True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author investigates a real-life crime and describes the activities of real individuals. Murder is the most prevalent crime, with around 40% of cases focusing on serial killers. According to psychologists, one of the primary reasons we’re captivated with an actual crime is that it allows us to feel relieved that we aren’t the victims.
So, if you love to read true crime books, here are the best ones out there right now. Make sure you use the link below and start reading these books!
1. Party Monster: A Fabulous But True Tale of Murder in Clublandby James St. James
In his biography, James St. James reminisces about his days as a 1990s club kid and how he came to be a close buddy of Michael Alig, a man convicted of killing a heroin dealer known as Angel in 1996. St. James transports you to the heyday of the New York City club scene, which was characterised by drugs, sex, music, and mayhem, fueling an atmosphere in which nothing was too outrageous, even murder. You can use the link given below to buy this True Crime book!
2. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Four members of the Clutter family, who owned a farm in Kansas, were fatally shot at their house in 1959. In Cold Blood interweaves the storey of the murders and the investigators who hunted them with interviews with those who knew the victims and the perpetrators. The novel is a true crime classic; award-winning authors Truman Capote and Harper Lee investigated it, and its ability to bring every aspect of the crime to life changed the true-crime book genre when it was first published. Despite criticism for adding “colour” to some factual elements to make the book more readable, In Cold Blood remains a fixture on the bookshelves of many true crime enthusiasts. You can use the link given below to buy this True Crime book!
3. My Dark Places by James Ellroy
James Ellroy’s mother was murdered when he was ten years old. Despite the fact that he wouldn’t admit to loving his mother at the time, the murder weighed heavily on his mind, leading to drug and alcohol misuse as a way to escape the urgent desire to know who his mother was. As Ellroy grapples with the effects his mother’s death had on him, My Dark Places blends the hard-hitting chronicles of an unsolved mystery with very personal confessions. You can use the link given below to buy this True Crime book!
4. The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule
Ann Rule, an aspiring mystery author, worked at a suicide hotline with Ted Bundy in the 1970s, and the two became friends. During the time of his conviction, trial, and execution for the killings of 30 women, Rule was able to acquire insight into the serial killer’s inner psychology and existence because to their connection (though Bundy confessed to the 30 murders, investigators say the number of victims could be much higher). The rule creates a compelling and memorable true-crime book in The Stranger Beside Me by combining her own intimate observations on Bundy with in-depth research on his crimes. You can use the link given below to buy this True Crime book!
5. Midnight in Mexico: A Reporter’s Journey Through a Country’s Descent Into Darkness by Alfredo Corchado
Alfredo Corchado spent his life as a reporter, finally working for the Dallas Morning News as an international correspondent in Mexico. He reported not just on the country’s burgeoning economy, but also on the country’s eroding rule of law, as cartels wreaked havoc on the government. Corchado got a tip one night that he may be the next target of the Zetas, a deadly paramilitary gang, and he only had 24 hours to save his own life.
6. I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara
The alleged Golden State Murderer was apprehended in April 2018, 40 years after the first crime by the serial killer and rapist. Detectives had been attempting to apprehend him for years, despite having committed more than 50 rapes and at least 12 murders. However, a breakthrough in the case occurred when DNA retrieved from a crime site was linked to the killer’s great-great-great-grandparents. Michelle McNamara, a true-crime writer who joined the hunt 30 years after his final crimes, dug through every scrap of information the Internet had to give about the elusive rapist-turned-murderer. You can use the link given below to buy this True Crime book!
7. Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
After oil was discovered underneath their land in the 1920s, members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma became the world’s richest people per capita. The Osage were then massacred one by one, and many of those who ventured to investigate the crimes ended up being slain as well. As the death toll grew, the newly formed FBI took up the investigation, and the young director, J. Edgar Hoover, enlisted the help of a veteran Texas Ranger named Tom White to uncover one of America’s most terrifying conspiracies.You can use the link given below to buy this True Crime book!
8. Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery by Robert Kolker
In Robert Kolker’s first nonfiction book, he delves into the lives of five prostitutes who were all murdered by a serial murderer. He looks at how the women utilised the internet’s sexual underbelly to get out of dead-end professions and terrible situations, as well as the police’ inability to take their cases seriously or even solve their murders. Lost Girls is a sociological commentary on how society and the police failed these young ladies. Knowing that the killer is still on the loose adds to the poignancy of their experiences.You can use the link given below to buy this True Crime book!
9. The Grim Sleeper: The Lost Women of South Central by Christine Pelisek
Christine Pelisek thoroughly documents the L. case. As only someone who has covered the case for ten years could, a serial murderer was dubbed “the Grim Sleeper.” Because of his vast gaps between victims, all of whom were impoverished women of colour, she dubbed him the Grim Sleeper. Pelisek’s book meticulously examines the life of each victim while also telling a larger tale of homicide investigations in impoverished communities plagued by gang violence. The book exposes the harsh reality that victims in high-crime regions are frequently ignored by the police and the media, which is likely how a serial murderer was able to run amok for two decades.You can use the link given below to buy this True Crime book!
10. Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Byran Stevenson
As he describes one particular case he worked on as a young lawyer, Bryan Stevenson’s memoir illustrates the unfairness inherent in the American judicial system. During his tenure with Equal Justice Initiative, he worked on the case of Walter McMillian, a young black man sentenced to death for the murder of a white lady with whom he was having an affair, which he claimed he didn’t do. The case, which reads like something out of To Kill a Mockingbird, permanently alters the author’s perspective on mercy and justice.You can use the link given below to buy this True Crime book!
