It seems like lately everyone is obsessed with all things real crime, from bingeing on netflix to making a killer to tuning in to the latest s-town podcast. But true crime has long found a home in novels, where reality can sometimes seem stranger than fiction.
Whether it’s the true story of a black man who goes undercover in the kkk (recently adapted into spike lee’s latest movie, blackkklansman) or a memoir about working alongside a serial killer, these are the best novels on true crimes of all time:
You are reading: Best true crime books of all time
party freak: a fabulous but true story of a murder in clubland (formerly disco bloodbath) by james st. james
james st. James’s memoir relives his days as a Club Kid in the 1990s, and how that led to his becoming the close confidant of Michael Alig, a man convicted of killing a drug dealer known as Angel in 1996. St . james takes you to the height of the new york city club scene marked by drugs, sex, music and chaos that fueled an environment where nothing was too scandalous, not even murder.
buy now: party monster: a fabulous but true story of murder in clubland (formerly disco bloodbath)
in cold blood by truman capote
In 1959, four members of the Clutter family, owners of a farm in Kansas, were shot to death in their home. In Cold Blood weaves together the stories of the killers and the investigators who hunt them down with interviews with those who knew the victims and the killers. The novel is a true crime classic: It was investigated by award-winning novelists Truman Capote and Harper Lee, and their ability to bring every detail of the crime to life revolutionized the true crime novel genre when it was released. Despite criticism the book has received for adding “color” to some of the factual details to make it easier to read, In Cold Blood remains a staple on the book shelves of many true crime enthusiasts. /p>
buy now: in cold blood
my dark places by james ellroy
When james ellroy was 10 years old, his mother was murdered. Although at the time he didn’t even admit that he liked his mother, the murder weighed heavily on his mind, eventually leading to drug and alcohol abuse that served as an escape from the pressing need to know who the mother really was. of the. My Dark Places mixes the shocking chronicles of an unsolved mystery with deeply personal confessions as Ellroy grapples with the impact of his mother’s murder on him.
buy now: my dark places
the stranger by my side by ann rule
In the 1970s, aspiring crime novelist Ann Rule was working a suicide hotline with Ted Bundy, a man she would soon consider a friend. It was this friendship that allowed Rule to gain insight into the life and inner psyche of the serial killer during the period of his conviction, trial, and execution for the murders of 30 women (although Bundy confessed to all 30 murders, investigators say the number of victims could be much higher). In The Stranger By My Side, Rule combines her own personal observations of Bundy with detailed reporting on her crimes to create a vivid and enduring true crime novel.
shop now: the stranger by my side
midnight in mexico: a reporter’s journey through a country’s descent into darkness by alfredo corchado
Alfredo Corchado dedicated his life to developing a career as a reporter, eventually ending up as an international correspondent in Mexico for the Dallas Morning News. he reported not only on the country’s booming economy, but also on the crumbling rule of law as cartels overrun the government with corruption. One night, Corchado received a tip that he might be the next target of the Zetas, a violent paramilitary group, and the man who had reported the murders of so many others had only 24 hours to save his own life.
buy now: midnight in mexico: a reporter’s journey through a country’s descent into darkness
I’ll Go In The Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search For The Golden State Killer By Michelle Mcnamara
In April 2018, police finally caught the alleged Golden State Killer, 40 years after the serial killer and rapist first attacked. for years, detectives obsessed with the more than 50 rapes and at least 12 murders, tried to catch him without success. But a break in the case occurred when an investigator compared DNA recovered from the crime scene to that of the killer’s great-great-grandparents. True crime journalist Michelle McNamara joined the search 30 years after his final crimes; she also obsessively combed through all the information the internet had to offer about the elusive rapist-turned-murderer. the extensive research and prose she left behind after his tragic passing have become I’ll Go In The Dark, a cutting tale of a criminal mastermind and the terror he spread across the state of California.
Buy Now: Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer
Moonflower Killers: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann
In the 1920s, the world’s wealthiest people per capita were members of the Osage Nation in Oklahoma after oil was discovered under their land. then, one by one, the Osage were killed, and many of those who dared to investigate the murders ended up murdering themselves. As the death toll mounted, the newly created FBI took over the case and young director, J. Edgar Hoover turned to a former Texas Ranger named Tom White to expose one of the most chilling conspiracies in American history.
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Buy Now: Moonflower Assassins: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
lost girls: an unsolved american mystery by robert kolker
In Robert Kolker’s first nonfiction book, explore the lives of five women, all prostitutes, murdered by a serial killer. explores how women used the sexual underworld of the internet to escape dead-end jobs and bad situations, and recounts how authorities didn’t take their cases seriously, or even solve their murders. The Lost Girls is a social critique of how the police and society let these young girls down. what makes their stories even more poignant is knowing that the killer is still at large.
Buy Now: Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery
the bleak sleeper: the lost women of christine pelisek’s south central
Christine Pelisek meticulously details the case of the Los Angeles serial killer called “The Gloomy Sleeper” as only someone who has reported on the case for 10 years could. she named him the grim sleeper for his long breaks between victims, all of whom were women of color in poor areas. Pelisek’s book carefully details the lives of each victim and tells a larger story about homicide investigations in neighborhoods plagued by poverty and gang violence. The book reveals the harsh truth that victims who are in high-crime areas are often neglected by the police and the press, which is probably how a serial killer ran rampant for two decades.
Buy Now: The Grim Sleeper: The Lost Women of South Midtown
just mercy: a story of justice and redemption by byran stevenson
Bryan Stevenson’s memoir highlights the injustice found in the American justice system as he recounts a particular case he worked on as a young lawyer. During his time with the Equal Justice Initiative, he took on the case of Walter McMillian, a young black man who was sentenced to death for the murder of a white woman, who he insisted he did not commit, with whom he was having an affair. The case, which seems straight out of Killing a Mockingbird, irreversibly shapes the author’s vision of mercy and justice.
buy now: mercy only: a story of justice and redemption
missoula: rape and justice in a college town by jon krakauer
Acclaimed investigative journalist Jon Krakauer goes to college in Missoula at the University of Montana. the school is known for its harsh academics, pastoral setting, and huge fan base for the grizzlies football team. But behind the typical trappings of a college community lurks a system that makes it hard for rape victims to come forward. Krakauer interviews several women in Missoula and recounts the nights of their rapes; their doubts while their cases went through the justice system and what it cost them to speak.
shop now: missoula: rape and justice in a college town
evidence of love: a true story of passion and death in the suburbs of jim atkinson and john bloom
In 1980, Candy Montgomery and Betty Gore were two bored Texas housewives trying to make the best of their mundane suburban lives, until Betty found out that Candy was having an affair with her husband, which culminated in a crime scene. lethal. Evidence of Love details the struggle of “two desperate housewives” as Candy’s trial unfolds in national headlines after she pleads not guilty on the grounds of self-defense. Drawing on exclusive interviews with the Montgomery and Gore families, Bloom and Atkins traverse the drama of the case to explore the frustrations and unanswered desires of these two women.
Buy Now: Tests of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs
the devil in the white city by erik larson
In Devil in the White City, Erik Larson recounts the true story of the 1893 World’s Fair and a serial killer who set up a fake hotel next door to lure unsuspecting attendees to his death. Larson mixes true story with thrilling suspense to make his investigation of the carnival and the nearby bogus hotel seem like a well-crafted work of fiction. He takes the towering historical assassin that the Chicago Times herald at the time called “so unthinkable that no novelist would dare invent such a character,” and contrasts him with the lavish world’s fair preparations to create a compelling and compelling read. suspense.
buy now: the devil in the white city
melanie thernstrom’s dead girl
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The Dead Girl, based on Thernstrom’s diary, recounts the intimate thoughts and emotions surrounding the murder of her childhood best friend, Bibi Lee. After Lee disappears while jogging in the Oakland hills with Ella’s boyfriend Bradley Page, a colossal search mission ensues. In a state of anguish, Thernstrom begins to collect her friend’s letters and poems. When Bibi’s body is discovered five weeks later, Thernstorm begins writing about their lives together. the resulting book interweaves the tragic murder with “the inner lives of young women.”
buy now: the dead girl
black clansman by ron stallworth
In the inaugural book and memoir by Ron Stallworth, he looks back on his time as the first black detective in the Colorado Springs Police Department. When he comes across a classified ad in the local paper about joining the Ku Klux Klan, he responds by using his real name while posing as a white man. Stallworth chronicles the subsequent undercover investigation into the KKK and draws parallels between the Klan’s stance on immigration and other issues affecting the country with the current era of Donald Trump politics. His chilling story was also recently adapted into a big movie directed by Spike Lee.
buy now: black klansman
the suspicions of mr. which: a shocking murder and the ruin of a great by kate summerscale
In June 1860, three-year-old Saville Kent was found at the bottom of an outhouse with his throat slit. inspector jonathan whicher, one of the founding members of scotland yard, the london metropolitan police service, followed the case relentlessly, but without sufficient evidence or a confession, the case was only circumstantial, which made the investigator feel defeated. The novel features a fast-paced narrative and brutal retelling of the case to create a dark fable that spawned a television series of the same name.
buy now: the suspicions of mr. which: a shocking murder and the undoing of a great
correction, Aug. 13, 2018
The original version of this story misrepresented the year of the clutter family murders recounted in cold-blooded cape. it was 1959, not 1956.
correction, Aug. 29, 2018
The original version of this story incorrectly mentions the author’s name Jon Krakauer. it’s jon krakauer, not john krakauer.
correction, nov. 20, 2019
The original version of this story misrepresented the author who wrote Proof of Love with Jim Atkinson. She is John Bloom, not Joe Briggs.
contact us at letters@time.com.