The latest gripping true crime text from prolific crime writer John Glatt, The Doomsday Mother: Lori Vallow, Chad Daybell, and the End of an American Family (St. Martin’s Press, 2022), is the absolutely gripping account of the Vallow/Daybell murder case. The first book published on the very recent crimes, Glatt brings his research expertise and precise writing …
Tag: academic
The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester
A best seller when it was first published just over two decades ago, Simon Winchester’s The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary (Harper Perennial, 1999) remains a captivating read for the contemporary reader. Although today physical copies have been made largely obsolete by internet …
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Helltown by Casey Sherman
True Crime writer Casey Sherman’s latest book, Helltown: The Untold Story of a Serial Killer on Cape Cod (Sourcebooks, 2022), is a fascinating and unflinching look at the crimes of Tony Costa and the two great American writers who were inspired by him. Tony Costa’s crimes have been given less attention in the true crime …
White Hot Hate by Dick Lehr
A thoroughly researched and incredibly expansive true crime text about a recent case and its social, political, and geographical contexts, Dick Lehr’s White Hot Hate (Mariner Books 2021) is perfect for readers interested in the US justice system and the complex consequences of fanaticism and misinformation. Lehr’s book is a deep-dive into a 2016 case …
Murder in Matera by Helene Stapinski
From the time she was a young girl growing up in urban New Jersey, Helene Stapinski heard family stories about her Italian forbearers, many in particular about her great-great-grandmother Vita Gallitelli who immigrated to America in 1892 after committing murder. In Murder in Matera: A True Story of Passion, Family, and Forgiveness in Southern Italy …
Mystery at the Blue Sea Cottage
Mystery at the Blue Sea Cottage by James Stewart James Stewart’s Mystery at the Blue Sea Cottage: A True Story of Murder in San Diego’s Jazz Age (Wild Blue Press 2021) is a compelling true crime tale of murder, mystery, and the glitz and glamour of California’s performance culture in 1920s America. The text recounts …
The Unusual Suspect by Ben Machell
“Stephen Jackley had, like many young people, looked around and concluded that the world was not fair. And like many young people, he’d wanted to make a difference. It’s just that, rather than going on protest marches, involving himself in politics, or running sponsored marathons, Stephen ended up robbing banks.” In the later parts of …
Autopsy by Ryan Blumenthal
As true crime enjoys a recent surge in popularity, we have learned that the most compelling stories, and the most worthwhile ones, are told firsthand. Whether it is victims writing their true stories of trauma, or first responders recounting the harrowing details of a case, true crime readers tend to clamour for the authentic narrative …
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