
The Black Mass of Brother Springer
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $19.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Kevin Free
About this listen
"No one writes a better crime novel than Charles Willeford" (Elmore Leonard)
The Black Mass of Brother Springer tells the story of Sam Springer, a drifter novelist who meets Jack Dover, the retiring Abbot of the Church of God's Flock. Dover's final official act is to ordain Springer and send him off to serve as pastor of an all-Black church in Jacksonville, Florida. Springer soon becomes entangled in the city's growing civil rights movement...and with the church deacon's earthy young wife, Merita.
The Washington Post calls this darkly humorous novel by Charles Willeford, one of the great crime writers of the 20th century, "his masterpiece".
©1989, 2003 Betsy Willeford (P)2020 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Kiss Your Ass Goodbye
- By: Charles Willeford
- Narrated by: Dan Bittner
- Length: 4 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this classic Miami crime story and thriller, from the writer acclaimed for his Hoke Moseley novels, a man's life is threatened when he discovers his new lover is married.
-
-
Great fun, but already in Shark Infested Custard
- By GioSailor on 03-17-25
-
Something About a Soldier
- By: Charles Willeford
- Narrated by: Dan McGowan
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This funny, rich, raunchy autobiography re-creates the adventures of a very young soldier in the US Army at the height of the Depression. Charles Willeford was 16 in 1935 when he signed up and was sent to the Philippines. And the Philippines of those days was like a place out of another century. Willeford’s job was to fuel aircraft whose pilots treated him and his buddies almost like slaves. At night, however, he was a lord, fully exploring a great, timeless, and sensual city with a multitude of women available - even on a private’s pay.
-
-
A window into a writers past
- By Maracapozzi on 04-29-23
-
The Shark-Infested Custard
- By: Charles Willeford
- Narrated by: Mike Carnes, Dan Bitner, Josh Goodman, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Larry Dolman is a rather literal-minded ex-cop who now works private security. Eddie Miller is an airline pilot who's studying to get his real estate license. Don Luchessi is a silver salesman who's separated from his wife, but too Catholic to get a divorce. Hank Norton is a drug company rep who gets four times as many dames as any of the other guys. When a friendly bet goes horribly awry, they find themselves with two dead bodies on their hands and a homicidal husband in the wings - and acting more like hardened criminals than upstanding citizens.
-
-
Wild times back in Florida
- By GioSailor on 09-21-24
-
Pick-Up
- By: Charles Willeford
- Narrated by: Benjamin Charles
- Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The unblinking story of two lost and self-destructive drifters - a failed painter working as a counterman in a cheap diner and a woman in flight from domestic violence - trying to find a place for themselves in the back streets of San Francisco, Pick-Up is hardboiled writing at its nihilistic best.
-
-
one of CWs best
- By Vincent on 10-31-21
-
Cockfighter
- By: Charles Willeford
- Narrated by: Jim Steele
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A former professional boxer, actor, horse trainer and radio announcer, Charles Willeford is best known for his Miami-based crime novels featuring hard-boiled detective Hoke Moseley, including Miami Blues and Sideswipe. Of Cockfighter, Harry Crews said, “Charles Willeford renders the sport with such knowledge and attention to detail that...had the almost inexpressible impression of being on my knees again beside the great fighting pits of the southern circuit.
-
-
Great Author, Great Story
- By Paraskevi on 01-06-21
-
The Burnt Orange Heresy
- A Novel
- By: Charles Willeford
- Narrated by: Adam Verner
- Length: 5 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fast-talking, backstabbing, womanizing, and fiercely ambitious art critic James Figueras will do anything - blackmail, burglary, and beyond - to make a name for himself. When an unscrupulous collector offers Figueras a career-making chance to interview Jacques Debierue, the greatest living - and most reclusive - artist, the critic must decide how far he will go to become the art-world celebrity he hungers to be. Will Figueras stop at the opportunity to skim some cream for himself or push beyond morality's limits to a bigger payoff?
-
-
Portrait of an Artist as a Immobilized Hero
- By Rich S. on 07-05-21
-
Kiss Your Ass Goodbye
- By: Charles Willeford
- Narrated by: Dan Bittner
- Length: 4 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this classic Miami crime story and thriller, from the writer acclaimed for his Hoke Moseley novels, a man's life is threatened when he discovers his new lover is married.
-
-
Great fun, but already in Shark Infested Custard
- By GioSailor on 03-17-25
-
Something About a Soldier
- By: Charles Willeford
- Narrated by: Dan McGowan
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This funny, rich, raunchy autobiography re-creates the adventures of a very young soldier in the US Army at the height of the Depression. Charles Willeford was 16 in 1935 when he signed up and was sent to the Philippines. And the Philippines of those days was like a place out of another century. Willeford’s job was to fuel aircraft whose pilots treated him and his buddies almost like slaves. At night, however, he was a lord, fully exploring a great, timeless, and sensual city with a multitude of women available - even on a private’s pay.
-
-
A window into a writers past
- By Maracapozzi on 04-29-23
-
The Shark-Infested Custard
- By: Charles Willeford
- Narrated by: Mike Carnes, Dan Bitner, Josh Goodman, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Larry Dolman is a rather literal-minded ex-cop who now works private security. Eddie Miller is an airline pilot who's studying to get his real estate license. Don Luchessi is a silver salesman who's separated from his wife, but too Catholic to get a divorce. Hank Norton is a drug company rep who gets four times as many dames as any of the other guys. When a friendly bet goes horribly awry, they find themselves with two dead bodies on their hands and a homicidal husband in the wings - and acting more like hardened criminals than upstanding citizens.
-
-
Wild times back in Florida
- By GioSailor on 09-21-24
-
Pick-Up
- By: Charles Willeford
- Narrated by: Benjamin Charles
- Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The unblinking story of two lost and self-destructive drifters - a failed painter working as a counterman in a cheap diner and a woman in flight from domestic violence - trying to find a place for themselves in the back streets of San Francisco, Pick-Up is hardboiled writing at its nihilistic best.
-
-
one of CWs best
- By Vincent on 10-31-21
-
Cockfighter
- By: Charles Willeford
- Narrated by: Jim Steele
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A former professional boxer, actor, horse trainer and radio announcer, Charles Willeford is best known for his Miami-based crime novels featuring hard-boiled detective Hoke Moseley, including Miami Blues and Sideswipe. Of Cockfighter, Harry Crews said, “Charles Willeford renders the sport with such knowledge and attention to detail that...had the almost inexpressible impression of being on my knees again beside the great fighting pits of the southern circuit.
-
-
Great Author, Great Story
- By Paraskevi on 01-06-21
-
The Burnt Orange Heresy
- A Novel
- By: Charles Willeford
- Narrated by: Adam Verner
- Length: 5 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fast-talking, backstabbing, womanizing, and fiercely ambitious art critic James Figueras will do anything - blackmail, burglary, and beyond - to make a name for himself. When an unscrupulous collector offers Figueras a career-making chance to interview Jacques Debierue, the greatest living - and most reclusive - artist, the critic must decide how far he will go to become the art-world celebrity he hungers to be. Will Figueras stop at the opportunity to skim some cream for himself or push beyond morality's limits to a bigger payoff?
-
-
Portrait of an Artist as a Immobilized Hero
- By Rich S. on 07-05-21
-
Spellbinder
- By: Harold Robbins
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 11 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Spellbinder is the story of a genuine and charismatic believer simply known as "Preacher", who returns from the foxholes and horrors of Vietnam with a simple goal: to spread the word of peace, love, and charity. He immediately attracts a following as he moves from California communes to small surfing towns. "The Church", as his mobile flock is now known, is a culture that centers as much on sex and drugs as prayers, sacraments, and salvation.
-
-
Spellbinder
- By Gloria Blake on 05-20-18
By: Harold Robbins
-
Bait Money
- A Nolan Novel, Book 1
- By: Max Allan Collins
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 5 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The mob couldn’t kill him, the cops couldn’t catch him, and even time wouldn’t slow him down. His name’s Nolan...a shrewd, restless tough guy with a talent for theft. With a lifetime of heists under his belt and a bullet in his side, he’s ready to retire. And the Mafia’s eager to help him along...permanently. They think he’s got a debt to pay - with his life. But at all these years, they might be willing to settle for 100 grand instead. Nolan’s got to pull a bank job to try to save his ass.
-
-
Very good
- By Chris Haynes on 05-12-21
-
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store
- A Novel
- By: James McBride
- Narrated by: Dominic Hoffman
- Length: 12 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new development, the last thing they expected to find was a skeleton at the bottom of a well. Who the skeleton was and how it got there were two of the long-held secrets kept by the residents of Chicken Hill, the dilapidated neighborhood where immigrant Jews and African Americans lived side by side and shared ambitions and sorrows. Chicken Hill was where Moshe and Chona Ludlow lived when Moshe integrated his theater and where Chona ran the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store.
-
-
Multiple Stories Obfuscate Narrative
- By Stephnsea on 08-12-23
By: James McBride
-
The Lincoln Highway
- A Read with Jenna Pick (A Novel)
- By: Amor Towles
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini, Marin Ireland, Dion Graham
- Length: 16 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In June, 1954, eighteen-year-old Emmett Watson is driven home to Nebraska by the warden of the juvenile work farm where he has just served fifteen months for involuntary manslaughter. His mother long gone, his father recently deceased, and the family farm foreclosed upon by the bank, Emmett's intention is to pick up his eight-year-old brother, Billy, and head to California where they can start their lives anew. But when the warden drives away, Emmett discovers that two friends from the work farm have hidden themselves in the trunk of the warden's car.
-
-
I'm totally opposite
- By Meaghan Bynum on 10-10-21
By: Amor Towles
-
One Good Deed
- By: David Baldacci
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's 1949. When war veteran Aloysius Archer is released from Carderock Prison, he is sent to Poca City on parole with a short list of dos and a much longer list of don'ts: do report regularly to his parole officer, don't go to bars, certainly don't drink alcohol, do get a job - and don't ever associate with loose women. The small town quickly proves more complicated and dangerous than Archer's years serving in the war or his time in jail.
-
-
Superior Historical Crime novel!!
- By shelley on 07-24-19
By: David Baldacci
-
The Secrets We Kept: Reese's Book Club
- A Novel
- By: Lara Prescott
- Narrated by: Carlotta Brentan, Cynthia Farrell, Mozhan Marnò, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the height of the Cold War, two secretaries are pulled out of the typing pool at the CIA and given the assignment of a lifetime. Their mission: to smuggle Doctor Zhivago out of the USSR, where no one dare publish it, and help Pasternak's magnum opus make its way into print around the world. Glamorous and sophisticated Sally Forrester is a seasoned spy who has honed her gift for deceit all over the world - using her magnetism and charm to pry secrets out of powerful men. Irina is a complete novice, and is under Sally's tutelage....
-
-
Eh...it was ok.
- By Nunya on 09-06-19
By: Lara Prescott
-
The Key to Rebecca
- By: Ken Follett
- Narrated by: Tim Downie
- Length: 11 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A brilliant and ruthless Nazi master agent is on the loose in Cairo. His mission is to send Rommel’s advancing army the secrets that will unlock the city’s doors. In all of Cairo, only two people can stop him. One is a down-on-his-luck English officer no one will listen to. The other is a vulnerable young Jewish girl....
-
-
Christ the Savior
- By camille hobbs on 03-23-21
By: Ken Follett
-
Sister Betty! God's Calling You, Again!
- By: Pat G’orge-Walker
- Narrated by: Lizan Mitchell
- Length: 7 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gospel comedy queen Pat G'orge-Walker regales listeners with the hilarious antics of Sister Betty and her South Carolina friends, big-hearted Ma Cile and redhaired Sister Connie Fuse. But things don't really start shakin' until on-the-make Deacon Laid Handz, manhungry Sister Carrie Onn, and conniving Reverend Knott Enuff Money get into the act. And yet for all of its rollicking humor, this book is brimming with profound and, at times, pointed truths about church life.
-
-
The funniest book ever
- By Hameyo on 06-18-12
-
Babbitt
- By: Sinclair Lewis
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the surface, everything is all right with Babbitt’s world of the solid, successful businessman. But in reality, George F. Babbitt is a lonely, middle-aged man. He doesn’t understand his family, has an unsuccessful attempt at an affair, and is almost financially ruined when he dares to voice sympathy for some striking workers. Babbitt finds that his only safety lies deep in the fold of those who play it safe. He is a man who has added a new word to our language: a “Babbitt,” meaning someone who conforms unthinkingly, a sheep.
-
-
Jonathan Franzen, circa 1922
- By Joe Kraus on 04-09-16
By: Sinclair Lewis
-
About Time
- 12 Short Stories
- By: Jack Finney
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, James Anderson Foster, Steven Jay Cohen, and others
- Length: 7 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
About Time offers a delightful return to the world of time travel and light comedy that distinguished Jack Finney’s all-time classic Time and Again. The protagonists of these 12 stories are well-meaning but at odds with their surroundings and their lives. The time to which they escape - through time travel - doesn’t always fulfill their expectations in the way they had hoped, but sometimes, they can still find their dreams.
-
-
Finney always good
- By Darryl on 07-02-20
By: Jack Finney
-
The Dream Merchants
- By: Harold Robbins
- Narrated by: Paul Costanzo
- Length: 19 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Johnny Edge, a former carnival barker, schemes and plots his way to the top while Peter Kessler turns his back on a staid life of small-town stability to stake his fortune on the movie business. Beautiful starlet Dulcie Warren is willing to use her sexuality and to play dirty to get to the top, if that's what it takes. When the lives of these three ambitious, determined characters collide, they have the potential to build a dream - or shatter one.
-
-
The worst narrator
- By Philippe Bogdanoff on 10-02-20
By: Harold Robbins
-
Youngblood Hawke
- By: Herman Wouk
- Narrated by: Nick Sullivan
- Length: 41 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Arthur Youngblood Hawke, an ex-Navy man moves from rural Kentucky to New York to assault the citadel of New York publishing with his first novel, an oversized manuscript that becomes an instant success. Toasted by critics and swept along on a tide of popularity, he gives himself over to the lush life that gilds artistic success. Love comes with an affair with an older married woman and an unfulfilled flame with his editor, while wealth pours in with the publication of his second novel, and participation in real-estate developments.
-
-
More than a good yarn
- By Arken on 10-24-18
By: Herman Wouk