The Curse of Pietro Houdini
A Novel
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy Now for $26.21
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Gabra Zackman
-
Written by:
-
Derek B. Miller
About this listen
A vivid, thrilling, and moving World War II art-heist-adventure tale where enemies become heroes, allies become villains, and a child learns what it means to become an adult—that “has the ring of truth and the echo of myth…[deserving of] all the lucky readers who discover it” (The Wall Street Journal).
August, 1943. Fourteen-year-old Massimo is all alone. Newly orphaned and fleeing from Rome after surviving a bombing raid that killed his parents, Massimo is attacked by thugs and finds himself bloodied at the base of the Montecassino. It is there in the Benedictine abbey’s shadow that a charismatic and cryptic man calling himself Pietro Houdini, the self-proclaimed “Master Artist and confidante of the Vatican,” rescues Massimo and makes him an assistant in preserving the treasures that lay within the monastery walls.
But can Massimo believe what Pietro is saying, particularly when Massimo has secrets too? Who is this extraordinary man? When it becomes evident that Montecassino will soon become the front line in the war, Pietro Houdini and Massimo plan to smuggle three priceless Titian paintings to safety down the mountain. They are joined by a vivid cast of characters and together they will lie, cheat, steal, fight, kill, and sin their way through battlefields to survive, all while smuggling the Renaissance masterpieces and the bag full of ancient Greek gold they have rescued from the “safe keeping” of the Germans.
Heartfelt, powerfully engaging, and in the tradition of Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See, this is a work of storytelling bravado: a thrilling action-packed art heist, an imaginative chronicle of forgotten history, and a poignant coming-of-age epic where a child navigates one of the most morally complex fronts of World War II and lives to tell the tale.
You may also enjoy...
-
Under the Paper Moon
- Written by: Shaina Steinberg
- Narrated by: Carrie Coello
- Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's 1942, and as far as her father knows, Evelyn Bishop, heiress to an aeronautics fortune, is working as a translator in London. In truth, Evelyn—daring, beautiful, and as adept with a rifle as she is in five languages—has joined the Office of Strategic Services as a spy. Her goal is personal: to find her brother, who is being held as a POW in a Nazi labor camp. Through one high-risk mission after another, she is paired with the reckless and rebellious Nick Gallagher, growing ever close to him until the war's end brings with it an act of deep betrayal.
-
-
anachronistic almost to the point of ridulous
- By Anonymous User on 2024-11-15
Written by: Shaina Steinberg
-
Sipsworth
- Written by: Simon Van Booy
- Narrated by: Christine Rendel
- Length: 5 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Following the deaths of her husband and son, Helen Cartwright returns to the English village of her childhood after living abroad for six decades. Her only wish is to die quickly and without fuss. Helen retreats into her home on Westminster Crescent, becoming a creature of routine and habit. Then, one cold autumn night, a chance encounter with an abandoned pet mouse on the street outside her house sets Helen on a surprising journey of friendship.
-
-
Delightful!
- By Anonymous User on 2024-10-22
Written by: Simon Van Booy
-
Meet Me at the Starlight
- Written by: Rachel Hauck
- Narrated by: Andrea Gallo, Nick Walther, Morgan Hallett
- Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
1987. Supermodel Harlow Hayes seeks solace in a quaint Florida beach town to heal from a heartbreak that shattered her entire world. To her surprise, she encounters Matt Knight—a Hollywood A-lister with a bad-boy reputation—who has returned to his hometown to help his plucky grandmother, Tuesday, save her century-old skating rink, the Starlight.
-
-
Not for me
- By Anonymous User on 2024-12-06
Written by: Rachel Hauck
-
A Rough Way to Go
- Written by: Sam Garonzik
- Narrated by: Victor Warren
- Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this all-consuming, suspenseful story, a stay-at-home father with something to prove finds a wealthy Wall Street investor's body washed up on the shore—and decides to take the investigation into his own hands…
-
-
Good story but some sections are way too rambling.
- By Anonymous User on 2024-11-29
Written by: Sam Garonzik
-
Memories of the Lost
- A Novel
- Written by: Barbara O'Neal
- Narrated by: Sarah Zimmerman
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Months after her mother passes away, artist Tillie Morrisey sees a painting in a gallery that leaves her inexplicably lightheaded and unsteady. When a handsome stranger comes to her aid, their connection is so immediate it seems fated, though Liam is only visiting for a few days. Working on her own art has always been a refuge, but after discovering a document among her mother’s belongings that suggests Tillie’s life has been a lie, she begins to suffer from a series of fugue states, with memories surfacing that she isn’t even sure are her own.
-
-
Waiting for something big, but never happened.
- By Anonymous User on 2024-11-30
Written by: Barbara O'Neal
-
The Stepford Wives
- Written by: Ira Levin
- Narrated by: January LaVoy, Grover Gardner
- Length: 3 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Joanna Eberhart is a creative, self-possessed wife and mother, newly arrived in seemingly idyllic Stepford, Connecticut. But as she and her family begin settling in, she’s jarred by the unaccountable sameness of the local wives: all flawlessly attractive, with perfectly maintained homes—and little seeming interest in anything else. As curiosity turns to concern, Joanna finds herself unraveling a web of malice that threatens her very existence.
-
-
Elegantly Read and Perfectly Unsettling
- By Anonymous User on 2024-05-10
Written by: Ira Levin
-
Under the Paper Moon
- Written by: Shaina Steinberg
- Narrated by: Carrie Coello
- Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's 1942, and as far as her father knows, Evelyn Bishop, heiress to an aeronautics fortune, is working as a translator in London. In truth, Evelyn—daring, beautiful, and as adept with a rifle as she is in five languages—has joined the Office of Strategic Services as a spy. Her goal is personal: to find her brother, who is being held as a POW in a Nazi labor camp. Through one high-risk mission after another, she is paired with the reckless and rebellious Nick Gallagher, growing ever close to him until the war's end brings with it an act of deep betrayal.
-
-
anachronistic almost to the point of ridulous
- By Anonymous User on 2024-11-15
Written by: Shaina Steinberg
-
Sipsworth
- Written by: Simon Van Booy
- Narrated by: Christine Rendel
- Length: 5 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Following the deaths of her husband and son, Helen Cartwright returns to the English village of her childhood after living abroad for six decades. Her only wish is to die quickly and without fuss. Helen retreats into her home on Westminster Crescent, becoming a creature of routine and habit. Then, one cold autumn night, a chance encounter with an abandoned pet mouse on the street outside her house sets Helen on a surprising journey of friendship.
-
-
Delightful!
- By Anonymous User on 2024-10-22
Written by: Simon Van Booy
-
Meet Me at the Starlight
- Written by: Rachel Hauck
- Narrated by: Andrea Gallo, Nick Walther, Morgan Hallett
- Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
1987. Supermodel Harlow Hayes seeks solace in a quaint Florida beach town to heal from a heartbreak that shattered her entire world. To her surprise, she encounters Matt Knight—a Hollywood A-lister with a bad-boy reputation—who has returned to his hometown to help his plucky grandmother, Tuesday, save her century-old skating rink, the Starlight.
-
-
Not for me
- By Anonymous User on 2024-12-06
Written by: Rachel Hauck
-
A Rough Way to Go
- Written by: Sam Garonzik
- Narrated by: Victor Warren
- Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this all-consuming, suspenseful story, a stay-at-home father with something to prove finds a wealthy Wall Street investor's body washed up on the shore—and decides to take the investigation into his own hands…
-
-
Good story but some sections are way too rambling.
- By Anonymous User on 2024-11-29
Written by: Sam Garonzik
-
Memories of the Lost
- A Novel
- Written by: Barbara O'Neal
- Narrated by: Sarah Zimmerman
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Months after her mother passes away, artist Tillie Morrisey sees a painting in a gallery that leaves her inexplicably lightheaded and unsteady. When a handsome stranger comes to her aid, their connection is so immediate it seems fated, though Liam is only visiting for a few days. Working on her own art has always been a refuge, but after discovering a document among her mother’s belongings that suggests Tillie’s life has been a lie, she begins to suffer from a series of fugue states, with memories surfacing that she isn’t even sure are her own.
-
-
Waiting for something big, but never happened.
- By Anonymous User on 2024-11-30
Written by: Barbara O'Neal
-
The Stepford Wives
- Written by: Ira Levin
- Narrated by: January LaVoy, Grover Gardner
- Length: 3 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Joanna Eberhart is a creative, self-possessed wife and mother, newly arrived in seemingly idyllic Stepford, Connecticut. But as she and her family begin settling in, she’s jarred by the unaccountable sameness of the local wives: all flawlessly attractive, with perfectly maintained homes—and little seeming interest in anything else. As curiosity turns to concern, Joanna finds herself unraveling a web of malice that threatens her very existence.
-
-
Elegantly Read and Perfectly Unsettling
- By Anonymous User on 2024-05-10
Written by: Ira Levin
-
Ordinary Human Failings
- A Novel
- Written by: Megan Nolan
- Narrated by: Jessica Regan
- Length: 5 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's 1990 in London and Tom Hargreaves has it all: a burgeoning career as a reporter, fierce ambition and a brisk disregard for the "peasants"—ordinary people, his readers, easy tabloid fodder. His star seems set to rise when he stumbles across a sensational scoop: a dead child on a London estate, grieving parents beloved across the neighborhood, and the finger of suspicion pointing at one reclusive family of Irish immigrants and “bad apples”: the Greens. At their heart sits Carmel: beautiful, otherworldly, broken, and once destined for a future beyond her circumstances.
-
-
The characters came to life as their stories unfolded.
- By Anonymous User on 2024-09-17
Written by: Megan Nolan
-
Everyone Knows but You
- A Tale of Murder on the Maine Coast
- Written by: Thomas E. Ricks
- Narrated by: Graham Rowat
- Length: 6 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After his wife and two children are killed in a car crash, Ryan Tapia starts a new life in Maine. But his first case there is a puzzling oddball—the corpse of a fisherman washes up on federal land, while the man's boat drifts into waters that are part of an Indian reservation.
-
-
Maine is the main character
- By Anonymous User on 2024-12-05
Written by: Thomas E. Ricks
-
The Sanctuary
- Written by: Andrew Hunter Murray
- Narrated by: Andrew Hunter Murray
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ben is a painter from the crowded, turbulent city. For six months his fiancée, Cara, has been working on the remote island of Sanctuary Rock, the private estate of millionaire philanthropist Sir John Pemberley. Now she has decided to break off their engagement and stay there for good. Ben travels to the island to try and win Cara back. After an arduous journey, he finds himself compelled to stay. But as Ben begins to traverse Pemberley’s kingdom, he begins to uncover the truth of the apparently perfect society the enigmatic Sir John is building.
Written by: Andrew Hunter Murray
-
The Flower Sisters
- Written by: Michelle Collins Anderson
- Narrated by: Jim Frangione, Andrea Gallo, L.J. Ganser, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At birth, Violet and Rose Flowers were identical, save for a tiny bluish-purple mark gracing Violet’s slender neck. By nineteen, their temperaments distinguish them, as different as the flowers their mother named them for—Violet, wild and outgoing, and Rose, solitary and reserved. Still, they are each other’s world. Then, on a sweltering, terrible August night in 1928, an explosion rocks Lamb’s Dance Hall in Possum Flats, Missouri, engulfing it in flames, leaving one twin among the dozens dead, and her sister’s life forever changed.
-
-
Enjoyable
- By Anonymous User on 2024-10-04
Written by: Michelle Collins Anderson
-
The Asteroid Hunter
- A Scientist's Journey to the Dawn of Our Solar System
- Written by: Dante Lauretta
- Narrated by: Dante Lauretta, Sir Brian May
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On September 11, 1999, humanity made a monumental discovery in the vastness of space. Scientists uncovered an asteroid of immense scientific importance—a colossal celestial entity. As massive as an aircraft carrier and towering as high as the iconic Empire State Building, this cosmic titan was later named Bennu. Remarkable for much more than its size, Bennu belonged to a rare breed of asteroids capable of revealing the essence of life itself. But just as Bennu became a beacon of promise, researchers identified a grave danger.
Written by: Dante Lauretta
-
The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson
- A Novel
- Written by: Ellen Baker
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 13 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1924, four-year-old Cecily Larson’s mother reluctantly drops her off at an orphanage in Chicago, promising to be back once she’s made enough money to support both Cecily and herself. But she never returns, and shortly after high-spirited Cecily turns seven, she is sold to a traveling circus to perform as the “little sister” to glamorous bareback rider Isabelle DuMonde. With Isabelle and the rest of the circus, Cecily finally feels she’s found the family she craves.
-
-
Lovely Characters
- By Anonymous User on 2024-11-18
Written by: Ellen Baker
-
If the Tide Turns
- Written by: Rachel Rueckert
- Narrated by: Pilar Witherspoon
- Length: 12 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set during the Golden Age of Pirates and the shadowy aftermath of the Salem witch trials, this vivid literary debut is inspired by the captivating true story of real-life pirate Samuel Bellamy, combining high seas adventure, star-crossed longing, surprisingly timely questions about social justice and freedom, and the emotionally satisfying tale of one strong-willed young woman determined to choose her own path.
-
-
🥹
- By @haylingbookstorm on 2024-07-23
Written by: Rachel Rueckert
-
Take the Long Way Home
- Written by: Rochelle Alers
- Narrated by: Jasmin Walker
- Length: 15 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Freedom fighter, brilliant businessperson, devoted wife, master of languages, and ultimately, savior of a European dynasty. Claudia Patterson would become all of these—spurred on by the fiercely powerful loves and losses along the way … Denny Clark. An abused thirteen-year-old White boy whose life twelve-year-old Claudia saves—complicating her own life for years to come.
Written by: Rochelle Alers
-
When the World Goes Quiet
- A Novel
- Written by: Gian Sardar
- Narrated by: Jesse Vilinsky
- Length: 12 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It’s 1918 in German-occupied Bruges, Belgium. With luck, Evelien will make it to the end of the war and be given what she was promised: a prized painting in exchange for safeguarding her employer’s possessions. Until then, Evelien knows to keep her head down and stay out of trouble. But life never goes to plan, especially in war. A member of the Resistance approaches Evelien: steal a list of names hidden in her employer’s home.
-
-
Great story
- By Anonymous User on 2024-09-10
Written by: Gian Sardar
-
A Lady's Guide to Marvels and Misadventure
- Written by: Angela Bell
- Narrated by: Beverley A. Crick
- Length: 12 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Miss Clara Marie Stanton's family may be eccentric, but they certainly aren't insane. London, England, 1860: When Clara's ex-fiancé begins to spread rumors that her family suffers from hereditary insanity, it's all she can do to protect them from his desperate schemes, society's prejudice, and a lifetime in an asylum. Then Clara's grandfather Drosselmeyer brings on an apprentice with a mechanical leg, and all pretense of normalcy takes wing.
-
-
TW: excessive religiosity
- By Devonius on 2024-10-22
Written by: Angela Bell
-
The Vineyard Remains
- A Novel
- Written by: Addison McKnight
- Narrated by: Carlotta Brentan, Maria McCann, Angelina Rocca
- Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A desperate murder committed by Angela Miller’s mother tore Angela’s life apart and brought her to Martha’s Vineyard to live with her wealthy grandparents. It’s where her cousin, Kiki King, was born and raised, and Kiki now wants nothing more than to see the world beyond its sandy perimeter. Kiki’s mother escaped it. She took a late-night swim off Tashmoo Beach and was never seen again.
-
-
Unlikeable characters, weak women and selfish men.
- By Anonymous User on 2024-09-26
Written by: Addison McKnight
-
The Witchstone
- Written by: Henry H. Neff
- Narrated by: Ramiz Monsef
- Length: 17 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Meet Laszlo, eight-hundred-year-old demon and Hell’s least productive Curse Keeper. From his office beneath Midtown, he oversees the Drakeford Curse, which involves a pathetic family upstate and a mysterious black monolith. It’s a sexy enough assignment—colonial origins, mutating victims, et cetera—but Laszlo has no interest in maximizing the curse’s potential; he’d rather sunbathe in Ibiza, quaff martinis, and hustle the hustlers on Manhattan’s subway.
-
-
Complicated anti-heroes you hate to love!
- By Anonymous User on 2024-07-20
Written by: Henry H. Neff
What listeners say about The Curse of Pietro Houdini
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Anonymous User
- 2024-11-01
Amazing story
Great and courageous characters and wonderful geographical descriptions. I was on the edge of my seat often.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!