iBooks Top True Crime Ebooks

The top most popular and best selling true crime ebooks at the Apple iBookstore. Chart of the top true crime ebook best sellers updated daily.

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Top True Crime Ebook Best Sellers

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London Falling - Patrick Radden Keefe Cover Art

London Falling

London Falling A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth by Patrick Radden Keefe

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the bestselling, prizewinning author of Say Nothing and Empire of Pain , a spellbinding account of a family devastated by the sudden death of their nineteen-year-old son, only to discover that he had created a secret life which drew him into the dangerous criminal underworld that lies beneath London’s glittering surface A NEW YORK TIMES BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR SO FAR In the early morning of November 29th, 2019, surveillance cameras at the headquarters of MI6, Britain’s spy agency, captured video of a young man pacing back and forth on a high balcony of Riverwalk, a luxury tower on the bank of the river Thames. At 2:24 a.m., he jumped into the river. In a quiet London neighborhood several miles away, Rachelle Brettler was worried about her son. Zac had told her that he had gone to stay with a friend for the weekend, but then he did not come home. Days later, a police car pulled up and two officers relayed the dreadful news: Her son was dead. In their unbearable grief, Rachelle and her husband, Matthew, struggled to understand what had happened to Zac. He had had his troubles, but in no way seemed suicidal. As they would soon discover, however, there was a lot they did not know about their son. Only after his death did they learn that he had adopted a fictitious alter ego: Zac Ismailov, son of a Russian oligarch and heir to a great fortune. Under this guise, Zac had become entangled with a slippery London businessman named Akbar Shamji and a murderous gangster known as Indian Dave. As the Brettlers set about investigating their son’s death, they were pulled into a different and more dangerous London than the one they’d always known, and came to believe that something much more nefarious than a suicide had claimed Zac’s life. But to their immense frustration, Scotland Yard seemed unable—or unwilling—to bring the perpetrators to justice.  In a bravura feat of reporting and writing, Patrick Radden Keefe chronicles the Brettlers’ quest, peeling back layers of mystery and exposing the seedy truths behind the glamorous London of posh mansions and private nightclubs, a city in which everything is for sale, and aspirational fantasies are underwritten by dirty money and corruption. London Falling is a mesmerizing investigation of an inexplicable death and a powerful narrative driven by suspense and staggering revelations. But it is also an intimate and deeply poignant inquiry into the nature of parental love and the challenges of being a parent today, a portrait of a family trying to solve the riddle not just of how their son died, but of who he really was in life.

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Catch and Kill - Ronan Farrow Cover Art

Catch and Kill

Catch and Kill Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators by Ronan Farrow

In this instant New York Times bestselling account of violence and espionage, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Ronan Farrow exposes serial abusers and a cabal of powerful interests hell-bent on covering up the truth, at any cost. Inspiration for the HBO Max streaming documentary series.    In 2017, a routine network television investigation led Ronan Farrow to a story only whispered about: one of Hollywood's most powerful producers was a predator, protected by fear, wealth, and a conspiracy of silence. As Farrow drew closer to the truth, shadowy operatives, from high-priced lawyers to elite war-hardened spies, mounted a secret campaign of intimidation, threatening his career, following his every move, and weaponizing an account of abuse in his own family.   All the while, Farrow and his producer faced a degree of resistance they could not explain—until now. And a trail of clues revealed corruption and cover-ups from Hollywood to Washington and beyond.  This is the untold story of the exotic tactics of surveillance and intimidation deployed by wealthy and connected men to threaten journalists, evade accountability, and silence victims of abuse. And it's the story of the women who risked everything to expose the truth and spark a global movement.Both a spy thriller and a meticulous work of investigative journalism, Catch and Kill breaks devastating new stories about the rampant abuse of power and sheds far-reaching light on investigations that shook our culture.   Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist Finalist for the National Book  Critics Circle Award in Autobiography Indie Bound #1 Bestseller USA Today Bestseller Wall Street Journal Bestseller

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After the Eclipse - Sarah Perry Cover Art

After the Eclipse

After the Eclipse A Memoir by Sarah Perry

A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice. "A heartfelt memoir and a suspenseful story" of a murdered mother (Gabourey Sidibe, Book of the Month Club).   When Sarah Perry was twelve, she saw a partial eclipse; she took it as a good omen for her and her mother, Crystal. But that moment of darkness foreshadowed a much larger one: two days later, Crystal was murdered in their home in rural Maine. It took twelve years to find the killer. In that time, Sarah rebuilt her life amid abandonment, police interrogations, and the exacting toll of trauma. She dreamed of a trial, but when the day came, it brought no closure. It was not her mother's death she wanted to understand, but her life. She began her own investigation, one that drew her back to Maine, deep into the darkness of a small American town. "Pull[ing] the reader swiftly along on parallel tracks of mystery and elegy" in After the Eclipse , "Perry succeeds in restoring her mother's humanity and her own" ( The New York Times Book Review ).   "Raw and perfect . . . After the Eclipse  [has] an eerie, heartbreaking power that it shares with the very best of true crime." —Laura Miller,  Slate "A gut punch . . . A heartbreaking yet hopeful testament to human resilience." —Samantha Irby,  Marie Claire "With clear, powerful prose, Perry paints a portrait of unconventional motherhood while questioning society's handling of violence against women. Reminiscent of Maggie Nelson's  The Red Parts ,  After the Eclipse  tells the very human story at the center of a needless crime."— W Magazine

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Say Nothing - Patrick Radden Keefe Cover Art

Say Nothing

Say Nothing A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NOW AN FX LIMITED SERIES STREAMING ON HULU • NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER • From the author of Empire of Pain— a stunning, intricate narrative about a notorious killing in Northern Ireland and its devastating repercussions. One of The New York Times ’s 20 Best Books of the 21st Century • A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Century • A Los Angeles Times Best Nonfiction Book of the Last 30 Years "Masked intruders dragged Jean McConville, a 38-year-old widow and mother of 10, from her Belfast home in 1972. In this meticulously reported book—as finely paced as a novel—Keefe uses McConville's murder as a prism to tell the history of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Interviewing people on both sides of the conflict, he transforms the tragic damage and waste of the era into a searing, utterly gripping saga." — New York Times Book Review " Reads like a novel. . . . Keefe is . . . a master of narrative nonfiction. . . . An incredible story. "—Rolling Stone A Best Book of the Year: The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, TIME, NPR, and more! Jean McConville's abduction was one of the most notorious episodes of the vicious conflict known as The Troubles. Everyone in the neighborhood knew the I.R.A. was responsible. But in a climate of fear and paranoia, no one would speak of it. In 2003, five years after an accord brought an uneasy peace to Northern Ireland, a set of human bones was discovered on a beach. McConville's children knew it was their mother when they were told a blue safety pin was attached to the dress--with so many kids, she had always kept it handy for diapers or ripped clothes. Patrick Radden Keefe's mesmerizing book on the bitter conflict in Northern Ireland and its aftermath uses the McConville case as a starting point for the tale of a society wracked by a violent guerrilla war, a war whose consequences have never been reckoned with. The brutal violence seared not only people like the McConville children, but also I.R.A. members embittered by a peace that fell far short of the goal of a united Ireland, and left them wondering whether the killings they committed were not justified acts of war, but simple murders. From radical and impetuous I.R.A. terrorists such as Dolours Price, who, when she was barely out of her teens, was already planting bombs in London and targeting informers for execution, to the ferocious I.R.A. mastermind known as The Dark, to the spy games and dirty schemes of the British Army, to Gerry Adams, who negotiated the peace but betrayed his hardcore comrades by denying his I.R.A. past-- Say Nothing conjures a world of passion, betrayal, vengeance, and anguish.

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The Wager - David Grann Cover Art

The Wager

The Wager A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of Killers of the Flower Moon , a page-turning story of shipwreck, survival, and savagery, culminating in a court martial that reveals a shocking truth. The powerful narrative reveals the deeper meaning of the events on The Wager , showing that it was not only the captain and crew who ended up on trial, but the very idea of empire. A Best Book of the Year: The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker , TIME , Smithsonian , NPR, Vulture, Kirkus Reviews “Riveting...Reads like a thriller, tackling a multilayered history—and imperialism—with gusto.” — Time "A tour de force of narrative nonfiction.” — The Wall Street Journal On January 28, 1742, a ramshackle vessel of patched-together wood and cloth washed up on the coast of Brazil. Inside were thirty emaciated men, barely alive, and they had an extraordinary tale to tell. They were survivors of His Majesty’s Ship the Wager, a British vessel that had left England in 1740 on a secret mission during an imperial war with Spain. While the Wager had been chasing a Spanish treasure-filled galleon known as “the prize of all the oceans,” it had wrecked on a desolate island off the coast of Patagonia. The men, after being marooned for months and facing starvation, built the flimsy craft and sailed for more than a hundred days, traversing nearly 3,000 miles of storm-wracked seas. They were greeted as heroes. But then ... six months later, another, even more decrepit craft landed on the coast of Chile. This boat contained just three castaways, and they told a very different story. The thirty sailors who landed in Brazil were not heroes – they were mutineers. The first group responded with countercharges of their own, of a tyrannical and murderous senior officer and his henchmen. It became clear that while stranded on the island the crew had fallen into anarchy, with warring factions fighting for dominion over the barren wilderness. As accusations of treachery and murder flew, the Admiralty convened a court martial to determine who was telling the truth. The stakes were life-and-death—for whomever the court found guilty could hang. The Wager is a grand tale of human behavior at the extremes told by one of our greatest nonfiction writers. Grann’s recreation of the hidden world on a British warship rivals the work of Patrick O’Brian, his portrayal of the castaways’ desperate straits stands up to the classics of survival writing such as The Endurance , and his account of the court martial has the savvy of a Scott Turow thriller. As always with Grann’s work, the incredible twists of the narrative hold the reader spellbound.

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Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - John Berendt Cover Art

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt

THE LANDMARK NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER, NOW A MAJOR MUSICAL COMING SOON TO BROADWAY • An enormously engaging portrait of a most beguiling Southern city: “Elegant and wicked.... [This] might be the first true-crime book that makes the reader want to book a bed and breakfast for an extended weekend at the scene of the crime." — The New York Times Book Review • 30th Anniversary Edition with a New Afterword by the Author. Shots rang out in Savannah's grandest mansion in the misty, early morning hours of May 2, 1981. Was it murder or self-defense? For nearly a decade, the shooting and its aftermath reverberated throughout this hauntingly beautiful city of moss-hung oaks and shaded squares. John Berendt's sharply observed, suspenseful, and witty narrative reads like a thoroughly engrossing novel, and yet it is a work of nonfiction. Berendt skillfully interweaves a hugely entertaining first-person account of life in this isolated remnant of the Old South with the unpredictable twists and turns of a landmark murder case. It is a spellbinding story peopled by a gallery of remarkable characters: the well-bred society ladies of the Married Woman's Card Club; the turbulent young redneck gigolo; the hapless recluse who owns a bottle of poison so powerful it could kill every man, woman, and child in Savannah; the aging and profane Southern belle who is the "soul of pampered self-absorption"; the uproariously funny black drag queen; the acerbic and arrogant antiques dealer; the sweet-talking, piano-playing con artist; young blacks dancing the minuet at the black debutante ball; and Minerva, the voodoo priestess who works her magic in the graveyard at midnight. These and other Savannahians act as a Greek chorus, with Berendt revealing the alliances, hostilities, and intrigues that thrive in a town where everyone knows everyone else. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a sublime and seductive reading experience. Brilliantly conceived and masterfully written, this true-crime book has become a modern classic.

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In Cold Blood - Truman Capote Cover Art

In Cold Blood

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The most famous true crime novel of all time "c hills the blood and exercises the intelligence" ( The New York Review of Books ) — and haunted its author long after he finished writing it. On November 15, 1959, in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, four members of the Clutter family were savagely murdered by blasts from a shotgun held a few inches from their faces. There was no apparent motive for the crime, and there were almost no clues.  In one of the first non-fiction novels ever written, Truman Capote reconstructs the murder and the investigation that led to the capture, trial, and execution of the killers, generating both mesmerizing suspense and astonishing empathy. In Cold Blood is a work that transcends its moment, yielding poignant insights into the nature of American violence.

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Killers of the Flower Moon - David Grann Cover Art

Killers of the Flower Moon

Killers of the Flower Moon The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A twisting, haunting true-life murder mystery about one of the most monstrous crimes in American history, from the author of The Wager and The Lost City of Z, “one of the preeminent adventure and true-crime writers working today."— New York Magazine • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • NOW A MARTIN SCORSESE PICTURE “A shocking whodunit…What more could fans of true-crime thrillers ask?”— USA Today “A masterful work of literary journalism crafted with the urgency of a mystery.” — The Boston Globe A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of the Century In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, the Osage rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions, and sent their children to study in Europe. Then, one by one, the Osage began to be killed off. The family of an Osage woman, Mollie Burkhart, became a prime target. One of her relatives was shot. Another was poisoned. And it was just the beginning, as more and more Osage were dying under mysterious circumstances, and many of those who dared to investigate the killings were themselves murdered. As the death toll rose, the newly created FBI took up the case, and the young director, J. Edgar Hoover, turned to a former Texas Ranger named Tom White to try to unravel the mystery. White put together an undercover team, including a Native American agent who infiltrated the region, and together with the Osage began to expose one of the most chilling conspiracies in American history. Look for David Grann’s latest bestselling book, The Wager !

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In Broad Daylight - Harry N. MacLean Cover Art

In Broad Daylight

In Broad Daylight A murder in Skidmore, Missouri by Harry N. MacLean

Ken Rex McElroy was an illiterate hog farmer who lived on the outskirts of a small town in Northwest Missouri. For over twenty years he raped, robbed and burned almost at will. Cops were scared to arrest him, prosecutors were scared to prosecute him, judges were scared to judge him, and juries were scared to convict him. Over the years, Skidmore and many other small communities became convinced that the law was incapable of protecting them from McElroy. They watched in awe as he walked away from one crime after another. Ken McElroy was shot to death on the main street of Skidmore in July 1981, in front of 45 witnesses. Despite three grand juries, no one has been indicted for the killing.

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Life Sentence - Mark Bowden Cover Art

Life Sentence

Life Sentence The Brief and Tragic Career of Baltimore’s Deadliest Gang Leader by Mark Bowden

In this unprecedented deep dive into inner-city gang life, Mark Bowden takes readers inside a Baltimore gang, offers an in-depth portrait of its notorious leader, and chronicles the 2016 FBI investigation that landed eight gang members in prison Sandtown is one of the deadliest neighborhoods in the world; it earned Baltimore its nickname Bodymore, Murderland, and was made notorious by David Simon’s classic HBO series “The Wire.” Drug deals dominate street corners, and ruthless, casual violence abounds. Montana Barronette grew up in the center of it all. He was the leader of the gang “Trained to Go,” or TTG, and when he was finally arrested and sentenced to life in prison, he had been nicknamed “Baltimore’s Number One Trigger Puller.” Under Tana’s reign, TTG dominated Sandtown. After a string of murders are linked to TTG, each with dozens of witnesses too intimidated to testify, three detectives set out to put Tana in prison for life. For them, this was never about drugs: It was about serial murder. Now an acclaimed journalist who spent his youth in the white suburbs of Baltimore, Mark Bowden returns to the city with exclusive access to the FBI files and unprecedented insight into one of the city’s deadliest gangs and its notorious leader. As he traces the rise and fall of TTG, Bowden uses wiretapped drug buys, police interviews, undercover videos, text messages, social media posts, trial transcripts, and his own ongoing conversations with Tana’s family and community to create the most in-depth account of an inner-city gang ever written. With his signature precision and propulsive narrative, Mark Bowden positions Tana – as a boy, a gang leader, a killer, and now a prisoner – in the context of Baltimore and America, illuminating his path for what it really was: a life sentence.

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Donnie Brasco - Joseph D. Pistone Cover Art

Donnie Brasco

Donnie Brasco by Joseph D. Pistone

Posing as jewel thief "Donnie Brasco," FBI agent Joseph D. Pistone carried out the most audacious sting operation ever, working undercover for six years to infiltrate the flamboyant community of mafia soldiers, "connected guys," captains and godfathers. Now his unforgettable eyewitness account brings to pulsating life the entire world of wiseguys—their code of honor and their treachery, their wives, girlfriends and whores, their lavish spending and dirty dealings. With the drama and suspense of a high-tension thriller, Joseph Pistone reveals every incredible aspect of the jealously guarded world he penetrated...and draws a chilling picture of what the mafia is, does, and means in America today.

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A Killing in Cannabis - Scott Eden Cover Art

A Killing in Cannabis

A Killing in Cannabis A True Story of Love, Murder, and California Weed by Scott Eden

“An exhilarating, deeply reported true-crime murder mystery and love story that moves like a Netflix thriller.” —The New York Times Book Review “A deeply reported literary nonfiction masterpiece.”—Wright Thompson Santa Cruz is one of the country’s surf meccas and a favored getaway of the Silicon Valley elite. For decades, marijuana has been cultivated, consumed, and trafficked in these mountains, one of the most important regions in the country for the crop. It's where Ken Kelsey threw his wild parties, where back-to-the-land types came to live off the grid, and where Tushar Atre, Silicon Valley entrepreneur, was found brutally murdered. Charismatic, ambitious, arrogant, and rich, Atre was the leader among a clutch of tech execs with a voracious appetite for risk, work, and money, riding waves at dawn and then putting in fourteen-hour days. When he met Rachel Lynch, a maverick cannabis grower and mover of product, he had a vision of how their lives could come together in business and in love. Atre sought to disrupt the newly legal cannabis trade by funding a start-up with black-market capital. This illegal pursuit would entangle him with an array of colorful and dangerous characters, many of whom had compelling reasons to want him dead.  Award-winning journalist Scott Eden’s panoramic investigation exposes the symbiotic relationship between the legal weed business and its shadowy, black-market counterpart as the prohibition era ends and the gold rush takes off. It is a story of love, greed, and betrayal, set in a world where visionaries, hippies, masters of the universe, and stone-cold killers are all stakeholders, eager to exploit the power of the plant. 

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Chaos - Tom O'Neill & Dan Piepenbring Cover Art

Chaos

Chaos Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties by Tom O'Neill & Dan Piepenbring

NEW YORK TIMES  BESTSELLER | NOW A NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY A journalist's twenty-year fascination with the Manson murders leads to "gobsmacking" (The Ringer) new revelations about the FBI's involvement in this "kaleidoscopic" (The New York Times) reassessment of an infamous case in American history.   Over two grim nights in Los Angeles, the young followers of Charles Manson murdered seven people, including the actress Sharon Tate, then eight months pregnant. With no mercy and seemingly no motive, the Manson Family followed their leader's every order -- their crimes lit a flame of paranoia across the nation, spelling the end of the sixties. Manson became one of history's most infamous criminals, his name forever attached to an era when charlatans mixed with prodigies, free love was as possible as brainwashing, and utopia -- or dystopia -- was just an acid trip away.   Twenty years ago, when journalist Tom O'Neill was reporting a magazine piece about the murders, he worried there was nothing new to say. Then he unearthed shocking evidence of a cover-up behind the "official" story, including police carelessness, legal misconduct, and potential surveillance by intelligence agents. When a tense interview with Vincent Bugliosi -- prosecutor of the Manson Family and author of Helter Skelter -- turned a friendly source into a nemesis, O'Neill knew he was onto something. But every discovery brought more questions:   Who were Manson's real friends in Hollywood, and how far would they go to hide their ties? Why didn't law enforcement, including Manson's own parole officer, act on their many chances to stop him? And how did Manson -- an illiterate ex-con -- turn a group of peaceful hippies into remorseless killers?   O'Neill's quest for the truth led him from reclusive celebrities to seasoned spies, from San Francisco's summer of love to the shadowy sites of the CIA's mind-control experiments, on a trail rife with shady cover-ups and suspicious coincidences. The product of two decades of reporting, hundreds of new interviews, and dozens of never-before-seen documents from the LAPD, the FBI, and the CIA, Chaos mounts an argument that could be, according to Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Steven Kay, strong enough to overturn the verdicts on the Manson murders. This is a book that overturns our understanding of a pivotal time in American history.  

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The Lost Tomb - Douglas Preston & David Grann Cover Art

The Lost Tomb

The Lost Tomb And Other Real-Life Stories of Bones, Burials, and Murder by Douglas Preston & David Grann

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTELLER •  A GOODREADS READER'S CHOICE AWARD FINALIST From the #1 bestselling author of The Lost City of the Monkey God , a jaw-dropping discovery of an Egyptian tomb opens up a slew of archaeological mysteries and deadly tales. What’s it like to be the first to enter an Egyptian burial chamber that’s been sealed for thousands of years? What horrifying secret was found among the prehistoric ruins of the American Southwest? Who really was the infamous the Monster of Florence? From the jungles of Honduras to macabre archaeological sites in the American Southwest, Douglas Preston's explorations have taken him across the globe. The Lost Tomb brings together a compelling collection of true stories about buried treasure, enigmatic murders, lost tombs, bizarre crimes, and other fascinating tales of the past and present.

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Stalin's Apostles - Antonia Senior Cover Art

Stalin's Apostles

Stalin's Apostles The Cambridge Five and the Making of the Soviet Empire by Antonia Senior

The riveting story of the ring of spies known as the Cambridge Five, who infiltrated the highest levels of the British establishment and helped Stalin cement a half century of Soviet domination over Eastern Europe. “A brilliant book. Deep research and dazzling writing make Stalin’s Apostles an appallingly entertaining read. A definitive work on one of the 20th century’s most treacherous conspiracies.” ―Tim Weiner, author of The Mission: The CIA in the 21st Century The Cambridge Five was the most infamous spy ring in history. Its members—Kim Philby, Anthony Blunt, Donald Maclean, Guy Burgess, and John Cairncross—met at university, amid the left-wing ferment overtaking British campuses between the World Wars. The Five were soon recruited by Soviet agents and pledged allegiance to Stalin, and each quickly took up a place in the British government. From the 1930s, they funneled top-secret intelligence to the USSR, some so sensitive that their Soviet handlers feared a double cross. Their unmasking in 1951 rocked Britain, helping to end a chummy, boys’ club stranglehold on the country’s institutions of power. But, as Antonia Senior shows, the Five’s treachery had much graver and more devastating consequences across the world. Their work invaluably aided Stalin as he sought to build a Red Empire, condemning millions across Eastern Europe to decades of repression, violence, and death. Rife with code names, smuggled documents, clandestine rendezvous, and copious amounts of gin, Stalin’s Apostles wields impeccable research and storytelling and all the thrilling details and high tragedy of a classic spy thriller. “A definitive and important account of the most infamous spy ring ever … told with the propulsive force of a spy novel.” ―Joseph Finder, New York Times -bestselling author of The Oligarch's Daughter

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Under the Banner of Heaven - Jon Krakauer Cover Art

Under the Banner of Heaven

Under the Banner of Heaven A Story of Violent Faith by Jon Krakauer

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the author of Into the Wild and Into Thin Air , this extraordinary work of investigative journalism takes readers inside America’s isolated Mormon Fundamentalist communities. • Now a n acclaimed FX limited series streaming on HULU. “Fantastic.... Right up there with In Cold Blood and The Executioner’s Song. ” — San Francisco Chronicle Defying both civil authorities and the Mormon establishment in Salt Lake City, the renegade leaders of these Taliban-like theocracies are zealots who answer only to God; some 40,000 people still practice polygamy in these communities.  At the core of Krakauer’s book are brothers Ron and Dan Lafferty, who insist they received a commandment from God to kill a blameless woman and her baby girl. Beginning with a meticulously researched account of this appalling double murder, Krakauer constructs a multi-layered, bone-chilling narrative of messianic delusion, polygamy, savage violence, and unyielding faith. Along the way he uncovers a shadowy offshoot of America’s fastest growing religion, and raises provocative questions about the nature of religious belief.

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Mafia Prince - Phil Leonetti, Scott M. Burnstein & Christopher Graziano Cover Art

Mafia Prince

Mafia Prince Inside America's Most Violent Crime Family and the Bloody Fall of La Cosa Nostra by Phil Leonetti, Scott M. Burnstein & Christopher Graziano

"A fascinating tale of mob money and murder by someone who was there." - Nicholas Pileggi, #1 New York Times– bestselling author of Wiseguy and Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas MONEY, MURDER, AND MACHIAVELLIAN MAYHEM . . . CONTAINS A NEW EPILOGUE Mafia Prince is the first person account of one of the most brutal eras in Mafia history—"Little Nicky" Scarfo's reign as boss of the Philadelphia family in the 1980s—written by Scarfo's underboss and nephew, "Crazy Phil" Leonetti. The youngest-ever underboss at the age of thirty-three, Leonetti was at the crux of the violent breakup of the traditional American Mafia in the 1980s when he infiltrated Atlantic City after gambling was legalized, and later turned state's evidence against his own. His testimony led directly to the convictions of dozens of high-ranking men including John Gotti, Vincent Gigante, and the downfall of his own uncle, Nick Scarfo—sparking the beginning of the end of La Cosa Nostra (the insiders' term for the Mafia, translated as "This Thing of Ours").

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No Angels - Steve Jackson Cover Art

No Angels

No Angels The Short Life And Brutal Death Of Brandaline Rose Duvall by Steve Jackson

New York Times –Bestselling Author: The true story of a teenager's horrific murder by a vicious Denver gang—and the investigation and trials that followed.   A little before midnight on May 30, 1997, fourteen-year-old Brandy DuVall waited at a bus stop in the Denver area for a ride back to her grandparents' home after spending the evening at a friend's. She was wearing a bright-red Chicago Bulls jersey bearing the number of her favorite player, Michael Jordan.   It was the shirt that attracted the five young Bloods gang members in the car that circled the block and came back to where she stood. Why Brandy got in the car that night would remain an unanswered question. Was it voluntary? Was she abducted?   Whatever the answer, the consequence was an unimaginable nightmare of torture, rape, and murder at the hands of a vicious Denver street gang, particularly "Pancho," a violent psychopath, and other members of the Deuce-Seven. The crime, the investigation, the betrayals and deals cut with the devil, and the subsequent court cases—including four murder trials and two death penalty hearings—tore apart families, and affected all who were caught up in the brutal crime and its aftermath. No Angels delves into the circumstances that would forever change the fate of Brandy, two previously inseparable brothers, and the mothers who sat on opposite sides of the courtroom and yet shared a common grief.   "[Steve Jackson] writes with both muscle and heart." —Gregg Olsen, #1 New York Times -bestselling author of If You Tell.

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The Fort Bragg Cartel - Seth Harp Cover Art

The Fort Bragg Cartel

The Fort Bragg Cartel Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces by Seth Harp

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A New Yorker Best Book of 2025 A Forbes Best True Crime Book of 2025 “Probably the most gripping, memorable, eye-opening book I’ve read in months.” —David Wallace-Wells, The New York Times “Propulsive.” — The Washington Post “Engrossing. . . . Truly shocking.” — The New Republic “The most mind-blowing piece of investigative journalism I’ve read since Chaos .” —Spike Carter, Air Mail A groundbreaking investigation into a string of unsolved murders at America’s premier special operations base, and what the crimes reveal about drug trafficking and impunity among elite soldiers in today’s military In December 2020, a deer hunter discovered two dead bodies that had been riddled with bullets and dumped in a forested corner of Fort Bragg, North Carolina. One of the dead men, Master Sergeant William “Billy” Lavigne, was a member of Delta Force, the most secretive “black ops” unit in the military. A deeply traumatized veteran of America’s classified assassination program, Lavigne had done more than a dozen deployments in his lengthy career, was addicted to crack cocaine, dealt drugs on base, and had committed a series of violent crimes before he was mysteriously killed. The other victim, Chief Warrant Officer Timothy Dumas, was a quartermaster attached to the Special Forces who used his proximity to clandestine missions to steal guns and traffic drugs into the United States from abroad, and had written a blackmail letter threatening to expose criminality in the special operations task force in Afghanistan. As soon as Seth Harp, an Iraq war veteran and investigative reporter, begins looking into the double murder, he learns that there have been many more unexplained deaths at Fort Bragg recently, other murders connected to drug trafficking in elite units, and dozens of fatal overdoses. Drawing on declassified documents, trial transcripts, police records, and hundreds of interviews, Harp tells a scathing story of narco-trafficking in the Special Forces, drug conspiracies abetted by corrupt police, blatant military cover-ups, American complicity in the Afghan heroin trade, and the pernicious consequences of continuous war.

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A Wilderness of Error - Errol Morris Cover Art

A Wilderness of Error

A Wilderness of Error The Trials of Jeffrey MacDonald by Errol Morris

Academy Award-winning filmmaker and former private detective Errol Morris examines the nature of evidence and proof in the infamous Jeffrey MacDonald murder case Early on the morning of February 17, 1970, in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Jeffrey MacDonald, a Green Beret doctor, called the police for help.  When the officers arrived at his home they found the bloody and battered bodies of MacDonald’s pregnant wife and two young daughters. The word “pig” was written in blood on the headboard in the master bedroom. As MacDonald was being loaded into the ambulance, he accused a band of drug-crazed hippies of the crime. So began one of the most notorious and mysterious murder cases of the twentieth century. Jeffrey MacDonald was finally convicted in 1979 and remains in prison today. Since then a number of bestselling books—including Joe McGinniss’s Fatal Vision and Janet Malcolm’s The Journalist and the Murderer —and a blockbuster television miniseries have told their versions of the MacDonald case and what it all means. Errol Morris has been investigating the MacDonald case for over twenty years. A Wilderness of Error is the culmination of his efforts. It is a shocking book, because it shows us that almost everything we have been told about the case is deeply unreliable, and crucial elements of the case against MacDonald simply are not true. It is a masterful reinvention of the true-crime thriller, a book that pierces the haze of myth surrounding these murders with the sort of brilliant light that can only be produced by years of dogged and careful investigation and hard, lucid thinking. By this book’s end, we know several things: that there are two very different narratives we can create about what happened at 544 Castle Drive, and that the one that led to the conviction and imprisonment for life of this man for butchering his wife and two young daughters is almost certainly wrong.  Along the way Morris poses bracing questions about the nature of proof, criminal justice, and the media, showing us how MacDonald has been condemned, not only to prison, but to the stories that have been created around him. In this profoundly original meditation on truth and justice, Errol Morris reopens one of America’s most famous cases and forces us to confront the unimaginable. Morris has spent his career unsettling our complacent assumptions that we know what we’re looking at, that the stories we tell ourselves are true. This book is his finest and most important achievement to date.

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The Officer's Wife - Michael Fleeman Cover Art

The Officer's Wife

The Officer's Wife A True Story of Unspeakable Betrayal and Cold-Blooded Murder by Michael Fleeman

After the murder of her husband, a military wife becomes a fugitive from the law in an attempt to avoid conviction, in this true-crime biography. A man in uniform . . . He was a captain in the US Air Force. She was a psychologist in Fayetteville, North Carolina. On the surface, Marty and Michelle Theer appeared to be the perfect married couple. But no one knew of the double life Michelle was leading. Tired of spending one too many nights apart from Marty who was often away on his flight missions, Michelle turned to the Internet to meet men and relieve her loneliness. But one man stood out among all the rest: former US Army Staff Sergeant John Diamond. A woman in heat . . . The more time Michelle spent with Diamond, the less she wanted to be with her husband. Then on December 17, 2000, Marty was gunned down outside of Michelle's office building. Suspicion first turned to Diamond, and she watched him take the fall for a murder she had masterminded. When authorities went after her, Michelle vanished. For months, federal marshals hunted desperately for Michelle, who had resorted to plastic surgery to avoid the law. In 2002, authorities finally captured her. A case that shocked the American military community . . . For three months, a jury would hear graphic testimony delving into the sordid details of Michelle's swinging sex life as the happy veneer of the Theers's marriage was quickly peeled away. But when it came time to decide Michelle Theer's fate, her own shocking actions would finally seal her doom . . . Please note: This ebook edition does not contain the photos found in the print edition.

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Within the House of Murdaugh - Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson & Mary Frances Weaver Cover Art

Within the House of Murdaugh

Within the House of Murdaugh Amid a Unique Friendship, Blanca and Maggie by Blanca Turrubiate-Simpson & Mary Frances Weaver

#6 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER - PAPERBACK NONFICTION  Inside the Murdaugh Murder Mystery: Housekeeper Blanca Reveals Her Emotional Journey and Stunning Theories - Unraveling Bombshells That May Tilt Your Perception!  Within the House of Murdaugh: Amid a Unique Friendship, Blanca and Maggie, is much more than a sensational true crime tale. It's a gripping narrative from a unique perspective. Blanca, who was deeply entwined in the Murdaugh's lives as their housekeeper, provides an insider's account of the macabre events that unfolded within the notorious family's residence.  Blanca's narrative is an emotional whirlwind, recounting the traumatic fallout of the gruesome murders that shook the foundations of her world. Her personal experiences and the shocking revelations she presents will leave readers on the edge of their seats, questioning the narrative they thought they knew.  This book is not merely a recounting of events. It is an exploration of Blanca's own theories about the fateful night, painstakingly pieced together from her intimate knowledge of the family and the eerie events that unfolded. Her perspective, though deeply personal, is informed by an objective analysis of the facts as she perceived them.  In Within the House of Murdaugh: Amid a Unique Friendship, Blanca and Maggie you will discover several explosive revelations that will challenge your preconceived notions about the Murdaugh murders. These bombshells, dropped casually yet with profound impact, will send chills down your spine as they may completely shift your understanding of the case.  As you delve into this book, you will find yourself drawn into a dark labyrinth of deceit, power, and murder. Through Blanca's eyes, the Murdaugh family and their grim secrets are unveiled. The book serves as a powerful testament to her resilience and her quest for truth amidst the chaos.  A New York Times Best Seller, Within the House of Murdaugh: Amid a Unique Friendship, Blanca and Maggie,  is an indispensable read for those who seek a profound understanding of the Murdaugh murder mystery. It's a haunting, chilling, and ultimately enlightening journey that no true crime enthusiast should miss. Brace yourself for a reading experience that will leave you questioning, pondering, and hungering for more. As seen on Murdaugh: Death in the Family, Murdaugh Murders: A Southern Scandal, The Fall of the House of Murdaugh, and The Murdaugh Murders Podcast

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The Misbegotten Son - Jack Olsen & Katherine Ramsland Cover Art

The Misbegotten Son

The Misbegotten Son by Jack Olsen & Katherine Ramsland

From New York Times bestselling author Jack Olsen, known as "the dean of true crime," comes a shattering account of a killer the system created, enabled, and then set loose to kill again. Little Artie Shawcross bullied classmates, started fires, tortured animals, and roamed the woods of upstate New York talking to imaginary friends. He also scored top grades, excelled in sports, and shared his toys with the children who ridiculed him. From second grade on, psychiatrists examined him and walked away baffled. No two experts could agree on what he was, or what he was capable of. They were about to find out. After serving in Vietnam, Shawcross returned home and murdered a ten-year-old boy and a young girl. He served fifteen years, less than half his sentence, then talked his way past a parole board and walked free. Community after community turned him away when his history became known. Desperate parole authorities finally smuggled him into Rochester in the dead of night, telling no one. Not even the local police. The bodies began turning up locked in winter ice, covered by reeds in swamps, floating in streams. Soon the streets of Rochester were swarming with police. Residents were terrified. And still Shawcross killed. His tenth victim, then his eleventh. He had been hiding in plain sight for years, a seemingly ordinary man with a job, a wife, and neighbors who had no idea. Jack Olsen tells this story through the voices of those who lived it: the killer himself, the detectives who hunted him, the psychiatrists who failed to understand him, and the families of those he destroyed. He also gives full voice to those the system failed: the mothers who warned authorities, the communities that tried to protect themselves, and the women whose deaths might have been prevented. In his own handwritten words, Arthur Shawcross left one testament: "I just a lost soul looking for release of my madness." Publishers Weekly called it "a triumph of true crime writing." It is also something more: a damning indictment of a justice system that chose convenience over the safety of the innocent. "Grim and riveting...the sort of terrifying thunderbolt that true-crime accounts usually promise but rarely deliver." — Stephen King

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Green River, Running Red - Ann Rule Cover Art

Green River, Running Red

Green River, Running Red The Real Story of the Green River Killer--America's Deadliest Serial Murderer by Ann Rule

In this provocative and eye-opening classic of investigative journalism, the #1 New York Times bestselling author, Ann Rule, explores the nearly twenty-year long search for America’s most prolific and horrifying serial killer. On July 15, 1982, eighteen-year-old Wendy Coffield's body is found floating near the sandy shore of Washington's Green River. Authorities have no idea that this tragic and violent death is only the beginning of a string of murders that will rock and terrify the Seattle area for two decades. With her signature riveting prose and in-depth research, Ann Rule takes us behind the scenes of the search for the Green River Killer, a terrifying specter who ritualistically killed young women and eluded authorities for years. From seeking the help of incarcerated serial killer Ted Bundy to Ann Rule’s horrifying realization that the killer she was writing about had attended her book signings, Green River, Running Red is the suspenseful and unforgettable “definitive narrative of the brutal and senseless crimes that haunted the Seattle area for decades” ( Publishers Weekly ).

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The Onion Field - Joseph Wambaugh & James Ellroy Cover Art

The Onion Field

The Onion Field by Joseph Wambaugh & James Ellroy

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A fascinating account of a double tragedy: one physical, the other psychological.”—Truman Capote This is the frighteningly true story of two young cops and two young robbers whose separate destinies fatally cross one March night in a bizarre execution in a deserted Los Angeles field. “A complex story of tragic proportions . . . more ambitious than  In Cold Blood  and equally compelling!”— The New York Times “Once the action begins it is difficult to put the book down. . . . Wambaugh’s compelling account of this true story is destined for the bestseller lists.”— Library Journal

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Deadly Secrets - M. William Phelps Cover Art

Deadly Secrets

Deadly Secrets by M. William Phelps

The double life of a hardworking wife and mother leads to murder in this true-crime story by the New York Times bestselling author of I'll Be Watching You . In the lovely town of Pleasant Valley in upstate New York, the maple trees were ablaze with fall's blood-red color. The air was crisp. And a woman named Susan Fassett left her weekly choir practice at a church—when a killer emerged from the shadows and mercilessly gunned her down . . . Stunned, the police immediately suspected Susan Fassett's husband and surrounded his home. They couldn't have been more wrong. Susan Fassett had been living a secret life, entangled in a passionate web of dominance, lesbian sex, betrayal—and a depraved plan for murder. After detectives untangled a web of secrets and corruption hidden in plain sight, the town of Pleasant Valley would be rocked again when a shocking trial exposed the whole sordid truth . . . Praise for M. William Phelps “One of America's finest true-crime writers.” —Vincent Bugliosi, New York Times bestselling author of Helter Skelter “Phelps is the Harlan Coben of real-life thrillers.” —Allison Brennan, New York Times bestselling author of Tell No Lies With sixteen pages of shocking photos

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Framed - John Grisham & Jim Mccloskey Cover Art

Framed

Framed Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions by John Grisham & Jim Mccloskey

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “The master of the legal thriller” (Associated Press) teams up with “the godfather of the innocence movement” ( Texas Monthly ) to share ten harrowing true stories of wrongful convictions. “Each of these stories is told with astonishing power.”—David Grann, author of Killers of the Flower Moon “Gripping . . . compelling . . . What makes [ Framed ] important reading isn’t the shock value advertised in the title. It’s the exposure of the infuriating, recurrent factors involved in so many unrighteous convictions.”— The Washington Post John Grisham is known worldwide for his bestselling novels, but it’s his real-life passion for justice that led to his work with Jim McCloskey of Centurion Ministries, the first organization dedicated to exonerating innocent people who have been wrongly convicted. Together they offer an inside look at the many injustices in our criminal justice system. A fundamental principle of our legal system is a presumption of innocence, but once someone has been found guilty, there is very little room to prove doubt. These ten true stories shed light on Americans who were innocent but found guilty and forced to sacrifice friends, families, and decades of their lives to prison while the guilty parties remained free. In each of the stories, John Grisham and Jim McCloskey recount the dramatic hard-fought battles for exoneration. They take a close look at what leads to wrongful convictions in the first place and the racism, misconduct, flawed testimony, and corruption in the court system that can make them so hard to reverse. Impeccably researched and told with page-turning suspense as only John Grisham can deliver, Framed is the story of winning freedom when the battle already seems lost and the deck is stacked against you. Don’t miss John Grisham’s forthcoming thriller, The French Illusion !

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Family Blood: The True Story of the Yom Kippur Murders - Marvin J. Wolf Cover Art

Family Blood: The True Story of the Yom Kippur Murders

Family Blood: The True Story of the Yom Kippur Murders by Marvin J. Wolf

Gerald Woodman, an Englishman and an Orthodox Jew, came to American penniless and hungry for the good life. By 1980 he had gained and lost two fortunes, had built his plastics company into a cash cow that supported his large extended family in great luxury. Killed in 1985 along with his wife Vera, the police asked Vera's sister if the Woodmans had any enemies, she replied , 'Yes, their sons.' Family Blood follows the investigation of these murders and reveals a story of the American Dream gone wrong. Gerald, behind his facade of charm, piety and filial warmth, was a ruthless, amoral businessman, a philandering husband, a ferociously abusive father, and a compulsive gambler. His sons, Neil and Stewart, inherited his charm and business principles. This is the story of the hidden dynamics of an outwardly successful American family that came to a shocking and violent end. It is also the story of a clan of whose menfolk guarded a dark secret from their wives - and everyone else - for three generations. Further it is the chronicle of two dogged police detectives who exposed the Woodman's sordid secrets to the light of justice.

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Jimmy the King - Gus Garcia-Roberts Cover Art

Jimmy the King

Jimmy the King Murder, Vice, and the Reign of a Dirty Cop by Gus Garcia-Roberts

An incredible four-decade account of murder, power, and corruption in one of the country’s largest police departments   In 1979, the gruesome slaying of a thirteen-year-old boy riveted the suburbs of Suffolk County, New York. As the county hustled to bring the case to a dubious resolution, a wayward local teenager emerged with a convenient story to tell. For his cooperation, James Burke was rewarded with a job as a cop. Thus began Burke’s unlikely ascent to the top of one of the country’s largest law enforcement jurisdictions. He and a crew of likeminded allies utilized vengeance, gangster tactics, and political leverage to become the most powerful and feared figures in their suburban empire. In his quest to maintain that power, Burke botched -- intentionally or not -- dire investigations like that of the famed Gilgo Beach serial killings and the county's MS-13 gang scourge.    Until a pilfered bag of sex toys brought it all crashing down. Jimmy the King is the story of the rise, reign, and paranoiac fall of a corrupt cop and his regime—a crime family with badges and guaranteed pensions. 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. 

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Obsessed - M. William Phelps Cover Art

Obsessed

Obsessed by M. William Phelps

The New York Times bestselling author of Bad Girls tells the true-crime tale of a Connecticut woman who became a real-life Fatal Attraction . Sheila Davalloo was young, attractive, and successful. When she started a new job at a cutting-edge research lab in Stamford, Connecticut, she met the man of her dreams. Nelson Sessler had no idea how violently Sheila would react when he began seeing a co-worker, Anna Lisa Raymundo. Sheila eliminated her rival in a bloody knife attack—and then turned her rage on another victim she saw as an obstacle to her passions. M. Williams Phelps recounts the riveting story of a white-collar love triangle gone horribly wrong . . . and the terrifying infatuation that drove one woman to kill. Praise for Obsessed “True-crime junkies will be sated by the latest thriller from Phelps, which focuses on a fatal love triangle that definitely proved to be stranger than fiction. The police work undertaken to solve the case is recounted with the right amount of detail, and readers will be rewarded with shocking television-worthy twists in a story with inherent drama.” — Publishers Weekly Includes sixteen pages of dramatic photos

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The Less People Know About Us - Axton Betz-Hamilton Cover Art

The Less People Know About Us

The Less People Know About Us A Mystery of Betrayal, Family Secrets, and Stolen Identity by Axton Betz-Hamilton

In this powerful and “engrossing” memoir, identity theft expert Axton Betz-Hamilton tells the shocking story of how her family was destroyed by the actions of an anonymous criminal ( The New York Times) . When Axton Betz-Hamilton was 11 years old, her parents both had their identities stolen. This was before the age of the Internet—authorities and banks were clueless and reluctant to help Axton's parents.    Convinced that the thief had to be someone they knew, Axton and her parents completely cut off the outside world. As a result, Axton spent her formative years crippled by anxiety, quarantined behind the closed curtains in her childhood home. Years later, Axton discovered that she, too, had fallen prey to the identity thief.   The Less People Know About Us is a cautionary tale, but not one without hope as Axton looks back on the dysfunctional childhood that led to her desire to help this from happening to others.   AN EDGAR AWARDS 2020 WINNER AND  WALL STREET JOURNAL  BESTSELLER

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Rothstein - David Pietrusza Cover Art

Rothstein

Rothstein The Life, Times, and Murder of the Criminal Genius Who Fixed the 1919 World Series by David Pietrusza

History remembers Arnold Rothstein as the man who fixed the 1919 World Series, an underworld genius. The real-life model for The Great Gatsby's Meyer Wolfsheim and Nathan Detroit from Guys and Dolls, Rothstein was much more -- and less -- than a fixer of baseball games. He was everything that made 1920s Manhattan roar. Featuring Jazz Age Broadway with its thugs, speakeasies, showgirls, political movers and shakers, and stars of the Golden Age of Sports, this is a biography of the man who dominated an age. Arnold Rothstein was a loan shark, pool shark, bookmaker, thief, fence of stolen property, political fixer, Wall Street swindler, labor racketeer, rumrunner, and mastermind of the modern drug trade. Among his monikers were "The Big Bankroll," "The Brain," and "The Man Uptown." This vivid account of Rothstein's life is also the story of con artists, crooked cops, politicians, gang lords, newsmen, speakeasy owners, gamblers and the like. Finally unraveling the mystery of Rothstein's November 1928 murder in a Times Square hotel room, David Pietrusza has cemented The Big Bankroll's place among the most influential and fascinating legendary American criminals. 16 pages of black-and-white photographs are featured.

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The Killing Kind - M. William Phelps Cover Art

The Killing Kind

The Killing Kind by M. William Phelps

The New York Times bestselling author of Obsessed examines the lives of a South Carolina serial killer and his victims in this true-crime story. Heather Catterton was a beautiful, beloved seventeen-year-old when her body was found in the brush by a country road in South Carolina. Sweet-natured Randi Saldana's remains were then discovered, charred and unrecognizable, in a wooded area nearby. Bestselling investigative journalist M. William Phelps delves into the lives of Danny Hembree's victims and reconstructs the twisting path from his horrifying crimes to his high-profile trial and conviction. Drawing on interviews with the killer himself, Phelps chillingly brings readers into the mind of a murderer. Praise for The Killing Kind “Phelps focuses on unrepentant killer Danny Hembree . . . [who] seizes the chance to take center stage with lurid confessions of a decades-long career of violent robbery, assault, rape, and murder . . . . Fans of the authors Discover TV series, Dark Minds , will be rewarded.” — Publishers Weekly Includes sixteen pages of dramatic photos

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Blood and Money - Thomas Thompson Cover Art

Blood and Money

Blood and Money The Classic True Story of Murder, Passion, and Power by Thomas Thompson

New York Times Bestseller: The "gripping" true story of a beautiful Texas socialite, her ambitious husband, and a string of mysterious deaths ( Los Angeles Times ). Joan Robinson Hill was a world-class equestrian, a glamorous member of Houston high society, and the wife of Dr. John Hill, a handsome and successful plastic surgeon. Her father, Ash Robinson, was a charismatic oil tycoon obsessed with making his daughter's every dream come true.   Rich, attractive, and reckless, Joan was one of the most celebrated women in a town infatuated with money, power, and fame. Then one morning in 1969, she fell mysteriously ill. The sordid events that followed comprise "what may be the most compelling and complex case in crime annals" (Ann Rule, bestselling author of The Stranger Beside Me ).   From the elegant mansions of River Oaks, one of America's most exclusive neighborhoods, to a seedy underworld of prostitution and murder-for-hire, New York Times –bestselling author Thomas Thompson tracks down every bizarre motive and enigmatic clue to weave a fascinating tale of lust and vengeance. Full of colorful characters, shocking twists, and deadly secrets, Blood and Money is "an absolute spellbinder" and true crime masterpiece ( Newsweek ).

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The Hillside Stranglers - Darcy O'Brien Cover Art

The Hillside Stranglers

The Hillside Stranglers The Inside Story of the Killing Spree That Terrorized Los Angeles by Darcy O'Brien

The riveting true crime account of the Hillside Stranglers and the horrific serial killings they unleashed on 1970s Los Angeles.   For weeks that fall, the body count of sexually violated, brutally murdered young women escalated. With increasing alarm, Los Angeles newspapers headlined the deeds of a serial killer they named the Hillside Strangler. The city was held hostage by fear.   But not until January 1979, more than a year later, would the mysterious disappearance of two university students near Seattle lead police to the arrest of a security guard—the handsome, charming, fast-talking Kenny Bianchi—and the discovery that the strangler was not one man but two.   Compellingly, O'Brien explores the symbiotic relationship between Bianchi and his cousin Angelo Buono, their lust for women as insatiable as their hate, before examining the crimes they remorselessly perpetrated and the lives of the unsuspecting victims they claimed.   Equally riveting is O'Brien's account of the trial—one of the longest and most controversial criminal court cases in American history—with the defense team parading, one after another, expert witnesses who had been effectively duped by Bianchi's impersonation of a man suffering multiple personality disorder. It's one way a man might contrive to get away with murder.   Like Truman Capote in In Cold Blood and Norman Mailer in The Executioner's Song , Darcy O'Brien weds the narrative skill of an award-winning novelist with the detailed observations of an experienced investigator to unravel this chilling true-crime story.

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A Killer by Design - Ann Wolbert Burgess & Steven Matthew Constantine Cover Art

A Killer by Design

A Killer by Design Murderers, Mindhunters, and My Quest to Decipher the Criminal Mind by Ann Wolbert Burgess & Steven Matthew Constantine

Written by the forensic nurse who transformed the way the FBI profiles and catches serial killers, this thought-provoking book takes an intimate look at the creation of the Behavioral Science Unit–the inspiration for Hulu’s  Mastermind  documentary. In the 1970s, the FBI created the "Mindhunters" (better known as the Behavioral Science Unit) to track down the country's most dangerous criminals. In  A Killer By Design , Dr. Ann Wolbert Burgess reveals how her pioneering research on sexual assault and trauma helped the FBI capture some of history’s most violent offenders, including Ed Kemper (The Co-Ed Killer), Dennis Rader (BTK), Henry Wallace (The Taco Bell Strangler), and Jon Barry Simonis (The Ski-Mask Rapist). This book pulls us directly into the investigations as she experienced them, interweaving never-before-seen interview transcripts, crime scene drawings, and her personal insight about the minds of deranged criminals and the victims they left behind. Haunting and deeply human,  A Killer By Design  forces us to confront the age-old question that has long plagued our criminal justice system: "What drives someone to kill, and how can we stop them?" As Featured on  ABC 20/20  One of Amazon's "Best True Crime" Books A "Best Book of the Month" Pick for Amazon (December 2021) An Apple Audio "Must-Listen" (December 2021)

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Beautifully Cruel - M. William Phelps Cover Art

Beautifully Cruel

Beautifully Cruel by M. William Phelps

The New York Times bestselling true crime author investigates a shocking case of a wife, mother, and murder in the Iowa suburbs.   Iowa housewife Tracey Pittman Roberts seemed to have it all: natural beauty, three loving children, and a fairy tale second marriage to a wealthy businessman. But beneath the happy façade was a woman who used lies, manipulation, sex, ugly allegations, blackmail—and even murder—to serve her own selfish ends.   On December 13, 2001, police rushed to Tracey’s home after a shooting left her young neighbor dead. Tracey claimed it was an act of self-defense. Nine gunshot wounds—and a decades-long trail of extortion, fabrication, fraud, and intimidation—said otherwise. Ten years after the crime, Tracey’s case finally went to trial in an explosive courtroom showdown. In a searing exploration of the criminal mind, acclaimed investigative journalist M. William Phelps traces the saga of a psychopath who hid in plain sight—until her wicked ways caught up with her.   “Phelps is one of America’s finest true-crime authors.” —Vincent Bugliosi   “Phelps is the Harlan Coben of real-life thrillers.” —Allison Brennan

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Kiss Me, Kill Me - Ann Rule Cover Art

Kiss Me, Kill Me

Kiss Me, Kill Me Ann Rule's Crime Files Vol. 9 by Ann Rule

The dark side of love is no fairy tale.... And while we may like to believe that crimes of the heart only victimize those who aren't careful, this collection of must-listen accounts will convince you otherwise. America's #1 true-crime writer, Ann Rule reveals how lovers become predators, how sex and lust can push ordinary people to desperate acts, and how investigators and forensics experts work to unravel the most entangled crimes of passion. Extracting behind-the-scenes details, Rule makes these volatile relationships utterly real, and masterfully re-creates the ill-fated chains of events in such cases as the ex-Marine and martial arts master who seduced vulnerable women and then destroyed their lives...the killer whose calling card was a single bloodred rose...the faithless wife who manipulated and murdered without conscience...the blind date that set the stage for a killer's brutality...and more. In every case, the victim -- young and innocent or older and experienced -- unknowingly trusted a stranger with the sociopathic skill to hide their dark motives, until it was too late to escape a web of deadly lies, fatal promises, and homicidal possession.

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Cullotta - Dennis N. Griffin Cover Art

Cullotta

Cullotta The Life of a Chicago Criminal, Las Vegas Mobster, and Governement Witness by Dennis N. Griffin

The life of a career criminal, from a thug on the streets of Chicago to a trusted lieutenant in Tony Spilotro’s gang of organized lawbreakers in Las Vegas. From burglary to armed robbery and murder, infamous bad guy Frank Cullotta not only did it all, in Cullotta he admits to it—and in graphic detail. Cullotta’s was a world of high-profile heists, street muscle, and information—lots of it—about many of the FBI’s most wanted. In the end, that information was his ticket out of crime, as he turned government witness and became one of a handful of mob insiders to enter the Witness Protection Program. Some of that information has since been responsible for solving a decades-old cold-case double-homicide.

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Starkweather - Harry N. MacLean Cover Art

Starkweather

Starkweather The Untold Story of the Killing Spree that Changed America by Harry N. MacLean

THE DEFINITIVE STORY OF CHARLES STARKWEATHER, often considered to be the first mass killer in the modern age of America and the inspiration for Bruce Springsteen's iconic album Nebraska “ Starkweather is a story about a different time in a different America . . . [A] grim story, and that grimness is the paradoxical joy of reading MacLean—the raw chill creeping through your veins that feels authentic to the place and the crimes, the lean and vivid sentences rivaling Capote’s In Cold Blood and Mailer’s The Executioner’s Song ." — The Washington Post , A Best Book of the Year On January 21, 1958, nineteen-year-old Charles Starkweather changed the course of crime in the United States when he murdered the parents and sister of his fourteen-year-old girlfriend (and possible accomplice), Caril Ann Fugate, in a house on the edge of Lincoln, Nebraska. They then drove to the nearby town of Bennet, where a farmer was robbed and killed. When Starkweather’s car broke down, the teenagers who stopped to help were murdered and jammed into a storm cellar. By the time the dust settled, ten innocent people were dead and the city of Lincoln was in a state of terror. Schools closed. Men with rifles perched on the roofs of their houses. The National Guard patrolled the street. If there is a cultural version of PTSD, the town suffered from it. Starkweather and Fugate’s capture and arrest, and the resulting trials about the killing spree, received worldwide coverage. The event would serve as the inspiration for the movie Natural Born Killers and Springsteen’s iconic album Nebraska . Today, the story has dropped far from the national consciousness. With new material, new reporting, and new conclusions about the possible guilt or innocence of Fugate, the tale is ripe for an updated and definitive retelling. In Starkweather , bestselling author Harry N. MacLean tells the story of this shocking event and its lasting impact, a crime spree that struck deep into the heart of the heartland.

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Hearts of Darkness - Jana Monroe Cover Art

Hearts of Darkness

Hearts of Darkness Serial Killers, the Behavioral Science Unit, and My Life as a Woman in the FBI by Jana Monroe

For fans of Mindhunter , Criminal Minds , and My Favorite Murder , a riveting memoir of a trailblazing woman’s life hunting down serial killers as one of the first female profilers of the FBI Behavioral Sciences Unit and the real-life model for Clarice Starling in The Silence of the Lambs .   “Jana Monroe is the single most influential woman to ever serve in the FBI.” —Joe Navarro, bestselling author of What Every BODY Is Saying   Jana Monroe was no ordinary cop. One of the first analysts—and, at the time, the only female agent—in the world-renowned FBI Behavioral Sciences Unit at Quantico, she consulted on more than 850 homicide cases, including infamous serial killers Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, Edmund Kemper, and Aileen Wuornos. Monroe was also the model for Clarice Starling in the movie version of The Silence of the Lambs ; she even helped train Jodie Foster for her Oscar-winning role. Monroe’s later years found her dealing with the aftermath of Columbine, heading up the FBI’s post-9/11 investigation in Las Vegas, and much more.   In Hearts of Darkness , Monroe steps out from the shadows to tell the story of her astonishing life in shaping law enforcement and intelligence analysis. Monroe explores the cases that have stayed with her, breaking down victimology, offering new insight into the minds of serial killers, and discussing the psychological toll of the job and the obstacles she faced as a woman in the male-dominated Bureau. This is a gripping, sometimes gruesome, and always remarkable memoir of an unparalleled life and career spent chasing the monsters among us.

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Quest for Love - Anneke Lucas Cover Art

Quest for Love

Quest for Love Memoir of a Child Sex Slave by Anneke Lucas

Memoir of a trafficked girl, during a year-long, turbulent relationship with a charming, 20-year old gangster who initially protects her. Once she falls for him, she is soon cast into abject betrayal and violence, leading to her certain demise. A last-minute change of heart has the gangster negotiate for her release from the trafficking ring. His directives for her survival enable her to remain out of the street life and ultimately, to heal and thrive.

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Mobfiles - George Anastasia Cover Art

Mobfiles

Mobfiles Mobsters, Molls and Murder by George Anastasia

For more than 25 years as a reporter with the Philadelphia Inquirer George Anastasia has made tracking the demise of the American Mafia his regular beat, writing investigative pieces, profiles and slices of underworld life. Mobfiles is a compilation of some of his best work stories told from street level and often based on insights and access provided by investigators, prosecutors and the mobsters themselves. They are tales of murder and mayhem, love and betrayal, and the loss of honor and loyalty. All of these factors have contributed to the disintegration of La Cosa Nostra. Indeed, the steady deterioration of the mob s own internal value system and sophisticated law enforcement have combined to take down the once secret and powerful underworld society. The characters around whom the stories are framed include mob bosses, turncoat witnesses, high living wiseguys and the women who loved and lost them. The names Nicky Scarfo, John Gotti, Phil Leonetti, Vincent Gigante, Ralph Natale, Joey Merlino will be familiar to anyone who has followed the headlines. Mobfiles provides the true stories around which classics like The Godfather and The Sopranos have been built. Anastasia s writing is a rare window into this murky world, bringing the reader up close to the principal players, their crimes, and their ultimate fates

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Ted Bundy - Al Cimino Cover Art

Ted Bundy

Ted Bundy America’s Most Evil Serial Killer by Al Cimino

On first impressions, Ted Bundy seemed like the perfect all-American boy. He was good-looking, fun and very charming; many women found him irresistible...   But deep inside he was an evil monster who terrorised large areas of America, assaulting and murdering numerous women and adolescent girls. He used his insider knowledge of law enforcement to evade detection, escaping from imprisonment twice before his eventual capture. While he confessed to 30 killings, the real figure was probably much higher and many of the bodies have never been found.  Crime writer and journalist Al Cimino delves into this astonishing and tragic tale, providing a detailed account of Bundy's crimes and the twisted manipulations of his victims. This is the story of a chameleon-like psychopath and necrophile who lured innocent victims to a horrible end.

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Greentown - Timothy Dumas Cover Art

Greentown

Greentown Murder and Mystery in Greenwich, America's Wealthiest Community by Timothy Dumas

The first edition of Greentown helped reopen one of America’s most shameful unsolved murder cases, the savage slaying of fifteen-year-old Martha Moxley in an exclusive enclave of Greenwich, Connecticut, the night before Halloween 1975. Soon after Martha’s body was discovered, attention focused on members of the Skakel family, who lived across the street from the Moxleys. Ethel Skakel and Robert Kennedy had married in Greenwich, and the two families were close. Thomas Skakel, Ethel’s nephew, was the last known person to see Martha alive. The murder weapon, a ladies’ golf club, came from the Skakel household. When the Greenwich police tried to pursue its investigation, however, the community closed in upon itself. Lawyers were summoned, walls went up, information was suppressed, and no one was charged. And yet, continuing to haunt Greenwich, the case refused to go away—until, twenty-three years later, following the publication of this book, a grand jury was convened, and two years after that a man—Thomas’s brother Michael—was finally indicted for the crime. This revised edition now brings the Martha Moxley murder case to a close. Updated to include the indictment, trial, and conviction of the murderer, Greentown offers the suspenseful and chilling account of a terrible crime. More than that, while relating a tale of seductive power, it uses the murder to tell the heartrending story of a family and a community responding to the unthinkable.

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El cartel de los sapos 2 - Andrés López López Cover Art

El cartel de los sapos 2

El cartel de los sapos 2 by Andrés López López

Una historia real con los verdaderos personajes de uno de los más temibles carteles del mundo: el cartel del Norte del Valle Este libro todavía no ha sido llevado al cine ni a la televisión. Pronto será una película protagonizada por Manolo Cardona y el actor estadounidense Tom Sizamore. Esta sí es una auténtica historia, contada desde las entrañas mismas de la mafia por Carmelo, uno de los hombres más cercanos a Diego Montoya, el narcotraficante colombiano extraditado a los Estados Unidos. Hijo de pistolero, Carmelo fue el fiel jefe de seguridad de Montoya y testigo privilegiado y protagonista de la guerra que se vivió en las entrañas del cartel del Norte del Valle. El libro relata detalles de cómo se manejaban los negocios del gran capo, cómo funcionaban las riesgosas cocinas, la búsqueda de nuevas rutas para burlar a las autoridades, los escandalosos nexos con algunos miembros de la Fuerza Pública y con renombrados políticos. El cartel de los sapos 2 muestra aspectos desconocidos de las relaciones de la mafia con el paramilitarismo y del papel que las AUC, de Carlos y Vicente Castaño, desempeñó en el manejo del negocio y de la guerra interna del cartel durante las conversaciones en Santa Fe de Ralito; de cómo los dos bandos criminales se movían por todo el país planeando venganzas y matanzas y moviendo sus cargamentos. También explica el origen de esa guerra sin cuartel que, en últimas, ocasiona la captura de Don Diego, alcohólico y avaro, y el fin del cartel del Norte del Valle. Esta historia también arroja luces sobre los posibles autores del magnicidio del ex candidato presidencial Álvaro Gómez Hurtado, en noviembre de 1995; pero también cuenta quiénes ordenaron y quiénes ejecutaron los asesinatos de Wilber Varela, Jabón, uno de los más prominentes jefes de ese cartel mafioso y del coronel de la Policía, Danilo González, un brillante oficial que luego de colgar el uniforme se puso al servicio de la crema y nata del narcotráfico colombiano.

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Slave - Anna & Jason Johnson Cover Art

Slave

Slave Snatched off Britain’s streets. The truth from the victim who brought down her traffickers. by Anna & Jason Johnson

**Now watch the BBC drama Doing Money** ‘They took me because I would not be missed’ This is the shocking true story of how an ordinary young girl was kidnapped off the street as she walked home and turned into a slave – before fighting for her freedom and finding the courage to help the police in one of the UK’s most shocking modern-day slavery trials. Anna was an innocent student when she was kidnapped, beaten and forced into the sex slave industry. Threatened and tormented by her pimps, she was made to sleep with thousands of men. But she would not allow them to break her. On learning that she would be trafficked from Ireland to Dubai, she found the courage to trick her captors and flee. Later, she would also find that same resilience to help the police bring down her abductors in what has now become one of our biggest windows into the worldwide sex trafficking trade. For the first time, the girl at the centre of the storm reveals the heart-breaking truth.

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Fear Came to Town - Doug Crandell Cover Art

Fear Came to Town

Fear Came to Town The Santa Claus, Georgia, Murders by Doug Crandell

In the town of Santa Claus, Georgia, the holiday spirit lived all year round...until Jerry Scott Heidler came to town... In Santa Claus, Georgia, the streets were named Candy Cane Road and December Drive. Christmas was the lifeblood of the people. One terrible night in December 1997, Heidler broke into the home of his former foster family and brutally murdered them. Doug Crandell describes the harrowing incident that changed this one town forever.

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The Killing Game - Alan R. Warren Cover Art

The Killing Game

The Killing Game The True Story of Rodney Alcala by Alan R. Warren

The "compelling true story" of "The Dating Game Killer" by the radio host and bestselling author of Drinks, Dinner & Death (Burl Barer, Edgar Award-winning author). Beginning in 1968 and continuing into the 1970s, a predator stalked California and New York, torturing, raping and murdering young girls and women. But who was the monster behind these tragedies? Eventually, a suspect emerged, but he didn't look like a monster. Indeed, Rodney Alcala was a handsome, charming photographer who'd once studied film at New York University under director Roman Polanski. With his wit and easy self-confidence and humor, he'd even been selected as the "winner" on the popular television show "The Dating Game." But his real game was much more sinister. In 2010, Alcala was convicted of murdering five women in California during the 1970s; then in 2013, as he waited on Death Row, he confessed to the murder of two more in New York. Yet, that might not be the end of the nightmare he caused. At his arrest, police found his "portfolio" with thousands of nude and erotic photographs of women and boys, who may also be among his victims.  In The Killing Game , bestselling true crime author and radio show host, Alan R. Warren reveals the shocking details of Alcala's brutal crimes, as well as the trials and appeals that stretched on for decades and may still not be over.

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Girl, Taken: A True Story of Abduction, Captivity and Survival - Elena Nikitina Cover Art

Girl, Taken: A True Story of Abduction, Captivity and Survival

Girl, Taken: A True Story of Abduction, Captivity and Survival by Elena Nikitina

***Gold Literary Award Winner in the Memoir category at 2019 Global Ebook Awards*** "Girl, Taken" is the first book in a trilogy. Look for the second one: "What Did Not Kill Me, Made Me". Imagine walking home alone one evening. Suddenly, you are assaulted, drugged and kidnapped. Strange men drive you through the night and keep you prisoner. You don’t know who they are. You don’t know what they want. They speak a language you don’t even understand. This happened to me. Just three weeks after my 21st birthday, on the evening of October 4th, 1994, I was abducted from the streets of my hometown in southern Russia while on my way home. They drugged me and drove to another country, where they held me captive in a tiny room at first, and then under a house in a pit. I didn’t have a toothbrush, comb, no other clothing, or even spare underwear. I was utterly alone – no friends, no family, nothing... Every day, I had to knock on the door to my room, so that a blank-eyed gunman with an AK-47 would let me out and walk me to the bathroom under his supervision. A few weeks after my kidnapping, a brutal civil war broke out. The country plunged into darkness. There was no electricity and no telephone service. All contacts were cut off. There could be no negotiations for my release. I was one lost soul, powerless, and at the mercy of hardened killers in a land where innocent people were dying every day. Events went from bad to worse. Life became very cheap, very quickly, and the country became an apocalyptic killing zone. I was always in darkness, always under threat. The captors threatened to cut me into pieces and shoot me. I witnessed the horror of war. I saw things I cannot allow myself to think about. Through eight horrifying months of captivity, witnessing atrocities, surviving bombings and sexual violence, I fought desperately to stay alive, stay sane, and not to lose the one thing that kept me going: my hope. I wrote a book about my experiences: Girl, Taken – A True Story of Abduction, Captivity and Survival. “Terrifying ordeal.” - Cincinnati Enquirer “Gripping story.” - Radio America “An unimaginably horrific ordeal.” - Mirror “held hostage on the Chechen Frontline.” - BBC “Story of survival is inspiring others and raising awareness.” - WCPO Cincinnati

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