Poisoning the Pecks of Grand Rapids
The Scandalous 1916 Murder Plot
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Narrated by:
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Daniel Henning
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By:
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Tobin T. Buhk
About this listen
With his boyish good looks, Arthur Warren Waite charmed into marriage the daughter of wealthy Grand Rapids business tycoon John E. Peck in 1916. He then wasted no time executing what he believed to be a flawless scheme to hijack his wife's inheritance. The plot went awry when a mysterious telegram set off a sequence of events that ultimately exposed his immoral ambition to poison all other Peck heirs. Follow Waite's fingerprints of indiscretion around Grand Rapids and New York City as author Tobin T. Buhk details this audacious plan of staggering complexity.
©2014 Tobin T. Buhk (P)2022 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
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Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Roger "Butch" Karp has been around New York long enough to realize that the judicial system can be dirty and cynical. But he still believes in justice. So when a vicious sociopath tries to dodge a brutal murder charge by convincing the court he is incompetent to stand trial, Karp teams up with firecracker Assistant DA Marlene Ciampi to unleash the full force of their relentless energy, hardboiled wit, and passion for the truth to put the killer away for good. They will accept no lesser plea.
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A Decent LIsten
- By Ted on 08-31-14
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The Stranger She Loved
- A Mormon Doctor, His Beautiful Wife, and an Almost Perfect Murder
- By: Shanna Hogan
- Narrated by: Pam Ward
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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In 2007, Dr. Martin MacNeill - a doctor, lawyer, and Mormon bishop - discovered his wife of 30 years dead in the bathtub of their Pleasant Grove, Utah, home, her face bearing the scars of a facelift he had persuaded her to undergo just a week prior. At first the death of 50-year-old Michele MacNeill, a former beauty queen and mother of eight, appeared natural. But days after the funeral, when Dr. MacNeill moved his much younger mistress into the family home, his children grew suspicious.
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The story of a true psychopath
- By Michelle in New York City on 11-27-15
By: Shanna Hogan
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A Very English Scandal
- Sex, Lies, and a Murder Plot at the Heart of the Establishment
- By: John Preston
- Narrated by: Matthew Brenher
- Length: 12 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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As a member of Parliament and leader of the Liberal Party in the 1960s and 70s, Jeremy Thorpe's bad behavior went under the radar for years. Police and politicians alike colluded to protect one of their own. In 1970, Thorpe was the most popular and charismatic politician in the country, poised to hold the balance of power in a coalition government. But Jeremy Thorpe was a man with a secret.
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Who knew?
- By Dorothy on 10-24-16
By: John Preston
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Manhattans and Murder
- The Murder, She Wrote Mysteries, Book 2
- By: Jessica Fletcher, Donald Bain
- Narrated by: Beth Porter
- Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Promoting her latest books brings best-selling mystery writer Jessica Fletcher to New York for Christmas. Her schedule includes book signings, chat-show appearances, department store shopping...and murder. But it all begins with a sidewalk Santa staring at Jessica with fear and recognition.
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A release of an older Donald Bain book in the series, thank goodness
- By Dorise on 02-01-19
By: Jessica Fletcher, and others
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Blood on the Leaves
- By: Jeff Stetson
- Narrated by: Dion Graham
- Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Jeff Stetson has received eight NAACP Theater Image Awards for his play The Meeting, which aired on American Playhouse on PBS. He offers a thought-provoking work of fiction with Blood on the Leaves. Old white men - alleged perpetrators of racial killings during the civil rights struggle - are being brutally murdered in the South. Now it's up to the only black deputy district attorney to prosecute these racially motivated crimes.
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Boss Suggested It! Glad I Read It!
- By AlTonya on 07-29-14
By: Jeff Stetson
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Rumpole of the Bailey
- The Rumpole of the Bailey Series, Book 1
- By: John Mortimer
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Horace Rumpole, the irreverent, iconoclastic, claret-swilling, poetry-spouting barrister at law, is among the most beloved characters of English crime literature. He is not a particularly gifted attorney, nor is he particularly fond of the law by courts if it comes to that, but he’d rather be swinging at a case than bowing to his wife Hilda, She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed.
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Rambling and irreverent, Rumpole captures you
- By VW on 08-30-18
By: John Mortimer
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House of Evil
- The Indiana Torture Slaying
- By: John Dean
- Narrated by: John Glouchevitch
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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In the heart of Indianapolis in the mid-1960s, through a twist of fate and fortune, a pretty young girl came to live with a 37-year-old mother and her seven children. What began as a temporary childcare arrangement between Sylvia Likens's parents and Gertrude Baniszewski turned into a crime that would haunt cops, prosecutors, and a community for decades to come. When police found Sylvia's emaciated body, with a chilling message carved into her flesh, they knew that she had suffered tremendously before her death.
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Horrific
- By Karri on 05-29-18
By: John Dean
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The Trial
- By: Robert Whitlow
- Narrated by: Rob Lamont
- Length: 6 hrs and 53 mins
- Abridged
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Attorney Ken McClain has nothing to live for. Nine years after the accident that claimed the life of his wife and two sons, he's finally given up. Alone in his empty house, it seems suicide is his only escape. Now the question of death by pills or by bullet? Then suddenly the phone rings, and it turns out to be a case he can't refuse. A case for the life of accused killer Peter Thomason, and a case for his own soul.
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Delivers
- By Barbara on 09-15-06
By: Robert Whitlow
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The Case of the Velvet Claws
- Perry Mason Series, Book 1
- By: Erle Stanley Gardner
- Narrated by: Alexander Cendese
- Length: 6 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Married Eva Griffin has been caught with a prominent congressman, and is ready to pay the editor of a sleazy tabloid hush money to protect the politician. But first Perry Mason tracks down the publisher of the blackmailing tabloid and discovers a shocking secret, which eventually leads to Mason being accused of murder. This is the first Perry Mason mystery and our introduction to secretary Della Street, detective Paul Drake, and the great lawyer himself.
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Enter Perry Mason
- By David S. Mathew on 04-10-17
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Pietr the Latvian
- Inspector Maigret, Book 1
- By: Georges Simenon, David Bellos - translator
- Narrated by: Gareth Armstrong
- Length: 3 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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The first audiobook which appeared in Georges Simenon's famous Maigret series, in a gripping new translation by David Bellos.Inevitably Maigret was a hostile presence in the Majestic. He constituted a kind of foreign body that the hotel's atmosphere could not assimilate. Not that he looked like a cartoon policeman. He didn't have a moustache and he didn't wear heavy boots. His clothes were well cut and made of fairly light worsted. He shaved every day and looked after his hands. But his frame was proletarian. He was a big, bony man.
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Long live Maigret
- By Adeliese Baumann on 11-19-14
By: Georges Simenon, and others
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QB VII
- By: Leon Uris
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 13 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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In Queen's Bench Courtroom Number Seven, famous author Abraham Cady stands trial. In his book The Holocaust - born of the terrible revelation that the Jadwiga Concentration camp was the site of his family's extermination - Cady shook the consciousness of the human race. He also named eminent surgeon Sir Adam Kelno as one of Jadwiga's most sadistic inmate/doctors. Kelno has denied this and brought furious charges. Now unfolds Leon Uris' riveting courtroom drama - one of the great fictional trials of the century.
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An Important Revisit to a Dark Era
- By Craig on 06-01-14
By: Leon Uris
What listeners say about Poisoning the Pecks of Grand Rapids
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Josh M. Peck
- 09-15-23
A Gripping Chronicle of Scandal and Murder in Early 20th Century America
In "Poisoning the Pecks of Grand Rapids: The Scandalous 1916 Murder Plot", Tobin T. Buhk crafts a compelling narrative that unveils the dark underbelly of American high society in the early 20th century. Narrated adeptly by Daniel Henning, this true-crime tale immerses listeners in a web of deceit, greed, and betrayal that spirals from the marriage of the charming Arthur Warren Waite to the daughter of the wealthy Peck family.
The plot unravels with an electrifying pace as Buhk details Waite's meticulously planned scheme to secure his wife's inheritance, a plan marred by an unexpected telegram that sets off a series of startling discoveries. Buhk showcases his talent as a seasoned true crime writer with a narrative that navigates between Grand Rapids and New York City, tracing Waite's nefarious activities and the eventual unravelling of his carefully orchestrated plot.
Daniel Henning lends his voice to bring depth and nuance to this shocking historical account, adeptly capturing the atmosphere of a society shaken to its core by the audacity and complexity of Waite's actions. Henning's narration breathes life into the personalities involved, offering listeners a vivid glimpse into the mind of a man driven by unfathomable greed and deceit.
What struck me personally was the connection to the Pecks, albeit not familial, the title immediately pulled me in. It not only promised a riveting journey into a historical crime but also carried a personal resonance, igniting curiosity to delve deeper into the scandal that rocked Grand Rapids in 1916. The detailed account did not disappoint, offering not only a thrilling tale but also a stark warning against the dangers of ambition unrestrained by moral boundaries.
In conclusion, "Poisoning the Pecks of Grand Rapids" stands as a testament to the art of true crime storytelling, where Buhk masterfully dissects a century-old murder plot with the precision of a seasoned detective. Coupled with Henning's immersive narration, this account offers a thrilling glimpse into a scandalous chapter of American history, keeping listeners on the edge of their seats until the very end. A must-listen for aficionados of true crime and historical narratives alike.
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