Bluebeard Audiobook By Jim Clemente, Peter McDonnell cover art

Bluebeard

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Bluebeard

By: Jim Clemente, Peter McDonnell
Narrated by: Joseph Fiennes, Karen David, Holt McCallany, Adrian Pasdar, full cast
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A new thriller based on the true story of LA’s first known serial killer.

In 1919, Kathryn Wombacher finds a lonely-hearts ad placed by one Walter Andrew:

"Would be pleased to correspond with a refined young lady or widow. Object, matrimony.”

Kathryn and Walter fall in love and marry within weeks.

What Kathryn doesn’t know...is that her new husband is really James “Bluebeard” Watson, a notorious West Coast serial killer who catfished and married 22 women, murdering 10.

Based on newly unearthed evidence, Bluebeard is the definitive story of a sociopath who wielded love as a deadly weapon.

And it’s the story of a woman who discovered the unthinkable about her husband...and dared to fight back.

©2023 XG Productions, LLC (P)2023 Audible Originals, LLC Best of 2024 Historical Thriller & Suspense Heartfelt Scary
Jim Clemente
Peter McDonnell
Additional Credits

About the Writer and Executive Producer

Jim Clemente is a podcast host, writer, producer, and retired FBI agent and profiler. Jim is a host of the podcasts Real Crime Profile and Best Case Worst Case. For 15 seasons he was a technical adviser then writer and producer for the TV series Criminal Minds. Jim was the co-creator and co-writer of the TV limited series Manhunt: Unabomber. He was an executive producer of the reboot of America’s Most Wanted, a co-author of the Audible Original series Call Me God and Evil Has a Name, and the author of the novel Without Consent. Before his writing and producing career, Clemente was a prosecutor for the New York City Law Department and then a supervisory special agent and profiler for the FBI with a focus on serial killers, child abductions, and other violent and serial crimes. He has investigated some of the highest-profile criminal cases in US history, including the Unabomber, JonBenet Ramsey, Amanda Knox, the DC Snipers, and 9/11 attacks.

About the Writer, Producer, and Executive Producer

Peter is a New York Times bestselling author (Evil Has a Name, Audible), Emmy-nominated documentary producer (Pandemic, Netflix), and podcaster whose work has been honored by Audible with a "Best Listen of the Year" award four times. In addition to writing Bluebeard, Peter has written and/or produced 20 narrative podcasts covering sports, true crime, justice reform, history, and technology. His writing has also appeared in Outside and The Washington Post. He is the founder of Perfect Cadence Productions.

Credits

Produced by: Audible and XG Productions
Creators: Jim Clemente and Peter McDonnell
Writers: Jim Clemente and Peter McDonnell
Director: Greg Nelson
Performers: Joseph Fiennes, Karen David, Holt McCallany, and Adrian Pasdar, with Phil Abrams, Erin Anderson, Hannah Barefoot, Sean Bolger, Leith Burke, Suzanne Dodd, Rick Gifford, Yuri Lowenthal, Gwendolyn McCann, Ariana Ortiz, and Craig Lee Thomas
Executive Producers for XG Productions: Jim Clemente, Peter McDonnell, Grant Anderson, Spencer Gordon, Peter Clemente, and Greg Nelson
Executive Producer for Audible: Matthew Patterson
Producer: Peter McDonnell
Assistant Directors: Peter McDonnell and Jim Clemente
Assistant Producer: Sydney Sidell
Audio Editing: Mark Holden, Charles Carroll, and David Wilson
Sound design: Mark Holden, Charles Carroll, David Wilson, and Sam Plattner for The Invisible Studios
Sound Engineering: Charles Carroll for The Invisible Studios
Practical sound effects and foley: Jeff Gardner, recorded at The Invisible Studios
Recording Locations: The Invisible Studios, West Hollywood, CA, Palma Music Studios, Mallorca, Spain, and Beatstreet NYC, New York City, NY
Mixed and mastered by: Mark Holden and Charles Carroll at The Invisible Studios
Casting: Lisa Zambetti
Special Thanks to: Jo Ann Peritz, Andrew Eisenman, Anthony Lebbad, and Nicolas Sotomayor
Head of Creative Development: Kate Navin
Chief Content Officer: Rachel Ghiazza

Joseph Fiennes
Karen David
Holt McCallany
Adrian Pasdar

About the Performer

Joseph Fiennes is a renowned actor of stage and screen. He was a series regular on four seasons of the award-winning Hulu series The Handmaid’s Tale opposite Elisabeth Moss. He was nominated for a 2019 SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series and a 2018 Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
Fiennes followed his critically praised performances in the Oscar-nominated films Elizabeth and John Madden's Shakespeare in Love with lead roles in Jean-Jacques Annaud's Enemy at the Gates, Eric Till's Luther, Rupert Wyatt's The Escapist, opposite Al Pacino and Jeremy Irons in The Merchant of Venice, and Ryan Murphy’s Running With Scissors. He also starred in Ryan Murphy’s FX pilot, Pretty Handsome, as a married man who realizes he is a transsexual and opts for gender reassignment surgery. The show never went to series but was highly regarded and considered ahead of its time. Fiennes continued his collaboration with Ryan Murphy, later starring as "Monsignor Timothy Howard" opposite Jessica Lange in the Emmy-nominated FX miniseries American Horror Story: Asylum.

About the Performer

Karen David moves effortlessly between dramatic and comedic TV series and films, having played recurring roles on the hit series Fear the Walking Dead and Barry. She co-stars in the critically acclaimed film Land of Gold, which premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival. She plays a leading role in the NBC series The Irrational, and has appeared on Legacies, The Rookie, Once Upon a Time, Jack Ryan, Scorpion King 2, Tiger Hunter, and many other films and TV series. Her starring role in the musical comedy series Galavant also showcased her talent as a singer.

About the Performer

In a film career spanning over 30 years, Holt McCallany has appeared in well over 100 films and television shows, working with some of the world's most storied directors, including David Fincher, David O'Russell, William Friedkin, Lawrence Kasdan, Walter Hill, Clint Eastwood, Brian De Palma, and Michael Mann, among others. He starred in the acclaimed Netflix series Mindhunter, directed by David Fincher, as Bill Tench, a complex, real-life FBI agent researching serial killers in the late 1970s. Holt has appeared in many notable supporting roles in movies like Fight Club ("His name was Robert Paulson!"), Three Kings, Black Hat, Alien III, Justice League, and Sully. In 2011, he starred in the critically acclaimed and innovative television series Light's Out on FX, where he played an ex-world champion boxer with pugilistic dementia who works for the mob to support his family.
At 14, Holt ran away to Hollywood to become an actor, where he eventually ended up working in a screwdriver factory. His father Michael (Tony Award-winning Broadway producer of Borstal Boy) tracked him down and sent Holt to a boarding school in Ireland (Newbridge College, County Kildare), which he’d attended 40 years earlier. Holt went on to study and work in theater in France, England, and the US. He now lives in New York City.

About the Performer

Adrian Pasdar’s acting career spans over 30 years and nearly 100 projects. Most recently he played supporting roles in the films The Georgetown Project with Russell Crowe and The Disappearance of Mrs. Wu, as well as on the TV series East New York (CBS). Other notable film work includes starring roles in Kathryn Bigelow’s Near Dark, Brian De Palma’s Carlito’s Way with Al Pacino, Secondhand Lions with Michael Caine and Robert Duvall, Susan Seidelman’s Cookie, and his first film, Tony Scott’s Top Gun.
On television, Adrian starred on NBC’s Heroes, USA’s Colony, ABC’s Agents of Shield, USA’s miniseries Political Animals opposite Sigourney Weaver, and played the title role in the FOX drama Profit.
Off-Broadway, Adrian starred in Aven’u Boys and the Drama-Logue Award-winning The Secret Sits in the Middle.

Captivating Storyline • Immersive Production • Stellar Voice Acting • Engaging Voice Actors • Historical Authenticity
Highly rated for:
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Excellent acting by Karen David, Joseph Fiennes, and Adrian Pasdar! This true crime story kept me intrigued, chilled, and riveted. Bravo! I binged it all on Memorial Day.

Excellent + riveting mystery/thriller

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the voice acting in this was amazing!!! I was totally transported into the world of madness and murder!

an awesome performance

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I've gotten tired of many performed podcasts because they use too many distracting sound effects. This one, however, strikes a perfect balance - the story is enhanced by the sound effects. The acting is very good as well.

Great performances and captivating story

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wonderful job. look forward to more from Jim Clemente. love the timeline of the story and how it goes from current to past seamlessly

very good story line. very engaging characters and super entertaining.

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From the moment I started listening I was hooked. Great narration and overall great story!

Great story telling!

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Wow, what a great story. The narration was awesome. The story was good. I’m so glad we’ve come so far with women’s right so we can get a divorce now. And not have to goes too much trouble, but if she didn’t have to do all that maybe that person with got away with murder.

Excellent

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I’m a chronic audible listener or many genres, so my attention can be hard to grab or standout. Not with this one, though. It had me hooked from opening to final credits.

The best!

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I liked the story . I like how the women and men aligned with the beliefs and behaviors of the gender rolls they played.

The ruthlessness of Walter. How cold and calloused he was.

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I love that this story focused, not just on the killer, but also his victims. This was an easy and enjoyable listen and I look forward to more content like this.

Great Story!

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Engaging and enjoyable. Great characters and voice actors, good story, too. This production was overall very well done.

Had a terrific time listening!

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