Mystery Writers of America Presents The Rich and the Dead

By: Mystery Writers of America, Nelson DeMille - editor

Narrated by: Joyce Bean, Sandra Burr, David Colacci, Jeff Cummings, Luke Daniels, Susan Ericksen, Phil Gigante, Dick Hill

The rich are very different from you and me. Blessed by great wealth, they can get what they want, even what they shouldn’t have. Cursed by great wealth, they become the targets of others who will risk everything to become affluent. In The Rich and the Dead, bestselling author Nelson DeMille introduces twenty original tales by today’s most elite mystery writers who explore the life (and death) styles of the rich and infamous.

In Ted Bell’s “The Pirate of Palm Beach,” an arrogant society columnist feels the unsociable - and deadly - backlash from his poison pen.

In Lee Child’s “Addicted to Sweetness,” a swaggering drug lord plots a nasty payback against a thieving underling.

In David Morrell’s “The Controller,” a seasoned protection specialist may need to be protected from the mercurial finance titan who purchases his services... and tests his loyalties.

From multinational boardrooms to palatial mansions to exotic playlands, these suspenseful, gold-standard tales reveal in scary, funny, and riveting ways just how much trouble money can buy.

Featuring stories by Nelson DeMille, Ted Bell, Peter Blauner, Karen Catalona, Tim Chapman, Lee Child, Michael Connelly, Frank Cook, David DeLee, Joseph Goodrich, Daniel J. Hale, Roberta Isleib, Harley Jane Kozak, David Morrell, Carolyn Mullen, Twist Phelan, S. J. Rozan, Jonathan Santlofer, Elaine Togneri, and Angela Zeman.

The full list of narrators includes: Joyce Bean, Sandra Burr, David Colacci, Jeff Cummings, Luke Daniels, Susan Ericksen, Phil Gigante, Dick Hill, Dan John Miller, and Natalie Ross.

©2011 Mystery Writers of America Inc. (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

interesting

had a bit of difficulty getting into this, but once i did, found each story interesting and most enjoyable.

So so

Mostly meh, one or two were interesting. Not what I would expect from those writers

Need To Name Authors

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No, this was highlighting new writers, but it failed to give credit to all the writers! How can you buy their work if you do not know their names. Yes, some authors were credited but most were not. If you like hearing the readers, which I did, then this was not a disappointment as the readers do justice in just a few chapters. If you like hearing what a good writer can do in a few paragraphs, then this is a must listen for future mystery writers.

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

All the readers are EXCELLENT

Did The Rich and the Dead inspire you to do anything?

I could only seek out authors that were named.

Any additional comments?

I purchased this a few years ago, and am now getting around to listen to it. Gads, I only hope I purchased on sale rather than use a full credit. Save this for the semi annual 25% off sale.

Awesome

Great work. I have listened to each story at least several times a piece. The actors narrated stories so well

Short stories various authors

Was The Rich and the Dead worth the listening time?

Yes, it was worth the listening time, which was about 90 minutes. My expectations for short story collections are very low. If there are 12-15 stories in the collection and I find two or three good stories, I'm happy. Doesn't mean I don't wish they were all good. I wish they were, but I have never yet found such a collection that has more than two or three, out of the whole, that is of any interest to me. Nelson DeMille's story was excellent and I will listen to it again. Lee Child's story held my attention, but I will probably never listen to it again.

Any additional comments?

Now....was it worth the price? NO....a resounding NO. It should have sold for less than ten bucks. It certainly was not worth one entire credit.

Nelson DeMille only introduces these stories . . .

and it seems to me that he only had a walk-on part. I expected exciting and fresh stories from good writers. To be fair—a few of them are—but otherwise they went in one ear and out the other. I’m not able now to even tell you which tales made a strong impression on me. The performances varied, but they were acceptable. Maybe I’ve seen too much junk media or read too many hot thrillers from DeMille. This left me with buyer’s remorse.