Bad Seeds: True Crime

Not all seeds grow beautiful flowers! Check out some of these stories of real-life criminals, grifters, cult leaders, con artists, thieves, and murderers. Plant a seed, read!

Updated May 5, 2026
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Furious hours : murder, fraud, and the last trial of Harper Lee
Cep, Casey N.
Paper Book
ONE OF PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2019 NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF 2019 BY Time, LitHub, Vulture, Glamour, O Magazine, Town and Country, Suspense Magazine, Inside Hook New York Times Best Seller   "Compelling...
Catch and kill : lies, spies, and a conspiracy to protect predators
Farrow, Ronan
Paper Book
Now an HBO documentary series streaming on HBO Max.  In this instant New York Times bestselling account of violence and espionage, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Ronan Farrow exposes serial abusers and a cabal of powerful interests...
The art thief : a true story of love, crime, and a dangerous obsession
Finkel, Michael
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * One of the most remarkable true-crime narratives of the twenty-first century * "The Art Thief, like its title character, has confidence, élan, and a great sense of timing."--The New Yorker A...
Death in the jungle : murder, betrayal, and the lost dream of Jonestown
Fleming, Candace
Paper Book
How did Jim Jones, the leader of Peoples Temple, convince more than 900 of his followers to commit "revolutionary suicide" by drinking cyanide-laced punch? From a master of narrative nonfiction comes a chilling chronicle of one of the most notorious cults in American history. A YALSA...
The falcon thief : a true tale of adventure, treachery, and the hunt for the perfect bird
Hammer, Joshua
Paper Book
A rollicking true-crime adventure about a rogue who trades in rare birds and their eggs--and the wildlife detective determined to stop him. On May 3, 2010, an Irish national named Jeffrey Lendrum was apprehended at Britain's Birmingham International Airport with a suspicious...
The feather thief : beauty, obsession, and the natural history heist of the century
Johnson, Kirk W.
Paper Book
As heard on NPR's This American Life "Absorbing . . . Though it's non-fiction, The Feather Thief contains many of the elements of a classic thriller." --Maureen Corrigan, NPR's Fresh Air "One of the most peculiar and memorable true-crime...
Say nothing : a true story of murder and memory in Northern Ireland
Keefe, Patrick Radden
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * NOW AN FX LIMITED SERIES STREAMING ON HULU * NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER * From the author of Empire of Pain--a stunning, intricate narrative about a notorious killing in Northern Ireland and its devastating repercussions. One...
The trial of Lizzie Borden : a true story
Robertson, Cara
Paper Book
WINNER OF THE NEW ENGLAND SOCIETY BOOK AWARD In Cara Robertson's "enthralling" book, The Trial of Lizzie Borden, "the reader is to serve as judge and jury" (The New York Times). Based on twenty years of research and recently unearthed evidence, this true crime...

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