Looking for the best True Crime books? Browse our list to find excellent book recommendations on the subject.
- Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit (2017)
- Blood and Money (1976)
- Murder on Birchleaf Drive: The True Story of the Michelle Young Murder Case (2019)
- Above Suspicion: An Undercover FBI Agent, an Illicit Affair, and a Murder of Passion (2017)
- Where Monsters Hide: Sex, Murder, and Madness in the Midwest (2019)
- Juvenile Justice: A Collection of True-Crime Cases (2007)
- Death Trap (2010)
- A Fever in the Heart: Ann Rule’s Crime Files Volume III (1996)
- The Evil Within (2017)
- Suffer the Little Children (True Crime) (1999)
- Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs (2018)
- Ann Rule: You Belong to Me and Other True Crime Cases (Mass Market Paperback); 1994 Edition ()
- High Achiever: The Incredible True Story of One Addict’s Double Life (2019)
- American Street Gangs (2005)
Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit (2017)
Discover the classic, behind-the-scenes chronicle of John E.
Blood and Money (1976)
Blood and Money by Thomas Thompson. Carroll & Graf Publishers,1976
Murder on Birchleaf Drive: The True Story of the Michelle Young Murder Case (2019)
Was Jason the monster who bludgeoned his beautiful wife to death, leaving his toddler alone for hours to walk through her blood? If so–would he get away with it? To the outside world, Jason and Michelle Young lived a storybook life–an attractive couple with great jobs, a beautiful home, a precocious two-year-old daughter, and a baby boy on the way. Soon after the 29-year-old pregnant mother’s brutally beaten body was discovered on their bedroom floor, a very different picture emerged.
Above Suspicion: An Undercover FBI Agent, an Illicit Affair, and a Murder of Passion (2017)
When rookie FBI agent Mark Putnam received his first assignment in 1987, it was the culmination of a lifelong dream, if not the most desirable location. Pikeville, Kentucky, is high in Appalachian coal country, an outpost rife with lawlessness dating back to the Hatfields and McCoys. As a rising star in the bureau, however, Putnam soon was cultivating paid informants and busting drug rings and bank robbers.
Where Monsters Hide: Sex, Murder, and Madness in the Midwest (2019)
In October 2014, after Chris Regan failed to arrive at his new job, his ex-girlfriend filed a missing-person report. Something was off. It was not like Chris, a devoted father, avid hiker, and all-around great guy, not to show up. When local Michigan police chief Laura Frizzo learned Chris was having an affair with Kelly Cochran, a married co-worker, suspicion fell on her husband, Jason.
Juvenile Justice: A Collection of True-Crime Cases (2007)
Juvenile crime is one of the nation’s most serious crime problems. As part of Prentice Hall’s Reality Reading Series, this case book explores the topic using provocative, high-profile cases. Written in a unique police-style, the casebook examines poignant questions about juveniles and is designed to encourage vibrant discussion about these real situations.
Death Trap (2010)
In this disturbing true account, Jessica McCord, after a nasty divorce and bitter custody battle, decides to get revenge on her ex-husband and his new wife by leading them into a deadly trap that cost them their lives. Original.
A Fever in the Heart: Ann Rule’s Crime Files Volume III (1996)
Paperback book, 1996. More true crime stories from Ann Rule.
The Evil Within (2017)
Previously published as Becky, this is the heartbreaking story behind the murder of 16-year-old Bristol schoolgirl Becky Watts, a crime that shocked the nation and tore a family in two.A vulnerable and shy girl, Becky Watts was brutally murdered and dismembered by her own step-brother on 19 February 2015.
Suffer the Little Children (True Crime) (1999)
Provides a shocking true account of Jesse James Cummings, a twisted psychopath filled with rage and hate, who tortured and sexually abused young girls, forced his wives into prostitution, and murdered his niece, Melissa Moody. Reissue.
Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs (2018)
Candy Montgomery and Betty Gore had a lot in common: They sang together in the Methodist church choir, their daughters were best friends, and their husbands had good jobs working for technology companies in the north Dallas suburbs known as Silicon Prairie. But beneath the placid surface of their seemingly perfect lives, both women simmered with unspoken frustrations and unanswered desires.
Ann Rule: You Belong to Me and Other True Crime Cases (Mass Market Paperback); 1994 Edition ()
Paperback Publisher: Ann Rule (1672) ASIN: B01FOD4YDQ Package Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1 inches Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars 163 customer reviews Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,200,922 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) Would you like to tell us about a lower price? If you are a seller for this product, would you like to suggest updates through seller support?
High Achiever: The Incredible True Story of One Addict’s Double Life (2019)
When word got out that Tiffany Jenkins was withdrawing from opiates on the floor of a jail cell, people in her town were shocked.
American Street Gangs (2005)
This book provides a comprehensive review of all the critical elements relevant to the growing phenomenon of gang life. It is designed to provide the necessary background material of gangs so that readers gain a clear idea of the cultural and structural components of gang activity.
Best True Crime Books that Should be on Your Bookshelf
We highly recommend you to buy all paper or e-books in a legal way, for example, on Amazon. But sometimes it might be a need to dig deeper beyond the shiny book cover. Before making a purchase, you can visit resources like Library Genesis and download some true crime books mentioned below at your own risk. Once again, we do not host any illegal or copyrighted files, but simply give our visitors a choice and hope they will make a wise decision.
Reader’s Digest True Crime: Tales of Murder & Mayhem
Author(s): Reader’s Digest
ID: 2446032, Publisher: Reader’s Digest, Year: 22 Oct 2019, Size: 39 Mb, Format: epub
Deadly Women Volume 14: 20 Shocking True Crime Cases of Women Who Kill
Author(s): Keller, Robert
ID: 3693612, Publisher: , Year: 2023, Size: 2 Mb, Format: epub
True Crime in American Media
Author(s): George S. Larke-Walsh (editor)
ID: 3710328, Publisher: Routledge, Year: 2023, Size: 5 Mb, Format: pdf
Please note that this booklist is not final. Some books are absolutely chart-busters according to The Wall Street Journal, others are written by unknown authors. On top of that, you can always find additional tutorials and courses on Coursera, Udemy or edX, for example. Are there any other relevant links you could recommend? Leave a comment if you have any feedback on the list.