Crime Seen
/The True Crime Renaissance
As a generation we have become fixated on true crime. And we all, to one degree or another, are consumers of it. Through Netflix documentaries dropping every month, podcasts in the three-digit range and dedicated bookstore sections, we are barraged. That being said, I don’t believe our moral compass is at risk.
Over the last few years the appetite for these stories has become something bordering on insatiable. To dismiss this interest as merely salacious would be detrimental to the decency inherent in the majority of humanity. While you can argue the ethics of the indulgence of true crime as exploitive entertainment, I believe people are drawn in for more virtuous reasons.
It’s not a mere obsession with the depravity inflicted upon victims or the desire to be an interloper on another’s suffering. It’s the who, what, where, when and why that we are trying desperately to understand. We want to bear witness to justice served, to see order made out of chaos and most importantly, to have the boogeyman lurking in the corner forced into the light. We can only fight what we can see.
Many of these stories expose the stain of humanity. But maybe by examining the monsters in our midst, it allows us to better embrace our Gods. By this point in our lives, most of us understand that one cannot exist without the other.
Setting aside any of the prurient details of a life taken too soon, I believe that one of the unspoken tragedies is this. That there are people walking the earth with the sense that something is missing. A place in their lives that could only have been filled by the person who has been lost. No memory to hold, only an ache that remains unidentified.
For this feature’s recommendations, I gathered together what are considered some of the best ever true crime books and the better of the recent publications. Cases of murder, corporate flim flam and wickedness in the name of religion are included. Not all crimes draw blood.
Some Of The Best…
Helter Skelter – Vincent Bugliosi
If you’ve managed to live a life of any duration greater than thirty years and aren’t aware of this story, you are quite the exception. Indisputably the book that launched the true crime genre, it tells the tale of the murders carried out by Charles Manson and his rapid followers.
Under the Banner of Heaven – Jon Krakauer
A story of religious extremism by a brilliant writer. He constructs a chilling narrative of messianic delusion, savagery, polygamy and fanatical faith. Very well researched and laid out.
I’ll Be Gone in The Dark – Michelle McNamara
Detailed and grisly, this book portrays the unfailing quest of a woman to identify the Golden State Killer. Prolific and deadly, this killer and rapist was finally apprehended in 2018, more than thirty years after his last known crime. Sadly, the author didn’t live to see his capture.
Midnight in The Garden of Good and Evil – John Berendt
A skillful interweaving of the atmospheric old south and a landmark murder case. A book that reads like a novel whose characters feel plucked from the movie screen. A thoroughly engrossing and sublime reading experience.
The Stranger Beside Me – Ann Rule
The grand dame of true crime writings unforgettable account of the horrifying murders perpetrated by Ted Bundy. Infamous and prolific, he has certainly garnered lots of attention over the years.
In Cold Blood – Truman Capote
It’s possible this is less known in contemporary times, but it’s by a stand out author so shouldn’t be overlooked. Tells of the savage murders of a family of four and the investigation and ultimate justice that was served. Yields some very poignant, and prescient, insights into the nature of violence.
The Innocent Man – John Grisham
It should come as no surprise that this reads as a novel given the authors resume. A man finds himself sentenced to death on the filmiest of evidence. There have been so many wrongful conviction stories over the last few years and all of them leave you wondering why it’s so easy to get put in jail and near impossible to get out.
Mindhunter – John Douglas
The classic behind the scenes look at the emergence of psychological profiling and the deep dives into the minds of the most notorious serial killers and criminals. Showcases what a human monster is, something worse than any horror fiction writer could even begin to imagine.
Wiseguy – Nicholas Pileggi
Hailed as the best book ever written on organized crime, not to mention the basis for the film Goodfellas! An unvarnished account of violence and excess told from the point of view of a kid who grew up in the center of it.
The Executioner’s Song – Norman Mailer
This classic work of true crime follows Gary Gilmore, who became famous after he robbed and killed two men. After he was tried and convicted, he insisted on being executed and fought the system to make it happen. Not your typical story for sure, but the incomparable Mailer tells an amazing tale.
The Devil in The White City – Erik Larson
A fusing of history and mystery. The story intertwines the opening of the 1893 World’s Fair and the cunning serial killer who used the wonder of it to lure his victims to their deaths. While it reads like fiction, sadly it is far from it.
Escape – Carolyn Jessup
A dramatic account of life inside the FDLS religious sect/cult and one women’s fight to get free of it. Married to a man thirty-two years her senior, who controlled every aspect of her life spanning fifteen years and eight children, she found the courage to leave and take her kids with her.
Some Of The Rest…
The Five – Hallie Rubenhold
Everything you’ve ever likely heard about the Jack the Ripper cases undoubtedly surrounds the murderer and the murders themselves. This book details the lives of the women that were killed, which provides a new and unique perspective on this age-old unsolved mystery.
Bad Blood – John Carreyrou
It’s disquieting that one woman managed to fool enough investors of significant means to finance a multi-billion-dollar biotech startup. A product that was supposed to allow hundreds of tests to be run off a single drop of blood. Revolutionary, at least as far as measurements of complete bullshit go. Fascinating corporate intrigue here!
Trail of Lizzie Borden – Cara Roberston
Lizzie Borden took an axe…well you know the rhyme. No doubt you’ve heard of one of the most sensational murder cases in US history. In today’s world a similar fascination would likely only be seen in viewing the latest HBO hit. To date the question stands, did she, or didn’t she?
Say Nothing – Patrick Radden Keefe
A mother of ten was dragged from her Belfast home and never seen again. This act is a launch point for the story of the radical IRA and a society wracked by vicious crime and paranoia.
The Mastermind – Evan Ratliff
An unprecedented account of a crime boss built by and for the digital age. True story of a decade long quest to bring down a powerful internet enabled cartel that engaged in almost every conceivable aspect of criminal mayhem. A horror story for the tech savvy!
Burned – Edward Humes
A woman finds herself convicted of setting the tragic house fire that took the lives of her three small children. Despite scientific advancements that refute the prosecutions incontrovertible truths twenty-five years later, she has yet to be exonerated.
Killer Across the Table – John Douglas
Legendary FBI profiler and author of Mindhunter offers up insight into the techniques he used in his interviews and how he got the truth from some of the deadliest criminals. Beyond that is how he connects the conversations to the crimes, not always a straight path.
The Library Book – Susan Orlean
A disastrous fire consumed over four hundred thousand books and damaged over seven hundred thousand more. Over thirty years later this act of arson is still unsolved. Written by a booklover, this volume goes beyond that one incident to showcase the importance of our libraries.
Highway of Tears – Jessica McDiarmid
An examination of missing and murdered Indigenous woman and girls along Canada’s highway 16 and the society that failed them. The author gives voice to previously unheard victims and depicts how the tragedies shaped the communities they occurred in.
Billion Dollar Whale – Tom Wright & Bradley Hope
In 2009 a young social climber pulled off one of the biggest heists in history, setting in motion a fraud of unparalleled gall and magnitude. This person also financed the film The Wolf of Wall Street. The irony is borderline ridiculous.
Blood Will Out – Walter Kinn
An aspiring novelist sets out on a fateful errand to deliver something to the apartment of Clark Rockefeller. Thus began a fifteen-year relationship with the eccentric son of privilege who was ultimately unmasked as a brazen imposter.
You All Grow Up and Leave Me – Piper Weiss
Heralded as a riveting blend of true crime and coming of age memoir. Our writer has to come to grips with the fact that her mentor was actually a predator of young girls. Bracingly honest and extremely discomfiting, I recommend a skip if you have a young daughter.
