Not a Very Good Murderer Audiobook By Ronan Farrow cover art

Not a Very Good Murderer

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Not a Very Good Murderer

By: Ronan Farrow
Narrated by: Ronan Farrow
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Kidnapping plots, arson, jewel heists, attempted murder–just another day in Paradise...Valley, Arizona.

In this wild, genre-bending audio documentary, New York Times best-selling author and Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Ronan Farrow dives deep into the strange and storied life of high-society socialite and former Miss Arizona Celia (Cece) Doane.

As a well-to-do ex-beauty queen in the 1970s, Cece had no trouble attracting husbands. She did appear to have some trouble getting rid of them, though. Under seemingly perpetual investigation for attempted murder plots against two of her spouses, she has been a “person of interest” to Arizona law enforcement for decades but never arrested. Did she actually conspire to have her husbands killed? And if so, how has she managed to elude detectives for so many years?

Through countless hours of interviews and painstaking investigative legwork, Farrow examines Cece’s checkered past, exposing a web of half-truths and omissions that shed new light on this shocking and confounding case. But what happens when he realizes that his most important source may also be his most unreliable?

Part true crime thriller, part captivating character study, Not a Very Good Murderer is a fascinating exploration of what it takes to uncover the truth and what it means to keep it buried.

©2025 Ronan Farrow (P)2025 Audible Originals, LLC.

Accolades & Awards

Best of 2025
Editors Select
Best of 2025 Editors Select Murder True Crime Heists & Robberies Scary Biographies & Memoirs Serial Killers

Editorial Review

The journalist and the not-very-good murderer
I knew Ronan Farrow’s first Audible Original was going to be juicy, but even I wasn’t prepared for CeCe Doane. A former Miss Arizona and Rolls Royce-driving fixture of wealthy Paradise Valley, AZ, Doane first caught Farrow’s attention when she tweeted about a story he was working on, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist soon found himself with a fascinating new subject. Had this eccentric woman really tried to kill her husband with Viagra, as a witness claimed—and if so, why was the couple still together more than two decades later? In this riveting character study-meets-true crime investigation, Farrow gradually reveals a nesting doll of family secrets, high-profile politics, scandalous gossip and one unreliable woman at the centre of it all. I loved hearing Farrow’s deep reporting and CeCe’s larger-than-life persona take shape in this voice-driven documentary, which adds needed nuance to the current obsession with female villains, con artists and shades-of-gray criminals. —Kat J., Audible Editor

Fascinating Character Study • Compelling Investigative Journalism • Intriguing Real-life Drama • Meticulous Research

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Part documentary part true crime part real housewives and totally fascinating! Highly recommend and please do more of these! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

OBSESSED!! So well written and so well performed!

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I really enjoy Ronan’s interviewing style and his story writing, and I have loved all of his work so far, so I maybe went into this with too high of expectations. While I thought the premise was interesting, by the final episode, I was searching hard for the point of this story and couldn’t really find one? Maybe someone can help me out there. I did not find there to be many redeeming qualities for Cece, and there was no real resolution, just a lot of ramblings of a narcissist. Ronan’s investigative journalism has been so thought provoking and inspiring to me in the past, but this really fell flat for me. Still, I listened to the whole thing because I enjoy Ronan that much.

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The story was intriguing and while short, was an interesting character study. I liked it enough to purchase another of his works

Interesting and Well-written

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what an interesting story. and great narration. I was very impressed by the author and the care he took to present the facts. I look forward to more. from Ronan.

such an interesting story.

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... like I understand it's a character study and I enjoy listening to Ronan's voice and I feel like he really thoroughly researched her (not particularly fond of listening to CiCi's drunken voice but 🤷‍♀️) but at the end of the day I'm still left feeling like it was a waste of time. Respectfully. I feel like I was set up to get a revelation at the end that just wasn't there...

I'm still unclear what the point was

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