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Anyone read any good True Crime books lately???

Peebug

New Member
Hi,

Just looking for some good True Crime books for my Mom....her beloved cat died recently and I think she needs a good book to occupy some of her downtime, and true crime is her fav!

Thanks! :)
 
I've recently finished Deliver Us From Evil, by David Yallop. It is the story of Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire Ripper. I found Yallop to be a very thorough researcher and the story was exceedingly chilling.
 
Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi.

Or the John Douglas books (Mindhunter, Journey into Darkness, etc) - very good reads, for someone interested in what goes on behind criminal profiling.
 
What sort of true crime? Robberies, murders, unsolved, gang tales, kidnappings, serial killings, cult killings, etc ?

I typically only read true crime centre around cult or serial killings - Killing for Company by Brian Masters shows an interesting portrait of British serial killer, Dennis Nilsen, while The Milwaukee Murders by Don Davis offers a portrait of Nilsen's American "likeness", the late Jeffrey Dahmer.
 
I would recommend anything written by Harold Schechter. I just finished reading Bestial by him and it was great. It was an account of a serial killer known as 'the dark strangler/the gorilla man' who killed his way across the country and up into Canada in the mid 20's. Schechter has a knack for bringing the past alive. Great stuff.
 
I'm a fan of Ann Rule's books. Right now I'm reading The Last Victim by Jason Moss with Jeffrey Kottler. It's a different book, when he was 18, Moss wrote to different serial killers (starting with John Wayne Gacy) basically just to get their thought patterns and put it all together for a final project in college. And he goes through what it was like to put it all together, and included excerpts from the letters. I like it, but my grandma didn't, so I don't know if it's a good book to recommend.
 
true crim

I would add COMPULSION to the list. This story and the book sent a shock across the country. No one had ever heard of this kind of crime before. I agree with the other contributions.

Ann Rule is the queen of true crime you might want to check her out.
 
true crime books

another excellent true crime is FALL by Ron Franscell
it's the story of the murder of 2 of his friends ... who lived next door to him as he grew up

very well done
 
Unnatural Death by Michael Baden M.D. with Judith Adler Hennessee

Unsolved Murders and Mysteries by John Canning

Both are contained in one book and make for interesting reading.
 
Pure Murder by Corey Mitchell was a great true crime book. Graphic in some parts, but a tear jerker for sure. It happened here in Houston, so it hits close to home for me.
 
The last true crime I read was In Cold Blood (about three years ago now). I've just started reading The Suspicions of Mr Whicher or the Murder at Road Hill House by Kate Summerscales, which is a true account of Detective Jonathan Whicher solving a murder case at a stately home in the 1800s. The original 'whodunnit'. So far so good.
 
The last true crime I read was In Cold Blood (about three years ago now). I've just started reading The Suspicions of Mr Whicher or the Murder at Road Hill House by Kate Summerscales, which is a true account of Detective Jonathan Whicher solving a murder case at a stately home in the 1800s. The original 'whodunnit'. So far so good.
I'm reading Mr. Whicher at present, I agree, it's quite interesting. I love the way they are covering everyone's background associated with the crime and aftermath. I also appreciate that Summerscale has kept it as non-gory as can be. She could have taken the "easy" route and sensationalize the whole thing, but it's pretty matter-of-fact in nature. So far.
 
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