Your favorite true crime books?

[kolson82]

Hi all,

I was curious if any of you could point me in the direction of some interesting, less-than-well-known true crime books. I mean, I know about HELTER SKELTER and IN COLD BLOOD and FATAL VISION; I'm more looking for the not-so-well-known true crime books that are about weird or interesting cases or that are just good, all-around reads.

Thanks for any help any of you can offer.

[LaurierCrimmajor]

Hunting Humans by Elliot Leyton- Very criminologically based, written by an anthropologist.

Torso: The Story of Eliot Ness and the Search for a Psychopathic Killer by Steven Nickel

For a fictional take on a true story, James Ellroy's Black Dahlia is my favourite.

[catlover79]

This is an absolute chiller, but it is one fascinating read:

[ernmerica]

In cold blood - capote

[UMFaninMD]

A Bitter Brew: Faith, Power, and Poison in a Small New England Town by Christine Young.

I would also check out some of M. William Phelps' books as well.

[AB]

"And The Sea Will Tell" by Vincent Bugliosi is another good true crime book you might enjoy.

[SheRaaa]

I definitely second Ann Rule's "Small Sacrifices." One of the most gripping books I've ever read in my life! Her "The Stranger Beside Me" is also terrifying.

Another one I could not put down was "Serpentine." You'd swear the stuff in there could not have possibly happened but it did!

Yet another page-turner was "Never Enough," about an uber-materialistic wife who bumps-off her investment banker husband. Just goes to show that money doesn't really buy happiness, lol.

The scariest true crime book I've ever read, though, was "The Night Stalker" by (I think?) Phillip Carlo. (This was not about the original night stalker, as profiled on UM, but the 2nd night stalker.) This book was so terrifying I literally could not finish it and had to turn its cover upside-down when it was sitting on the coffee table...

[kolson82]

Keep the suggestions comin'; I really appreciate it!

The Night Stalker one sounds really interesting. I'm going to get the Ann Rule book, too.

[catlover79]

Ann Rule has written quite a few gripping books about true crime. Here's a list of some more:

http://www.mysterycrimescene.com/small-sacrifices.html

[AB]

Originally Posted by catlover79

Ann Rule has written quite a few gripping books about true crime. Here's a list of some more:

http://www.mysterycrimescene.com/small-sacrifices.html

^ She has some really good books to pick from. The Stranger Beside Me: Ted Bundy The Shocking Inside Story is one of my favorites by Ann Rule.


Murder in Greenwich by Mark Fuhrman is also a good book. It's about the murder of Martha Moxley.

[SheRaaa]

Originally Posted by kolson82

Keep the suggestions comin'; I really appreciate it!

The Night Stalker one sounds really interesting. I'm going to get the Ann Rule book, too.

If you're looking for good true crime books (and who isn't?) you've just GOT to read Small Sacrifices. Not unlike UM, that book recreates the 80s perfectly and really gives you a sense of the craziness surrounding the murders and trial.

The Night Stalker terrified me worse than anything I've ever read, because this guy (Richard Ramirez, who has since been captured, thankfully) would just literally prey on random people and torture and kill them...doesn't matter if they locked their doors at night or not, they were NOT safe and the book shows how he just killed one right after the other...don't read it alone at night!

[kolson82]

I'll be getting these shortly. Here's the other books I was looking at thanks to Amazon suggestions:

Secrets in the Cellar by John Glatt
Darker than Night by Tom Henderson
The Perfect Victim by ?
The Darkest Night by Ron Franscell
Cries in the Desert by John Glatt

Those sound interesting (and very disturbing) from their descriptions; I was curious if anyone here has read any of those. Thanks for any help you can provide (and for the great suggestions so far!)

[catlover79]

Originally Posted by SheRaaa

If you're looking for good true crime books (and who isn't?) you've just GOT to read Small Sacrifices. Not unlike UM, that book recreates the 80s perfectly and really gives you a sense of the craziness surrounding the murders and trial.

The Night Stalker terrified me worse than anything I've ever read, because this guy (Richard Ramirez, who has since been captured, thankfully) would just literally prey on random people and torture and kill them...doesn't matter if they locked their doors at night or not, they were NOT safe and the book shows how he just killed one right after the other...don't read it alone at night!

Exactly. Trust me, you'll never think of Duran Duran's "Hungry Like the Wolf" the same way ever again. (You'll know what I mean when you read the book.)

[Necco]

Killing Rage by Eamon Collins is an excellent expose on how a young adult can be indoctrinated into a terrorist organization. An even more compelling read when you realize that Mr. Collins knew he was signing his own death warrant when he wrote it.

[RobinW]

Originally Posted by catlover79

Exactly. Trust me, you'll never think of Duran Duran's "Hungry Like the Wolf" the same way ever again. (You'll know what I mean when you read the book.)

I still remember the made-for-TV movie adaptation of the book where Farrah Fawcett played Diane Downs. The scene where she starts boogeying to the music while they play "Hungry Like the Wolf" in the courtroom during her trial is SO creepy!