
The Taken Ones
A Novel (Steinbeck and Reed, Book 1)
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 $25.00
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Carly Robins
-
By:
-
Jess Lourey
About this listen
Two girls vanished. A woman buried alive. Between two crimes lie decades of secrets yet to be unearthed in a pulse-pounding novel by the Edgar Award-nominated author of Unspeakable Things.
Summer 1980: Despite the local superstition that the Bendy Man haunts the woods, three girls go into a Minnesota forest. Only one comes out, dead silent, her memory gone. The mystery of the Taken Ones captures the nation.
Summer 2022: Cold case detective Van Reed and forensic scientist Harry Steinbeck are assigned a disturbing homicide—a woman buried alive, clutching a heart charm necklace belonging to one of the vanished girls. Van follows her gut. Harry trusts in facts. They’re both desperate to catch a killer before he kills again. They have something else in common: each has ties to the original case in ways they’re reluctant to share.
As Van and Harry connect the crimes of the past and the present, Van struggles with memories of her own nightmarish childhood—and the fear that uncovering the truth of the Taken Ones will lead her down a path from which she, too, may never return.
©2023 Jess Lourey. (P)2023 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Unspeakable Things
- By: Jess Lourey
- Narrated by: Caitlin Kelly
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cassie McDowell’s life in 1980s Minnesota seems perfectly wholesome. She lives on a farm, loves school, and has a crush on the nicest boy in class. Yes, there are her parents’ strange parties and their parade of deviant guests, but she’s grown accustomed to them. All that changes when someone comes hunting in Lilydale. One by one, local boys go missing. One by one, they return changed - violent, moody, and withdrawn. What happened to them becomes the stuff of shocking rumors. The accusations of who’s responsible grow just as wild, and dangerous town secrets start to surface.
-
-
Oof
- By Derek Brown on 01-07-20
By: Jess Lourey
-
Bloodline
- By: Jess Lourey
- Narrated by: Whitney Dykhouse
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a tale inspired by real events, pregnant journalist Joan Harken is cautiously excited to follow her fiancé back to his Minnesota hometown. After spending a childhood on the move and chasing the screams and swirls of news-rich city life, she’s eager to settle down. Lilydale’s motto, “Come Home Forever,” couldn’t be more inviting. And yet, something is off in the picture-perfect village. The friendliness borders on intrusive. Joan can’t shake the feeling that every move she makes is being tracked. An archaic organization still seems to hold the town in thrall.
-
-
Horrible Unbelievable Annoying
- By Kay on 01-09-21
By: Jess Lourey
-
Litani
- By: Jess Lourey
- Narrated by: Cassandra Morris
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the summer of ’84, fourteen-year-old Frankie Jubilee is shuttled off to Litani, Minnesota, to live with her estranged mother, a county prosecutor she barely knows. From the start, Frankie senses something uneasy going on in the small town. The locals whisper about The Game, and her mother warns her to stay out of the woods and away from adults. When a bullying gang of girls invites Frankie to The Game, she accepts, determined to find out what’s really going on in Litani. She’s not the only one becoming paranoid. Hysteria burns through the community. Dark secrets emerge.
-
-
Disturbing amount of abuse
- By Mark D on 11-21-21
By: Jess Lourey
-
The Quarry Girls
- A Thriller
- By: Jess Lourey
- Narrated by: Jess Nahikian
- Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Minnesota, 1977. For the teens of one close-knit community, summer means late-night swimming parties at the quarry, the county fair, and venturing into the tunnels beneath the city. But for two best friends, it’s not all fun and games. Heather and Brenda have a secret. Something they saw in the dark. Something they can’t forget. They’ve decided to never tell a soul. But their vow is tested when their friend disappears—the second girl to vanish in a week. And yet the authorities are reluctant to investigate.
-
-
I can't
- By Brent Casey on 11-17-22
By: Jess Lourey
-
Catch Her in a Lie
- Getaway Collection
- By: Jess Lourey
- Narrated by: Carly Robins
- Length: 1 hr and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cold case expert Evangeline Reed and forensics legend Harry Steinbeck are on their way from Minneapolis to Costa Rica. They’ve been ordered to keep close watch on a protective mother and her daughter, both of whom have troubling connections to a Minnesota serial killer. Are they on holiday? In hiding? Or on the run? It’s time for Van and Harry to close in on the truth. And there’s more at risk than anyone can imagine.
-
-
I liked this one!
- By Clerissa Sanchez on 09-28-22
By: Jess Lourey
-
The House Beyond the Dunes
- By: Mary Burton
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett
- Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lane McCord wakes up in a hospital having survived a near-fatal fall at a North Carolina beach cottage. Her boyfriend, Kyle, wasn’t so lucky. A senseless tragedy on their first romantic getaway. All Lane remembers is lying at the bottom of the stairs in Kyle’s pooling blood. Confused and grieving, Lane plans to return to the cottage, collect her personal belongings, and get out. Until a winter rainstorm leaves her stranded and vulnerable, but not alone. A concerned neighbor, who claims he heard a violent argument before the accident, has come out of the storm.
-
-
It's not easy to keep me guessing
- By PLM on 09-23-23
By: Mary Burton
-
Unspeakable Things
- By: Jess Lourey
- Narrated by: Caitlin Kelly
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cassie McDowell’s life in 1980s Minnesota seems perfectly wholesome. She lives on a farm, loves school, and has a crush on the nicest boy in class. Yes, there are her parents’ strange parties and their parade of deviant guests, but she’s grown accustomed to them. All that changes when someone comes hunting in Lilydale. One by one, local boys go missing. One by one, they return changed - violent, moody, and withdrawn. What happened to them becomes the stuff of shocking rumors. The accusations of who’s responsible grow just as wild, and dangerous town secrets start to surface.
-
-
Oof
- By Derek Brown on 01-07-20
By: Jess Lourey
-
Bloodline
- By: Jess Lourey
- Narrated by: Whitney Dykhouse
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a tale inspired by real events, pregnant journalist Joan Harken is cautiously excited to follow her fiancé back to his Minnesota hometown. After spending a childhood on the move and chasing the screams and swirls of news-rich city life, she’s eager to settle down. Lilydale’s motto, “Come Home Forever,” couldn’t be more inviting. And yet, something is off in the picture-perfect village. The friendliness borders on intrusive. Joan can’t shake the feeling that every move she makes is being tracked. An archaic organization still seems to hold the town in thrall.
-
-
Horrible Unbelievable Annoying
- By Kay on 01-09-21
By: Jess Lourey
-
Litani
- By: Jess Lourey
- Narrated by: Cassandra Morris
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the summer of ’84, fourteen-year-old Frankie Jubilee is shuttled off to Litani, Minnesota, to live with her estranged mother, a county prosecutor she barely knows. From the start, Frankie senses something uneasy going on in the small town. The locals whisper about The Game, and her mother warns her to stay out of the woods and away from adults. When a bullying gang of girls invites Frankie to The Game, she accepts, determined to find out what’s really going on in Litani. She’s not the only one becoming paranoid. Hysteria burns through the community. Dark secrets emerge.
-
-
Disturbing amount of abuse
- By Mark D on 11-21-21
By: Jess Lourey
-
The Quarry Girls
- A Thriller
- By: Jess Lourey
- Narrated by: Jess Nahikian
- Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Minnesota, 1977. For the teens of one close-knit community, summer means late-night swimming parties at the quarry, the county fair, and venturing into the tunnels beneath the city. But for two best friends, it’s not all fun and games. Heather and Brenda have a secret. Something they saw in the dark. Something they can’t forget. They’ve decided to never tell a soul. But their vow is tested when their friend disappears—the second girl to vanish in a week. And yet the authorities are reluctant to investigate.
-
-
I can't
- By Brent Casey on 11-17-22
By: Jess Lourey
-
Catch Her in a Lie
- Getaway Collection
- By: Jess Lourey
- Narrated by: Carly Robins
- Length: 1 hr and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cold case expert Evangeline Reed and forensics legend Harry Steinbeck are on their way from Minneapolis to Costa Rica. They’ve been ordered to keep close watch on a protective mother and her daughter, both of whom have troubling connections to a Minnesota serial killer. Are they on holiday? In hiding? Or on the run? It’s time for Van and Harry to close in on the truth. And there’s more at risk than anyone can imagine.
-
-
I liked this one!
- By Clerissa Sanchez on 09-28-22
By: Jess Lourey
-
The House Beyond the Dunes
- By: Mary Burton
- Narrated by: Erin Bennett
- Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lane McCord wakes up in a hospital having survived a near-fatal fall at a North Carolina beach cottage. Her boyfriend, Kyle, wasn’t so lucky. A senseless tragedy on their first romantic getaway. All Lane remembers is lying at the bottom of the stairs in Kyle’s pooling blood. Confused and grieving, Lane plans to return to the cottage, collect her personal belongings, and get out. Until a winter rainstorm leaves her stranded and vulnerable, but not alone. A concerned neighbor, who claims he heard a violent argument before the accident, has come out of the storm.
-
-
It's not easy to keep me guessing
- By PLM on 09-23-23
By: Mary Burton
-
Bright Young Women
- A Novel
- By: Jessica Knoll
- Narrated by: Sutton Foster, Imani Jade Powers, Corey Brill, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Masterfully blending elements of psychological suspense and true crime, Jessica Knoll—bestselling author of Luckiest Girl Alive and the writer behind the Netflix adaptation starring Mila Kunis—delivers an “unflinching and evocative” (Laura Dave, New York Times bestselling author) thriller in Bright Young Women. The book opens on a Saturday night in 1978, hours before a soon-to-be-infamous murderer descends upon a Florida sorority house with deadly results. The lives of those who survive, including a sorority president and key witness, Pamela Schumacher, are forever changed.
-
-
Perfectly executed historical fiction
- By Louie Z on 12-03-23
By: Jessica Knoll
-
All the Little Raindrops
- A Novel
- By: Mia Sheridan
- Narrated by: Jesse Vilinsky, Aaron Shedlock, Christopher Lane, and others
- Length: 13 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s senior-year spring break, and Noelle Meyer and Evan Sinclair have been kidnapped. Neither knows why they were chosen, only that they share a tragic past: Evan’s father got away with killing Noelle’s mother, effectively ruining her family when the death was ruled an accident. Despite the connection that should have made them enemies, the teens instead unite to face their other common denominator—their abductors. Noelle and Evan survive one sadistic circumstance after another, eventually making a harrowing escape. But every happy ending comes at a price…
-
-
Fabulous story...but with triggers
- By Jenna on 01-25-24
By: Mia Sheridan
-
Saving Emma
- A Novel
- By: Allen Eskens
- Narrated by: Gary Tiedemann, Matt Godfrey, Saskia Maarleveld, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Boady Sanden first receives the case of Elijah Matthews, he’s certain there’s not much he can do. Elijah, who believes himself to be a prophet, has been locked up in a psychiatric hospital for the past four years, convicted of brutally murdering the pastor of a megachurch. But as a law professor working for the Innocence Project, Boady agrees to look into Elijah’s file. When he does, he is alarmed to find threads that lead back to the death of his colleague and friend, Ben Pruitt, a man shot to death four years earlier in Boady’s own home.
-
-
Love Eskins but not my favorite
- By Tracey B. on 10-16-23
By: Allen Eskens
-
These Still Black Waters
- Jess Lambert, Book 1
- By: Christina McDonald
- Narrated by: Angela Dawe, Erin Bennett, Ellen Quay
- Length: 10 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After a violent home invasion, Neve Maguire returns with her daughter to Black Lake, her childhood summer home, hoping for a fresh start. But when the body of a woman is found floating among the reeds in the lake behind her house, she fears she has made a horrible mistake. Neve is hiding secrets, though. Detective Jess Lambert can tell. Recently back after her own personal tragedy, Jess knows what it’s like to live with skeletons in your closet, and she’s sure Neve has a few of her own.
-
-
Love a good twist
- By Kat Johnson on 10-09-23
-
The Dark Bones
- By: Loreth Anne White
- Narrated by: Emily Sutton-Smith
- Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Detective Rebecca North left her rural hometown, she vowed never to return. Her father’s apparent suicide has changed that. The official report is that retired cop Noah North shot himself, knocked over a lantern, and set his isolated cabin ablaze. But Rebecca cannot believe he killed himself. To prove it, she needs the help of Ash Haugen, the man she left behind. But Rebecca and Ash share more than broken hearts. Something darker lies between them, and the investigation is stirring it back to life.
-
-
Very good procedural...
- By shelley on 05-26-19
-
The Vanishing Hour
- By: Seraphina Nova Glass
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Grace Holloway keeps to herself. Since narrowly escaping death at the hands of the man who kidnapped her, she’s thrown herself into the small inn she runs in Rock Harbor, Maine. It’s quiet, quaint and, in the off-season, completely isolated—the perfect place for Grace to keep her own secrets. But Grace isn’t the only one with something to hide, and Rock Harbor isn’t just a sleepy vacation town. Someone is taking young women—girls who look an awful lot like Grace did when she was kidnapped so many years ago.
-
-
Loved it!
- By Mari Sol on 08-01-23
-
The Good Lie
- By: A. R. Torre
- Narrated by: Susan Dalian
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Psychiatrist Dr. Gwen Moore is an expert on killers. She’s spent a decade treating California’s most depraved predators and unlocking their motives - predators much like the notorious Bloody Heart serial killer, whose latest teenage victim escaped and then identified local high school teacher Randall Thompson as his captor. The case against Thompson as the Bloody Heart Killer is damning - and closed, as far as Gwen and the media are concerned. If not for one new development.
-
-
She did it again!
- By Wendy Mirka on 07-21-21
By: A. R. Torre
-
Keep Your Friends Close
- By: Lucinda Berry
- Narrated by: Candace Fitzgerald, Daniela Acitelli, Leanne Woodward, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Kiersten McCann, president of the West Hollywood Moms’ Club, turns up dead in her own pool, it quickly becomes clear this wasn’t an accident. And the party guests—all members of the exclusive club—are now key suspects in her murder. Accusations fly, and three mothers find themselves at the center of the investigation. Whitney, Brooke, and Jade all have heavy secrets to bear…and possible motives for their friend’s murder. But as the police look closer, more secrets, betrayals, and sinister plots are revealed than the women could ever imagine.
-
-
Loved the Writing!
- By Lulu Dx on 11-26-23
By: Lucinda Berry
-
Lie by the Pool
- A Novel
- By: Susan Walter
- Narrated by: Jess Nahikian, Selah Victor, Aaron Shedlock, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bree’s new home is luxurious and private, with a fancy Beverly Hills address. What a shame it’s not hers. Widowed, penniless, living in her car, and out of options, she’s climbed the fence and crashed in the pool house. All she wants is a good night’s sleep. But when Sophie, the absentee owner, finds her, she gets a whole lot more.
-
-
Interesting Story
- By Lulu Dx on 01-14-24
By: Susan Walter
-
Starling House
- A Reese's Book Club Pick
- By: Alix E. Harrow
- Narrated by: Natalie Naudus
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Opal is a lot of things—orphan, high school dropout, full-time cynic and part-time cashier—but above all, she's a determined to find a better life for her younger brother Jasper. One that gets them out of Eden, Kentucky, a town remarkable for only two things: bad luck and E. Starling, the reclusive nineteenth century author of The Underland, who disappeared over a hundred years ago. All she left behind were dark rumors—and her home. Everyone agrees that it’s best to ignore the uncanny mansion and its misanthropic heir, Arthur. Almost everyone, anyway.
-
-
A great spooky atmosphere captured well in audio
- By downtown on 10-09-23
By: Alix E. Harrow
-
Little Ghosts
- By: Gregg Dunnett
- Narrated by: Katie Villa
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As I sit in her dimly lit bedroom, surrounded by flickering candles, I feel the crushing weight of my daughter’s absence. It's been two years since Layla was murdered. The police have searched tirelessly for her killer, but they've found nothing – it's like whoever did it vanished into thin air. My once-perfect marriage is falling apart, we can hardly look at each other anymore. Our ten-year-old son Gale is struggling. He’s changed since she died. He’s more secretive and also…
-
-
Oh my! Another British audiction I craved!
- By Karenique on 08-13-23
By: Gregg Dunnett
-
The Night I Died
- A Thriller
- By: Anne Frasier
- Narrated by: Barrie Kreinik
- Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Private detective Olivia Welles hasn’t been to her hometown since childhood, not since the night she died. She has no memory of the world before the car crash, or of coming back to life in the morgue. But now, years later, when fellow survivor Bonnie Ray calls from a Kansas jail begging for help, Olivia feels the tug of a dark and unremembered past. Bonnie looks guilty of murdering her young son—the third child to die under suspicious circumstances. Intrigued and seeking closure, Olivia agrees to investigate.
-
-
I liked the surprising twist towards the end.
- By D. Gail Mcclellan on 01-10-24
By: Anne Frasier
Critic reviews
“Narrator Carly Robins ramps up the tension, portraying Van's increasingly fraught state as things hit uncomfortably close to home. Lourey (The Quarry Girls) skillfully uses flashbacks and changes in perspective to create a deeply suspenseful listening experience. Share with fans of mysteries and suspense involving intriguing women detectives who employ a hint of the supernatural.”—Library Journal
“Twists and turns you don’t see coming make for a real page-turner.”—Kirkus Reviews
“There are twists and turns galore that make reading this novel almost unbearably fun and intense. I cannot remember another psychological thriller that created such a dichotomy of feelings about the protagonist, which shows just how talented Jess Lourey is.”—Publishers Weekly
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
The Laughing Dead
- Steinbeck and Reed, Book 3
- By: Jess Lourey
- Narrated by: Carly Robins
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The bodies of three teenage girls are found in central Minnesota—each with her mouth fixed in a ghoulish grin, smiling at a deadly joke no one can hear. But authorities eventually close and forget the curious case, dubbed the Laughing Dead. Decades later, cold case agent Evangeline “Van” Reed is called to the scene of a crime where the victim wears that same horror-movie smile. But this time someone seems to be sending a message: Van’s police ID has turned up at the scene, making her the prime suspect.
By: Jess Lourey
-
Unspeakable Things
- By: Jess Lourey
- Narrated by: Caitlin Kelly
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cassie McDowell’s life in 1980s Minnesota seems perfectly wholesome. She lives on a farm, loves school, and has a crush on the nicest boy in class. Yes, there are her parents’ strange parties and their parade of deviant guests, but she’s grown accustomed to them. All that changes when someone comes hunting in Lilydale. One by one, local boys go missing. One by one, they return changed - violent, moody, and withdrawn. What happened to them becomes the stuff of shocking rumors. The accusations of who’s responsible grow just as wild, and dangerous town secrets start to surface.
-
-
Oof
- By Derek Brown on 01-07-20
By: Jess Lourey
-
Bloodline
- By: Jess Lourey
- Narrated by: Whitney Dykhouse
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a tale inspired by real events, pregnant journalist Joan Harken is cautiously excited to follow her fiancé back to his Minnesota hometown. After spending a childhood on the move and chasing the screams and swirls of news-rich city life, she’s eager to settle down. Lilydale’s motto, “Come Home Forever,” couldn’t be more inviting. And yet, something is off in the picture-perfect village. The friendliness borders on intrusive. Joan can’t shake the feeling that every move she makes is being tracked. An archaic organization still seems to hold the town in thrall.
-
-
Horrible Unbelievable Annoying
- By Kay on 01-09-21
By: Jess Lourey
-
Catch Her in a Lie
- Getaway Collection
- By: Jess Lourey
- Narrated by: Carly Robins
- Length: 1 hr and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cold case expert Evangeline Reed and forensics legend Harry Steinbeck are on their way from Minneapolis to Costa Rica. They’ve been ordered to keep close watch on a protective mother and her daughter, both of whom have troubling connections to a Minnesota serial killer. Are they on holiday? In hiding? Or on the run? It’s time for Van and Harry to close in on the truth. And there’s more at risk than anyone can imagine.
-
-
I liked this one!
- By Clerissa Sanchez on 09-28-22
By: Jess Lourey
-
Litani
- By: Jess Lourey
- Narrated by: Cassandra Morris
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the summer of ’84, fourteen-year-old Frankie Jubilee is shuttled off to Litani, Minnesota, to live with her estranged mother, a county prosecutor she barely knows. From the start, Frankie senses something uneasy going on in the small town. The locals whisper about The Game, and her mother warns her to stay out of the woods and away from adults. When a bullying gang of girls invites Frankie to The Game, she accepts, determined to find out what’s really going on in Litani. She’s not the only one becoming paranoid. Hysteria burns through the community. Dark secrets emerge.
-
-
Disturbing amount of abuse
- By Mark D on 11-21-21
By: Jess Lourey
-
The Quarry Girls
- A Thriller
- By: Jess Lourey
- Narrated by: Jess Nahikian
- Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Minnesota, 1977. For the teens of one close-knit community, summer means late-night swimming parties at the quarry, the county fair, and venturing into the tunnels beneath the city. But for two best friends, it’s not all fun and games. Heather and Brenda have a secret. Something they saw in the dark. Something they can’t forget. They’ve decided to never tell a soul. But their vow is tested when their friend disappears—the second girl to vanish in a week. And yet the authorities are reluctant to investigate.
-
-
I can't
- By Brent Casey on 11-17-22
By: Jess Lourey
-
The Laughing Dead
- Steinbeck and Reed, Book 3
- By: Jess Lourey
- Narrated by: Carly Robins
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The bodies of three teenage girls are found in central Minnesota—each with her mouth fixed in a ghoulish grin, smiling at a deadly joke no one can hear. But authorities eventually close and forget the curious case, dubbed the Laughing Dead. Decades later, cold case agent Evangeline “Van” Reed is called to the scene of a crime where the victim wears that same horror-movie smile. But this time someone seems to be sending a message: Van’s police ID has turned up at the scene, making her the prime suspect.
By: Jess Lourey
-
Unspeakable Things
- By: Jess Lourey
- Narrated by: Caitlin Kelly
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cassie McDowell’s life in 1980s Minnesota seems perfectly wholesome. She lives on a farm, loves school, and has a crush on the nicest boy in class. Yes, there are her parents’ strange parties and their parade of deviant guests, but she’s grown accustomed to them. All that changes when someone comes hunting in Lilydale. One by one, local boys go missing. One by one, they return changed - violent, moody, and withdrawn. What happened to them becomes the stuff of shocking rumors. The accusations of who’s responsible grow just as wild, and dangerous town secrets start to surface.
-
-
Oof
- By Derek Brown on 01-07-20
By: Jess Lourey
-
Bloodline
- By: Jess Lourey
- Narrated by: Whitney Dykhouse
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a tale inspired by real events, pregnant journalist Joan Harken is cautiously excited to follow her fiancé back to his Minnesota hometown. After spending a childhood on the move and chasing the screams and swirls of news-rich city life, she’s eager to settle down. Lilydale’s motto, “Come Home Forever,” couldn’t be more inviting. And yet, something is off in the picture-perfect village. The friendliness borders on intrusive. Joan can’t shake the feeling that every move she makes is being tracked. An archaic organization still seems to hold the town in thrall.
-
-
Horrible Unbelievable Annoying
- By Kay on 01-09-21
By: Jess Lourey
-
Catch Her in a Lie
- Getaway Collection
- By: Jess Lourey
- Narrated by: Carly Robins
- Length: 1 hr and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cold case expert Evangeline Reed and forensics legend Harry Steinbeck are on their way from Minneapolis to Costa Rica. They’ve been ordered to keep close watch on a protective mother and her daughter, both of whom have troubling connections to a Minnesota serial killer. Are they on holiday? In hiding? Or on the run? It’s time for Van and Harry to close in on the truth. And there’s more at risk than anyone can imagine.
-
-
I liked this one!
- By Clerissa Sanchez on 09-28-22
By: Jess Lourey
-
Litani
- By: Jess Lourey
- Narrated by: Cassandra Morris
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the summer of ’84, fourteen-year-old Frankie Jubilee is shuttled off to Litani, Minnesota, to live with her estranged mother, a county prosecutor she barely knows. From the start, Frankie senses something uneasy going on in the small town. The locals whisper about The Game, and her mother warns her to stay out of the woods and away from adults. When a bullying gang of girls invites Frankie to The Game, she accepts, determined to find out what’s really going on in Litani. She’s not the only one becoming paranoid. Hysteria burns through the community. Dark secrets emerge.
-
-
Disturbing amount of abuse
- By Mark D on 11-21-21
By: Jess Lourey
-
The Quarry Girls
- A Thriller
- By: Jess Lourey
- Narrated by: Jess Nahikian
- Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Minnesota, 1977. For the teens of one close-knit community, summer means late-night swimming parties at the quarry, the county fair, and venturing into the tunnels beneath the city. But for two best friends, it’s not all fun and games. Heather and Brenda have a secret. Something they saw in the dark. Something they can’t forget. They’ve decided to never tell a soul. But their vow is tested when their friend disappears—the second girl to vanish in a week. And yet the authorities are reluctant to investigate.
-
-
I can't
- By Brent Casey on 11-17-22
By: Jess Lourey
-
May Day
- Murder by Month Mystery, Book 1
- By: Jess Lourey
- Narrated by: Jennifer Jill Araya
- Length: 7 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With a cheating boyfriend, a thankless career in waitressing, and her BA in English going to waste, Mira James jumps at the chance for a fresh start in rural Battle Lake, Minnesota. Right away she lands a job as a librarian, snags another as an on-call reporter for the weekly newspaper, and is swept off her feet by Jeff Wilson, a handsome archaeologist unearthing the town’s storied history. Moving here might be the best decision Mira’s ever made. Until she finds Jeff’s body between the library’s reference stacks.
-
-
Fun listen
- By J. Lombardo on 07-03-24
By: Jess Lourey
-
Found Object
- By: Anne Frasier
- Narrated by: Eileen Stevens, Perry Daniels
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Culpable in an exposé gone tragically wrong, investigative journalist Jupiter Bellarose takes her boss’s advice: head back to her hometown for a fluff piece and get her world in balance. But in Savannah, the past is waiting. Twenty years ago Jupiter’s mother, actress and celebrated beauty Marie Nova, was murdered, leaving many in her wake: Jupiter’s father, who has erased memories of his wife’s murder with alcohol. The matriarch of the cosmetics company who helped make Marie a star—and who takes every opportunity to reopen old wounds.
-
-
Rampant with suspects!!!!
- By shelley on 10-21-22
By: Anne Frasier
-
Deadly Waters
- By: Dot Hutchison
- Narrated by: Sarah Naughton
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Florida journalism undergrad Rebecca Sorley is like any other college student. She tries to keep up with her studies, her friends, and her hot-tempered roommate, Ellie, who regularly courts trouble with the law. When a male student's remains are found in alligator-infested waters, the university warns students to stay away from the reptiles. But then a second body shows up, and the link is undeniable. Both men belonged to the same fraternity and had a reputation for preying on and hurting women.
-
-
The gator killer...
- By Kay on 09-04-20
By: Dot Hutchison
-
The Drowned Girls
- An Angie Pallorino Novel, Book 1
- By: Loreth Anne White
- Narrated by: Julie McKay
- Length: 16 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Detective Angie Pallorino hasn't forgotten the violent rapist who left a distinctive calling card—crosses etched into the flesh of his victim's foreheads. When a comatose Jane Doe is found in a local cemetery, sexually assaulted, mutilated, and nearly drowned, Angie is struck by the eerie similarities to her earlier unsolved rapes. Could he be back?
-
-
Excellent New Series
- By Lia on 10-05-17
-
In the Dark
- By: Loreth Anne White
- Narrated by: Susan Hanfield
- Length: 14 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The promise of a luxury vacation at a secluded wilderness spa has brought together eight lucky guests. But nothing is what they were led to believe. As a fierce storm barrels down and all contact with the outside is cut off, the guests fear that it’s not a getaway. It’s a trap. Each one has a secret. Each one has something to hide. And now, as darkness closes in, they all have something to fear - including one another.
-
-
Agatha Christie revamped...
- By shelley on 12-02-19
-
Behind You
- By: Mike Omer
- Narrated by: Carly Robins
- Length: 12 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Seventeen-year-old Theodora Briggs left home in the dead of night, after a brutal crime shattered her life. Thirteen years later, she’s made a name for herself as Gemma: beautician, wife, and mother. But the trauma still lingers… And then one day, it’s more than just a phantom pain. Gemma is suddenly accosted by stranger after stranger, all of whom seem to know the truth about her. They confront her with her real name and ominous allusions to the tragedy that drove her out of town. When her family begins to have their own strange episodes, Gemma is rattled.
-
-
Switching to reading
- By B. Johnson on 10-20-24
By: Mike Omer
-
Forgotten Bones
- Dead Remaining, Book 1
- By: Vivian Barz
- Narrated by: Julie McKay
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When small-town police officers discover the grave of a young boy, they’re quick to pin the crime on a convicted criminal who lives nearby. But when it comes to murder, Officer Susan Marlan never trusts a simple explanation, so she’s just getting started. Meanwhile, college professor Eric Evans hallucinates a young boy in overalls: a symptom of his schizophrenia - or so he thinks. But when more bodies turn up, Eric has more visions, and they mirror details of the murder case.
-
-
ugh..
- By Anonymous User on 08-21-19
By: Vivian Barz
-
Hide
- Detective Harriet Foster, Book 1
- By: Tracy Clark
- Narrated by: Chanté McCormick
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When a young red-haired woman is found brutally murdered in downtown Chicago, one detail stands out: the red lipstick encircling her wrists and ankles. Detective Harriet Foster is on the case, even though she’s still grieving the sudden death of her partner. As a Black woman in a male-dominated department, Foster anticipates a rocky road ahead acclimating to a new team—and building trust with her new partner isn’t coming easily. After another victim turns up with the same lipstick markings, Foster suspects she’s looking for a serial killer.
-
-
I actually liked the narrator!!
- By Jo-Anne Boudissa on 06-25-23
By: Tracy Clark
-
Tracks of Her Tears
- Rogue Winter Novella, Book 1
- By: Melinda Leigh
- Narrated by: Kate Rudd
- Length: 3 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
County investigator Seth Harding intends to spend the holidays with his newly reconciled family, but a few days before Christmas, a homicide thwarts his plan. Seth arrives at the scene and makes a painful discovery: the victim is his brother-in-law's girlfriend. Her apartment has been ransacked and her toddler left motherless. To make matters worse, Seth's brother-in-law, Bruce, is missing. With Solitude locked in a rare, deadly deep freeze and the temperature plummeting, the residents launch a desperate search.
-
-
Good cop novella
- By Wayne on 02-06-16
By: Melinda Leigh
-
The Usual Silence
- Arles Shepherd Thriller, Book 1
- By: Jenny Milchman
- Narrated by: Sarah Mollo-Christensen
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Psychologist Arles Shepherd treats troubled children, struggling with each case to recover from her own traumatic past, much of which she’s lost to the shadows of memory. Having just set up a new kind of treatment center in the remote Adirondack wilderness, Arles longs to heal one patient in particular: a ten-year-old boy who has never spoken a word—or so his mother, Louise, believes.
-
-
Healing and Hope
- By Lisa Davidson on 01-24-25
By: Jenny Milchman
-
The Monsters We Make
- A Novel
- By: Kali White
- Narrated by: Mia Barron
- Length: 8 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's August 1984, and paperboy Christopher Stewart has gone missing. Hours later, 12-year-old Sammy Cox hurries home from his own paper route, red-faced and out of breath, hiding a terrible secret. Crystal, Sammy's 17-year-old sister, is worried by the disappearance but she also sees an opportunity: the Stewart case has echoes of an earlier unsolved disappearance of another boy, one town over. Crystal senses the makings of an award-winning essay, one that could win her a scholarship - and a ticket out of their small Iowa town.
-
-
Secrets abound, sneaking in and out of the pages
- By The Nerdy Gourmet on 08-20-20
By: Kali White
-
Another Girl Lost
- By: Mary Burton
- Narrated by: Jesse Vilinsky, David de Vries
- Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ten years ago, fifteen-year-old Scarlett Crosby was held captive in a terrifying ordeal with a girl named Della. Scarlett escaped, their predator was killed, and Della simply vanished. Detective Kevin Dawson always wondered if Della even existed. A decade later, Scarlett is a successful artist. As hard as she tries to move on, the mysterious Della remains her inescapable obsession. Then a girl’s body is discovered—a link to Scarlett’s horrific past—and all her old traumas resurface. So does Della.
-
-
Great mind meld
- By Kay on 09-26-24
By: Mary Burton
Pleasantly surprised by this one
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Hope it’s a series!
Great!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Enjoyed it
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Visions and abuse
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Enjoyed Book, and did finish
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Part of the Kindle Unlimited catalog.
Fabulous!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Good plot
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A well thought out plot with clinically correct trauma implications
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I enjoyed this and, based on this experience, would like to explore more from this author. It packs a few different mysteries, along with workplace drama and stigmas.
Some mysteries in this were wrapped up, while others left me hanging—very well played. I’m excited to fall in love with a new series.
4 stars.
🎧 Audio:
The narrator did a great job, using different voices and attitudes for different characters and the overall sound quality was good. 4 stars.
Intriguing...
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Contemporary and captivating
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.