American Mother: The True Story of a Troubled Family, Motherhood, and the Cyanide Murders That Shook the World by Gregg Olsen
Read a chilling account of the crimes of Stella Nickell and her look-alike daughter that describes how Nickell – with the possible help of her daughter – killed her husband in order to collect on an insurance policy.
The Rope: A True Story of Murder, Heroism, and the Dawn of the NAACP by Alex Tresniowski
This page-turning, remarkable true-crime thriller recounts the 1910 murder of 10-year-old Marie Smith in Asbury Park, the dawn of modern criminal detection, and the launch of the NAACP.
American Demon: Eliot Ness and the Hunt for America's Jack the Ripper by Daniel Stashower
Fresh off his headline-grabbing exploits in Chicago, Eliot Ness is confronted with a sadistic killer as brilliant as he was cool and composed, a mastermind who was able to hide in plain sight. American Demon reconstructs this ultimate battle of wits between a hero and a madman.
Blood & Ink: The Scandalous Jazz Age Double Murder That Hooked America on True Crime by Joe Pompeo
This is an investigation of the notorious unsolved 1922 double murder of a New Brunswick high-society minister and his secret mistress, a Jazz Age mega-crime that propelled the nascent tabloid industry and its pandering to the masses with sordid tales of love, sex, money, and murder.
Bone Deep: Untangling the Betsy Faria Murder Case by Charles Bosworth, Jr. & Joel J. Schwartz
A brutal 2011 murder sets off a chain of events leading to one man's wrongful conviction and imprisonment, another man's death, the revelation of a diabolical scheme, and an astounding miscarriage of justice left unresolved for another 10 years.
The Case of the Murderous Dr. Cream: The Hunt for a Victorian Era Serial Killer by Dean Jobb
Framed around one salacious trial in 1891, this is a fascinating and vividly told narrative about the hunt for one of the first known serial killers, whose poisoning spree in the US, Canada, and England coincided with the birth of forensic science as well as the public's growing appetite for crime fiction.
Dead in the Water: A True Story of Hijacking, Murder, and a Global Maritime Conspiracy by Matthew Campbell and Kit Chellel
This shocking expose uncovers an intricate web of conspiracy amidst the lawless, old-world industry at the backbone of our new global economy and the unsolved murder that threatened to unravel it all.
Tracers in the Dark: The Global Hunt for the Crime Lords of Cryptocurrency by Andy Greenberg
This is the propulsive story of a new breed of investigators who have cracked the Bitcoin blockchain, taking once-anonymous realms of money, drugs, and violence and holding them up to the light. This is a cat-and-mouse story and a tale of a technological one-upmanship that's utterly of our time.
Deer Creek Drive: A Reckoning of Memory and Murder in the Mississippi Delta by Beverly Lowry
This is the stunning true story of a bloody murder in a privileged white family, a false accusation against a Black man, a suspicious town, and a sensational trial with colorful lawyers. Lowry tells a story of white privilege that still has ramifications today, and reflects on the brutal crime, its aftermath, and the ways it clarified her own upbringing in Mississippi.
The Man Who Invented Motion Pictures: A True Tale of Obsession, Murder, and the Movies by Paul Fischer
After creating the first true motion pictures in the late 1880s, Louis Le Prince mysteriously disappeared just weeks before unveiling his invention to the world and was never seen or heard from again. Three-and-a-half years later, Thomas Edison, Le Prince's rival, made the device public, claiming to have invented it himself. And the man who had dedicated his life to preserving memories was himself lost to history – until now.
Hell's Half-Acre: The Untold Story of the Benders, a Serial Killer Family on the American Frontier by Susan Jonusas
This is a suspense filled tale of murder on the American frontier – shedding new light on a family of serial killers in Kansas, whose horrifying crimes gripped the attention of a nation still reeling from civil war and spawned a mystery that remains unsolved to this day.
Born to be Hanged: The Epic Story of the Gentlemen Pirates Who Raided the South Seas, Rescued a Princess, and Stole a Fortune by Keith Thomson
The year is 1680, in the heart of the Golden Age of Piracy, and more than 300 daring, hardened pirates gather on a remote Caribbean island. The plan: to wreak havoc on the Pacific coastline, raiding cities, mines, and merchant ships. The booty: the bright gleam of Spanish gold and the chance to become legends.
Trailed: One Woman's Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders by Kathryn Miles
This is a riveting deep dive into the unsolved murder of two free-spirited young women in the wilderness of Shenandoah National Park, a journalist's obsession – and a new theory of who might have done it. It’s a story that reveals the challenges of wilderness forensics and the failures of our justice system.
In the Mouth of the Wolf: A Murder, a Cover-up, and the True Cost of Silencing the Press by Katherine Corcoran
Regina Martínez’s stories for the magazine Proceso laid out the corruption and abuse underlying Mexican politics. In 2012, shortly after Proceso published an article on corruption and two Veracruz politicians, she was bludgeoned to death in her bathroom. The message was clear: No journalist in Mexico was safe. This is a gripping look at how silencing the free press threatens basic protections and rule of law across the globe.
Unmasked: My Life Solving America's Cold Cases by Paul Holes with Robin Gaby Fisher
From the true-crime superstar who found The Golden State Killer, this gripping journey into the mind of a cold-case detective provides a realistic look at the painstaking process of solving the unsolvable and the emotional toll it takes on everyone involved, from the victims and their families to the detectives themselves.
When a Killer Calls: A Haunting Story of Murder, Criminal Profiling, and Justice in a Small Town by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker.
Legendary FBI criminal profiler John Douglas details how the eerily accurate profile he created – alongside his carefully crafted and stage-managed manipulation of the killer's psychology – combined with dedicated police work and cutting-edge forensic science to end a reign of criminal terror.
Murder at Teal's Pond by David Bushman & Mark T. Givens
In 1908, Hazel Drew was found floating in a pond in Sand Lake, New York, beaten to death. The unsolved murder inspired rumors, speculation, ghost stories, and, almost a century later, the phenomenon of Twin Peaks. Who killed Hazel Drew? Like Laura Palmer, she was a paradox of personalities – a young, beautiful puzzle with secrets. Perhaps the even trickier question is: Who was Hazel Drew?
Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks by Patrick Radden Keefe
The author provides scrupulous detail and keen insight into notorious criminal minds while exploring the intricacies of forging $150,000 vintage wines, examining whether a whistleblower who dared to expose money laundering at a Swiss bank is a hero or a fabulist, and chronicling the quest to bring down a cheerful, international black-market arms merchant.
Jimmy the King: Murder, Vice, and the Reign of a Dirty Cop by Gus Garcia-Roberts
This is an incredible four-decade account of murder, power and corruption in one of the country's largest police departments. Novelistic in detail and piercing in its political insight, this book will leave you questioning who modern policing serves, who it protects, and who it preys upon and abandons.
Slenderman: Online Obsession, Mental Illness, and the Violent Crime of Two Midwestern Girls by Kathleen Hale
This is the first full account of the Slenderman stabbing, a true crime narrative of mental illness, the American judicial system, the trials of adolescence, and the power of the internet. Two 12-year-old girls attempted to stab their classmate to death, an act of extreme violence made even more frightening because it was made under the influence of a figure born by the internet: the so-called "Slenderman."
