Mary Ross | Site Director
We all know someone who has to watch Criminal Minds, Law and Order, or one of the famous crimes shows on everyday. But why not give them a book about crime or true crime to further their love of the crime genre? Below are some highly rated crime or true crime books featuring solved and unsolved cases.
Unsolved Crimes by Sarah Herman
In Herman’s new true crime book, she breaks down some of the most famous and not famous unsolved crimes with everything that is known about them. Adding her own commentary as to what she thinks might have happened, Herman offers new visions and questions to each of the crimes, while also offering the insight of other investigators in an index.
Confessions of a Murder Suspect
Malcolm and Maud Angel get murdered and their kids are the only suspects. Tandy Angel tries to clear her family name, but there are parts of her memory missing. As Tandy gets flashbacks, she begins to understand her family’s dark secrets. Could one of her brothers killed her parents? Could she have done it and not remembered? Told from Tandy’s unreliable perspective, this book is a must read.
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
In Cold Blood is true crime story about the murder of a family in Kansas. When the killers are tracked down, Capote does extensive interviews with the investigators and killers, Perry Smith and Dick Hickcock, to understand the murder, the investigation, the trial and the execution of the murderers. A vivid and suspenseful story that turns empathetic for the killers at some points makes In Cold Blood a truly powerful true crime story you won’t want to put down.
The Fact of a Body by Alexandria Marzano
This memoir follows the author as she begins a summer job at a law firm in Louisiana. Though passionately against the death penalty, listening to a convicted murderer, Rick Langley, discuss his crimes challenges this anti-death penalty moral she holds so dearly. Marzano digs deeper into the life of the convicted murderer trying to make sense of him and his complicated childhood. By doing so, Marzano is forced to look at her own childhood as she sees some of the similarities between her childhood and the murderers. This emotional thriller not only lets readers see inside Marzano’s thoughts, but allows us to reexamine our own childhood and thoughts.
Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson by Jeff Guinn
This biography dives into the life of serial killer, Charles Manson, using new interviews with family members and unpublished pictures. Tracing Manson’s childhood into how he became the killer he did, also explaining some of the murders previously not understood well. It puts Manson in a never before understood context of his time, including his ambitions, his race-war obsession and more. This is a biography you don’t want to miss.
Portrait of a Killer by Patricia Cornwell
Though no one was able to figure out who Jack the Ripper was while he was alive, Cornwell claims to have figured it out. Her meticulous research traces many reasons for one specific famous person to be Jack the Ripper. Who is this person? You’ll have to check out Cornwell’s book to find out?
The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town by John Grisham
Grisham’s only nonfiction books, The Innocent Man tells the story of Ron Williamson who was wrongly convicted of a rape and murder of Debra Cater in Oklahoma. Grisham tells the tale beginning to end . This includes the murder, the trial, the verdict and sentencing to death row. Then it skips to 11 years after the sentencing to Williamson’s exoneration. An uncommon story, this is one you don’t want to skip.
The Searcher by Tana French
A retired detective, Cal Hooper just wants to fix up his dilapidated cottage and explore the surrounding mountains. But when a local boy asks him for help to find his missing brother, Hooper is compelled to help. With no help from anyone in the village, Hooper launches into an investigation, uncovering information about the community that he never expected to find.
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