Not a Very Good Murderer

By: Ronan Farrow

Narrated by: Ronan Farrow

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.

Definitely a Very Good Listen

You know those stories where someone is explaining what happens and it just gets wilder and wilder? This is that. It's amazing how crazy this story gets, and no one even dies. There isn't really much true crime out there on alleged criminals that are bad at being criminals, if that's what actually happened here. Clearly someone here is lying, but who do you choose to believe?

What was the point?

I never quite understood the point of the podcast where the exploration of this person.

Train wreck I could t look away from

I live near Paradise Valley and remember the Die Hard article written about CeCe’s attempt to murder her fourth husband. She’s also an arsonist who set fire to his property, including priceless momentous and photos of his deceased son. (And she apparently attempted to hire a hit man to murder a previous husband.) In a bizarre Stockholm Syndrome reaction, husband #4 stayed with her and still constantly defends her and prevents her from facing or even acknowledging all the horrible things she’s done and the person she actually is.

Ronan Farrow does a masterful job of drawing her out in a sympathetic way without a hint of judgment. He simply allows the facts to speak for themselves: police reports and extensive, well balanced interviews with family members and others whose lives were nearly destroyed by this raging, wealth-equals-privilege narcissist who lives in her own alternate reality. Kudos to her younger daughter, who rose from the crazy-making, abusive childhood created by her mother to create a healthy happy life for herself!

Subtle and spellbinding.

Fascinating, skillful reporting. What a crazy cast of characters leading to truths about our fractured America. I don’t know how Ronan has maintained a grip on compassion, but it’s impressive.

Interesting and disturbing

As the daughter of a narcissist, I listened to this with interest. This woman, who is my age, uses her alcoholism to excuse all of her shortcomings, and conveniently forgets what she doesn't choose to remember. Somehow she finally found a husband, the 4th or 5th, who has enabled her for many years. While not very intelligent, she is an expert manipulator and being rich doesn't hurt. She's far worse than my mother ever was.