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. These books range from mild to intense - please choose with care. Plant a seed, read!

Updated May 11, 2026
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Magnetized : conversations with a serial killer
Busqued, Carlos
Paper Book
NPR, One of the Best Books of the Year A "chilling but fascinating portrait"of a serial killer, and"a must-read for true crime fans" who enjoyed My Dark Places, The Stranger Beside Me, or I'll Be Gone In the Dark (...
Dead in the water : a true story of hijacking, murder, and a global maritime conspiracy
Campbell, Matthew (Reporter)
Paper Book
A Financial Times Book of the Year An Economist Best Book of the Year "A triumph of investigative journalism." --Tom Wright, New York Times bestselling coauthor of Billion Dollar Whale "A fascinating read. Highly recommended!"-John...
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...
The Monsters We Make: Murder, Obsession, and the Rise of Criminal Profiling
Corbett, Rachel.
Paper Book
Criminal profiling--the delicate art of collecting and deciphering the psychological "fingerprints" of the monsters among us--holds an almost mythological status in pop culture. But what exactly is it, does it work, and why is the American public so entranced by it? What do we gain, and endanger,...
The third rainbow girl : the long life of a double murder in Appalachia
Eisenberg, Emma Copley
Paper Book
*** A NEW YORK TIMES "100 Notable Books of 2020" *** A stunning, complex narrative about the fractured legacy of a decades-old double murder in rural West Virginia--and the writer determined to put the pieces back together.   In...
Catch and kill : lies, spies, and a conspiracy to protect predators
Farrow, Ronan
Paper Book
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 hell-bent on covering up the truth, at any cost. Inspiration for the HBO Max streaming...
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...
A gentleman and a thief : the daring jewel heists of a Jazz Age rogue
Jobb, Dean
Paper Book
A captivating Jazz Age true-crime caper about "the greatest jewel thief who ever lived" (Life Magazine), Arthur Barry, who charmed everyone from Rockefellers to members of the royal family while simultaneously planning and executing the most audacious and lucrative heists of the...
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...
Practice to deceive
Rule, Ann.
Paper Book
#1 New York Times bestselling author and Queen of True Crime Ann Rule delivers another gripping true-crime story-this time a shattering case of Christmastime murder off the coast of Washington State, with a shocking amount of drama, greed, sex, and scandal and no shortage of suspects. ...
The 57 bus
Slater, Dashka
Paper Book
A NEW YORK TIMES Bestseller Stonewall Book Award Winner A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the 21st Century (So Far) The riveting New York Times bestseller and Stonewall Book Award winner that will make you rethink all you...
When the moon turns to blood Lori Vallow, Chad Daybell, and a story of murder, wild faith, and end times
Sottile, Leah
CD
Inspired by Jon Krakauer's Under the Banner of Heaven and Jess Walter's Every Knee Shall Bow, WHEN THE MOON TURNS TO BLOOD explores modern-day survivalism and end-times extremism through the story of Lori Vallow and her husband, grave digger turned ...
My friend Anna : the true story of the fake heiress
Williams, Rachel DeLoache
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ONE OF TIME'S 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR Sex and the City meets Bad Blood and Catch Me if You Can in this riveting true crime memoir that tells the astonishing firsthand story of Anna Delvey--the...

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