Top True Crime Ebook Best Sellers

1

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 “Another blockbuster feat of reportage. . . . I sprinted through this addictive book in three days and gasped more than once at the true story’s twists and turns.” — Esquire 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.

2

Catch the Devil - Pamela Colloff Cover Art

Catch the Devil

Catch the Devil A True Story of Murder, Deception, and Injustice on the Gulf Coast by Pamela Colloff

The riveting, true story of an audacious con man who helped send another man to death row for a murder he did not commit “Incendiary, emotionally devastating. [This] is a feat of dogged reporting, bravura storytelling, and clear-eyed moral conscience." —Patrick Radden Keefe, author of Say Nothing and London Falling For more than three decades, Paul Skalnik roamed the Gulf Coast lying about who he was. He passed himself off as a fighter pilot, a high-rolling oilman, a criminal defense attorney, an undercover agent, and a terminal cancer patient. In these guises he married nine women—some at the same time. When Skalnik got caught, as he invariably did, he would run a different con. Locked up with other men awaiting trial, he claimed they confessed their crimes to him. Then he peddled those stories to prosecutors. In Pinellas County, Florida, he became a frequent witness for the state, thinking nothing of exaggerating men’s wrongdoing or implicating the innocent to help prosecutors win convictions. In return, the state rewarded him with his freedom, fueling his growing sense of invincibility. Soon he was not just committing fraud; he was preying on girls in their teens or barely into adolescence. In 1985, Jim Dailey, a down-on-his-luck Vietnam veteran, was implicated in the murder of a fourteen-year-old girl and landed in the Pinellas County Jail with Skalnik. No forensic evidence or motive linked Dailey to the killing, but Skalnik’s account of his "confession" helped put Dailey on death row. Skalnik, meanwhile, walked free. More than three decades later, after another man took responsibility for the killing, Pamela Colloff, reporting for the New York Times Magazine and ProPublica, visited Skalnik and asked him if he would recant his testimony. He refused. By then, Skalnik had caused untold damage: to the women and girls he exploited, to the dozens of men he helped imprison, and to Jim Dailey, who went on to receive an execution date. In this mesmerizing debut, Pamela Colloff spins a dark tale of a remorseless and brilliant liar made lethal by a system more concerned with winning convictions than finding the truth.

3

Too Late to Say Goodbye - Ann Rule Cover Art

Too Late to Say Goodbye

Too Late to Say Goodbye A True Story of Murder and Betrayal by Ann Rule

From bestselling author Ann Rule comes the engrossing true crime story of two beautiful, loving women, and their murder by the man in their life—handsome, charming, rich, a man marked for unlimited success—but one who would never allow any woman to leave him, no matter what the provocation. Jenn Corbin, a lovely, slim, brown-eyed blonde, appeared to have it all: two dear little boys, a posh home in one of the upscale suburbs of Atlanta, expensive cars, a plush houseboat, and a husband—Dr. Bart Corbin, a successful dentist—who was tall, handsome, and brilliant. But gradually their seemingly idyllic life together began to crumble. There was talk of seeing a marriage counselor. Bart was distraught; Jenn seemed disenchanted. She needed to reach out to someone she could confide in—beyond her mother and her sisters. Then, just a few weeks before Christmas 2004, Jenn was found dead with a bullet in her head, a revolver beside her. From the position of the body her death appeared to be a suicide. But Gwinnett County detective Marcus Head was not totally convinced, nor was Jenn's family, who could not believe she would take her own life. And how was this death related to another apparent suicide fourteen years earlier—that of Dorothy "Dolly" Hearn, a spectacularly beautiful dental student? A star athlete and homecoming queen in high school, Dolly later dated Bart Corbin in dental school. Was there a connection, or was the answer to be found in a secret—even dangerous—relationship Jenn Corbin was having outside her marriage? For T oo Late to Say Goodbye, Ann Rule has interviewed virtually everyone in any way related to the story—the victims' families, police investigators, prosecutors, and sources from Georgia to Australia—to uncover the truth behind the headlines of these two sensational deaths. What emerges is an incredible tale of jealous rage; of stunning circumstantial and physical evidence that runs from the steamy to the macabre to almost-unheard-of forensic techniques; and of a tragic irony—a fateful discovery that motivated the killing. The definitive unraveling of one of the strangest murder investigations of our time, Too Late to Say Goodbye is perhaps the finest achievement of a truly great writer's career.

4

When a Killer Calls - John E. Douglas & Mark Olshaker Cover Art

When a Killer Calls

When a Killer Calls A Haunting Story of Murder, Criminal Profiling, and Justice in a Small Town by John E. Douglas & Mark Olshaker

From John Douglas—the legendary FBI criminal profiler, #1 New York Times bestselling author, and inspiration for the Netflix show Mindhunter—comes a chilling true crime journey inside the mind and crimes of Larry Gene Bell, one of the most dangerous serial killers Douglas confronted, and the desperate effort to identify and catch him. On May 31, 1985, two days before her high school graduation, Shari Smith was abducted from the driveway of her family home in South Carolina. Based on the crime scene and the abductor’s repeated and taunting calls to the family, law enforcement quickly realized they were dealing with a sophisticated and highly dangerous criminal. A letter arrived the next day entitled “Last Will & Testament,” in which Shari, knowing she was to be murdered, wrote bravely and achingly of her love for her parents, siblings, and boyfriend, saying that while they would miss her, she knew they would persevere through their faith. The abduction rocked her quiet town, triggering a massive manhunt and bringing in the FBI, which enlisted profiler John Douglas. Then nine-year-old Debra May Helmick was kidnapped from her yard, confirming the harsh realization that Smith’s murder was no random act. A serial killer was evolving, and in this gripping criminal investigation, the only way to stop him would be to use the study of criminal behavior to anticipate his next move before he could kill again. Douglas devised a risky and emotionally fraught strategy to use Shari’s lookalike older sister Dawn as bait to draw out the unknown subject. Dawn and her parents courageously agreed. One of the most haunting investigations of Douglas’s storied career, this case details how the eerily accurate profile he created with the Behavioral Science Unit—alongside his carefully crafted and stage-managed manipulation of the killer’s psychology—combined with dedicated police work and cutting-edge forensic science to end a reign of criminal terror. As Shari’s family took incredible personal risks to lure her killer from the shadows, Douglas and the FBI pushed criminal profiling to its limits, culminating in one of his most dramatic and effective confrontations with a sadistic and remorseless killer. This landmark case in the annals of the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit reveals: A Killer’s Taunts: The chilling, real-life story of a serial killer who terrorized a family with phone calls after abducting their teenage daughter, Shari Smith, just two days before her graduation. The Mindhunter Technique: Go inside the FBI’s elite serial crime unit as legendary profiler John Douglas develops a revolutionary psychological profile to get inside the killer’s head. A Family’s Courage: Witness the incredible bravery of Shari’s family after they agree to a high-stakes plan to use her lookalike sister, Dawn, as bait to lure the murderer out of the shadows. Landmark Forensic Investigation: Discover how cutting-edge forensic science and meticulous police work combined with behavioral analysis to end a terrifying crime spree that also claimed the life of nine-year-old Debra May Helmick.

5

Sisters of the Midnight Sun - Rebecca Wright Stevens Cover Art

Sisters of the Midnight Sun

Sisters of the Midnight Sun A Murder in Arctic Alaska by Rebecca Wright Stevens

The stunning true story of a double homicide in the vibrant native Alaskan Iñupiat community at the arctic edge of the United States—written by the public defender at its center Rebecca Wright is a defense attorney living in the Lower 48 when she suddenly finds herself a widow and an empty nester. In need of a radical change, she accepts a public defender position in Utqiagvik on Alaska’s North Slope, an oil-rich area the size of Wyoming where the Iñupiat community holds great cultural, political, and economic power. Though she’ll always be a tanik—an outsider—she works hard to gain the trust and friendship of the folks who call this singular place home. When two well-known sisters, Bernice and Wanda Ipalook, are found murdered, Wright is tasked with representing Amos Lane, a drifter on the short-list of murder suspects. Criminal charges are looming. But this is summer in northern Alaska, the season of the midnight sun, when twenty-four-hour sunlight makes it difficult for witnesses to confirm the time—or even the day—they last saw the sisters, Amos, or anyone else. Wright must navigate an unreliable client, a prosecution willing to entrap her to get a conviction, a budding romance, and a community that believes Amos might deserve a different form of justice from what the tanik legal system can provide. Weaving a detailed portrait of Utqiagvik alongside Wright’s complex self-portrait of an outsider in an isolated community, Sisters of the Midnight Sun is a riveting true account that brings to vivid life a land at the edge of the habitable world.

6

American Predator - Maureen Callahan Cover Art

American Predator

American Predator The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century by Maureen Callahan

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER An Amazon “Best Book of 2019” A  Washington Post  “10 Books To Read in July” A  Los Angeles Times  “Seven Highly Anticipated Books for Summer Reading” A  USA Today  “20 of the Season’s Hottest New Books” A  New York Post  “25 Best Beach Reads of 2019 You Need to Pre-Order Now” A Bustle “The Best New True Crime Books You Can Read Right Now” “Maureen Callahan’s deft reporting and stylish writing have created one of the all-time-great serial-killer books: sensitive, chilling, and completely impossible to put down.” —Ada Calhoun, author of  St. Marks Is Dead Ted Bundy. John Wayne Gacy. Jeffrey Dahmer. The names of notorious serial killers are usually well-known; they echo in the news and in public consciousness. But most people have never heard of Israel Keyes, one of the most ambitious and terrifying serial killers in modern history. The FBI considered his behavior unprecedented. Described by a prosecutor as "a force of pure evil," Keyes was a predator who struck all over the United States. He buried "kill kits"--cash, weapons, and body-disposal tools--in remote locations across the country. Over the course of fourteen years, Keyes would fly to a city, rent a car, and drive thousands of miles in order to use his kits. He would break into a stranger's house, abduct his victims in broad daylight, and kill and dispose of them in mere hours. And then he would return home to Alaska, resuming life as a quiet, reliable construction worker devoted to his only daughter. When journalist Maureen Callahan first heard about Israel Keyes in 2012, she was captivated by how a killer of this magnitude could go undetected by law enforcement for over a decade. And so began a project that consumed her for the next several years--uncovering the true story behind how the FBI ultimately caught Israel Keyes, and trying to understand what it means for a killer like Keyes to exist. A killer who left a path of monstrous, randomly committed crimes in his wake--many of which remain unsolved to this day. American Predator is the ambitious culmination of years of interviews with key figures in law enforcement and in Keyes's life, and research uncovered from classified FBI files. Callahan takes us on a journey into the chilling, nightmarish mind of a relentless killer, and to the limitations of traditional law enforcement.

7

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.

8

The Westies - T. J. English Cover Art

The Westies

The Westies Inside New York's Irish Mob by T. J. English

From a New York Times –bestselling author: A true story of Irish gangsters in Manhattan—"A harrowing account of big city crime" ( Library Journal ).   It's men like Jimmy Coonan and Mickey Featherstone who gave Hell's Kitchen its name. In the mid-1970s, these two longtime friends take the reins of New York's Irish mob, using brute force to give it hitherto unthinkable power. Jimmy, a charismatic sociopath, is the leader. Mickey, whose memories of Vietnam torture him daily, is his enforcer. Together they make brutality their trademark, butchering bodies or hurling them out the window. Under their reign, Hell's Kitchen becomes a place where death literally rains from the sky. But when Mickey goes down for a murder he didn't commit, he suspects his friend has sold him out. He returns the favor, breaking the underworld's code of silence and testifying against his gang in open court.  From one of the creators of NYPD Blue and Homicide: Life on the Street comes an incredible true story of what it means to survive in the world of organized crime, where murder is commonplace.

9

The Impostor Heiress - Annie Reed Cover Art

The Impostor Heiress

The Impostor Heiress Cassie Chadwick, the Greatest Grifter of the Gilded Age by Annie Reed

Paroled felon. Rich doctor's wife. Famous clairvoyant.  Cassie Chadwick, one of history's most successful con artists, was a master of reinvention. In the dusk of the Gilded Age, she swept from town to town, assuming fresh identities to swindle a fortune so large that it rivaled the robber barons of the time. Then came arguably the greatest con in American history. Using forged documents and her peerless wits, Cassie convinced prominent men from Cleveland to New York City that she was the illegitimate daughter of the world's wealthiest man—Andrew Carnegie.  Businessmen loaned her hundreds of thousands of dollars at a time; the ensuing crash shattered banks and bankers alike. Her sensational trial made her a household name. The newspapers called her the "Queen of Swindlers," the "Duchess of Diamonds," the "High Priestess of Fraudulent Finance."  Interspersing Cassie's crimes with stories of an unsuspecting Andrew Carnegie, author Annie Reed spins an enthralling, page-turning tale of true crime. Long before Anna Delvey captivated national attention, there was Cassie Chadwick—the mother of the American con. 

10

The Devil at His Elbow - Valerie Bauerlein Cover Art

The Devil at His Elbow

The Devil at His Elbow Alex Murdaugh and the Fall of a Southern Dynasty by Valerie Bauerlein

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “The definitive account of the Murdaugh murders. Forget the podcasts, the TV specials, and the documentaries—this is the version of the story you’ll want to read. And once you pick it up, you won’t be able to put it down.”—John Carreyrou, Pulitzer Prize winner and bestselling author of Bad Blood Power, privilege, and blood—this is the true story of Alex Murdaugh’s violent downfall, from a veteran Wall Street Journal reporter who has become an authority on the case.   Alex Murdaugh was a benevolent dictator—the president of the South Carolina trial lawyers’ association, a political boss, a part-time prosecutor, and a partner in his family’s law firm. He was always ready with a favor, a drink, and an invitation to Moselle, his family’s 1,700-acre hunting estate. The Murdaugh name ignited respect—and fear—for a hundred miles. When he murdered his wife, Maggie, and son Paul at Moselle on a dark summer night, the fragile façade of Alex’s world could no longer hold. His forefathers had covered up a midnight suicide at a remote railroad crossing, a bootlegging ring run from a courthouse, and the attempted murder of a pregnant lover. Alex, too, almost walked away from his unspeakable crimes with his reputation intact, but his downfall was secured by a twist of fate, some stray mistakes, and a fateful decision by an old friend who’d finally seen enough. Why would a man who had everything kill his wife and grown son? To unwind the roots of Alex’s ruin, award-winning journalist Valerie Bauerlein reported not just from the courthouse every day but also along the backroads and through the tidal marshes of South Carolina’s Lowcountry. When the jurors made their pilgrimage to the crime scene, trying to envision Maggie and Paul’s last moments, she walked right behind them, sensing the ghosts that haunt the Murdaughs’ now-shattered legacy. Through masterful research and cinematic writing, The Devil at His Elbow is a transporting journey through Alex’s life, the night of the murders, and the investigation that culminated in a trial that held tens of millions spellbound. With her stunning insights and fearless instinct for the truth, Bauerlein uncovers layers of the Murdaugh murder case that have not been told.

11

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.

12

Chasing Evil - Robert Hilland & John Edward Cover Art

Chasing Evil

Chasing Evil Shocking Crimes, Supernatural Forces, and an FBI Agent’s Search for Hope and Justice by Robert Hilland & John Edward

How a skeptical FBI agent reached out to a famous psychic for help on a baffling case – and the twenty-five-year crime-solving journey that followed NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND A LIBRARY JOURNAL BEST BOOK OF 2025 In the summer of 1998, FBI agent Bob Hilland reluctantly picked up the phone to call the famous psychic John Edward. Bob didn’t expect much from the call, but he was working on an unsolvable cold case and had nowhere else to turn. What Bob never imagined was that the call would lead to a shattering of all his preconceived notions, a huge break in the cold case, and an unlikely crime-solving partnership that spanned twenty-five years. As Bob and John took on more cases together, they slowly learned how to rely on each other and trust their skills, ultimately finding not only justice for the crimes they solved, but resolution and healing in their own lives. Centering on the investigation of the gruesome John Smith murders that rocked the nation, Chasing Evil is a heart-stopping story of murder, justice, and finding help in unexpected places.

13

One of Us - Åsne Seierstad Cover Art

One of Us

One of Us The Story of a Massacre in Norway—and Its Aftermath by Åsne Seierstad

A New York Times bestseller and the basis for the Netflix film 22 July : "A chilling descent into the mind of mass murderer Anders Breivik." — Kirkus Reviews One of The New York Times Book Review's Ten Best Books of 2015 On July 22, 2011, Anders Behring Breivik detonated a bomb outside the Norwegian prime minister's office in central Oslo, killing eight people. He then proceeded to a youth camp on the wooded island of Utøya, where he killed sixty-nine more, most of them teenage members of the country's governing Labour Party. In One of Us , the journalist Åsne Seierstad tells the story of this terrible day and its reverberations. How did Breivik, a gifted child from an affluent neighborhood in Oslo, become Europe's most reviled terrorist? How did he accomplish an astonishing one-man murder spree? And how did a famously peaceful and prosperous country cope with the slaughter of so many of its young? Delving deep into Breivik's childhood, Seierstad shows how a hip-hop and graffiti aficionado became a right-wing activist, a successful entrepreneur, and then an Internet game addict and self-styled master warrior who believed he could save Europe from the threat of Islam and multiculturalism. She writes with equal intimacy about Breivik's victims, tracing their political awakenings, teenage flirtations and hopes, and ill-fated journeys to the island. In the book's final act, Seierstad describes Breivik's tumultuous public trial. Lauded in Scandinavia for its literary merit and moral poise, One of Us is at once a psychological study of violent extremism, a dramatic true crime procedural, and a compassionate inquiry into how a privileged society copes with homegrown evil.

14

Dear Jacob - Patty Wetterling Cover Art

Dear Jacob

Dear Jacob A Mother's Journey of Hope by Patty Wetterling

With stunning detail, Patty Wetterling shares the untold story of the twenty-seven-year-long search for her son Jacob—and its astonishing conclusion. On October 22, 1989, in the small town of St. Joseph, Minnesota, eleven-year-old Jacob Wetterling was kidnapped at gunpoint. Twenty-seven years later, on September 3, 2016, Danny Heinrich led authorities to the boy’s remains. What lies between is the riveting story of the search for Jacob Wetterling, told by his mother, Patty. With her trademark candor and down-to-earth honesty, she details the investigation as it unfolds, discusses her family’s struggles, and shows how she maintained her energy and optimism. For her own survival, Patty chose to focus on hope. She became a speaker, trainer, and national advocate for missing children. Her lobbying work took her to Washington, DC, where in 1994 Congress passed the Jacob Wetterling Act, establishing a national sex offender registry. In 2013 the Wetterlings were joined on their quest for answers by two unlikely allies—a local blogger and a plumber. Joy Baker convinced Jared Scheierl to come forward and share his story about being kidnapped from a nearby town and sexually assaulted the same year as Jacob. Together, these two uncovered a string of similar assaults that had never been fully investigated. The combined efforts of this foursome led to the breakthrough that solved the case. In Minnesota and beyond, Jacob’s kidnapping forever changed the way parents raised their children. Dear Jacob offers not only a behind-the-scenes account of one of America’s most notorious crimes, but also a historical account of what has been done in the years since Jacob’s kidnapping to combat the problem of missing and exploited children. In this powerful memoir—written with Joy Baker, the local blogger—Patty Wetterling finally tells readers what happened, and shows how in searching for Jacob, she found her purpose.

15

The Killer and Frank Lloyd Wright - Casey Sherman Cover Art

The Killer and Frank Lloyd Wright

The Killer and Frank Lloyd Wright The True Story of Mass Murder in Paradise by Casey Sherman

The scandal. The genius. The murder that shocked America. Frank Lloyd Wright was more than the mind behind America’s most iconic buildings—he was a man whose turbulent private life captivated a nation. The famous architect’s stormy marriage to Kitty Wright and his infamous affair with another woman, Mamah Borthwick, ignited one of the country’s first celebrity scandals, splashed across headlines from coast to coast. Then, in August 1914, scandal turned to horror. A tragedy at Taliesin, the Wisconsin home Wright built as a monument to love, shook the very foundation of Wright’s life—and catapulted him back to the front pages of newspapers across the country as readers clamored for glimpses of his very darkest moments. In The Killer and Frank Lloyd Wright , New York Times bestselling author Casey Sherman delves beyond the myth of Wright’s genius to reveal a man of relentless ambition, consuming passion, and devastating loss. With haunting intimacy and propulsive storytelling, Sherman delivers a portrait of an artist who could not escape the shadows of his own making—and who rose, again and again, from the ashes.

16

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 London Falling— 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.

17

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.

18

The Stranger Beside Me: Ted Bundy: The Shocking Inside Story - Ann Rule Cover Art

The Stranger Beside Me: Ted Bundy: The Shocking Inside Story

The Stranger Beside Me: Ted Bundy: The Shocking Inside Story by Ann Rule

Utterly unique in its astonishing intimacy, as jarringly frightening as when it first appeared, Ann Rule's The Stranger Beside Me defies our expectation that we would surely know if a monster lived among us, worked alongside of us, appeared as one of us. With a slow chill that intensifies with each heart-pounding page, Rule describes her dawning awareness that Ted Bundy, her sensitive coworker on a crisis hotline, was one of the most prolific serial killers in America. He would confess to killing at least thirty-six young women from coast to coast, and was eventually executed for three of those cases. Drawing from their correspondence that endured until shortly before Bundy's death, and striking a seamless balance between her deeply personal perspective and her role as a crime reporter on the hunt for a savage serial killer -- the brilliant and charismatic Bundy, the man she thought she knew -- Rule changed the course of true-crime literature with this unforgettable chronicle.

19

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.

20

The Yahoo Boys - Carlos Barragán Cover Art

The Yahoo Boys

The Yahoo Boys Love, Deception, and the Real Lives of Nigeria's Romance Scammers by Carlos Barragán

A New York Times Most Anticipated Nonfiction Book of 2026 A People Best Book of June | A USA Today Most Anticipated Summer Read "What [Barragán has] produced feels miraculous: journalism that is simultaneously funny, devastating, wildly intimate, and righteous without veering into moralism." —Kate Knibbs, Wired (Book Club Pick) "I have found few books lately as immediately compelling as Barragán's, and as a reader, I could not put it down . . . The Yahoo Boys is a tour-de-force." —Jon Lee Anderson An astonishing work of immersion journalism about four young romance scammers in Lagos, Nigeria, exploring how and why they scam, and the moral dilemmas they face When his mother started emailing with a handsome American soldier who promised to send gold bars to her Madrid apartment, the journalist Carlos Barragán came face to face with the human toll of online romance fraud. After tracing the emails to an IP address in Nigeria, he set off on a journey to Lagos to find his mother’s scammer, where he stumbled on a much bigger story. There, in a crowded and impoverished neighborhood in the midst of Africa’s largest city, he encountered thousands of young men engaged in romance scamming. They call themselves “Yahoo Boys,” and each year they catfish millions of dollars from lonely victims overseas, building a dizzying local economy from their phones. In this astonishing work of immersion journalism, Barragán takes us inside the lives of four of the Yahoo Boys of Lagos. We meet Biggy and Chibuike, each struggling with the temptations of fast money; Azeez, a tailor’s apprentice caught between the lure of crime and Nigeria’s economic crisis; and Richie, who is convinced that he’s responsible for the death of a woman in Kentucky he manipulated online for years. Some Yahoo Boys attain the status of folk heroes, buying houses and cars with the money they make, while others become dependent on drugs and “cash out”—successfully scam a victim—only to lose it all. Through the Yahoo Boys’ twisting fortunes, Barragán discovers the psychological tactics they perfect, the brutal economic realities that drive them, and the moral dilemmas they confront. A work of radical empathy, this book reveals the human face behind a global phenomenon, and shows how loneliness in the West and poverty in Nigeria are two sides of the same screen.

21

The Family Man - James Lasdun Cover Art

The Family Man

The Family Man Blood and Betrayal in the House of Murdaugh by James Lasdun

An immersive account of a seemingly loving father’s transformation into a "family annihilator." In March 2023, Alex Murdaugh was found guilty of murdering his wife and younger son at Moselle, their home in South Carolina’s Lowcountry. By then, the story had become headline news across the country, with its revelations of corruption in high places, massive fraud, opioid abuse, fake suicides, suspicious accidents, and the generational recklessness of the wealthy legal dynasty at its center. Having covered the case for The New Yorker, where his article became the magazine’s most read story of the year, the acclaimed novelist James Lasdun brings his long-standing interest in the darker drives of the human psyche to an investigation into the serial embezzlements, fatal boat crash, and other events leading up to the slaughter at Moselle. “Justice may have been served,” Lasdun writes in the preface to The Family Man, "but the human element of the story didn’t seem to add up." Having traveled extensively in the Lowcountry, Lasdun draws on original interviews (including with Murdaugh’s notorious "Cousin Eddie"), transcripts of phone calls Murdaugh made from prison, the literature of criminal psychology, and the murder trial itself. Deeply researched, sharply written, and with the page-turning intensity of a Southern gothic novel, The Family Man constructs a masterful portrait of Murdaugh and the mind-boggling crimes that wreaked havoc on his community.

22

The Devil and Sherlock Holmes - David Grann Cover Art

The Devil and Sherlock Holmes

The Devil and Sherlock Holmes by David Grann

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon and The Wager —and one of the most gifted reporters and storytellers of his generation—comes a “horrifying, hilarious, and outlandish” ( Entertainment Weekly ) collection of gripping true crime mysteries about people whose obsessions propel them into unfathomable and often deadly circumstances. "[Grann is] one of the preeminent adventure and true-crime writers working today."— New York Magazine Whether David Grann is investigating a mysterious murder, tracking a chameleon-like con artist, or hunting an elusive giant squid, he has proven to be a superb storyteller. In The Devil and Sherlock Holmes, Grann takes the reader around the world, revealing a gallery of rogues and heroes with their own particular fixations who show that truth is indeed stranger than fiction. Look for David Grann’s latest bestselling book, The Wager !

23

The Idaho Four - James Patterson & Vicky Ward Cover Art

The Idaho Four

The Idaho Four An American Tragedy by James Patterson & Vicky Ward

#1 New York Times bestseller! “A vivid portrait ... a sensitive tribute … a paean to youth, community, and the tenacity of local law enforcement.” — New York Times     “This is much more than a true crime book. It’s a vivid exploration of the range of human response when faceless terror strikes. It’s a portrait of America in this polarized moment.” — Town & Country   The Idaho Four, an instant #1  New York Times  bestseller, chronicles the story that began on November 13, 2022, in Moscow, Idaho. In the dark early hours, the lives of four friends and college students were cut short by unspeakable violence. The book—now featuring a newly reported conclusion—is an exploration of a complex criminal investigation and its devastating aftermath. It is a timeless portrait of the worst and best in us.      “Clearest profile yet of the twisted quadruple killer and his motives.” — New York Post “Perhaps the definitive account of the murders—a disturbing, necessary portrait of a killer and his victims.” — Guardian

24

Killer Dad - Robert Scott Cover Art

Killer Dad

Killer Dad by Robert Scott

A devoutly religious husband and father is revealed as a murderous sex addict in this true crime case featured on 48 Hours Mystery .   In November of 2001, Colorado family man Michael Blagg called 911 in distress over his missing wife and six-year-old daughter, exclaiming “Oh my god . . . there’s blood all over!” But frantic search parties and Michael's anguished pleas on national television came up empty. Then the investigation stumbled across Blagg’s dark side.   A devout born-again Christian, Blagg was addicted to Internet porn. He also reportedly abused his wife and indulged in the services of hired escorts. Then in June 2002, nearly a year after her disappearance, his wife's mummified remains were found in a local landfill. And Michael quickly left town.   Extradited from Georgia, Blagg was charged with first-degree murder. But the explosive trial was rocked by even more bizarre revelations, stunning twists, and an unspeakable mystery that haunted the country: What made Blagg do it? And, even more disturbing, whatever happened to little Abby?   Includes sixteen pages of shocking photos

25

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.  

26

Confessions of the Green River Killer - Maria DiLorenzo Cover Art

Confessions of the Green River Killer

Confessions of the Green River Killer A True Story of Manipulation, Madness, and a Search for Justice by Maria DiLorenzo

A startling profile of one of the most prolific serial killers and the disturbing experience of the journalist who earned his trust for the sake of justice. When crime journalist Maria DiLorenzo mailed a letter to Gary Ridgway, she never expected him to reply. He refused to speak to reporters and would send only religious materials back to anyone who contacted him in prison—if he replied at all. But instead of silence or a boilerplate letter, Maria’s phone rang–and it was the Green River Killer calling. Over the next several years, Ridgway would call Maria hundreds of times, using all of his free time in prison to speak with her. Her goal: to pry the details of his dozens of unidentified and unsolved murders from him. His motivation in speaking to her: unknowable. Through these hundreds of hours of phone calls, Ridgway revealed new details about his life, his crimes, and his motives – and manipulated Maria much like he tormented his victims. An insightful and deeply personal profile of a dangerous mind, Confessions of the Green River Killer is the closest depiction of Gary Ridgway ever seen and a disturbing glimpse into what it’s like to truly know a killer. Readers of I’ll Be Gone in the Dark and The Stranger Beside Me will be enraptured to experience Gary Ridgway through the eyes and ears of a woman he came to deeply trust—and deeply covet.

27

Among the Bros - Max Marshall Cover Art

Among the Bros

Among the Bros A Fraternity Crime Story by Max Marshall

“ Among the Bros  is a harrowing and disturbing book. I have read about fraternity life but nothing like this. This book will blow your mind, each page digging deeper into the unimaginable. Except every word is true.”—Buzz Bissinger, #1  New York Times  bestselling author of  The Mosquito Bowl  and  Friday Night Lights A brilliant young investigative journalist traces a murder and a multi-million-dollar drug ring, leading to an unprecedented look at elite American fraternity life. When Max Marshall arrived on the campus of the College of Charleston in 2018, he hoped to investigate a small-time fraternity Xanax trafficking ring. Instead, he found a homicide, several student deaths, and millions of dollars circulating around the Deep South. He also opened up an elite world hidden to outsiders. Behind the pop culture cliches of “Greek life” lies one of the major breeding grounds of American power: 80 percent of Fortune 500 executives, 85 percent of Supreme Court justices, and all but four presidents since 1825 have been fraternity members. With unprecedented immersion, this book takes readers inside that bubble. Under the live oaks and Spanish moss of Travel + Leisure ’s “Most Beautiful Campus in America,” Marshall traces several “C of C” boys’ journeys from fraternity pledges to interstate drug traffickers. The result is a gripping work of narrative nonfiction, a true-life story of hubris, status, money, drugs, and murder—one that lifts a curtain on an ecstatic and disturbing way of life. With expert pacing and a cool eye, he follows a never-ending party that continues after funerals and mass arrests. An addictive and haunting portrait of tomorrow’s American establishment, Among the Bros is true crime storytelling at its finest. This immersive true crime investigation reveals the full story: The Wolves of King Street: Go inside the multi-million-dollar drug ring run by fraternity brothers at the College of Charleston, a conspiracy of Xanax and cocaine that ended in tragedy. A Southern Murder Mystery: Follow the author’s harrowing investigation as he traces a homicide back to the very boys who ran the campus, exposing a cover-up that reached millions of dollars. Elite Fraternity Life: A shocking, unprecedented look behind the closed doors of Greek life, where the sons of the American establishment forge bonds through excess, crime, and secrecy. A Culture of Impunity: With expert pacing and a cool eye, Marshall documents a never-ending party that continues even after funerals and mass arrests, crafting a story that reads like a thriller.

28

Secrets in the Cellar - John Glatt Cover Art

Secrets in the Cellar

Secrets in the Cellar A True Story of the Austrian Incest Case that Shocked the World by John Glatt

Josef Fritzl was a 73-year-old retired engineer in Austria. He seemed to be living a normal life with his wife, Rosemarie, and their family—though one daughter, Elisabeth, had decades earlier been "lost" to a religious cult. Throughout the years, three of Elisabeth's children mysteriously appeared on the Fritzls' doorstep; Josef and Rosemarie raised them as their own. But only Josef knew the truth about Elisabeth's disappearance… For twenty-seven years, Josef had imprisoned and molested Elisabeth in his man-made basement dungeon, complete with sound-proof paneling and code-protected electric locks. There, she would eventually give birth to a total of seven of Josef's children. One died in infancy—and the other three were raised alongside Elisabeth, never to see the light of day. Then, in 2008, one of Elisabeth's children became seriously ill, and was taken to the hospital. It was the first time the nineteen-year-old girl had ever gone outside—and soon, the truth about her background, her family's captivity, and Josef's unspeakable crimes would come to light. John Glatt's Secrets in the Cellar is the true story of a crime that shocked the world.

29

Grilling Dahmer - Patrick Kennedy & Robyn Maharaj Cover Art

Grilling Dahmer

Grilling Dahmer The Interrogation Of "The Milwaukee Cannibal" by Patrick Kennedy & Robyn Maharaj

The Milwaukee detective who interrogated the notorious serial killer shares a vivid chronicle of what was revealed during the weeks-long encounter. In the late hours of July 22, 1991, Detective Patrick "Pat" Kennedy of the Milwaukee Police Department was asked to respond to a possible homicide. Little did he know that he would soon be delving into the dark mind of one of America's most notorious serial killers, the "Milwaukee Cannibal" Jeffrey Dahmer. As the media clamored for details, Kennedy spent the next six weeks, sixteen hours a day, locked in an interrogation room with Dahmer. There the thirty-one-year-old killer described in lurid detail how he lured several young men to his apartment where he strangled, sexually assaulted, dismembered, and in some cases, cannibalized his victims. In Grilling Dahmer , Kennedy takes readers inside the mind of evil as he patiently, meticulously, listens to unspeakable horrors.

30

The Riverman - Robert Keppel Cover Art

The Riverman

The Riverman Ted Bundy and I Hunt for the Green River Killer by Robert Keppel

After a search of over twenty years, one of America's most elusive serial killers was finally apprehended. Now, read the true story of one man's attempt to get inside se mind of the Green River Killer July 15, 1982: 3 woman's strangled body was filed, caught on the pilings of Washington state's Green River. Before long, the "Green River Killer" would be suspected in at least forty-nine more homicides, with no end in sight. Then the authorities received an unbelievable letter from the infamous serial killer Ted Bundy -- then on Florida's death row -- offering to help catch the Green River Killer. But he would only talk to one man: Robert Keppel, the former homicide detective who had helped track Bundy's cross-county killing spree. Now these conversations are revealed, in which Bundy speculates about the motive and methods of the Green River Killer -- and reveals his own twisted secrets as well. Now, as never before, we look into the face of evil...and into the heart of a killer.

31

Bufalino - Charles Bufalino Cover Art

Bufalino

Bufalino Revelations of a Mafia Family, the Teamsters, and the Final Resting Place of Jimmy Hoffa by Charles Bufalino

Written by the legendary crime boss Russell Bufalino’s cousin, this gripping insider’s account is an epic tell-all of the Pennsylvania Mafia family's origins, both personal and criminal, from its coal-mining Black Hand days in Pittston, to their national rise and control of the Teamsters Union, while also offering convincing clues as to what became of Jimmy Hoffa. Russell Bufalino was considered the most powerful Mob boss of his day, if not all time—rivaling the likes of Carlo Gambino, Vito Genovese, and Lucky Luciano in their prime. But until now, no one has ever so personally traced Russell’s career back to the coal fields of Northeastern Pennsylvania, or explored so completely the legacy of the Pittston crime family Russell would inherit. Charles Bufalino, cousin and caretaker of the family’s explosive history, also offers the most authentic and probable solution to the greatest Mob mystery of all time: What really happened to Jimmy Hoffa?  Stretching back to the Bufalino roots in Sicily and the emigration of the men of Montedoro to the turn-of-the-19th-century Pennsylvania coal fields, this gripping story lays the groundwork for the inception of an organized crime empire. Once in America, the Bufalinos penetrated both sides of the labor-versus-management conflict to magnify their own power and ultimately influence events on the national stage. By the 1950s, in the wake of Black Hand threats, murder, kidnapping, and bombings, Russell would be named boss—the Don of all Dons. Blood ties and extended family were his to control. Likewise, his enemies, including Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa. Delving deeply into corroborated family documentation, Charles Bufalino separates fact from fiction and corrects the presumed history of his ruthlessly enterprising ancestors to paint an intimate, epic, and riveting portrait of one of the most storied crime families of the 20th century.

32

I Heard You Paint Houses - Charles Brandt Cover Art

I Heard You Paint Houses

I Heard You Paint Houses Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran & Closing the Case on Jimmy Hoffa by Charles Brandt

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER: This classic true crime account about the mafia hitman who claims he killed Jimmy Hoffa inspired Scorsese’s epic gangster movie, The Irishman . Now updated with substantial post-publication corroboration of Sheeran’s confessions to the killings of Jimmy Hoffa and Joey Gallo. “I heard you paint houses” are the first words Jimmy Hoffa ever spoke to Frank “the Irishman” Sheeran. To paint a house is to kill a man. The paint is the blood that splatters on the walls and floors. In the course of nearly 5 years of recorded interviews, Frank Sheeran confessed to Charles Brandt that he handled more than 25 hits for the mob, and for his friend Hoffa. He also provided intriguing information about the Mafia’s role in the murder of JFK. Sheeran learned to kill in the US Army, where he saw an astonishing 411 days of active combat duty in Italy during World War II. After returning home he became a hustler and hit man, working for legendary crime boss Russell Bufalino. Eventually Sheeran would rise to a position of such prominence that in a RICO suit the US government would name him as one of only 2 non-Italians in conspiracy with the Commission of La Cosa Nostra, alongside the likes of Anthony “Tony Pro” Provenzano and Anthony “Fat Tony” Salerno.  When Bufalino ordered Sheeran to kill Hoffa, the Irishman did the deed, knowing that if he had refused he would have been killed himself. Charles Brandt’s page-turner has become a true crime classic.   “Sheeran’s confession that he killed Hoffa . . . is supported by the forensic evidence . . . and solves the Hoffa mystery.”  — Michael Baden M.D., former Chief Medical Examiner of the City of New York

33

Death Trap - M. William Phelps Cover Art

Death Trap

Death Trap by M. William Phelps

The true-crime story of a bitter divorcée and the murder of her ex and his new wife, by the New York Times bestselling author of Cruel Death . It started when Alan Bates and his new wife arrived at his ex's house to pick up his two daughters for a weekend visit. Then two charred bodies were found in a burned-out car on a lonely Georgia road . . . and investigators pieced together a shattering story of a vicious divorce, a spurned woman's bitter rage, and a thirst for revenge that led to cruel, unflinching murder. Updating this gripping true-life thriller with shocking new details, M. William Phelps uncovers the cold heart of an unthinkable crime. Praise for Death Trap “A chilling tale of a sociopathic wife and mother willing to sacrifice all those around her to satisfy her boundless narcissism . . . A compelling journey . . . . Fair warning: for three days I did little else but read this book.” —Harry N. MacLean, New York Times bestselling author of In Broad Daylight Perfect for readers of Anne Rule and Kathryn Casey Includes sixteen pages of dramatic photos

34

Practice to Deceive - Ann Rule Cover Art

Practice to Deceive

Practice to Deceive by Ann Rule

This New York Times bestseller—from “America’s best true-crime writer” ( Kirkus Reviews ) and the author of The Stranger Beside Me —is a shocking tale of greed, sex, scandal, and murder on an isolated and eerie island in the Pacific Northwest. The basis for the Lifetime movie event Circle of Deception. With more than 50 million copies of her books in print—from her chilling personal account of knowing Ted Bundy to sixteen collections in her #1 bestselling Crime Files series—Ann Rule is a legendary true crime writer. Here, in Practice to Deceive , Rule unravels a shattering case of Christmastime murder off the coast of Washington State—presented with the clarity, authority, and emotional depth that Rule’s readers expect. Nestled in Puget Sound, Whidbey Island is a gem of the Pacific Northwest. Accessible only by ferry, it is known for its artistic communities and stunning natural beauty. Life there is low-key, and the island’s year-round residents tend to know one another’s business. But when the blood-drenched body of Russel Douglas was discovered the day after Christmas in his SUV in a hidden driveway near Whidbey’s most exclusive mansion—a single bullet between his eyes—the whole island was shocked. At first, police suspected suicide, tragically common at the height of the holiday season. But when they found no gun in or near the SUV, Russel’s manner of death became homicide . Brenna Douglas, Russel’s estranged and soon-to-be-ex wife, allowed him to come home for a Christmas visit with their children. The couple owned the popular Just B’s salon. Brenna’s good friend Peggy Sue Thomas worked there, and Brenna complained often to her that Russel was physically and emotionally abusive. Peggy Sue’s own life has been one of extremes. Married three times, hers is a rags-to-riches-and-back-again tale in which she’s played many roles, from aircraft mechanic to “drop-dead gorgeous” beauty queen as a former Ms. Washington. But in 2003, her love affair with married guitarist Jim Huden led the two Whidbey Island natives to pursue their ultimate dreams of wealth and privilege—even at the expense of human life. Unravel the tangled web woven by Russel Douglas’s murder in Practice to Deceive , a heart pounding true-crime tour de force.

35

Making Jack Falcone - Joaquin "Jack" Garcia Cover Art

Making Jack Falcone

Making Jack Falcone An Undercover FBI Agent Takes Down a Mafia Family by Joaquin "Jack" Garcia

The shocking and unprecedented true story of how an undercover FBI agent infiltrated the Gambino crime family, perfect for fans of Wiseguy , The Pretender , and American Radical . Petey Chops wasn’t kicking up. And if he didn’t start soon, he was going to get whacked. So begins the extraordinary true story of an undercover FBI agent’s years-long investigation of the Gambinos, resulting in a string of arrests that crippled the organized crime syndicate. But long before Joaquin “Jack” Garcia found himself wearing a wire with some of the Mafia’s top capos, he was one of the FBI’s unlikeliest recruits. A Cuban American, Jack graduated from Quantico standing six-foot-four and weighing 300 pounds, which soon proved to be an asset as the FBI looked to place agents undercover with drug smugglers, counterfeiters, and even killers. Using a series of carefully created aliases, Jack insinuated himself in the criminal world, from the Badlands of Philadelphia, where he was a gregarious money launderer, to the streets of Miami, where an undercover Garcia moved stolen and illicit goods and brought down dirty cops. But his biggest opportunity came when he infiltrated the shadowy world of the Mafia, but how would the Cuban American convince wiseguys that he was one of their own? For the first time, the FBI created a special “mob school” for Jack, teaching him how to eat, talk, and think like a wiseguy. And it wasn’t long before the freshly minted Jack Falcone found himself under the wing of one of the Gambinos’ old school capos, Greg DePalma. DePalma, who cared for an ailing John Gotti in prison, introduced Falcone to his world of shakedowns, beatings, and envelopes of cash, never suspecting that one of his trusted crew members was a federal agent. A page-turning account of the struggle between law enforcement and organized crime that will rank with such classic stories as Donnie Brasco, Serpico, and Wiseguy, Making Jack Falcone is an unforgettable trip into America’s underworld through the eyes of a highly decorated FBI veteran.

36

Heart Full of Lies - Ann Rule Cover Art

Heart Full of Lies

Heart Full of Lies A True Story of Desire and Death by Ann Rule

From #1 New York Times bestselling true-crime author Ann Rule comes “a convincing portrait of a meticulous criminal mind” ( The Washington Post ) in this chilling true story of marriage and murder about a beautiful and charming widow with a dark side. An idyllic Hawaiian wedding held the promise of a wonderful future for handsome, athletic Chris Northon, an airline pilot, a confirmed bachelor-turned-devoted family man; and Liysa, an acclaimed surf photographer, loving mother, and aspiring Hollywood screenwriter. But few, including Chris, had seen Liysa's other side—her controlling behavior and dark moods, her insatiable hunger for money and property. And no one anticipated the fatal outcome of a family camping trip in an Oregon forest. Liysa soon revealed herself as a victim of domestic abuse that culminated at the campsite, where she shot Chris in self-defense. But crime scene evidence led detectives to wonder if Liysa was a killer, not a victim. Her controversial trial stunned all who thought they knew her. A lifetime of sociopathic manipulations and lies had been expertly hidden behind her façade of perfection—as was her rage to destroy any obstacle to her ultimate happiness, even if it was the man she vowed to love forever.

37

Bitter Harvest - Ann Rule Cover Art

Bitter Harvest

Bitter Harvest A Womans Fury A Mothers Sacrifice by Ann Rule

True crime icon Ann Rule presents a “must-read” ( People ) New York Times bestseller—and inspiration behind the Lifetime movie A House on Fire —following a woman whose apparent perfect life hides a harrowing and deadly madness. Debora Green, a doctor and mother in a picturesque and exclusive Kansas town, seems to have the perfect life with her own medical practice, a handsome physician husband, and three lovely children. It seems like a horribly tragic accident when a raging fire destroys her home and takes two lives. But a trail of clues leads investigators to an unthinkable conclusion. In this “tour de force from America’s best true crime writer” ( Kirkus Reviews ), Ann Rule reveals the disturbing secrets—including infidelity, suicide, revenge, and murder—hiding beneath a façade of paradise in the American heartland.

38

Son: A Psychopath and his Victims - Olsen, Jack Cover Art

Son: A Psychopath and his Victims

Son: A Psychopath and his Victims by Olsen, Jack

Winner of the Edgar Award. A New York Times Bestseller. Between 1978 and 1981, a rapist prowled the South Hill neighborhood of Spokane, Washington. He targeted women jogging alone, waiting for buses, walking home after dark. His signature was unmistakable and terrifying: a gloved fist rammed into his victim’s mouth to silence her screams. By the time police made an arrest, more than forty women had been attacked. The suspect was clean-cut, conservative, and charming. He was also the son of Gordon Coe, the distinguished managing editor of the Spokane Daily Chronicle, the very newspaper running the public tip line to catch the South Hill Rapist. The family closed ranks immediately. Fred Coe’s mother, Ruth, a Spokane socialite known for her jet-black wigs, elaborate jewelry, and fierce social ambitions, provided her son with detailed alibis. She told the court that she and Fred had been running their own mother-and-son vigilante operation to catch the real rapist. Unfortunately for Ruth and Fred, the evidence was overwhelming. Fred Coe was convicted of rape. As he was led away, Ruth was heard to say: “Down, but not out.” She meant it. Ruth Coe then hired a hitman to kill the judge and the prosecutor who had put her son away. Unfortunately for Ruth, the man she hired was an undercover cop. But the legal saga was far from over. Several victims had been hypnotized by police during the investigation, tainting their testimony. Convictions were overturned. Retrials were held. Of the forty or more women he was suspected of attacking, Fred Coe ultimately served time for a single rape conviction. He never admitted to his crimes. He maintained his innocence for more than four decades, through multiple trials, twenty-five years in prison, and years of civil commitment as a sexually violent predator. He died in December 2025, two months after his release, still insisting he was innocent. Jack Olsen spent eighteen months and more than 150 interviews reconstructing every dimension of this case: the crimes, the victims, the twisted family dynamics, and the central question that haunts every page. What is it like to love a man for years, as a mother, as a wife, as a girlfriend, and then discover he is a psychopathic rapist? As Ann Rule, author of The Stranger Beside Me, wrote: “Every woman in America should read Son.” The Richmond Times-Dispatch observed: “It has become fashionable to compare books about vicious crimes to Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood. Finally, there is a book that deserves the comparison.”

39

A Nightmare Made Real - Christopher Goffard Cover Art

A Nightmare Made Real

A Nightmare Made Real by Christopher Goffard

Louis Gonzalez III stood accused of unspeakable acts: kidnapping, torture, sexual assault. If convicted, he faced life behind bars. As his defense team fights to free him, a detective comes to question whether the facts are what they seem.  Los Angeles Times reporter Christopher Goffard brings you a harrowing story that will leave you wondering, could it happen to me? Includes never-before-published details and updates.

40

While Idaho Slept - J. Reuben Appelman Cover Art

While Idaho Slept

While Idaho Slept The Hunt for Answers in the Murders of Four College Students by J. Reuben Appelman

The author of the acclaimed true-crime memoir, The Kill Jar, tells the inside story of the “University of Idaho Murders,” offering a memorable, thoughtful dive into our societal fascination with investigative true crime, the media’s seeming blood-frenzy, and the future of homicide investigations, while cultivating an intimate look into the minds and hearts of the victims and their suspected killer, Bryan Kohberger, alike.  Just after 4:00 am on November 13, 2022, four University of Idaho students were viciously stabbed to death in an off-campus house. The killings, a shocking quadruple homicide, would shake the small blue-collar college town of Moscow, Idaho, dominate mainstream news coverage, and become a social media obsession, drawing millions of clicks and views. While a reticent Moscow Police Department, the FBI, and the Idaho State Police searched for the killer, unending conjecture and countless theories blazed online, in chatrooms and platforms from Reddit and YouTube to Facebook and TikTok. For more than a month, the clash of armchair investigators and law enforcement professionals raged, until a suspect — a 28-year-old Ph.D. candidate studying criminology—was arrested at his family home 2,500 miles away in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania on the day before New Year’s Eve. While Idaho Slept  is a thought-provoking, literary chronicle of a small-town murder investigation blistering beneath the unceasing light of international interest, as traditional investigators, the online world of citizen sleuths, and the true-crime media acted—sometimes together, often in conflict—to uncover the truth. As J. Reuben Appelman brings this terrible crime into focus, he humanizes the four victims, examining the richness of their lives, dissects the mind and motivations of their presumed killer, and explores the world of northern Idaho, a rugged, deeply conservative stronghold steeped in Christian values and American patriotism.  Going deep inside the case, Appelman addresses a crucial question: With so many millions of citizens armed by access and hungry to take part in a true crime hunt of their own, has the nature of modern homicide investigation permanently changed? Rising above the sensational,  While Idaho Slept  illuminates the intrinsic   connection between today’s media, the social media frenzy, our societal mania for murder tales, and an impatient public’s insatiable appetite for spectacle as never before. Running beneath, the pulse of the story is a heartbreaking narrative of the people we love, the dreams we all share, and the uncertain time left for sharing them. This definitive account explores every angle of a case that captivated a nation: A Definitive University of Idaho Murders Account: Go beyond the headlines with a detailed timeline of the crime, the victims’ lives, and the mind of the criminology Ph.D. student accused of the unthinkable. The Homicide Investigation Uncovered: Follow the Moscow PD, Idaho State Police, and the FBI as they navigate a complex crime scene and immense public pressure in the hunt for a killer. Small Town Murder, Global Spotlight: Discover how the brutal stabbings shattered the peace of Moscow, Idaho, and examine the portrait of a rugged, tight-knit community under the glare of an international media frenzy. Citizen Detectives and Digital Frenzy: Analyze the unprecedented role of TikTok, Reddit, and other platforms as armchair investigators both helped and hindered the official search for the truth.

41

Never See Them Again - M. William Phelps Cover Art

Never See Them Again

Never See Them Again by M. William Phelps

"One of our most engaging crime journalists." Katherine Ramsland In the summer of 2003, the Houston suburb of Clear Lake, Texas, was devastated when four young residents were viciously slain. The two female victims were just eighteen-years-old, popular and beloved--but when a killer came knocking, it turned out to be someone they knew all too well. . ..Seventeen-year-old Christine Paolilla was an awkward outsider--until the girls befriended her. In this gripping true story, M. William Phelps delves into the heart of a baffling mystery to get to the truth of an act so brutal it could not be understood--until now. "Phelps is the Harlan Coben of real-life thrillers." Allison Brennan "The best true-crime writer to come along in years." Gregg Olsen Praise for M. William Phelps "Phelps ratchets up the dramatic tension." Stephen Singular "One of America's finest true-crime writers." Vincent Bugliosi "Phelps creates a vivid portrait." Publishers Weekly Includes 16 Pages Of Dramatic Photos

42

The Peepshow - Kate Summerscale Cover Art

The Peepshow

The Peepshow The Murders at Rillington Place by Kate Summerscale

A New York Times Notable Book • A New York Times Review Editors' Choice • Named a Best Book of the year by FT • Nominated for the Women's prize for nonfiction • Winner of the 2025 ALCS Gold Dagger for Non-fiction “ A trove of thrilling material . . . skillfully examines the racism, sexism, economic privation and class prejudices that permeated postwar England . . . There’s so much to admire in this engaging, deeply researched book. ” —The New York Times Book Review “ An absorbing portrait of post-WWII London .” —Booklist From the Edgar Award–winning author of The Haunting of Alma Fielding , the tale of two journalists competing to solve the notorious Christie murders in postwar London In March 1953, London police discovered the bodies of three young women hidden in a wall at 10 Rillington Place, a dingy rowhouse in Notting Hill. On searching the building, they found another body beneath the floorboards, then an array of human bones in the garden. They launched a nationwide manhunt for the tenant of the ground-floor apartment, a softly spoken former policeman named Reg Christie. But they had already investigated a double murder at 10 Rillington Place three years before, and the killer was hanged. Did they get the wrong man? The story was an instant sensation. The star reporter Harry Procter chased after the scoop on Christie. The eminent crime writer Fryn Tennyson Jesse begged her editor to let her cover the case. To Harry and Fryn, Christie seemed a new kind of murderer: he was vacant, impersonal, a creature of a brutish postwar world. Christie liked to watch women, they discovered, and he liked to kill them. They realized that he might also have engineered a terrible miscarriage of justice. In this riveting true story, Kate Summerscale mines the archives to uncover the lives of Christie’s victims, the tabloid frenzy that their deaths inspired, and the truth about what happened inside the house. What she finds sheds fascinating light on the origins of our fixation with true crime—and suggests a new solution to one of the most notorious cases of the century.

43

Echoes in the Darkness - Joseph Wambaugh Cover Art

Echoes in the Darkness

Echoes in the Darkness by Joseph Wambaugh

On June 25, 1989, the naked corpse of schoolteacher Susan Reinert was found wedged into her hatchback car in a hotel parking lot near Philadelphia's "Main Line."  Her two children had vanished.  The Main Line Murder Case burst upon the headlines--and wasn't resolved for seven years.  Now, master crime writer Joseph Wambaugh reconstructs the case from its roots, recounting the details, drama, players and pawns in this bizarre crime that shocked the nation and tore apart a respectable suburban town.  The massive FBI and state police investigation ultimately centered on two men.  Dr. Jay C. Smith--By day he was principal of Upper Merion High School where Susan Reinert taught.  At night he was a sadist who indulged in porno, drugs, and weapons.  William Bradfield--He was a bearded and charismatic English teacher and classics scholar, but his real genius was for juggling women--three at a time.  One of those women was Susan Reinert.  How these two men are connected, how the brilliant murder was carried off, and how the investigators closed this astounding case makes for Wambaugh's most compelling book yet.

44

Dangerous Rhythms - T. J. English Cover Art

Dangerous Rhythms

Dangerous Rhythms Jazz and the Underworld by T. J. English

From T. J. English, the New York Times bestselling author of Havana Nocturne, comes the epic, scintillating narrative of the interconnected worlds of jazz and organized crime in 20th century America. "[A] brilliant and courageous book." —Dr. Cornel West Dangerous Rhythms tells the symbiotic story of jazz and the underworld: a relationship fostered in some of 20th century America’s most notorious vice districts. For the first half of the century mobsters and musicians enjoyed a mutually beneficial partnership. By offering artists like Louis Armstrong, Earl “Fatha” Hines, Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Lena Horne, and Ella Fitzgerald a stage, the mob, including major players Al Capone, Meyer Lansky, and Charlie “Lucky” Luciano, provided opportunities that would not otherwise have existed. Even so, at the heart of this relationship was a festering racial inequity. The musicians were mostly African American, and the clubs and means of production were owned by white men. It was a glorified plantation system that, over time, would find itself out of tune with an emerging Civil Rights movement. Some artists, including Louis Armstrong, believed they were safer and more likely to be paid fairly if they worked in “protected” joints. Others believed that playing in venues outside mob rule would make it easier to have control over their careers. Through English’s voluminous research and keen narrative skills, Dangerous Rhythms reveals this deeply fascinating slice of American history in all its sordid glory.

45

Dead in the Water - Penny Farmer Cover Art

Dead in the Water

Dead in the Water My Forty-Year Search for My Brother's Killer by Penny Farmer

An "intimate" account of a double murder by a man once suspected as being the Golden State Killer ( O, the Oprah Magazine , "20 Best True Crime Books").   In 1978, two tortured corpses—hooded, bound, and weighted down with engine parts—were found in the sea off Guatemala. Junior doctor Chris Farmer and his girlfriend, Peta Frampton, were still clinging to life when they were thrown from the yacht they'd been crewing.   Here is the gripping account of how Chris's family worked alongside police, the FBI, and Interpol to gather evidence against the boat's Californian skipper, Silas Duane Boston. Almost four decades later, in 2015, Chris's sister, Penny, used Facebook to track down Boston. Following the detailed, haunting testimony of his own two sons—who also implicated their father in a string of other killings—Boston was finally arrested and charged with two counts of maritime murder.   A story of homicide on the high seas,  Dead in the Water  is also a tale of a family's fortitude and diligence in tracking down a monster.   "A real-life page turner more intriguing than anything on Netflix."— Mail on Sunday   "A heartbreaking tale of familial love and a sister's hunt for justice. There are numerous twists and turns which would be disturbing if they were woven between the pages of a novel let alone as part of a true story."— The Tattooed Book

46

Journal of the Dead - Jason Kersten Cover Art

Journal of the Dead

Journal of the Dead by Jason Kersten

I killed and buried my best friend today ... When authorities found Raffi Kodikian -- barely alive -- four days after he and his friend David Coughlin became lost in Rattlesnake Canyon, they made a grim and shocking discovery. Kodikian freely admitted that he had stabbed Coughlin twice in the heart. Had there been a darker motive than mercy? And how could anyone, under any circumstances, kill his best friend? Armed with the journal Kodikian and Coughlin carried into Rattle- snake Canyon, Jason Kersten re-creates in riveting detail those fateful days that led to the killing in an infamously unforgiving wilderness.

47

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").

48

The Mammoth Book of the Mafia - Nigel Cawthorne Cover Art

The Mammoth Book of the Mafia

The Mammoth Book of the Mafia by Nigel Cawthorne

30 inside stories of the American Mafia, Sicilian Cosa Nostra, Camorra and 'Ndrangheta Images of life in the Mob pervade our film and TV screens, some glamorous, some horrific - what is the reality? Investigative journalist Roger Wilkes has put together the largest ever collection of insider stories from prominent ex-mafiosi, infiltrators and award-winning writers. It contains tell-all accounts by the likes of: Richard 'The Iceman' Kuklinski, the contract killer who claimed to have murdered over 200 people in a career lasting 43 years. Frankie Saggio, who 'freelanced' for all five of New York's Mafia families, narrowly escaping assassination before being busted for a major scam. Joey Black, the Hitman, chillingly professional murderer of 38 victims and regarded by many as the 'original Soprano'. Albert DeMeo, the son of a gangster, who later became a lawyer. 'Donnie Brasco', real name Joseph Pistone, the FBI agent, who worked undercover in the Bonanno and Colombo crime families in New York for six years. Tommaso Buscetta, the Sicilian mafioso, the first pentito , or informant, of real significance to break omertà . The two judges with whom he worked, Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, were both later killed by the Mafia. This is the reality of the world of men you wouldn't want to cross.

49

The Black Hand - Stephan Talty Cover Art

The Black Hand

The Black Hand The Epic War Between a Brilliant Detective and the Deadliest Secret Society in American History by Stephan Talty

Soon to be a major motion picture starring Leonardo DiCaprio, this gripping true story of the origins of the Mafia in America follows the brilliant Italian-born detective who gave his life to stop it. Beginning in the summer of 1903, an insidious crime wave filled New York City, and then the entire country, with fear. The children of Italian immigrants were kidnapped, and dozens of innocent victims were gunned down. Bombs tore apart tenement buildings. Judges, senators, Rockefellers, and society matrons were threatened with gruesome deaths. The perpetrators seemed both omnipresent and invisible. Their only calling card: the symbol of a black hand. The crimes whipped up the slavering tabloid press and heated ethnic tensions to the boiling point. Standing between the American public and the Black Hand’s lawlessness was Joseph Petrosino. Dubbed the “Italian Sherlock Holmes,” he was a famously dogged and ingenious detective, and a master of disguise. As the crimes grew ever more bizarre and the Black Hand’s activities spread far beyond New York’s borders, Petrosino and the all-Italian police squad he assembled raced to capture members of the secret criminal society before the country’s anti-immigrant tremors exploded into catastrophe. Petrosino’s quest to root out the source of the Black Hand’s power would take him all the way to Sicily—but at a terrible cost. Unfolding a story rich with resonance in our own era, The Black Hand is fast-paced narrative history at its very best.

50

The Sleep of Reason - David James Smith Cover Art

The Sleep of Reason

The Sleep of Reason The James Bulger Case by David James Smith

Friday, 12th February, 1993. Two outwardly unremarkable ten-year-old boys began the day by playing truant and ended it running an errand for the local video shop. In between they abducted and killed a two-year-old boy, James Bulger. In search of an explanation, award-winning journalist David James Smith looks behind the misinformation, misunderstanding and sensational reporting to an exact account of the events of that day. A sensitive and definitive account, The Sleep of Reason achieves a unique understanding of the James Bulger case, and comes as close as may ever be possible to explaining how two ten-year-olds could kill.

Books

Book Charts

Apple Books Best Sellers

Fiction Ebook Best Sellers

Nonfiction Ebook Best Sellers

iTunes Audiobook Charts

Audiobook Best Sellers

iTunes Music Charts

Most Popular Music Charts

Movie Charts

Top Movies

iTunes TV Charts

Top Television Shows

iTunes iOS App Charts

Top iPhone Apps

Top iPad & iPad Mini Apps

International iTunes Charts