Recommended True Crime Books

In the years since Matt Bodine saved Sam Two Wolves' life, the bond between these bloodbrothers becomes legendary, until General George Custer's war on Indians comes to Little Big Horn River and forces the two to choose sides. Reprint.

Signature Killers is a peculiar yet valuable book--repetitious, brilliant, turgid, passionate, and indispensable for understanding serial killers. Those who persevere through the prolix writing style will be rewarded by compelling insights into the...

In 1998, William Queen was a veteran law enforcement agent with a lifelong love of motorcycles and a lack of patience with paperwork. When a “confidential informant” made contact with his boss at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and...

The New York Times bestselling author who investigated the Zodiac case now uncovers a real-life mystery of murder, body doubles, and obsession Marli Renfro was a model who played a part in one of the most iconic scenes in...

Thieves, liars, and killers—it's a criminal world out there, and someone has to write about it. A thrilling collection of the year's best reportage by the aces of the true-crime genre, The Best American Crime Reporting 2009 brings together the...

As a judge or juror in the United States, you have the power to grant millions of dollars in damages, to declare someone guilty or not guilty of a crime, and, in some states, even to decide if another human being should live or die.The twenty...

From the authors of Bodies We've Buried—an uncensored look at real-life CSIs. With a foreword by Patricia Cornwell. For years, Jarrett Hallcox and Amy Welch trained CSIs at the National Forensic Academy in Knoxville, Tennessee. Now they...

Hero, Husband, Father . . . Monster? In Creekstone, Texas, a small, quiet suburb of Houston, football was king . . . and David Temple was a prince. A former high school and college gridiron...

An astonishing true story of bizarre love and lethal obsession in America's last frontier. Mechele Hughes came to Wasilla, Alaska (pop. 4200), looking for a new life and easy money. As an exotic dancer at the Great Alaskan Bush Company...

Sleeping with a monster At first, Linda Bergstrom's marriage to her husband James was idyllic. They were young and in love; he was about to enter the Navy and she was eager to start a family. But it wasn't long before the dream...

Arthur Conan Doyle did not rely on imagination for the amazing cases tackled by his hero, Sherlock Holmes, after all. Drawing on new research that follows the tracks the author left in the real world, Peter Costello details how Conan Doyle's...

Guiltless is a skillfully woven account of real cases investigated by author Lieut. Winona M. Franz, "Nonie", retired, during her long and distinguished career in law enforcement with the Loss Angeles County Sheriff's Department. All major...

"If you're a cop, this book will remind you why you started the job. If you're not, it might help you understand our behavior, and the importance of obtaining all the facts before passing judgment on a cop...it will take you on a roller coaster...

Jennifer Thompson was raped at knifepoint by a man who broke into her apartment while she slept. She was able to escape, and eventually positively identified Ronald Cotton as her attacker. Ronald insisted that she was mistaken-- but Jennifer's...

Thieves, liars, killers, and conspirators—it's a criminal world out there, and someone has got to write about it. An eclectic collection of the year's best reportage, The Best American Crime Reporting 2007 brings together the murderers and...

Charlie Bronson has spent 28 of the last 30 years in solitary confinement, during which time he has gained a fearsome reputation as one of the world's toughest and most dangerous convicts. He has been locked in...

You've read all the stories…but can you match the mobster with the way he met his end? Do you know how they caught the Boston Strangler? Can you define chickens, a Shotaro complex or Colombian neckties?The Killer Book of True Crime is the...

Part financial scandal and part Greek tragedy, this book dramatically humanizes the results of Madoff's scam by focusing on his connection to, and catastrophic impact on, the Jewish community 

The story of the American Mafia is not complete without a chapter on Kansas City. The City of Fountains has appeared in the The Godfather, Casino, and The Sopranos, but many Midwesterners are not aware that Kansas City has affected the fortunes of...

This fascinating A–Z compilation of murderous crimes spans globe and centuries and uncovers the extremes of human criminality. More than 300 cases also shed light on advances in crime detection, law enforcement, and forensic science.

Investigative journalist James Renner cracks open thirteen of Northeast Ohio s most intriguing unsolved crimes. Included are the 1964 murder of Garfield Heights teen Beverly Jarosz that still haunts baby boomers to this day; the 2003 disappearance of...

The Wall Street Journal called him "a living legend." The London Times dubbed him "the most famous art detective in the world." In Priceless, Robert K. Wittman, the founder of the FBI's Art Crime...

The tragic death of a police officer. A potential conspiracy involving dangerous narcotics. A body mysteriously surfacing in a river. The deadly effects of domestic violence. These are just a few of the things Robert Carson has seen during his years...

Mike Pressler walked into the bottomfloor meeting room of the Murray Building and, as he had done hundreds of times over a sixteen-year career at Duke University, prepared to address his men's lacrosse team. Forty-six players sat in theater-style...

This title includes: the Torso Murderer, responsible for 12 homicides in Cleveland, investigated by Eliot Ness; Cleveland physician Samuel Sheppard's alleged murder of his wife, which inspired the TV series "The Fugitive"; Akron native and...

On Thanksgiving Day 1892, a beautiful young woman appeared mysteriously at the most exclusive resort in Southern California--the new Hotel del Coronado. There was something dark and ominous about her from the very beginning. She rented a room, and...

A collection of the best crime journalism of the past year includes Pat Jordan's interview with O. J. Simpson, Clara Bingham's account of the rape scandal and cover-up at the Air Force Academy, and other contributions from Skip Hollandsworth, Philip...

Seldom does an equestrian travel tale require its readers to exert more intellectual caution than this superbly written book. British officer Hippisley Cunliffe Marsh evaded plenty of danger in the way of Turkoman slave traders and other villains as...

The career of Donald "D.J." Vodicka encompassed the rapid expansion of the prison system. For sixteen years, he was a prison guard in California's highest security prisons, serving meals to gang leaders, serial killers in lockdown cells,...

Drawing on thousands of pages of recently discovered government documents, wiretap transcripts, and Al Capone's handwritten personal letters, New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Eig tells the dramatic story of the rise and fall of the...