-
Fight Back and Win
- My 30-Year Fight Against Injustice and How You Can Win Your Own Battles
- By: Gloria Allred
- Narrated by: Gloria Allred
- Length: 6 hrs and 19 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fearless lawyer, feminist, activist, television and radio commentator, warrior, advocate, and winner, Gloria Allred is all of these things and more. Voted by her peers as one of the best lawyers in America, and described by Time as "one of the nation's most effective advocates of family rights and feminist causes", Allred has devoted her career to fighting for civil rights across boundaries of gender, race, age, sexual orientation, and social class.
-
-
Amazing book, amazing woman.
- By Hope on 04-05-12
By: Gloria Allred
-
Be Careful Who You Love
- Inside the Michael Jackson Case
- By: Diane Dimond
- Narrated by: Diane Dimond
- Length: 13 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The explosive, definitive account of Michael Jackson’s fall from grace has now been updated with four new fascinating chapters. Award-winning journalist Diane Dimond, who first broke the story of the King of Pop’s battles against child molestation charges from 1993 to 2005, takes you behind the scenes and into the courtroom of one of the most controversial cases of the decade. This audio version gives listeners a dramatic glimpse of one reporter’s vigilance and unending quest to uncover the truth.
-
-
Be careful what you read😞
- By Cynthia P. Drayton on 04-01-21
By: Diane Dimond
-
In Hoffa's Shadow
- A Stepfather, a Disappearance in Detroit, and My Search for the Truth
- By: Jack Goldsmith
- Narrated by: Stephen Graybill
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Hoffa’s Shadow tells the moving story of how Goldsmith reunited with the stepfather he’d disowned and then set out to unravel one of the 20th century’s most persistent mysteries and Chuckie’s role in it. Along the way, Goldsmith explores Hoffa’s rise and fall and why the golden age of blue-collar America came to an end, while also casting new light on the century-old surveillance state, the architects of Hoffa’s disappearance, and the heartrending complexities of love and loyalty.
-
-
Great story, not the best reader
- By lindamc on 10-09-19
By: Jack Goldsmith
-
Deadly Dose
- The Untold Story of a Homicide Investigator's Crusade for Truth and Justice
- By: Amanda Lamb
- Narrated by: Chelsea Stephens
- Length: 7 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The death of promising young pediatric AIDS researcher Eric Miller stunned the Raleigh, North Carolina, community, largely because of the horrific way he was killed. For months, Eric was slowly tortured as arsenic consumed his body. No one thought that Eric Miller's wife, Ann - an attractive, demure, educated scientist - could be capable of such a horrible crime. No one except for veteran homicide investigator Chris Morgan, a man in the twilight of his career. But from the moment Morgan saw the 30-year-old widow in the police department interview room, he knew he was seeing pure evil.
-
-
Sleepy narration
- By bethany on 02-10-20
By: Amanda Lamb
-
Start by Believing
- Larry Nassar's Crimes, the Institutions that Enabled Him, and the Brave Women Who Stopped a Monster
- By: John Barr, Dan Murphy
- Narrated by: John Barr, Dan Murphy, Chloe Cannon
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For decades, osteopathic physician Larry Nassar built a sterling reputation as the go-to doctor for America's Olympians while treating countless others at his office on Michigan State University's campus. It was largely within the high-pressure world of competitive gymnastics that Nassar exploited young girls, sexually assaulting hundreds of them under the guise of medical treatment. In Start by Believing, John Barr and Dan Murphy confront Nassar's acts, which represent the largest sex abuse scandal to impact the sporting world.
-
-
Pronunciation Matters
- By Sara K on 10-28-20
By: John Barr, and others
Related to this topic
-
A Cold-Blooded Business
- Adultery, Murder, and a Killer's Path from the Bible Belt to the Boardroom
- By: Marek Fuchs
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins
- Length: 6 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1959, Olathe, Kansas was made famous by the murder of the Clutter family and Truman Capote's ground-breaking book on the crime, In Cold Blood. But fewer know that Olathe achieved notoriety again in 1982, when a member of Olathe's growing Evangelical Christian population, a gentle man named David Harmon, was bludgeoned to death while sleeping - the force of the blows crushing his face beyond recognition.
-
-
GOOD TRUE CRIME STORY
- By The Louligan on 08-17-14
By: Marek Fuchs
-
A Daughter's Deadly Deception
- The Jennifer Pan Story
- By: Jeremy Grimaldi
- Narrated by: Joe Hempel
- Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the outside looking in, Jennifer Pan seemed like a model daughter living a perfect life. The ideal child, the one her immigrant parents saw, was studying to become a pharmacist at the University of Toronto. But there was a dark, deceptive side to the angelic young woman. In reality, Jennifer spent her days in the arms of her high-school sweetheart, Daniel. In an attempt to lead the life she dreamed of, she would do almost anything. For many years she led this double life. But when her father discovered her web of lies, his ultimatum was severe. And so, too, was her revenge.
-
-
Good Story - Odd Formating
- By CrimsonYell on 01-24-20
By: Jeremy Grimaldi
-
Remembering Satan
- A Tragic Case of Recovered Memory
- By: Lawrence Wright
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 6 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Remembering Satan is a lucid, measured, yet absolutely riveting inquest into a case that destroyed a family, engulfed a small town, and captivated an America obsessed by rumors of a satanic underground. It follows the increasingly bizarre accusations and confessions, as well as the claims and counterclaims of police, FBI investigators, and mental-health professionals.
-
-
Lawrence Wright missed important details
- By Mark Carras on 06-05-22
By: Lawrence Wright
-
A Death in White Bear Lake
- The True Chronicle of an All-American Town
- By: Barry Siegel
- Narrated by: Charles Constant
- Length: 16 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1962, Jerry Sherwood gave up her newborn son, Dennis, for adoption. Twenty years later, she set out to find him - only to discover he had died before his fourth birthday. Harold and Lois Jurgens, a middle-class, churchgoing couple in picturesque White Bear Lake, Minnesota, had adopted Dennis and five other foster children. To all appearances, they were a normal Midwestern family, but Jerry suspected that something sinister had happened in the Jurgens household. She demanded to know the truth about her son's death.
-
-
Really, really good book.
- By Danette on 12-23-20
By: Barry Siegel
-
Without a Prayer
- The Death of Lucas Leonard and How One Church Became a Cult
- By: Susan Ashline
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 13 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Teenager Lucas Leonard made shocking admissions in front of the altar - he'd practiced witchcraft, conspired to murder his parents, and committed unspeakable crimes. The confessions earned him a brutal beating by a gang of angry church members, including his parents and sister. Lucas was brought to the hospital dead, awakening the sleepy community of Chadwicks, New York, to the horror that had been lurking next door. Nine members of Lucas' church would eventually find themselves facing murder-related charges. But how did they get to that point? And what made Lucas confess?
-
-
The Depravity of the Human Soul
- By J. Miller on 01-31-20
By: Susan Ashline
-
The Family Roe
- An American Story
- By: Joshua Prager
- Narrated by: Elisabeth Rodgers
- Length: 18 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Despite her famous pseudonym, no one knows the truth about “Jane Roe”, Norma McCorvey (1947-2017), whose unwanted pregnancy in 1970 opened a great fracture in American life. Journalist Joshua Prager spent years with Norma, discovered her personal papers, a previously unseen trove, and witnessed her final moments. With an explosive revelation at the core of the case, he tells her full story for the first time.
-
-
Just wow.
- By Schmulie on 05-15-22
By: Joshua Prager
-
A Cold-Blooded Business
- Adultery, Murder, and a Killer's Path from the Bible Belt to the Boardroom
- By: Marek Fuchs
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins
- Length: 6 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1959, Olathe, Kansas was made famous by the murder of the Clutter family and Truman Capote's ground-breaking book on the crime, In Cold Blood. But fewer know that Olathe achieved notoriety again in 1982, when a member of Olathe's growing Evangelical Christian population, a gentle man named David Harmon, was bludgeoned to death while sleeping - the force of the blows crushing his face beyond recognition.
-
-
GOOD TRUE CRIME STORY
- By The Louligan on 08-17-14
By: Marek Fuchs
-
A Daughter's Deadly Deception
- The Jennifer Pan Story
- By: Jeremy Grimaldi
- Narrated by: Joe Hempel
- Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the outside looking in, Jennifer Pan seemed like a model daughter living a perfect life. The ideal child, the one her immigrant parents saw, was studying to become a pharmacist at the University of Toronto. But there was a dark, deceptive side to the angelic young woman. In reality, Jennifer spent her days in the arms of her high-school sweetheart, Daniel. In an attempt to lead the life she dreamed of, she would do almost anything. For many years she led this double life. But when her father discovered her web of lies, his ultimatum was severe. And so, too, was her revenge.
-
-
Good Story - Odd Formating
- By CrimsonYell on 01-24-20
By: Jeremy Grimaldi
-
Remembering Satan
- A Tragic Case of Recovered Memory
- By: Lawrence Wright
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 6 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Remembering Satan is a lucid, measured, yet absolutely riveting inquest into a case that destroyed a family, engulfed a small town, and captivated an America obsessed by rumors of a satanic underground. It follows the increasingly bizarre accusations and confessions, as well as the claims and counterclaims of police, FBI investigators, and mental-health professionals.
-
-
Lawrence Wright missed important details
- By Mark Carras on 06-05-22
By: Lawrence Wright
-
A Death in White Bear Lake
- The True Chronicle of an All-American Town
- By: Barry Siegel
- Narrated by: Charles Constant
- Length: 16 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1962, Jerry Sherwood gave up her newborn son, Dennis, for adoption. Twenty years later, she set out to find him - only to discover he had died before his fourth birthday. Harold and Lois Jurgens, a middle-class, churchgoing couple in picturesque White Bear Lake, Minnesota, had adopted Dennis and five other foster children. To all appearances, they were a normal Midwestern family, but Jerry suspected that something sinister had happened in the Jurgens household. She demanded to know the truth about her son's death.
-
-
Really, really good book.
- By Danette on 12-23-20
By: Barry Siegel
-
Without a Prayer
- The Death of Lucas Leonard and How One Church Became a Cult
- By: Susan Ashline
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 13 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Teenager Lucas Leonard made shocking admissions in front of the altar - he'd practiced witchcraft, conspired to murder his parents, and committed unspeakable crimes. The confessions earned him a brutal beating by a gang of angry church members, including his parents and sister. Lucas was brought to the hospital dead, awakening the sleepy community of Chadwicks, New York, to the horror that had been lurking next door. Nine members of Lucas' church would eventually find themselves facing murder-related charges. But how did they get to that point? And what made Lucas confess?
-
-
The Depravity of the Human Soul
- By J. Miller on 01-31-20
By: Susan Ashline
-
The Family Roe
- An American Story
- By: Joshua Prager
- Narrated by: Elisabeth Rodgers
- Length: 18 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Despite her famous pseudonym, no one knows the truth about “Jane Roe”, Norma McCorvey (1947-2017), whose unwanted pregnancy in 1970 opened a great fracture in American life. Journalist Joshua Prager spent years with Norma, discovered her personal papers, a previously unseen trove, and witnessed her final moments. With an explosive revelation at the core of the case, he tells her full story for the first time.
-
-
Just wow.
- By Schmulie on 05-15-22
By: Joshua Prager
-
Secrets and Wives
- The Hidden World of Mormon Polygamy
- By: Sanjiv Bhattacharya
- Narrated by: Sanjiv Bhattacharya
- Length: 15 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What do we really know about modern practicing polygamists - not fictional ones like the Henrickson family on HBO’s Big Love? We’ve seen the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the news, the underage brides in pioneer dresses on a Texas ranch. But the FLDS is just one of many groups that have broken with mainstream Mormonism to follow those parts of Joseph Smith’s doctrine disavowed by the LDS Church. Gaining unprecedented access to these communities, journalist Sanjiv Bhattacharya reveals a shadow country....
-
-
Great stories (+), religious amateur hour (-)
- By Douglas on 09-26-13
-
Deadly Dose
- The Untold Story of a Homicide Investigator's Crusade for Truth and Justice
- By: Amanda Lamb
- Narrated by: Chelsea Stephens
- Length: 7 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The death of promising young pediatric AIDS researcher Eric Miller stunned the Raleigh, North Carolina, community, largely because of the horrific way he was killed. For months, Eric was slowly tortured as arsenic consumed his body. No one thought that Eric Miller's wife, Ann - an attractive, demure, educated scientist - could be capable of such a horrible crime. No one except for veteran homicide investigator Chris Morgan, a man in the twilight of his career. But from the moment Morgan saw the 30-year-old widow in the police department interview room, he knew he was seeing pure evil.
-
-
Sleepy narration
- By bethany on 02-10-20
By: Amanda Lamb
-
Road to Jonestown
- Jim Jones and Peoples Temple
- By: Jeff Guinn
- Narrated by: George Newbern
- Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the 1950s, a young Indianapolis minister named Jim Jones preached a curious blend of the gospel and Marxism. His congregation was racially mixed, and he was a leader in the early civil rights movement. Eventually, Jones moved his church, Peoples Temple, to northern California, where he got involved in electoral politics and became a prominent Bay Area leader. But underneath the surface lurked a terrible darkness.
-
-
An Important Accurate Historical Report
- By Julia on 08-24-17
By: Jeff Guinn
-
Fight Back and Win
- My 30-Year Fight Against Injustice and How You Can Win Your Own Battles
- By: Gloria Allred
- Narrated by: Gloria Allred
- Length: 6 hrs and 19 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fearless lawyer, feminist, activist, television and radio commentator, warrior, advocate, and winner, Gloria Allred is all of these things and more. Voted by her peers as one of the best lawyers in America, and described by Time as "one of the nation's most effective advocates of family rights and feminist causes", Allred has devoted her career to fighting for civil rights across boundaries of gender, race, age, sexual orientation, and social class.
-
-
Amazing book, amazing woman.
- By Hope on 04-05-12
By: Gloria Allred
-
Game Over
- Jerry Sandusky, Penn State, and the Culture of Silence
- By: Bill Moushey, Robert Dvorchak
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's a scandal that began in a place called Happy Valley. But it's not as happy as it once was, as the child-sex-abuse charges against a longtime coach and the conspiracy of silence surrounding the allegations have rocked America and Division 1 college sports. In Game Over, journalists Bill Moushey and Bob Dvorchak investigate claims of a startling cover-up within the Penn State hierarchy that attempted to protect its football legacy, quite possibly at the expense of disenfranchised children.
-
-
Heartbreaking
- By Claire on 04-24-12
By: Bill Moushey, and others
-
Start by Believing
- Larry Nassar's Crimes, the Institutions that Enabled Him, and the Brave Women Who Stopped a Monster
- By: John Barr, Dan Murphy
- Narrated by: John Barr, Dan Murphy, Chloe Cannon
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For decades, osteopathic physician Larry Nassar built a sterling reputation as the go-to doctor for America's Olympians while treating countless others at his office on Michigan State University's campus. It was largely within the high-pressure world of competitive gymnastics that Nassar exploited young girls, sexually assaulting hundreds of them under the guise of medical treatment. In Start by Believing, John Barr and Dan Murphy confront Nassar's acts, which represent the largest sex abuse scandal to impact the sporting world.
-
-
Pronunciation Matters
- By Sara K on 10-28-20
By: John Barr, and others
-
Furious Hours
- Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee
- By: Casey Cep
- Narrated by: Hillary Huber
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Reverend Willie Maxwell was a rural preacher accused of murdering five of his family members for insurance money in the 1970s. With the help of a savvy lawyer, he escaped justice for years until a relative shot him dead at the funeral of his last victim. Despite hundreds of witnesses, Maxwell's murderer was acquitted—thanks to the same attorney who had previously defended the reverend. Casey Cep brings this story to life, from the shocking murders to the courtroom drama to the racial politics of the Deep South.
-
-
Great book, needs a Southern narrator
- By Joseph Wu on 06-06-19
By: Casey Cep
-
Mighty Justice
- My Life in Civil Rights
- By: Dovey Johnson Roundtree, Katie McCabe
- Narrated by: Bahni Turpin
- Length: 11 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Mighty Justice, trailblazing African American civil rights attorney Dovey Johnson Roundtree recounts her inspiring life story that speaks movingly and urgently to our racially troubled times. From the streets of Charlotte, North Carolina, to the segregated courtrooms of the nation’s capital; from the male stronghold of the army where she broke gender and color barriers to the pulpits of churches where women had waited for years for the right to minister - in all these places, Dovey Johnson Roundtree sought justice.
-
-
Remarkable!
- By Stacey on 12-05-19
By: Dovey Johnson Roundtree, and others
-
Saint Padre Pio
- Man of Hope
- By: Renzo Allegri
- Narrated by: Douglas James
- Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Canonized on June 16, 2002, Padre Pio of Pietrelcina (1887-1968) was a Capuchin monk and mystic whose life was marked with miracles and wonders, but who said that his only desire was “to be a poor friar who prays.” In this intimate biography, you will see the results of this humble Capuchin's prayers and discover for yourself the source of his great hope. This updated edition contains five new chapters covering the years between beatification and canonization, St. Pio’s continued work in people’s lives, and the devotion of St. John Paul II to this extraordinary saint.
-
-
Occasional mispronunciations; otherwise awesome
- By Paul Grady on 12-22-20
By: Renzo Allegri
-
Mary's Mosaic
- The CIA Conspiracy to Murder John F. Kennedy, Mary Pinchot Meyer, and Their Vision for World Peace
- By: Peter Janney
- Narrated by: Noah Michael Levine
- Length: 17 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A shocking expos on the life and death of political peace activist Mary Pinchot Meyer, whose relationship with John F. Kennedy sheds new light on the circumstances surrounding his assassination. Who really murdered Mary Pinchot Meyer in the fall of 1964? Why was there a mad rush by CIA counterintelligence chief James Angleton to immediately locate and confiscate her diary? What in that diary was so explosive and revealing?
-
-
A must read to understand the real power brokers of this country
- By barry Lowe on 02-12-16
By: Peter Janney
-
Mengele
- The Complete Story
- By: Gerald Posner, John Ware, Michael Berenbaum - introduction
- Narrated by: Bruce Mann
- Length: 15 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Based on exclusive and unrestricted access to more than 5,000 pages of personal writings and family photos, this definitive biography of German physician and SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer Josef Mengele (1911-1979) probes the personality and motivations of Auschwitz's "Angel of Death". From May 1943 through January 1945, Mengele selected who would be gassed immediately, who would be worked to death, and who would serve as involuntary guinea pigs for his spurious and ghastly human experiments (twins were Mengele's particular obsession).
-
-
ONE OF THE WORST BOOKS I HAVE EVER READ
- By PAUL on 08-02-20
By: Gerald Posner, and others
-
My Grandfather's Son
- A Memoir
- By: Clarence Thomas
- Narrated by: Clarence Thomas
- Length: 11 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Provocative, inspiring, and unflinchingly honest, My Grandfather's Son is the story of one of America's most remarkable and controversial leaders, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, told in his own words.
-
-
Wonderful read
- By Amazon Customer on 10-17-21
By: Clarence Thomas
What listeners say about The Altar Boys
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kent
- 09-11-20
It must never happen again
This book is confronting but so necessary in exposing the deep systemic abuse within the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Newcastle.
It is a tragedy that so many have lost their lives and most importantly had their childhood innocence robbed from them.
We as a society must learn from this and commit to do everything we can to ensure it never happens again.
My thoughts and prayers for all those affected.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- John
- 03-03-21
Gripping
A well researched and written book.
The contents are contemporary and the story appears reasonably balanced. The author is possessed of a clear view but does not force it upon the reader/listener.
Narration is excellent with beautiful modulation. I hope she does many more books.
I recommend this book without reservation.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!