Narrator Ulf Bjorklund's genial and eager tone manifests journalist Jan Stocklassa in this deep dive into a political mystery in Sweden. The author was given unprecedented access to the late journalist and thriller writer Stieg Larsson's research surrounding the unsolved 1986 assassination of Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme. The first half of the audiobook pieces together boxes of Larsson's files into the story of his investigation, which is then picked up years later by Stocklassa. Though Stocklassa's text employs a narrative style, it's full of the minutiae of true-crime research rather than the thrill of Larsson's famed novels (THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO et al.) The wash of details drags the story down at times, but Bjorklund's zest helps the listener stick with it to an ending that picks up with fascinating undercover work.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2019
Duration: 12 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781978672789
Publisher: Brilliance Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
The events of the Tom Capano-Anne Marie Fahey case are not unusual. A philandering, self-centered man has relationships with women who are easily controlled. He seduces them, provides the gentle concern they crave and, once caught, demeans them until their self-esteem is gone, leaving them completely dependent upon him. Sadly, this scenario happens all too often. This time, the result is a brutal murder. Because the principals were prominent in Delaware politics, the story attracted media attention. Rule handles the sensational details crisply, professionally, and with a storyteller's flair. Narrator Laura Hicks provides exactly the reading Rule's book demands, keeping listeners riveted. She manages to maintain interest through necessary passages of mundane exposition. Some of her pronunciations are suspect, but with her pleasing voice, Hicks gives a balanced, nonjudgmental performance.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2003
Duration: 21 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: BBC Audiobooks America/ Sound Library
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Is this book for burglars, or those who fear them? It's a little hard to tell, which is a problem. Another is that it is more a padded blog or magazine piece than an audiobook with a coherent thesis. While much of the material is interesting the first time you hear it, the second and third times tend to pall, as do lists of things like shapes of lockpicks we will never see or care about. Scott Aiello, so good at fiction, here gets in the way as he tries to breathe drama into material that has no emotional content, and overplays any hint of wit or irony, as if he were performing a snarky SNL skit instead of letting the listener hear what's there.
Pub Date: April 5, 2016
Duration: 8 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781524702212
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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