
Beautifully Cruel
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
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $15.47
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Jonathan Yen
About this listen
Iowa housewife Tracey Pittman Roberts seemed to have it all: natural beauty, three loving children, and a fairy-tale second marriage to a wealthy, handsome businessman. But beneath the happy façade was a woman who used lies, manipulation, sex, ugly allegations, blackmail - and even murder - to serve her own selfish ends.
On December 12, 2001, police rushed to Tracey's home after a shooting left her vulnerable young neighbor dead. Tracey claimed it was an act of self-defense. Nine gunshot wounds - and a decades-long trail of extortion, fabrication, fraud, and intimidation - said otherwise. Ten years after the crime, Tracey's case finally went to trial in an explosive courtroom showdown. In a searing exploration of the criminal mind, best-selling investigative journalist M. William Phelps traces the saga of a psychopath who hid in plain sight - until her wicked ways caught up with her.
©2017 M. William Phelps (P)2017 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
-
Don't Tell a Soul
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cherry Walker was a devoted, trusting, uncommonly innocent young woman who loved caring for a neighbor's little boy. But when she was asked to testify in court against his abusive mother, Cherry never got the chance. She couldn't lie if her life depended on it - and it did. Cherry's body was found on the side of a Texas road, after being doused with lighter fluid and set aflame. Attractive, manipulative, and violent, mother of four Kim Cargill had a wealth of dirty secrets she'd do anything to keep hidden.
-
-
Some narration issues
- By Karen on 03-10-17
-
Obsessed
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: J. Charles
- Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sheila Davalloo was young, attractive, and successful. When she started a new job at a cutting-edge research lab in Stamford, Connecticut, she met the man of her dreams. Nelson Sessler had no idea how violently Sheila would react when he began seeing a co-worker, Anna Lisa Raymundo. Sheila eliminated her rival in a bloody knife attack - and then turned her rage on another victim she saw as an obstacle to her passions.
-
-
Avoid this narrator
- By Carole on 04-18-14
-
Never See Them Again
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: Keith Sellon-Wright
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the summer of 2003, the Houston suburb of Clear Lake, Texas, was devastated when four young residents were viciously slain. The two female victims, Tiffany Rowell and Rachael Koloroutis, were just 18 years old - popular and beloved. But when a killer came knocking, it turned out to be someone they knew all too well. Seventeen-year-old Christine Paolilla was an awkward outsider until the girls befriended her. In this gripping true story, M. William Phelps delves into the heart of a baffling mystery to get to the truth of an act so brutal it could not be understood - until now.
-
-
Superb Coverage of Why 4 Youths were Heartlessly Murdered
- By Mary Burnight on 01-15-18
-
Where Monsters Hide
- Sex, Murder, and Madness in the Midwest
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In October 2014, after Chris Regan failed to arrive at his new job, his ex-girlfriend filed a missing-person report. Something was off. It was not like Chris, a devoted father, avid hiker, and all-around great guy, not to show up. When local Michigan police chief Laura Frizzo learned Chris was having an affair with Kelly Cochran, a married coworker, suspicion fell on her husband, Jason. After a search warrant on their house revealed several suspicious items, the Cochrans abruptly moved to Indiana. As questions swirled around the case, the whereabouts of Chris Regan remained unknown.
-
-
Narration lacking, perhaps Kevin Pierce ?
- By M. Oles on 04-02-19
-
Death Trap
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: Kevin Foley
- Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At Jessica McCord's house, law enforcement officials found windows covered in blankets, a cache of weapons and ammunition, carpets torn up, new tile on the floors, and the couch missing. Then they learned about the nasty divorce and bitter custody battle that had landed Jessica in jail. Along with her new police officer husband, Jessica became the prime suspect in this brutal double murder.
-
-
Way too long and predictable!
- By B Hart on 12-30-14
-
Lethal Guardian
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: J. Charles
- Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A real-estate lawyer in Connecticut's moneyed seaside communities, Beth Ann Carpenter, 30, had beauty, brains, and success. But she wanted more - namely guardianship of her two-year-old niece, Rebecca, daughter of Beth's estranged sister, Kim.
-
-
Lethal Guardian
- By Tamara on 10-19-10
-
Don't Tell a Soul
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cherry Walker was a devoted, trusting, uncommonly innocent young woman who loved caring for a neighbor's little boy. But when she was asked to testify in court against his abusive mother, Cherry never got the chance. She couldn't lie if her life depended on it - and it did. Cherry's body was found on the side of a Texas road, after being doused with lighter fluid and set aflame. Attractive, manipulative, and violent, mother of four Kim Cargill had a wealth of dirty secrets she'd do anything to keep hidden.
-
-
Some narration issues
- By Karen on 03-10-17
-
Obsessed
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: J. Charles
- Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sheila Davalloo was young, attractive, and successful. When she started a new job at a cutting-edge research lab in Stamford, Connecticut, she met the man of her dreams. Nelson Sessler had no idea how violently Sheila would react when he began seeing a co-worker, Anna Lisa Raymundo. Sheila eliminated her rival in a bloody knife attack - and then turned her rage on another victim she saw as an obstacle to her passions.
-
-
Avoid this narrator
- By Carole on 04-18-14
-
Never See Them Again
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: Keith Sellon-Wright
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the summer of 2003, the Houston suburb of Clear Lake, Texas, was devastated when four young residents were viciously slain. The two female victims, Tiffany Rowell and Rachael Koloroutis, were just 18 years old - popular and beloved. But when a killer came knocking, it turned out to be someone they knew all too well. Seventeen-year-old Christine Paolilla was an awkward outsider until the girls befriended her. In this gripping true story, M. William Phelps delves into the heart of a baffling mystery to get to the truth of an act so brutal it could not be understood - until now.
-
-
Superb Coverage of Why 4 Youths were Heartlessly Murdered
- By Mary Burnight on 01-15-18
-
Where Monsters Hide
- Sex, Murder, and Madness in the Midwest
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In October 2014, after Chris Regan failed to arrive at his new job, his ex-girlfriend filed a missing-person report. Something was off. It was not like Chris, a devoted father, avid hiker, and all-around great guy, not to show up. When local Michigan police chief Laura Frizzo learned Chris was having an affair with Kelly Cochran, a married coworker, suspicion fell on her husband, Jason. After a search warrant on their house revealed several suspicious items, the Cochrans abruptly moved to Indiana. As questions swirled around the case, the whereabouts of Chris Regan remained unknown.
-
-
Narration lacking, perhaps Kevin Pierce ?
- By M. Oles on 04-02-19
-
Death Trap
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: Kevin Foley
- Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At Jessica McCord's house, law enforcement officials found windows covered in blankets, a cache of weapons and ammunition, carpets torn up, new tile on the floors, and the couch missing. Then they learned about the nasty divorce and bitter custody battle that had landed Jessica in jail. Along with her new police officer husband, Jessica became the prime suspect in this brutal double murder.
-
-
Way too long and predictable!
- By B Hart on 12-30-14
-
Lethal Guardian
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: J. Charles
- Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A real-estate lawyer in Connecticut's moneyed seaside communities, Beth Ann Carpenter, 30, had beauty, brains, and success. But she wanted more - namely guardianship of her two-year-old niece, Rebecca, daughter of Beth's estranged sister, Kim.
-
-
Lethal Guardian
- By Tamara on 10-19-10
-
To Love and to Kill
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: Noah Michael Levine
- Length: 10 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The missing-persons case of Heather Strong, a young, beautiful suburban mother, baffled Florida detectives. When the file was handed to a veteran investigator, he knew Heather was dead. The challenge was to find her body - and whoever killed her. Soon a sordid triangle of sex, jealousy, and rage came to light. The killers were cunning, manipulative, depraved - and they were as close to Heather as a man and a woman could possibly be.
-
-
The last M.William Phelps book for me
- By Michelle in New York City on 02-01-16
-
Targeted
- A Deputy, Her Love Affairs, a Brutal Murder
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: Kevin Pierce
- Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When her missing boyfriend is found murdered, his body encased in cement inside a watering trough and dumped in a cattle field, a local sheriff's deputy is arrested and charged with his murder. But as New York Times best-selling author and investigative journalist M. William Phelps digs in, the truth leads to questions about her guilt. In his first full-length, original true-crime audiobook for WildBlue Press, Phelps delivers a hard-hitting, unique experience, immersing listeners in the life of the first female deputy in Oglethorpe County, Georgia.
-
-
Did She or Didn't She . . .
- By POLLY POIZENDEM on 03-01-18
-
Kill for Me
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 13 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Aspiring model Sandee Rozzo's big mistake was being kind to Timothy "Tracey" Humphrey. After Rozzo refused the 'roided-up ex-con's advances, she described how he imprisoned, raped, and brutalized her for two days. When the courageous woman pledged to testify against him, Humphrey knew he had to silence her. That's when he turned to 19-year-old Ashley Laney. She had fallen in love with Humphrey, her personal trainer, and would do anything for him. On their wedding night, he made a strange request - one that would end with eight gunshot wounds and a dead body.
-
-
ONE OF THE AUTHER'S BEST
- By Steve on 09-04-18
-
Deadly Secrets
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: J. Charles
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the lovely town of Pleasant Valley in upstate New York, the maple trees were ablaze with fall's blood-red color. The air was crisp. And a woman named Susan Fassett left her weekly choir practice at a church - when a killer emerged from the shadows and mercilessly gunned her down.
-
-
Great Book!
- By Breinah on 09-04-09
-
Cruel Death
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: J. Charles
- Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Erika Sifrit was once a high school basketball star and an honors student. Then she married Navy SEAL Benjamin Sifrit. Some say Erika was abused by "B.J." Some say she pulled his strings. But by the time they reached Ocean City, MD, Erika was packing a gun in her Coach bag and was caught in the grips of a new American death ride.
-
-
Extremely poor reader.
- By Tyria Mendicino on 10-06-19
-
Because You Loved Me
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: J. Charles
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jeanne Dominico's fiancé found her body on her kitchen floor. More than forty stab wounds and blows to her head with a blunt instrument had cut her life short. What monster had struck in the heart of a peaceful New England town?
-
-
"True?" Crime
- By Shelli on 09-30-09
-
We Thought We Knew You
- A Terrifying True Story of Secrets, Betrayal, Deception, and Murder
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2015, Mary Yoder returned home from the chiropractic center that she operated with her husband, Bill, complaining that she felt unwell. Mary, health-conscious and vibrant, was suddenly vomiting, sweating, and weak. Doctors in the ER and ICU were baffled as to the cause of her rapidly progressing illness. Her loved ones - including Bill and their children, Adam, Tamryn, and Liana - gathered in shock to say good-bye. In the weeks that followed Mary's death, the grief-stricken family received startling news from the medical examiner: Mary had been deliberately poisoned with colchicine.
-
-
Way too repetitive
- By Elbieluv on 02-24-21
-
If Looks Could Kill
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: J. Charles
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Big and brash, Jeff Zack didn't hide his rough lifestyle. And when he died, it was in plain sight: executed in the parking lot of a BJ's Wholesale Club in Akron, Ohio, by a motorcycle-riding assassin dressed in black.
-
-
Kill Me Please!
- By Denise Ryan on 08-20-08
-
One Breath Away
- The Hiccup Girl - from Media Darling to Convicted Killer
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 12 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When she was 15, Jennifer Mee developed an unrelenting case of the hiccups - hiccupping as many as 50 times a minute for months. Soon the Florida teen's strange story went viral. Dubbed the "Hiccup Girl" by the media, she gained international sympathy and appeared on a slew of popular TV shows. Eventually Jennifer's hiccups went away, and so did her fame.
-
-
Bizarre...
- By Douglas on 06-23-16
-
Starvation Heights
- Dangerous Women: True Crime Stories
- By: Gregg Olsen
- Narrated by: Stacey Glemboski
- Length: 15 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1911 two British heiresses, Claire and Dora Williamson, read a brochure about a revolutionary fasting treatment that promised a lifetime of good health. The sanatorium in the village of Olalla, west of Seattle, was surrounded by a beautiful forest, sparkling waters and fresh air. The sisters agreed it sounded perfect and exactly the restorative holiday they needed. But within a month of arriving, under the supervision of Doctor Linda Burfield Hazzard, Claire and Dora began to realise the frightening truth – they were not patients but prisoners at the isolated sanitorium.
-
-
Excellent true crime story!
- By Colleen T. Mizeres on 01-26-23
By: Gregg Olsen
-
Cruel Deception
- The True Story of Multiple Murder and Two Devastated Families (St. Martin's True Crime Library)
- By: Gregg Olsen
- Narrated by: Kevin Pierce
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In and out of hospitals since birth, angelic nine-month-old Morgan Reid finally succumbed to what appeared to be sudden infant death syndrome. Morgan's Texas-born mother, Tanya, a nurse and devoted wife, pulled up stakes with her grieving husband, Jim, and moved on. It was the best way to put the past behind them. Until their son, Michael, a boy who by all accounts was terrified of his mother, began showing signs of the same affliction that stole the life of his baby sister....
-
-
Deadly Mystery
- By Judy on 06-07-22
By: Gregg Olsen
-
Bone Deep
- Untangling the Betsy Faria Case
- By: Charles Bosworth, Joel Schwartz
- Narrated by: Gary Bennett
- Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two days after Christmas, 2011, Russel Faria returned to his Troy, Missouri, home to find his wife, Betsy, dead, a knife still lodged in her neck. She had been stabbed 55 times in a brutal murder that would set off a chain of events leading to one man's wrongful conviction and imprisonment, another man's death, the revelation of a diabolical scheme, and an astounding miscarriage of justice left unresolved for another 10 years.
-
-
One of the Best
- By V. Orner on 03-01-22
By: Charles Bosworth, and others
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Obsessed
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: J. Charles
- Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sheila Davalloo was young, attractive, and successful. When she started a new job at a cutting-edge research lab in Stamford, Connecticut, she met the man of her dreams. Nelson Sessler had no idea how violently Sheila would react when he began seeing a co-worker, Anna Lisa Raymundo. Sheila eliminated her rival in a bloody knife attack - and then turned her rage on another victim she saw as an obstacle to her passions.
-
-
Avoid this narrator
- By Carole on 04-18-14
-
Where Monsters Hide
- Sex, Murder, and Madness in the Midwest
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In October 2014, after Chris Regan failed to arrive at his new job, his ex-girlfriend filed a missing-person report. Something was off. It was not like Chris, a devoted father, avid hiker, and all-around great guy, not to show up. When local Michigan police chief Laura Frizzo learned Chris was having an affair with Kelly Cochran, a married coworker, suspicion fell on her husband, Jason. After a search warrant on their house revealed several suspicious items, the Cochrans abruptly moved to Indiana. As questions swirled around the case, the whereabouts of Chris Regan remained unknown.
-
-
Narration lacking, perhaps Kevin Pierce ?
- By M. Oles on 04-02-19
-
Death Trap
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: Kevin Foley
- Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At Jessica McCord's house, law enforcement officials found windows covered in blankets, a cache of weapons and ammunition, carpets torn up, new tile on the floors, and the couch missing. Then they learned about the nasty divorce and bitter custody battle that had landed Jessica in jail. Along with her new police officer husband, Jessica became the prime suspect in this brutal double murder.
-
-
Way too long and predictable!
- By B Hart on 12-30-14
-
Deadly Secrets
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: J. Charles
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the lovely town of Pleasant Valley in upstate New York, the maple trees were ablaze with fall's blood-red color. The air was crisp. And a woman named Susan Fassett left her weekly choir practice at a church - when a killer emerged from the shadows and mercilessly gunned her down.
-
-
Great Book!
- By Breinah on 09-04-09
-
Kill for Me
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 13 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Aspiring model Sandee Rozzo's big mistake was being kind to Timothy "Tracey" Humphrey. After Rozzo refused the 'roided-up ex-con's advances, she described how he imprisoned, raped, and brutalized her for two days. When the courageous woman pledged to testify against him, Humphrey knew he had to silence her. That's when he turned to 19-year-old Ashley Laney. She had fallen in love with Humphrey, her personal trainer, and would do anything for him. On their wedding night, he made a strange request - one that would end with eight gunshot wounds and a dead body.
-
-
ONE OF THE AUTHER'S BEST
- By Steve on 09-04-18
-
Never See Them Again
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: Keith Sellon-Wright
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the summer of 2003, the Houston suburb of Clear Lake, Texas, was devastated when four young residents were viciously slain. The two female victims, Tiffany Rowell and Rachael Koloroutis, were just 18 years old - popular and beloved. But when a killer came knocking, it turned out to be someone they knew all too well. Seventeen-year-old Christine Paolilla was an awkward outsider until the girls befriended her. In this gripping true story, M. William Phelps delves into the heart of a baffling mystery to get to the truth of an act so brutal it could not be understood - until now.
-
-
Superb Coverage of Why 4 Youths were Heartlessly Murdered
- By Mary Burnight on 01-15-18
-
Obsessed
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: J. Charles
- Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sheila Davalloo was young, attractive, and successful. When she started a new job at a cutting-edge research lab in Stamford, Connecticut, she met the man of her dreams. Nelson Sessler had no idea how violently Sheila would react when he began seeing a co-worker, Anna Lisa Raymundo. Sheila eliminated her rival in a bloody knife attack - and then turned her rage on another victim she saw as an obstacle to her passions.
-
-
Avoid this narrator
- By Carole on 04-18-14
-
Where Monsters Hide
- Sex, Murder, and Madness in the Midwest
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In October 2014, after Chris Regan failed to arrive at his new job, his ex-girlfriend filed a missing-person report. Something was off. It was not like Chris, a devoted father, avid hiker, and all-around great guy, not to show up. When local Michigan police chief Laura Frizzo learned Chris was having an affair with Kelly Cochran, a married coworker, suspicion fell on her husband, Jason. After a search warrant on their house revealed several suspicious items, the Cochrans abruptly moved to Indiana. As questions swirled around the case, the whereabouts of Chris Regan remained unknown.
-
-
Narration lacking, perhaps Kevin Pierce ?
- By M. Oles on 04-02-19
-
Death Trap
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: Kevin Foley
- Length: 11 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At Jessica McCord's house, law enforcement officials found windows covered in blankets, a cache of weapons and ammunition, carpets torn up, new tile on the floors, and the couch missing. Then they learned about the nasty divorce and bitter custody battle that had landed Jessica in jail. Along with her new police officer husband, Jessica became the prime suspect in this brutal double murder.
-
-
Way too long and predictable!
- By B Hart on 12-30-14
-
Deadly Secrets
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: J. Charles
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the lovely town of Pleasant Valley in upstate New York, the maple trees were ablaze with fall's blood-red color. The air was crisp. And a woman named Susan Fassett left her weekly choir practice at a church - when a killer emerged from the shadows and mercilessly gunned her down.
-
-
Great Book!
- By Breinah on 09-04-09
-
Kill for Me
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 13 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Aspiring model Sandee Rozzo's big mistake was being kind to Timothy "Tracey" Humphrey. After Rozzo refused the 'roided-up ex-con's advances, she described how he imprisoned, raped, and brutalized her for two days. When the courageous woman pledged to testify against him, Humphrey knew he had to silence her. That's when he turned to 19-year-old Ashley Laney. She had fallen in love with Humphrey, her personal trainer, and would do anything for him. On their wedding night, he made a strange request - one that would end with eight gunshot wounds and a dead body.
-
-
ONE OF THE AUTHER'S BEST
- By Steve on 09-04-18
-
Never See Them Again
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: Keith Sellon-Wright
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the summer of 2003, the Houston suburb of Clear Lake, Texas, was devastated when four young residents were viciously slain. The two female victims, Tiffany Rowell and Rachael Koloroutis, were just 18 years old - popular and beloved. But when a killer came knocking, it turned out to be someone they knew all too well. Seventeen-year-old Christine Paolilla was an awkward outsider until the girls befriended her. In this gripping true story, M. William Phelps delves into the heart of a baffling mystery to get to the truth of an act so brutal it could not be understood - until now.
-
-
Superb Coverage of Why 4 Youths were Heartlessly Murdered
- By Mary Burnight on 01-15-18
-
Don't Tell a Soul
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cherry Walker was a devoted, trusting, uncommonly innocent young woman who loved caring for a neighbor's little boy. But when she was asked to testify in court against his abusive mother, Cherry never got the chance. She couldn't lie if her life depended on it - and it did. Cherry's body was found on the side of a Texas road, after being doused with lighter fluid and set aflame. Attractive, manipulative, and violent, mother of four Kim Cargill had a wealth of dirty secrets she'd do anything to keep hidden.
-
-
Some narration issues
- By Karen on 03-10-17
-
Lethal Guardian
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: J. Charles
- Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A real-estate lawyer in Connecticut's moneyed seaside communities, Beth Ann Carpenter, 30, had beauty, brains, and success. But she wanted more - namely guardianship of her two-year-old niece, Rebecca, daughter of Beth's estranged sister, Kim.
-
-
Lethal Guardian
- By Tamara on 10-19-10
-
One Breath Away
- The Hiccup Girl - from Media Darling to Convicted Killer
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 12 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When she was 15, Jennifer Mee developed an unrelenting case of the hiccups - hiccupping as many as 50 times a minute for months. Soon the Florida teen's strange story went viral. Dubbed the "Hiccup Girl" by the media, she gained international sympathy and appeared on a slew of popular TV shows. Eventually Jennifer's hiccups went away, and so did her fame.
-
-
Bizarre...
- By Douglas on 06-23-16
-
Because You Loved Me
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: J. Charles
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jeanne Dominico's fiancé found her body on her kitchen floor. More than forty stab wounds and blows to her head with a blunt instrument had cut her life short. What monster had struck in the heart of a peaceful New England town?
-
-
"True?" Crime
- By Shelli on 09-30-09
-
Never Leave Me
- An Obsessive Husband, an Unfaithful Wife, a Brutal Murder
- By: John Glatt
- Narrated by: Shaun Grindell
- Length: 9 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a quiet community of million-dollar homes and shiny SUVs, the Nyce family projected the very image of success. Dr. Jonathan Nyce, an asthma sufferer, had achieved medical breakthroughs that made him rich - and offered hope to countless people. Michelle's beauty made her an object of desire. And adultery was her husband's worst nightmare.
-
-
narrator's accent completely jarred me
- By Crafts consumer on 04-21-22
By: John Glatt
-
Murder in the Heartland
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: J. Charles
- Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On December 16th, 2004, a Nodaway County, Missouri, 911 operator received a frantic call from the mother of 23-year-old Bobbie Jo Stinnett, an eight-months-pregnant mother-to-be found bleeding and barely breathing on her family room floor, her unborn baby gone.
-
-
Not a well researched book
- By Michelle in New York City on 02-03-09
-
Every Move You Make
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: J. Charles
- Length: 13 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In December 1989, in upstate New York, Gary C. Evans, 35, a master of disguise and career criminal who had befriended David "Son of Sam" Berkowitz, began weaving a web of deadly lies. Evans told a female friend that Damien Cuomo, the father of her child, had deserted her. Of that he could be certain, since he'd killed Cuomo.
-
-
Absolutely AWFUL!
- By gmrob on 04-28-09
-
If Looks Could Kill
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: J. Charles
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Big and brash, Jeff Zack didn't hide his rough lifestyle. And when he died, it was in plain sight: executed in the parking lot of a BJ's Wholesale Club in Akron, Ohio, by a motorcycle-riding assassin dressed in black.
-
-
Kill Me Please!
- By Denise Ryan on 08-20-08
-
Overkill
- By: Lyn Riddle
- Narrated by: Callie Beaulieu
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Laurie Show was as compassionate as she was hardworking. The outgoing high-school junior worked part-time to pay for the home she and her divorced mother shared. Yet she always had time to tutor friends struggling in school. And she befriended a dejected classmate after his traumatic breakup with his pregnant long-time girlfriend Michelle Lambert. But soon things spiraled into jealous obsession, stalking, and a brutal attack that left Laurie murdered in her own bedroom.
-
-
Better then I expected..
- By leelee8888 on 06-19-17
By: Lyn Riddle
-
Fatal Jealousy
- The True Story of a Doomed Romance, a Singular Obsession, and a Quadruple Murder
- By: Colin McEvoy, Lynn Olanoff
- Narrated by: Roger Wayne
- Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
June 26, 2010. A Pennsylvania state trooper witnesses a car speeding and crashing into trees. Stopping to help, he finds that the driver, Michael Ballard, is alive - and drenched in blood. When asked what happened, the man answers, "I just killed everybody." Not far from the accident, police make a gruesome discovery. In the home of Michael's ex-girlfriend, Denise Mehri, they find four bodies that had been stabbed repeatedly with a knife.
-
-
Great listen!
- By Brandy on 03-03-15
By: Colin McEvoy, and others
-
Perfect Poison
- A Female Serial Killer's Deadly Medicine
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: J. Charles
- Length: 14 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Northampton, Massachusetts, at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Kristen Gilbert was known as a hardworking, dedicated nurse - so why were her patients dying? So many emergencies and sudden deaths occurred while Kristen made her rounds on Ward C that her colleagues jokingly called her the "Angel of Death".
-
-
Men are naive
- By Veruka on 09-15-12
-
We Thought We Knew You
- A Terrifying True Story of Secrets, Betrayal, Deception, and Murder
- By: M. William Phelps
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2015, Mary Yoder returned home from the chiropractic center that she operated with her husband, Bill, complaining that she felt unwell. Mary, health-conscious and vibrant, was suddenly vomiting, sweating, and weak. Doctors in the ER and ICU were baffled as to the cause of her rapidly progressing illness. Her loved ones - including Bill and their children, Adam, Tamryn, and Liana - gathered in shock to say good-bye. In the weeks that followed Mary's death, the grief-stricken family received startling news from the medical examiner: Mary had been deliberately poisoned with colchicine.
-
-
Way too repetitive
- By Elbieluv on 02-24-21
What listeners say about Beautifully Cruel
Highly rated for:
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Tim
- 08-14-24
Not bad...
The story was okay but the swearing by the author (not quotes of individuals) was unnecessary. Another pet peeve, he kept referring to himself as "me" as opposed to "this author". Additionally, the overwhelming amount of quotes was very annoying. It felt like every paragraph was 50% quotes.
The narrator did a great job with the material and I would definitely listen to more of his work.
Overall, not bad but definitely not good.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ode123
- 04-30-23
Another amazing UNBIASED/FACTUAL masterpiece
Great listen and a gripping tale of a pure evil human who cared for nothing but herself. Narcissistic doesn't begin to define this monster- yet Phelps managed to write this book without bias. I truly hope her oldest son and mother get the help they need and that no court ever let's her out!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Nancy
- 10-27-23
Excellent!
Another excellent TRUE CRIME book by this author! He becomes so knowledgeable about the case and explains it so well...one of the best I've read--and this has excellent narration too!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Barbara Vincent
- 04-20-24
A startling departure for M. William Phelps
I've listened to a few of M. William Phelps's books and have enjoyed them. He does misuse certain words in a way that irritates me, but overall he writes a good story and comes across as honest and straightforward. However, in this book I increasingly sensed a tendency to emphasize Tracy's dishonesty and other negative traits in a way that felt biased. Don't get me wrong: I think the evidence demonstrates that Tracy Roberts is a piece of garbage as a human being, but I like being able to draw my own conclusions from a book that presents the facts as fairly as possible. I didn't feel that this book quite achieved that.
My other gripe about this book is Jonathan Yen's narration. He's a beautiful narrator, except when it comes to women characters. He makes all of the women sound like total idiots, which is absolutely aggravating.
Best of all, though, the epilogue where the author goes into detail about correspondence with the convicted criminal's mother gives great insight into the whole family dynamic that Tracy lived in and thrived on. It was absolutely mind-blowing and very worth listening to.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- WHATALISTEN!
- 11-08-23
Insane manipulation and murder
This woman is out of control and relentless
Feel sorry for her son
Not her mother she is brainwashed too
She is where she belongs
Book was well done
Narrator takes getting used to he switches voices “conversationally” which can take a little getting used to
Overall well done
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- lilyredrose
- 12-16-17
Reminiscent of Ann Rule
So glad to find this author. Love true crime and reading about these evil people who eventually get caught. They have so many like qualities. It's amazing to read.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- DButter470
- 08-10-21
Could’ve been better
The story was well written however listening to the narrator air quote SO many sentences and words made me cringe the entire way through the audio book. It detracted so much for me. He didn’t need to pause and verbally air quote every time he quoted someone else. I’m hesitant to listen to another one with this narrator.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Dar
- 01-30-25
Overall Enjoyable
I liked the story, and I found it interesting. It was easy to follow, flowed smoothly, and held my interest.
The only thing I really *REALLY* did not enjoy was the narrator. Every single time he read a sentence in quotes he would change to a higher, falsetto voice. It was very distracting and annoying. The worst part is when he would read ONE WORD in that falsetto voice and then instantly switch back to his own.
Listen to it, you’ll see what I mean.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- LJReed
- 06-29-21
Narrator does not fit the subject matter!
Oh the narration is so wrong for this account of Tracey Roberts; I would have preferred reading it, but if I read all the books I'd like to, nothing would get done around here. Yen is a wonderful narrator but there's always a smile in his voice that is more "those meddling kids" than "that coldblooded killer". There are tons of sentences which include partial quotes which does not lend itself to this format, especially when the narrator says those quotes in a voice for that person.
Phelps tends to structure his books in a nonlinear manner and this one follows this horrible woman 's story, juggling three separate time periods in her life simultaneously. It's not for everyone, but I'm fine with it, I am a bit biased; I've grown used to his style given 'm on a Phelps binge. Plus I've loved true crime since I was waaay to young to , i.e. I was following the Bundy case as it happened. (I was 12).
So this is a good, well researched true crime story in Phelps's non-linear approach to writing, that is until the arrest and trial happens. With the upbeat delivery by the narrator however, reading the book would be a better than listening to it.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- justin cole
- 02-26-18
A gripping story
I enjoyed the story, the author did a good job in his research and writing it. The downfall is the narrator, I will not purchase another audio book that he does. The way he raises his voice for quotes is irritating.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!