The Darkest Night cover art

The Darkest Night

Two Sisters, a Brutal Murder, and the Loss of Innocence in a Small Town

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for £0.00
£8.99/mo thereafter. Renews automatically. Terms apply. Offer ends 31 July 2025 at 23:59 GMT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.

The Darkest Night

By: Ron Franscell
Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
Try for £0.00

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends 31 July 2025 23:59 GMT. Cancel monthly.

Buy Now for £20.99

Buy Now for £20.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

Casper, Wyoming: 1973. Eleven-year-old Amy Burridge rides with her 18-year-old sister, Becky, to the grocery store. When they finish their shopping, Becky's car gets a flat tire. Two men politely offer them a ride home. Yet they were anything but good Samaritans. The girls would suffer unspeakable crimes at the hands of these men before being thrown from a bridge into the North Platte River. One miraculously survived; the other did not.

Years later author and journalist Ron Franscell - a childhood friend and next-door neighbor to the girls - can't forget his hometown's shocking story of abduction, rape, and murder. Exploring the nature of a small town's memory and the poison of survivor guilt, The Darkest Night races toward a shocking ending. The result is one of the most provocative true-crime stories of the decade, told by one of the nation's finest narrative journalists.

©2007 Ron Franscell (P)2015 Tantor Abductions, Kidnapping & Missing Persons Murder True Crime

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Cruel Deception cover art
ShadowMan cover art
The Delphi Murders cover art
The Forever Witness cover art
Manuel: Portrait of a Serial Killer cover art
The Man with the Candy cover art
On the Farm cover art
I: The Creation of a Serial Killer cover art
A Clockwork Murder cover art
Innocent Victims cover art
Helter Skelter cover art
Pathological: The Murderous Rage of Dr. Anthony Garcia cover art
Targeted cover art
A Killer Among Us cover art
The Stranger Beside Me cover art
Without Mercy cover art

Critic reviews

"This uncommon story has every chilling component of human terror, drama and suspense that readers of true crime look for." (Vincent Bugliosi, author of Helter Skelter)
All stars
Most relevant  
As an avid reader of true crime and with a deep interest in the psychology of evil this brilliant telling of an event that I had never before heard of, shook me to the core. Sensitively and beautifully written, Ron Franscell gives us an account of a stand-alone crime and it’s aftermath and the lingering personal guilt and horror still felt amongst an entire community. Having read hundreds of true crime biographies of murder, serial killing and psychopathy, this one affected me more than any other. I thought I’d read and heard it all but no - It’s impossible for me to ever comprehend the extreme acts of depravity and cruelty some human beings are able perform and feel nothing at all.

Profoundly shocking

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is well written book about the most tragic circumstances, the performance was emotive and really drew me in.

Well worth a listen

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Such a heartbreaking story which has been very well written by the author. This is a story that will never leave you once you have read it.

The saddest true crime story I have ever read!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A compelling account of terrible events. Some very interesting sections but a little repetitive and long winded at times. The personal connection with the author added to the story.

Terrible events

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
As a forensic psychologist, I'm rarely surprised by the accounts of crimes I encounter or read about, but I had this on my mind for weeks. The language was compelling and the story told sensitively. A truly heartbreaking tale of so many lives ruined by acts of such callousness that I would genuinely struggle to work with the perpetrators. The language was beautiful in parts and the narration was excellent.

Just heartbreaking

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Well researched, for me structure was fine.
I didn't know the case. So shocking.
Narrator does a superb job. He makes it heart wrenching and anger provoking.
Well worth a listen

not a case I knew.. glad I listened

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Brilliant writing and so very heartfelt. I just wish the author never wrote about Ronald Kennedy’s ‘autobiography’. It was revolting to read his ‘truth’ - a completely false and shameful view of himself - why would this author even bother to put that killer’s words in this book? I feel so sad and lost without Becky and Amy in this world.

A great book slightly ruined by the end.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Sad story like all these stories that happen man is truly the most evil thing in the world hard to believe in god and heaven when i here storys like this ( who was a guy whos wife threw the ashtray at i got lost with that part ) second part is boring do the court case

Worse evil off all is MAN

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This author has that rare knack of being able to immerse you into the story.
Beautifully written, poignant , empathetic, soul wrenchingly tragic and sad .
The killers STORY at the end was a welcome relief ,never heard such nonsense.
Want to read more by this author

Tragic and harrowing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Where does The Darkest Night rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the best

Who was your favorite character and why?

The sister who survived because she was so selfless and thought only of her younger sister

Which character – as performed by Rob Shapiro – was your favourite?

The same

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Fantastic tale

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews