True Crime Classics

Beginning with Truman's Capote's In Cold Blood, which defined the genre, here's a selection of the best of true crime writing.
Updated October 2, 2022
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In Cold Blood
Truman Capote
Paper Book
Agent Al Dewey of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation has a horrific murder to solve - and precious few clues. Capote's reconstruction of the slaughter of an entire family shows a gripping mix of journalistic skills and imaginative power.
Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders
Vincent Bugliosi
Paper Book
"The shocking true story of the Manson murders, revealed in this harrowing, often terrifying book. Helter Skelter won a Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award in 1975 for Best Fact Crime Book.On August 9th 1969, seven people were found shot, stabbed and bludgeoned to death in Los...
I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer
Michelle McNamara
Paper Book
The #1 New York Times Bestseller Serialised in the Sunday Times 'I loved this book.' Stephen King A masterful true crime account of the Golden State Killer - the elusive serial rapist turned murderer who terrorised California for over a decade -...
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
David Grann
Paper Book
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A twisting, haunting true-life murder mystery about one of the most monstrous crimes in American history, from the author of The Wager and The Lost City of Z, "one of the preeminent adventure and true-crime writers working today."--New...
Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith
Jon Krakauer
Ebook
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
John Berendt
Ebook
THE LANDMARK NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER, NOW A MAJOR MUSICAL COMING SOON TO BROADWAY * An enormously engaging portrait of a most beguiling Southern city: "Elegant and wicked.... [This] might be the first true-crime book that makes the reader want to book a bed and breakfast...
Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee
Casey Cep
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...
American Predator: The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century
Maureen Callahan
Audiobook
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER An Amazon "Best Book of 2019" A Washington Post "10 Books To Read in July" A Los Angeles Times "Seven Highly Anticipated Books for Summer Reading" A USA Today "20 of the...
The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper
Hallie Rubenhold
Paper Book
THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER- Five devastating human stories and a dark and moving portrait of Victorian London - the untold lives of the women killed by Jack the Ripper. 'Powerful and shaming' Guardian THE #1 SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERWINNER OF THE...
We Keep the Dead Close: A Murder at Harvard and a Half Century of Silence
Becky Cooper
Paper Book
LONGLISTED FOR THE 2021 CRIME WRITERS' ASSOCIATION ALCS GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION 'I'm obsessed!' REESE WITHERSPOON'Exhilarating ... Becky Cooper masterfully uncovers the story of Harvard undergrad Jane Britton.'...

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