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True Crime
Do you enjoy murder mysteries and crime
novels? You might enjoy reading “true crime.”
Such stories offer exciting, tension-filled
moments, and unbelievable character portraits.
To start, here’s a selection of the most readable and
suspenseful crime tales in our library. Remember—
the events in these books really happened!
- B / ABAGNALE, Frank
Catch me if you can.
Frank W. Abagnale. 1980.
Was Abagnale a con man or a young man just trying to
survive? Read his memoirs; you decide.
- 364.1523 / BUG
Helter skelter: the true story of the Manson murders.
Vincent Bugliosi. 1974.
The Sharon Tate murders in California were among the most
sensational of the 20th century. Bugliosi, the prosecutor who
convicted Charles Manson, provides exhaustive detail, lots of
trial information, and photographs in this fascinating written
documentary.
- 364.1523 / CAP
In cold blood: a true account of a multiple murder and
its consequences.
Truman Capote. 1965.
In cold blood is a chilling yet literary exploration of a mass
murder in Kansas. Basing his account on first-hand
interviews and contemporary research, Capote recreated the
murders and the thoughts of the killers.
- 364.1523 / DUN
Who killed my daughter?
Lois Duncan. 1992.
Duncan is best-known as a children’s author, but also is the
mother of a murdered daughter. Was the killer a family
friend? Follow Duncan’s search for the truth, which includes
crime-solving psychics.
- 364.1523 / GIL
Shot in the heart.
Mikal Gilmore. 1994.
Rolling Stone writer Mikal Gilmore offers a balanced, firsthand
account of the life and violent family background of his
brother, executed murderer Gary Gilmore.
- 364.1523 / HOD
Black Dahlia avenger: a genius for murder.
Steve Hodel. 2003.
Retired homicide detective Hodel obsessed over solving the
sensational 50-year-old murder of Elizabeth Short, never
realizing that his search would lead to his own father.
- 289.33 / KRA
Under the banner of heaven: a story of violent faith.
Jon Krakauer. 2003.
Krakauer juxtaposes the history of the Latter Day Saints with
the account of two horrifying murders committed by
members of a fundamentalist Mormon sect.
- 364.1523 / LAR or BOD / 364.1523 / LAR
Devil in the White City: murder, magic, and madness at the
fair that changed America.
Erik Larson. 2003.
Larson sets his dual story in 1893 Chicago at the fabulous
“White City” of the world’s fair. We meet Daniel Burnham,
the Chicago architect, and H.H. Holmes, a Chicago murderer,
men with parallel yet divergent lives.
- 364.172 / MEZ
Bringing down the house: the inside story of six MIT
students who took Vegas for millions.
Ben Mezrich. 2003.
“Blackjack is beatable”, said MIT students. And they set out
to prove it, hoping to win mass quantities of cash along the
way and attempting to outwit the Las Vegas casinos.
- 364.1523 / RUL or LP / 364.1523 / RUL
Green river, running red: the real story of the Green River
killer, America’s deadliest serial murderer.
Ann Rule. 2004.
For more than 20 years the Green River killer terrorized the
Seattle area. Ann Rule recounts riveting details of the crimes,
the victims, the killer’s motivations and the investigation.
- 364.168 / STO
The cuckoo’s egg: tracking a spy through the maze of
computer espionage.
Clifford Stoll. 1989.
Written in the 80s, Stoll’s book is one of the earliest accounts
of tracking down computer criminals. Even though the
technology mentioned is long-surpassed, the tale remains
engrossing and shows what one man can do.
