An engaging true-crime tale built upon a captivating backstory.
Narrator Garrett Michael Brown has two stories to tell. One is the frightening tale of the kidnapping and murder of a wealthy Silicon Valley cannabis entrepreneur. Brown gives this one a dramatic reading, increasing his pace and using pauses for effect. The other, parallel narrative, told by Brown in an informative, conversational baritone, is about how the cannabis industry evolved from a secretive underground economy into a billion-dollar, publicly traded industry. Listeners learn how growers and processors set up inside underground shipping containers; how the pot industry relies on “trimmigrants” (imported labor) at harvest time; and how the housing crisis enabled growers to use abandoned homes for indoor grow operations. Alas, the legalization of marijuana in California didn’t eliminate the criminal element that previously controlled its manufacture and distribution, eventually setting the stage for murder.
An engaging true-crime tale built upon a captivating backstory.Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2026
Duration: 11 hrs, 57 mins
DD ISBN: 9798347716043
Publisher: Spiegel & Grau by Spotify Audiobooks
Review Posted Online: May 5, 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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