Catch and Kill

Lies, Spies and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators

By: Ronan Farrow

Narrated by: Ronan Farrow

In a dramatic account of violence and espionage, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Ronan Farrow exposes serial abusers and a cabal of powerful interests hell-bent on covering up the truth, at any cost.

In 2017, a routine network television investigation led Ronan Farrow to a story only whispered about: one of Hollywood's most powerful producers was a predator, protected by fear, wealth, and a conspiracy of silence. As Farrow drew closer to the truth, shadowy operatives, from high-priced lawyers to elite war-hardened spies, mounted a secret campaign of intimidation, threatening his career, following his every move and weaponizing an account of abuse in his own family.

All the while, Farrow and his producer faced a degree of resistance that could not be explained - until now. And a trail of clues revealed corruption and cover-ups from Hollywood, to Washington, and beyond.

This is the untold story of the exotic tactics of surveillance and intimidation deployed by wealthy and connected men to threaten journalists, evade accountability and silence victims of abuse - and it's the story of the women who risked everything to expose the truth and spark a global movement.

Both a spy thriller and a meticulous work of investigative journalism, Catch and Kill breaks devastating new stories about the rampant abuse of power - and sheds far-reaching light on investigations that shook the culture.

2020, LA Times Book Prize, Short-listed

©2019 Ronan Farrow (P)2019 Hachette Audio UK

Critic reviews

Extraordinary . . . As some American critics have already observed, Farrow's narrative has the pace of a thriller . . . Farrow's book captures the terror and paranoia that eat away at Weinstein's victims for the simple reason that he comes to experience them himself, a human mirror. The producer's sphere of influence extends ever outwards, like the powerful arms of some giant squid (Rachel Cooke)

Moves at a brisk pace, feeding readers each revelation in real time, interspersed with personal notes that make the stories stick (Claire Landsbaum)

Read this book . . . Farrow's greatest success was to listen, believe and act, even at his own peril (Maria L. La Ganga)

Absorbing . . . The behavior documented in Catch and Kill is obviously and profoundly distressing . . . But there are some hopeful threads, too (Jennifer Szalai)

Darkly funny and poignant . . . a winning account of how it feels to be at the centre of the biggest story in the world. It is also, of course, a breathtakingly dogged piece of reporting, in the face of extraordinary opposition (Emma Brockes)

At the heart of every great noir is a conspiracy of evil that imbues the initial crime uncovered by the hero with a weightier resonance than was immediately obvious. So it goes with Catch and Kill (Emma Bruenig)

Reads like a thriller ...The reveal in Catch and Kill is not that there are corrupt people; it's that corrupt people are in control of our media, politics, and entertainment and that, in fact, many of them remain in control (Rebecca Traister)

The year's best spy thriller is stranger - and more horrifying - than fiction . . . He weaves a breathless narrative as compelling as it is disturbing . . . bracingly exposes the rot that's persisted across elite American institutions for decades (David Canfield)

Catch and Kill is exhaustively reported . . . and compulsively readable, with nearly every page revealing a provocative detail about a household name in media or entertainment (E. J. Dickson)

I have rarely read a more compelling account of the systematic reality of sexual harassment in the workplace. Things might be slowly changing but this book shows that the culture that normalises abusive behaviour remains pervasive and owes its persistence to the insidious ways in which it downplays the emotional toll this has on women (Luigi Gioia)

The story behind the story

Very interesting and detailed first person story from Ronan Farrow on his adventure to expose the monster that was Harvey Weinstein. Very troubling at points and disturbing as Harvey was not the only one doing this and the lengths he took to bury the stories about him and the victims (that were way too many) on how they were ashamed to come out and speak. Caution is needed for sexual abuse victims listening to this story as it may bring memories but this is an extraordinary true story and I would highly recommend to other listeners.

Just Incredible

FANTASTIC. Produced like a podcast, really engaging. Listen now and tell everyone about it.

Riveting and informative

The lengths men will go to keep the status quo… Every man and woman should read this

Engaging and trilling story

I listen to whole book in almost a day while waiting for my delayed flight in Mexico city. Couldn't stop, great book.

The accents are terrible!

A great story that is a bit long for my tastes, but the real criticism is the accents. Oh my god. Everyone in the book sounds like a Jewish vampire, a character from Peaky Blinders, someone who attends Hogwarts or Cartman from SouthPark doing his impression of Steve Irwin. How someone with so much insight could murder an audio book by doing these ridiculous accents is beyond me. Really made the book hard to listen to and added nothing to the story

What a superb undertaking - Catch and Kill

This book was exceptional in its research and presentation plus Ronan Farrow's deliverance of it

Gripping, unstoppable

A compelling story told with heart, sensitivity and humor. Ronan’s voice as a writer is warm and clear, his voice acting amusing and endearing.

Beware! I could not bear to stop listening once I’d begun and I already knew many of the twists and turns of this tale. I hope you will find it just as compelling.

Enthralling and engrossing

Ronan Farrow narrates his book.

It is clearly well deserved and a definitive 'page turner'.

The book clearly shows how the powers that be tried to bury what has been happening.

Hilariously bad accents

I’m not sure if it was intentional but Farrow’s atrociously bad accents added comic relief to an otherwise harrowing story of Weinstein’s criminal misconduct and the machinery around him that enabled it. I literally burst out laughing while doing the vacuuming.

Important book

It is a very important and interesting story. The level of deceit, misogyny and explicit and implicit threatening tactics used by these powerful men (and their associates) is mind-boggling. The book itself is very well researched and goes into quite a bit of detail. Very informative and engaging.