Here Are 17 True Crime Books You Should Read ASAP
Because non-fiction is always way more scary than make believe.
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1. I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara.
"You'll be silent forever, and I'll be gone in the dark."
Michelle McNamara's I'll Be Gone In The Dark was written before the notorious and terrifying Golden State Killer was identified and arrested. The book is an incredibly impressive piece of investigative journalism and McNamara's passion exudes from the pages, making it hard to put down. Without a doubt this book is a must have for any lover of true crime.
Buy the paperback edition for $26.27 or the kindle edition for $7.01 on Amazon Australia.
2. The Hillside Stranglers by Darcy O'Brien.
“For a second, he was a little relieved. He would always rather deal with the murder of a drug addict. Addicts died young anyway.”
The Hillside Stranglers explores themes that are incredibly disturbing, confronting and borderline gruesome. O'Brien's research and writing is impeccable, leading you to mistrust everyone — no matter how charismatic or attractive they are. The book tells the story of the victims as well as the upbringing of the perpetrators — the monsters that committed a string of murders against young women in Los Angeles in 1977.
Buy the paperback edition for $25.30 or the Kindle edition for $8.79 on Amazon Australia.
3. The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule.
“I was one of many, all of us intelligent, compassionate people who had no real comprehension of what possessed him, what drove him obsessively.”
Imagine if you were obsessed with uncovering the identity of a terrifying serial killer only to discover that the monster was one of your closest friends. This isn't fiction guys, it actually happened to Ann Rule, and she wrote a book about it. It's chilling, suspenseful and a staple for anyone who loves true crime.
Buy the paperback edition for $28.98 or the Kindle edition for $8.15 on Amazon Australia.
4. Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry.
“You can convince anybody of anything if you just push it at them all of the time. They may not believe it 100 percent, but they will still draw opinions from it, especially if they have no other information to draw their opinions from.”
The story of the Manson murders, or "The Family" is one that's been spoken about and represented in pop culture quite frequently since the cult terrorised Hollywood in 1969. This book explores the process of building a case against Charles Manson, who had of course initiated the murder but hadn't committed it himself. It's confronting, horrifying and will haunt you long after you finish it.
Buy the paperback edition for $17.54 or the Kindle edition for $12.99 on Amazon Australia.
5. Who Killed These Girls? by Beverly Lowry.
"As of mid-2016, we have no answers to those questions, and we still don't know who killed those girls. Over lunch one day, I asked John Jones if he thought we ever would. Like most cops, he's a confirmed skeptic. So his answer surprised me. 'Oh, yeah,' he said with a little shrug, 'we'll know. Someday.' "
Who Killed These Girls covers the story of The Yoghurt Shop Murders, which was a terrible, grizzly tale of brutality committed against young women in Austin, Texas in 1991. The case is still open despite two young boys being prosecuted eight years later.
Buy the paperback edition for $14.19 on Amazon Prime.
6. Child Killer by Jack Rosewood.
"The Atlanta Child Murders left a major scar on Atlanta which will more than likely never totally heal."
This shocking page-turner will likely give you trust issues — more so than most true crime cases. The Atlanta Child Murderer was active in the late 1970's and early 1980's and truly affected the city's community. If you want a peek into the criminal mind of Wayne Williams and the conspiracies surrounding this case, Jack Rosewood does an excellent job explaining it.
Buy the paperback edition for $19.61 or the Kindle edition for $4.99 on Amazon Australia.
7. Inside the Mind of BTK by John E. Douglas and Johnny Dodd.
"Little did I realize how far my search for answers would take me and how entwined my life would become with this violent, elusive killer."
If you're even slightly into true crime you surely know the story of BTK and how he was caught. If not, this is the perfect book for you to dive right into the mind of the monster. Dennis Radar spent years terrorising the city of Wichita and tormenting the police — which was how he was eventually caught. John Douglas does an incredible job breaking down and outlining this case. He takes the reader through the details of the victims and how they die so be warned — the read can be quite confronting.
Buy the paperback edition for $27.35 or the Kindle edition for $21.84 on Amazon Australia.
8. Deviant: True Story of Ed Gein, The Original Psycho by Harold Schechter.
"Like the parents who refuse to face the most disturbing signs of maladjustment in a favorite child, small-town dwellers will often manage to dismiss, explain away, or turn a blind eye to the extreme peculiarities of their neighbors"
Psycho, The Silence of the Lambs, Bates Motel, Texas Chainsaw Massacre... If you're a fan of any of these titles, I'd like to introduce you to their inspiration: Ed Gein. This book is incredibly disturbing, gruesome and at times difficult to read. Schechter does an excellent job inserting you into the small town in Wisconsin, making you feel as though you're watching the horrors unfold before your eyes.
Buy the paperback edition for $19.82 on Amazon Australia.
9. Zodiac: The Shocking True Story of the Hunt for the Nation's Most Elusive Serial Killer by Robert Graysmith
“Criminals strike close to home just as the average person chooses stores where he shops daily.”
If you've seen the film, Zodiac, staring Jake Gyllenhal and Robert Downey JR then you'll know all about the Zodiac killer and the series of letters that they sent to the Chronicle. The film was based on this book by Robert Graysmith, who was working at the Chronicle as a cartoonist when the Zodiac began to send those letters. Graysmith lays out the facts along with his account of how it all took place. Adding as much detail as possible, so you know everything you could ever need to know about the case.
Buy the paperback edition for $14.07 on Amazon Australia.
10. Whoever Fights Monsters: My Twenty Years Tracking Serial Killers for the FBI by Robert K. Ressler and Tom Shachtman.
“There is no such thing as the person who at age thirty-five suddenly changes from being perfectly normal and erupts into totally evil, disruptive, murderous behavior. The behaviors that are precursors to murder have been present and developing in that person's life for a long, long time— since childhood.”
If you enjoy Mindhunter— the series or the book, you'll love Whoever Fights Monsters. The book explores one FBI agent's journey through profiling and understanding the mind of homicidal psychopaths. The writing is highly analytical and detailed, giving you all the information you desire and more.
Buy the paperback edition for $14.49 or the Kindle edition for $7.73 on Amazon Australia.
11. John Wayne Gacy: Defending a Monster by Sam L. Amirante and Danny Broderick.
"Therefore, these boys...and eleven more, did not die in vain."
This book is particularly interesting as it was written from the perspective of Gacy's defence attorneys. Though what the killer clown did was unforgivable and heinous, Amirante and Broderick do their best to express how important it is for everyone to have fair representation, so that their peers can decide their fate. The book goes into great detail about Gacy's character, but is also a great reflection on the justice system and the way it operates. After defending Gacy and bearing witness to his horrific crimes against young boys, Amirate went on to write the The Missing Child Recovery Act which eliminated the 72-hour waiting period before searching for a missing child.
Buy the paperback edition for $15 or the Kindle edition for $15.99 on Amazon Australia.
12. Jack the Ripper: The Definitive Casebook by Richard Whittington-Egan .
"Jack the Ripper. The very name strikes chill, wreathed about as it is with visions of the creepy, ill-lit courts and alleyways of the Victorian East End of London, and the dreadful spectacle of the monster’s deliberately laid-out handiwork, the stark, horrendously mutilated corpses of his victims."
If you haven't yet heard of Jack the Ripper, I'm not sure that you've clicked the right post. Jack is a true-crime urban legend, as an unidentified serial killer who plagued the streets of London in 1888. Their identity is not known and many conspiracies have been formed in lieu of this. Jack the Ripper: The Definitive Casebook explores all of the homicides known to be associated with the killer as well as lesser known details that will have you coming up with your own theories.
Buy the paperback edition for $27.95 or the Kindle edition for $8.06 on Amazon Australia.
13. Severed: The True Story of the Black Dahlia by John Gilmore.
"Several newspapers were taken apart and laid over the body, forming a series of overlapping peaks like roofing, shielding whatever evidence remained with the victim. Only the bare feet with the red-painted toenails protruded from beneath the newspaper pages."
The Black Dahlia, aka Elizabeth Short, was found mutilated on a vacant lot in the late 1940's was found mutilated on a vacant lot in the late 1940s. Gilmore does an incredible job of describing what Elizabeth's life was like. His writing is poetic, empathetic and very well researched, giving the reader an insight into the case that they may not have had before.
Buy the paperback edition for $24.66 or the Kindle edition for $5.58 on Amazon Australia.
14. Jeffrey Dahmer: A Terrifying True Story of Rape, Murder & Cannibalism by Jack Rosewood.
“I trained myself to view people as objects of pleasure instead of people.”
If you're a no nonsense true crime lover who wants to know all the facts, you can't go wrong with Rosewood— which is why he's on this list twice. The book is not particularly long, but it provides all the facts necessary to know everything you'd like to about the horrific crimes the man committed.
Buy the paperback edition for $23.47 or the Kindle edition for $4.99 on Amazon Australia.
15. The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston and Mario Spezi.
“You cannot stare evil in the face; it has no face. It has no body, no bones, no blood. Any attempt to describe it ends in glibness and self-delusion.”
When I first stumbled upon this book I was sure it was a work of fiction, but alas, it's completely real. Preston is an author of thriller novels and moved to Italy, only to discover that there had been a brutal double homicide in an olive grove nearby. Even while reading the novel, you need to constantly remind yourself that it's not a work of fiction, and that the case is still open.
Buy the paperback edition for $20.22 or the Kindle edition for $14.99.
16. The Boys on the Tracks by Maya Leveritt.
"For Tomlin, the blood suggested something odd. "Out there that night," he said, "I kind of smelled a rat.""
If you're looking for a case that ends in a neat little package with a tidy bow then this isn't the book or the case for you. If you enjoy analysing the ins and outs of cold cases and coming up with theories about why they haven't been solved, then you'll definitely enjoy this one. The case of The Boys On The Tracks is particularly heartbreaking but it also tells the tale of a resilient mother and her fight for justice. All in all, it's a fantastic read and a case that should definitely be talked about more.
Buy the Kindle edition for $10.82 on Amazon Australia.
17. Chase Darkness with Me: How One True Crime Writer Started Solving Murders by Billy Jensen
“The biggest problem with true crime has always been its imbalance of villains to heroes. True crime is full of supervillains: Manson, Bundy, Gacy. But the superheroes are rarely acknowledged.”
You might be familiar with Billy Jensen's name due to his true crime podcast, Murder Squad or his contribution to Michelle McNamara's I'll Be Gone In The Dark, which he finished for her after she passed away. Jensen is a true crime writer, and often would focus on unsolved cases, building awareness and finding different ways to gather more evidence in hopes that it would help solve those murders and give those families some closure. Jensen is incredibly intelligent and his writing reflects this. His persistence and passion make it a must-read for all lovers of true crime. Get this one on your shelf ASAP.
Buy the paperback edition for $37.37 or the Kindle edition for $16.16 on Amazon Australia.
Oh, and if you're one of those people that prefers to ~listen~ to your books, you can grab them from Audible Australia! Plus the first one's free (and who doesn't love a freebie?).