When I started at Bayne Library, the only True Crime book I had read was In Cold Blood. Six years later and I’m a little obsessed with the genre. Here’s a list of some of my favorites. Also, I like my True Crime in audiobook format, so many of these titles are available for your listening pleasure via Overdrive!
American Fire by Monica Hesse
American Fire captures its setting and characters so thoroughly that it reads more like fiction. And this twisted story of a arsonist’s spree across a forgotten landscape epitomizes the old adage that the truth is stranger than fiction.
Bad Blood by John Carreyrou
If white collar crime is more to your liking, this investigation into the rise and fall of Silicon Valley darling Theranos is a must read.
Death in the City of Light by David King
Dr. Marcel Petiot used the chaos of Vichy France to commit murder. And although his guilt is never in doubt during this book, his motives are. In the end, they prove as chilling as his murders
The Feather Thief by Kirk Wallace Johnson
A collection of rare bird specimens, an American flautist studying abroad, and an obscure Victorian hobby collide in this account of one of the strangest heists in museum history.
People Who Eat Darkness by Richard Lloyd Parry
Lucie Blackman was abducted and killed by Joji Obara in Japan in 2000. This moving book explores not only the heinous crime, but also its broader underpinnings and lasting effects.
The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule
If True Crime had a definitive text it would be The Stranger Beside Me. Ann Rule’s exploration of the Ted Bundy murder and her own acquaintance with one of the 20th century’s most notorious serial killers is gripping, unbelievable, and chilling.
Written by Ellen 3/1/21
