
Sore Loser
A Mickey Donovan Mystery
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 $24.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Bryan Brendle
-
By:
-
Mike McAlary
About this listen
A New York City police inspector tracks a serial killer who's been murdering sports referees in this spectacular crime fiction blockbuster by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Mike McAlary.
They call Mickey Donovan "the Wraith". A sometimes-rogue NYPD deputy inspector who knows the city top to bottom, he clashes against the police brass and the mayor's office as he haunts the streets searching for his heroin-addicted daughter, Dillon. But now a truly bizarre serial killer is forcing Donovan's mind back into the cop game. A very efficient murderer has been targeting the umpires and referees of a variety of sports, both pro and amateur, whose only crimes seem to be questionable calls.
Initial suspicion falls on hotheaded tennis star Ginny Glade, who lost a tournament title thanks to a now-deceased line ump's errant call. Donovan, however, has his doubts - and suddenly a vengeful maniac is causing the deputy's personal and professional lives to collide in very dangerous ways.
The only foray into crime fiction from Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper columnist Mike McAlary, Sore Loser is a razor-sharp, lightning-paced winner - rich in atmosphere, insider knowledge of New York, and pitch-perfect urban speak - that respects the time-honored conventions of the police detective novel while reconfiguring them in wildly imaginative ways.
©1998 Mike McAlary; This edition published in 2015 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc. (P)2015 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Buddy Boys
- When Good Cops Turn Bad
- By: Mike McAlary
- Narrated by: Dan Triandiflou
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights, Brooklyn - neighborhoods notorious for drugs and violent crime - some of the worst criminals wore police uniforms and carried badges. Henry Winter was a good cop when he first entered the infamous 77th station house, which was already infamous as a home to the dregs of the NYPD. Before long he and fellow officer Anthony Magno found themselves deeply entrenched in the Alamo's culture of extortion, lies, corruption, and crime.
-
-
I listened 3 times straight
- By Andrea R on 03-26-23
By: Mike McAlary
-
Mr. Mercedes
- A Novel
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Will Patton
- Length: 14 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the frigid pre-dawn hours, in a distressed Midwestern city, hundreds of desperate unemployed folks are lined up for a spot at a job fair. Without warning, a lone driver plows through the crowd in a stolen Mercedes, running over the innocent, backing up, and charging again. Eight people are killed; fifteen are wounded. The killer escapes. Mr. Mercedes is a war between good and evil, from the master of suspense whose insight into the mind of this obsessed, insane killer is chilling and unforgettable.
-
-
King and Patton create a winning combo
- By David Shear on 06-04-14
By: Stephen King
-
Hollywood Station
- A Novel
- By: Joseph Wambaugh
- Narrated by: Adam Grupper
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
They call him the Oracle. He's got 46 years under his belt and more hash marks than a football field. More importantly, he has a crew of cops to look out for on the streets of Hollywood. From his understaffed office at Hollywood Station, he keeps a close eye on his squad who spend their day in patrol cars, and their nights in the underbelly of a city that never sleeps.
-
-
Excellent
- By wsoxfan2005 on 12-16-06
By: Joseph Wambaugh
-
Private: Booktrack Edition
- By: James Patterson, Maxine Paetro
- Narrated by: Peter Hermann
- Length: 7 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Former Marine helicopter pilot Jack Morgan runs Private, a renowned investigation company with branches around the globe. It is where you go when you need maximum force and maximum discretion. Jack is already deep into the investigation of a multi-million dollar NFL gambling scandal and the unsolved slayings of 18 schoolgirls when he learns of a horrific murder close to home: his best friend's wife, Jack's former lover, has been killed. It nearly pushes him over the edge. Instead, Jack pushes back and devotes all of Private's resources to tracking down her killer.
-
-
A winner
- By Lynda L Burgess on 08-06-18
By: James Patterson, and others
-
Deal Breaker
- The First Myron Bolitar Novel
- By: Harlan Coben
- Narrated by: Jonathan Marosz
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sports agent Myron Bolitar is poised on the edge of the big-time. So is Christian Steele, a rookie quarterback and Myron's prized client. But when Christian gets a phone call from a former girlfriend, a woman who everyone, including the police, believes is dead, the deal starts to go sour. Suddenly Myron is plunged into a baffling mystery of sex and blackmail.
-
-
Deal Breaker
- By Lisa on 07-02-08
By: Harlan Coben
-
NYPD Red
- By: James Patterson, Marshall Karp
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini, Jay Snyder
- Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's the start of Hollywood on Hudson, and New York City is swept up in the glamour. Every night, the red carpet rolls out for movie stars arriving at premieres in limos; the most exclusive restaurants close for private parties for wealthy producers and preeminent directors; and thousands of fans gather with the paparazzi, hoping to catch a glimpse of the most famous and beautiful faces in the world. With this many celebrities in town, special task force NYPD Red is on high alert - and they can't afford to make a single mistake.
-
-
Excellent Police Procedural...
- By shelley on 09-12-17
By: James Patterson, and others
-
Buddy Boys
- When Good Cops Turn Bad
- By: Mike McAlary
- Narrated by: Dan Triandiflou
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights, Brooklyn - neighborhoods notorious for drugs and violent crime - some of the worst criminals wore police uniforms and carried badges. Henry Winter was a good cop when he first entered the infamous 77th station house, which was already infamous as a home to the dregs of the NYPD. Before long he and fellow officer Anthony Magno found themselves deeply entrenched in the Alamo's culture of extortion, lies, corruption, and crime.
-
-
I listened 3 times straight
- By Andrea R on 03-26-23
By: Mike McAlary
-
Mr. Mercedes
- A Novel
- By: Stephen King
- Narrated by: Will Patton
- Length: 14 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the frigid pre-dawn hours, in a distressed Midwestern city, hundreds of desperate unemployed folks are lined up for a spot at a job fair. Without warning, a lone driver plows through the crowd in a stolen Mercedes, running over the innocent, backing up, and charging again. Eight people are killed; fifteen are wounded. The killer escapes. Mr. Mercedes is a war between good and evil, from the master of suspense whose insight into the mind of this obsessed, insane killer is chilling and unforgettable.
-
-
King and Patton create a winning combo
- By David Shear on 06-04-14
By: Stephen King
-
Hollywood Station
- A Novel
- By: Joseph Wambaugh
- Narrated by: Adam Grupper
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
They call him the Oracle. He's got 46 years under his belt and more hash marks than a football field. More importantly, he has a crew of cops to look out for on the streets of Hollywood. From his understaffed office at Hollywood Station, he keeps a close eye on his squad who spend their day in patrol cars, and their nights in the underbelly of a city that never sleeps.
-
-
Excellent
- By wsoxfan2005 on 12-16-06
By: Joseph Wambaugh
-
Private: Booktrack Edition
- By: James Patterson, Maxine Paetro
- Narrated by: Peter Hermann
- Length: 7 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Former Marine helicopter pilot Jack Morgan runs Private, a renowned investigation company with branches around the globe. It is where you go when you need maximum force and maximum discretion. Jack is already deep into the investigation of a multi-million dollar NFL gambling scandal and the unsolved slayings of 18 schoolgirls when he learns of a horrific murder close to home: his best friend's wife, Jack's former lover, has been killed. It nearly pushes him over the edge. Instead, Jack pushes back and devotes all of Private's resources to tracking down her killer.
-
-
A winner
- By Lynda L Burgess on 08-06-18
By: James Patterson, and others
-
Deal Breaker
- The First Myron Bolitar Novel
- By: Harlan Coben
- Narrated by: Jonathan Marosz
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sports agent Myron Bolitar is poised on the edge of the big-time. So is Christian Steele, a rookie quarterback and Myron's prized client. But when Christian gets a phone call from a former girlfriend, a woman who everyone, including the police, believes is dead, the deal starts to go sour. Suddenly Myron is plunged into a baffling mystery of sex and blackmail.
-
-
Deal Breaker
- By Lisa on 07-02-08
By: Harlan Coben
-
NYPD Red
- By: James Patterson, Marshall Karp
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini, Jay Snyder
- Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's the start of Hollywood on Hudson, and New York City is swept up in the glamour. Every night, the red carpet rolls out for movie stars arriving at premieres in limos; the most exclusive restaurants close for private parties for wealthy producers and preeminent directors; and thousands of fans gather with the paparazzi, hoping to catch a glimpse of the most famous and beautiful faces in the world. With this many celebrities in town, special task force NYPD Red is on high alert - and they can't afford to make a single mistake.
-
-
Excellent Police Procedural...
- By shelley on 09-12-17
By: James Patterson, and others
-
Along Came a Spider
- By: James Patterson
- Narrated by: Taye Diggs
- Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alex Cross is a homicide detective with a Ph.D. in psychology. He works and lives in Southeast D.C. and looks like Muhammad Ali in his prime. He's a tough guy from a tough part of town who wears Harris Tweed jackets and likes to relax by banging out Gershwin tunes on his baby grand piano. But he also has two adorable kids of his own, and they are his own special vulnerabilities.
-
-
Good Story Ruined by Poor Narration
- By Maestro on 12-10-18
By: James Patterson
-
Kill the Messenger
- By: Tami Hoag
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 12 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the end of a long day battling street traffic, bike messenger Jace Damon has one last drop to make. But en route to delivering a package for one of L.A.'s sleaziest defense attorneys, he's nearly run down by a car, chased through back alleys, and shot at. Only the instincts acquired while growing up on the streets of L.A. allow him to escape with his life, and with the package someone wants badly enough to kill for.
-
-
An entertaining read
- By Bethany on 07-24-04
By: Tami Hoag
-
Penance
- A Mysterious Press-HighBridge Audio Classic
- By: David Housewright
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Holland Taylor is comfortable in interrogation rooms. For years the cold dark cells of the St. Paul Police Department homicide squad were his turf, and with the help of his partner he wrung confessions out of countless killers. But that was long ago. Tonight Taylor is on the other side of the desk. Tonight he is the suspect.
-
-
Excellent modern detective novel!
- By Wayne on 04-23-20
-
Harbor Nocturne
- By: Joseph Wambaugh
- Narrated by: R.C. Bray
- Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Dinko Babich, a young longshoreman, delivers Lita Medina, a young Mexican dancer, from San Pedro Harbor to a Hollywood nightclub, their lives are forever changed. An unexpectedly tender and moving love story develops among the cops and criminals who occupy the harbor, and soon Dinko and Lita are caught up in terror and peril through no fault of their own.
-
-
This is a Hollywood Station novel.
- By Ryan on 09-14-12
By: Joseph Wambaugh
-
More Twisted
- Collected Stories, Vol. II
- By: Jeffery Deaver
- Narrated by: Boyd Gaines, Skipp Sudduth, Frederick Weller
- Length: 5 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Diverse, provocative, eerie, and twisted, this collection of Jeffery Deaver's best crime stories exhibits amazing range and the signature plot twists that have made him a perennial best seller. With nods to O. Henry and Edgar Allen Poe, these beautifully crafted pieces are suspenseful spoonfuls of Deaver at his best. Listeners will be surprised by the subtlety of some of these stories and, as always, by the plot surprises.
-
-
Wish there was more
- By William on 04-19-07
By: Jeffery Deaver
-
Sutton
- By: J. R. Moehringer
- Narrated by: Dylan Baker
- Length: 15 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Born in the slums of Brooklyn, in the first year of the 20th century, Willie Sutton came of age at a time when banks were out of control. If they weren’t taking brazen risks, they were shamelessly seeking bailouts. Trapped in a cycle of bank panics, depressions and soaring unemployment, Sutton saw only one way out. So began the career of America’s most successful bank robber. Sutton became so good at breaking into banks, and such a master at breaking out of prisons, police called him one of the most dangerous men.
-
-
wow WOW wow W0W w0w!!!!
- By tooonce72 on 10-05-12
By: J. R. Moehringer
-
Invisible City
- By: Julia Dahl
- Narrated by: Andi Arndt
- Length: 7 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Just months after Rebekah Roberts was born, her mother, an Hasidic Jew from Brooklyn, abandoned her Christian boyfriend and newborn baby to return to her religion. Neither Rebekah nor her father have heard from her since. Now a recent college graduate, Rebekah has moved to New York City to follow her dream of becoming a big-city reporter. But she's also drawn to the idea of being closer to her mother, who might still be living in the Hasidic community in Brooklyn. Then Rebekah is called to cover the story of a murdered Hasidic woman.
-
-
YA book in disguise
- By ELB on 02-02-16
By: Julia Dahl
-
Revolver
- By: Duane Swierczynski
- Narrated by: Rick Zieff, John Glouchevitch, Christine Lakin
- Length: 9 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Philadelphia, 1965: Two street cops—one black, one white—are gunned down in a corner bar. One of the fallen officers, Stan Walczak, leaves behind a 12-year-old boy, Jimmy. Philadelphia, 1995: Homicide detective Jim Walczak learns that his father's alleged killer, Terrill Lee Stanton, has been sprung from prison. Jim stalks the ex-con, hoping to finally learn the truth.
-
-
A Gem. Swierczynski is here to stay.
- By Lawnchair King on 06-19-17
-
Big City, Bad Blood
- By: Sean Chercover
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Disillusioned newspaper reporter-turned-private detective Ray Dudgeon doesn't want to save the world; he just wants to do an honest job well. But when doing an honest job threatens society's most powerful and corrupt, Ray's odds of survival make for a sucker's bet.
-
-
Quintessentially Chicago
- By Eva Gannon on 09-21-09
By: Sean Chercover
-
90 Church
- Inside America's Notorious First Narcotics Squad
- By: Agent Dean Unkefer
- Narrated by: Keith Szarabajka
- Length: 11 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
90 Church is both the unbelievable memoir of one man's confrontation with the dark corners of the human experience and a fascinating window into a little-known time in American history. Learn the story of the agents who make the DEA look like choirboys.
-
-
AMAZING!!!
- By Nick on 03-22-16
-
The Black Dahlia
- By: James Ellroy
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 13 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On January 15, 1947, the tortured body of a beautiful young woman was found in a vacant lot in Hollywood. Elizabeth Short, the Black Dahlia, a young Hollywood hopeful, had been brutally murdered. Her murder sparked one of the greatest manhunts in California history.
-
-
Great naration
- By Grasshopper.Craig on 09-10-06
By: James Ellroy
-
The Whites
- A Novel
- By: Richard Price, Harry Brandt
- Narrated by: Ari Fliakos
- Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Back in the run-and-gun days of the mid-'90s, when Billy Graves worked in the South Bronx as part of an anticrime unit known as the Wild Geese, he made headlines by accidentally shooting a 10-year-old boy while stopping an angel-dusted berserker in the street. Branded as a cowboy by his higher-ups, for the next 18 years Billy endured one dead-end posting after another.
-
-
You think you can write?
- By Garry on 02-21-15
By: Richard Price, and others