Ready for more unabated true terror? If you missed the first 25 books on the list of 50 best true crime books of all time, catch up on all of the horrific cruelty, nutjob serial killers, and heroic detectives here.
Check the bathroom window is locked; now, on with the list.
50 best true crime books of all time, continued
26. Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper, Case Closed - Patricia Cornwell
The maven of forensic mysteries (take a look at a review of her latest Kay Scarpetta book, Scarpetta, here) Patricia Cornwell knows how to make even the boldest among us squirm. The stories of each of the victims, the man Ms. Cornwell claims was the infamous Ripper, and details of the murders are all included.
27. Jack the Ripper: A Journal of the Whitechapel Murders - Rick Geary
A graphic novel manifestation the Jack the Ripper story, anyone? Fascinating. If you like this one, try Mr. Geary's The Borden Tragedy (which I find to be freakier).
28. Forty Whacks: New Evidence in the Life and Legend of Lizzie Borden - David Kent
Detailed account of the subject of that favorite jump-roping rhyme of school-girls across America, "Lizzie Borden took an ax...." Mr. Kent dissects the crime and considers a number of different theories for the murders.
29. The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America - Erik Larson
An odd sort of mix between the architectural construction of the 1893 Chicago World's Fair and the murders committed by Henry H. Holmes, this book was a best-seller for a reason.
30. The Lives and Times of Bonnie and Clyde - E.R. Milner
All the details of the lives, relationship, and crimes of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Burrow.
31. The Poet and the Murderer - Simon Worrall
A combination of literature, crime, and murder, this book recounts murderer and forger Mark Hofmann's attempts to forge a poem by Emily Dickinson.
32. The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary - Simon Winchester
In my opinion, any attempt to write -- or even to read -- the Oxford English Dictionary could only possibly end, at best, in insanity and murder, but that isn't what The Professor and the Madman is about. This book weaves together the stories of the O.E.D.'s creator and a murderous American in London.
33. The Italian Boy: A Tale of Murder and Body Snatching in 1830s London - Sarah Wise
Account of three nasty gents killing a young Italian immigrant in order to sell hs body as a medical cadaver.
34. A Sentimental Murder: Love and Madness in the Eighteenth Century - John Brewer
If you like Victorian-flavored mysteries, you might like this true telling of the murder of Martha Ray, the mistress of the Earl of Sandwich.
35. The Hot House: Life Inside Leavenworth Prison - Pete Earley
A shockingly detailed look inside one of America's harshest prisons. O.K., so this isn't true crime but it's the direct result of crime and is quite the eye-opening read.
36. Dead Man Walking - Helen Prejean
Although half of the book is taken up with the murderer and rapist Pat Sonnier's execution and Sister Prejean's anti-capital punishment stance, the other portion includes a detailed account of Sonnier's crimes, related by himself.
37. The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death - Corinne May Botz
I don't know why this book freaks me out so much, but it does. It contains pictures of tiny dollhouse-looking models referred to as "nutshell studies of unexplained death." All eighteen of these little scenes of horror were used to teach homicide investigation methods to police officers in training. Included are a description of how to identify the clues in each. This is the sort of book that keeps me up in the night or, at the very least, gives me very odd dreams.
38. Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI - Bryan Burrough
Read it before you see it -- 100% Johnny Depp free (The movie doesn't look half bad actually;take a look at its trailer here). Dense, but worth it if you find this topic fascinating.
39. John Dillinger: The Life and Death of America's First Celebrity Criminal - Dary Matera
For those who would rather read about the bad guy than the FBI agents chasing him.
40. Homicide Special: A Year with the LAPD's Elite Detective Unit - Miles Corwin
Miles Corwin's book details both the cases and the homicide detectives' methods in the unit he followed for a year. If you like this, give his other book, The Killing Season: A Summer Inside an LAPD Homicide Division a try.
41. Green River, Running Red: The Real Story of the Green River Killer, America's Deadliest Serial Killer - Ann Rule
Ann Rule interweaves the stories of the Green River Killer's victims, the perspective of the officers in the investigation, and her own odd connection with the killer -- he used to attend readings of her true crime books. Whoa.
42. Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit - John Douglas and Mark Olshaker
I listed this book once before as one of the 10 books that will scare the hell out of you, and, despite reading some pretty scary stuff since then, it still frightens the life out of me. John Douglas was a pioneer in the field of criminal psychology, and he delved into some pretty twisted minds in his time.
43. The Cases That Haunt Us: From Jack the Ripper to JonBenet Ramsey, the FBI's Legendary Mindhunter Sheds Light on the Mysteries That Won't Go Away - John Douglas and Mark Olkshaker
Written by the same duo that wrote Mindhunter, this one delves into the details of unsolved cases such as Jack the Ripper, the Zodiac crimes, and th Black Dahlia murder.
44. The Boston Strangers - Susan Kelly
Freaky account of the murders in Boston in the early 1960s and how, according to Ms. Kelly, the string of strangulations were committed by several people, none of whom were the man who eventually confessed.
45. The Doctor, the Murder, the Mystery: The True Story of the Dr. John Branion Murder - Barbara D'Amato
Dr. John Branion was wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife, according to Ms. D'Amato. This book examines the evidence for and against his guilt.
46. Perfect Murder, Perfect Town: JonBenet and the City of Boulder - Lawrence Schiller
Exceptionally detailed account of the facts surrounding the murder of JonBenet Ramsey.
47. Leopold and Loeb: The Crime of the Century - Hal Higdon
Recounts the kidnapping and murder of 14 year-old Bobby Franks by Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold.
48. "Ready for the People": My Most Chilling Cases as a Prosecutor - Marissa N. Batt
Ms. Batt relates the details of three highly unpleasant cases, leading the reader from the time they were commited to the conviction of the perpetrators.
49. Helter Skelter - Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry
No matter how old this book gets, its still as frightening and disturbing as if the murders happened yesterday.
50. And the Dead Shall Rise: The Murder of Mary Phagan and the Lynching of Leo Frank - Steve Oney
Detailed account of the 1913 murder of 13 year-old Mary Phaga and the eventual lynching of Leo Frank, the man accused of the crime.
Have any other true crime tomes to recommend? Leave your suggestions in the Comment section below or send them to michellekerns@surewest.net
Comments
Serpentine by Thomas Thompson
The Monster Of Florence by DOUGLAS PRESTON
Apart from all of the murder, and serial killer stuff, I'm really disapointed that Wise Guy and Catch Me If You Can did not make the list at all. These are great reads.
How do you NOT include "Small Sacrifices" by Ann Rule, by far HER best book.
I am reading Poisoned Love by Caitlin Rother, and can't put the book down. It's the story of Kristin Rossum, a toxicologist at the medical examiner's office, who purposely poisoned her husband and tried to say it was a suicide. I look forward to reading some of your recommendations above.
Thank you!
I would add to the list A Deadly Game by Catherine Crier (about the Laci Peterson murder), ...And The Sea Will Tell by Vincent Bugliosi (now defense lawyer, formerly a prosecutor in Charles Manson trial), Villisa (a very scary true account of an unsolved murder of a family in1912 Iowa, and ALL of Ann Rule's books. Btw, I recently met Ann Rule at a book signing; what an interesting, funny, and lovely woman she is!
I would also add ANYTHING by Ann Rule,especiallly And Never Let Her Go,Until The Twelfth Of Never by Della Stumbo,Tears Of Rage by John Walsh,and American Taboo:A Murder In the Peace Corps by Philip Weiss.This last not only freaked me out,it seriously pissed me off because the peace corps and the killer's rich parents didn't let justice be done.
Why isn't Philip Carlo's Iceman in here?
I was thrilled and delighted that my book MURDER IN THE FAMILY made #5 on your list. Jack Olsen's LAST MAN STANDING, however, is the finest and most compelling true crime book I've ever read.
BB
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