The Murder Room

The Heirs of Sherlock Holmes Gather to Solve the World's Most Perplexing Cold Cases

By: Michael Capuzzo

Narrated by: Adam Grupper

Length: 15 hrs

Publisher's summary

Thrilling, true tales from the Vidocq Society, a team of the world's finest forensic investigators whose monthly gourmet lunches lead to justice in ice-cold murders.

Good friends and sometime rivals William Fleisher, Frank Bender, and Richard Walter—a renowned FBI agent turned private eye, a sculptor lothario who speaks to the dead, and an eccentric profiler known as “the living Sherlock Holmes”—were heartsick over the growing tide of unsolved murders of innocents. They decided one day over lunch that something had to be done, and pledged themselves to a grand quest for justice. The three men invited the greatest collection of forensic investigators ever assembled, drawn from five continents, to the Downtown Club in Philadelphia to begin an audacious quest: to bring the coldest killers in the world to an accounting. Named for the first modern detective, the Parisian Eugéne François Vidocq - the flamboyant Napoleonic real-life sleuth who inspired Sherlock Holmes - the Vidocq Society meets monthly in its secretive chambers to solve a cold murder over a gourmet lunch.

The Murder Room draws the listener into a chilling, darkly humorous, awe-inspiring world as the three partners travel far from their Victorian dining room to hunt the ruthless killers of a millionaire's son, a serial killer who carves off faces, and a child killer enjoying fifty years of freedom and dark fantasy.

Michael Capuzzo's brilliant storytelling gifts bring true crime to life more realistically and vividly than it has ever been portrayed before. It is a world of dazzlingly bright forensic science; true evil as old as the Bible and dark as the pages of Dostoevsky; and a group of flawed, passionate men and women, inspired by their own wounded hearts to make a stand for truth, goodness, and justice in a world gone mad.

©2010 Michael Capuzzo (P)2010 Simon and Schuster Audio

Great Real Life Mysteries & real life relationship

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This book has the advantages of both a great characters and fascinating mysteries. This book's characters' drive the plot and the murders they solve are written as vignettes. Cyclical in his story telling, Michael Capuzzo captures how life can tangle within others lives. If you enjoy mysteries, like Agatha Christie, you will love this book. If you are a fan of James Patterson, this might be a fun brake, but it is not suspenseful (it is character driven not plot driven).

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Murder Room?

The end of the book, but I'm not giving it away.

What about Adam Grupper’s performance did you like?

Adam Grupper has done a great job representing the three main protagonist.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

The heirs of Sherlock Holmes.

real life forensics

I was captivated from the first page. We meet the Vidocq Society: the world's leading forensic experts and detectives. Meet the living Sherlock Holmes, Richard Walter, the brilliant and eccentric forensic artist Frank Bender and William Lynn Fleisher of the US Customs learn why and how they became among the very best in the world at catching murderers. The Vidocq Society only undertakes cold cases, and murders. Author Michael Capuzzo explains "When the world breaks and needs fixing, the thing to do is find the right three men."

Great book

Kinda jumps around a little bit, but overall a solid read. However, the ending?!! Wtf!? Who did it?????

Couldn’t stop listening

Except for the very end what an incredible book.
Vidak society is doing incredible work and I hope they continue for many years.

I expected more

What did you like best about The Murder Room? What did you like least?

I liked the characters

Has The Murder Room turned you off from other books in this genre?

Not really

Which character – as performed by Adam Grupper – was your favorite?

The reconstruction artist

Did The Murder Room inspire you to do anything?

Not really

Any additional comments?

I didn't appreciate the fact that many of the cases brought before the committee were not solved or not explained as being solved

Entertaining, Educational and Engrossing!

I purchased this book because I was looking for content about criminal profiling. The title, "Murder Room," threw me off because it made me wonder if the content was mostly fluff, or a serious and empirical focus on criminal profiling.

Well, I am happy to report that the "Murder Room" is a superior choice for those interested in learning about criminal profiling!!! MR is a serious and historical and biographical look at our best criminal profilers and the art of criminal profiling.

Before MR, I knew little about Vidoq; nothing about the Vidoq Society or their role in solving cold cases. (Actually, I thought Allan Pinkerton was the "father" of modern criminal investigation.)

MR shows how the convergence of psychology, art, unconventional thinking, collaboration, TV, persistence, creativity and altruism led to the solving of "unsolvable" cold cases.

My only regret is that I wish it were longer! : ))

Couldn’t finish….

The stories were hard to follow. Couldn’t stay engaged. Couldn’t finish it. Jumped around a lot.

The Vidocq

This is a book about the Vidocq Society that seeks to solve cold cold crime cases. It is a series of stories relating the group's efforts in solving particular crimes. It is informative and interesting. The writing is good and the narration is very good. The chapters are a little disjointed for my taste and the "solutions" to the crimes always seem to be right on for the society. On the other hand, the book is entertaining and worth the time - particularly if you are looking for an interesting diversion in a commute.

The Best Book on Murder in Literature

It’s non fiction as thrilling as any murder mystery.. you can’t go wrong with this one.

great book

I actually order this book by mistake. it grabbed me write from the start! The book was informative, entertaining, sad, and inspiring
It's been a while since I had a book that I couldn't wait to get back to! The narrator was perfect for this book. I would highly recommend it!