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True Crime Stories: 48 Terrifying True Crime Murder Cases

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Would you consider yourself the same after reading true crime stories?

The horrific and disturbing nature of these stories often makes you question everything you thought or believed about humanity. Yet they are engaging and fascinating at the same time.

We all had evil thoughts throughout our lives. What is it that makes us different from those who actually act upon it? Is it the act alone? These are questions that many ask themselves, and these stories will help dig into the elements and psychology behind some of the most terrifying killers in history.

This collection includes four true crime books, volumes 1-4, and each is filled with a variety of murder cases, from spree killers to massacres to even cannibals. You will explore the background, the act, and the aftermath of their violent acts. Some pages will be painful to read, due to the detailed description of the violent acts and the emotions behind them.

415 pages, Paperback

First published April 19, 2019

753 people are currently reading
135 people want to read

About the author

Ryan Becker

39 books82 followers
Ryan Becker is a True Crime author who started his writing journey in late 2016. Like many of you, he loves to explore the process of how individuals turn their darkest fantasies into a reality.

Ryan has always had a passion for storytelling. So, writing is the best output for him to combine his fascination with psychology and true crime. It is Ryan’s goal for his readers to experience the full immersion with the dark reality of the world just like how he used to do it in his younger days.

Now with his small team, Ryan wishes to push the storytelling even further with other passionate writers and together they can leave a mark on the reader with their various storytelling styles.

To reach out or just to say hi you can email him at Ryanbecker@ryanbeckerwrites.com.

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5 stars
91 (31%)
4 stars
93 (32%)
3 stars
69 (23%)
2 stars
28 (9%)
1 star
9 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
Profile Image for Sue.
1,698 reviews1 follower
June 8, 2021
At first, I couldn't put my "finger" on what it was that was bothering me about how this book was written but then I began to detest the last paragraph of every story. It's written as if it was regurgitated. It's one thing to summarize something, quite another to add personal "spit". Found this method of writing quite irritating.
24 reviews
April 18, 2025
I don't see the purpose of this series. I appreciated the author's effort to collect the cases, provide some family background of the killer and detailed list of the victims, but from my point of view, they are just simple categorised summarises of killings that are repulsive and sick, without much insights provided. Maybe someone else are able to benefit more than I do.
24 reviews
March 20, 2024
lots of mistakes

This series had a lot of grammatical errors, people names were messed up as to who did what. Major editing failures. It was written like a newspaper article.
75 reviews2 followers
August 13, 2019
Interesting Read

The subject matter was very interesting and made me want to read more about the people profiled in these books. However, the writing style and lack of attention to detail were very hard to look over. Facts were incorrect and with a quick google search you could determine this. In one chapter the author called the killer by the wrong name more than once and in another chapter the author called the killer's hometown "Sunnyside," "Sunnyvale," and another "sun" name. There were a lot of grammatical mistakes that also made it hard to read at some points. With these things fixed, it would really be a great synopsis book for true crime lovers.
Profile Image for Diane Robinson.
Author 6 books425 followers
May 19, 2021
True crime readers will love this book! The stories are informative and interesting, The gruesome details of some of the killers are not for those with a weak stomach. I really enjoyed the stories, but I wish the book had been edited better—lots of incorrect information, including names, and misused words with bad sentence structure. Otherwise, this book would be a total winner!
Profile Image for Carly.
1 review
March 31, 2020
I really wanted to like this book, but it is in desperate need of a good editor. The extent of the typos and grammar issues made me start to question the research.
Profile Image for Grady.
Author 51 books1,822 followers
July 30, 2019
‘Spree killers are a sub-group of killers known as rampage killers - mass murders.’

Ryan Becker is growing strong in the literary scene, a handsome young man with a penchant for the gruesome. His list of books to date are SERIAL KILLER: 200 Gruesome yet Fascinating Facts about Serial Killers, Book 1– ROBERT BERDELLA: The True Story of a Man who Turned his Darkest Fantasies, Book 2 EDMUND KEMPER: The True Story of the Brutal Co-ed Butcher, JEFFREY DAHMER: The Gruesome True Story of a Hungry Cannibalistic Rapist and Necrophiliac Serial Killer, TRUE CRIME STORIES VOLUME 1: 12 Terrifying True Crime Murder Cases, TRUE CRIME STORIES VOLUME 2: 12 Terrifying True Crime Murder Cases, TRUE CRIME STORIES VOLUME 3: 12 Terrifying True Crime Murder Cases, and TRUE CRIME STORIES VOLUME 4: 12 Terrifying True Crime Murder Cases, and now his four volumes of TRUE CRIME STORIES are available as a bundle. According to the biographical information, Ryan aims to write all the stories he has read and watched and letting himself be taken into the world of true mysteries and psychological murder crime stories. He also wants to share his experience of his younger days with the readers on how he immersed himself with the dark reality of the world. He loves to tell a true story that will make you solve a puzzle on your mind. Ideally, Ryan wants to leave a mark on the reader with his dark true crime stories. It is important to add that he succeeds!

Ryan’s books tend to be more psychological dissections or autopsies of the minds of the murderers he reports. At book's inception he outlines the content - ‘Why is it that we are fascinated by stories and news coverage about murders? What is it about a killer’s morbid deeds that attracts our interest? Some murders have become a permanent fixture in our popular culture. Books, movies, and even music have used particular murders as their subject matter. Perhaps our fascination with murders arises as a vestige form our childhood. Perhaps we graduate from our childhood fascination with monsters to an adult fascination with murderers. Perhaps it is because murderers put into practice what we have felt at times but could never conceive doing. After all, how many of us, in our most emotional moments, have felt like killing someone?...’ And it is just this sort of immediacy with which Ryan shares the 48 murders in this collection – all the more terrifying because of his upfront and factual approach.

Very succinctly Ryan introduces these forty-eight murder cases, leaving no details to the imagination. Grisly but fascinating to read the manner in which Ryan approaches his subject matter. He writes very well indeed and has found his niche in books that inform and make us shudder, avoiding ‘the things that go bump in the night.’ He is very rapidly becoming an authority on crime whose insight is exceptional.
91 reviews1 follower
January 29, 2023
This book is 399 pages, not the 278 Goodreads has. However, if you want short, slightly detailed stories about true crimes, this is the book for you! I did like how short the stories were as they usually covered everything in ten pages or less. However, I feel some information is lacking or just breezed over like it doesn't matter. The author also seems to favor certain stories as some are 15-20 pages in length and others are only 4-5. There are a lot of spelling errors, words incorrectly placed or flat out missing, and the sentence structure is generally horrible. I also don't like how some of this book is written from a fictional truth standpoint. I think the author makes a lot of assumptions about how the killers/victims feel before, during, and after the murders. You can tell this is just a compilation of books as each has its own theme and conclusion (which I don't like as the conclusions were very general statements and really weren't needed in the context of this book). I also don't like how varied the author was in detailing the crime scenes and sentencing. Some scenes were just briefly touched upon whereas others (specifically in book three about cannibals) went so far into detail that it was uncomfortable to read. The sentencing (normally a big part of true crime novels) was usually just skipped over with some random lawyer and judge quotes thrown in and felt like an afterthought. Not the best true crime novels over read and definitely not a recommendation at the top of my list.
Profile Image for Sherilyn Powell.
12 reviews
April 22, 2019
Sometimes you just want the facts, ma'am - just the facts. I appreciated the brevity, since I wasn't looking this time for forensic investigation and courtroom drama. But because these stories are short and there are so many of them, if you read this set through all in a few sittings you begin to feel there's no hope for a world that produces these people. What's scariest about mass murders and serial killings is that they can happen to anyone at anytime, and so often they could have been avoided if only someone had paid enough attention. There's just got to be a way to identify these perpetrators ahead of time; stop them and help them before they ruin lives.
Profile Image for Janalyn, the blind reviewer.
4,633 reviews140 followers
May 2, 2019
Maybe I’m not qualified to write a review about Ryan Becker’s books?

When it comes to books by Ryan Becker I find myself not being able to get enough. From his well-known crimes to the not so well known. Ryan Becker is a powerhouse of research and information. Not to mention it making the victims become real people into perpetrators be known as the scum they are. I may not be qualified to review any of his books because he is after all my absolute favorite author of true crime. I do love me some Ryan Becker!
Profile Image for Evelyn Taylor.
26 reviews
August 23, 2020
Review.

Although some of the stories were short. And some of them were in detail. I thoroughly enjoyed the book one as I always enjoy True crime stories although they were very gruesome and sad. There were a few small mistakes that I’ve noticed, but nothing serious. I will definitely be reading more of his books and trying to read all the true crimes seven books that I haven’t touched yet. I would recommend this to all the true crime book readers like myself. The five star rating speaks for itself.
Profile Image for Dan.
228 reviews5 followers
June 3, 2021
Too much of the author going on and on about how what these people did is not really their fault. They are a product of being unloved, or having a rough childhood, or whatever other excuse he can think of. Some of these evil people were genuinely mentally ill, that is the only excuse I will accept, and we do need to identify people like that and get them help quickly. However the vast majority of these people ARE RESPONSIBLE for their actions. Many, Many people have bad childhoods but do not choose to commit murder. I would not buy anything else from this author ever again.
695 reviews8 followers
April 20, 2019
Fascinating book!

This book contains details of murders committed by forty-eight people as well as the factors contributing to those individuals becoming killers. I did find several spelling and typographical errors, though. If certain potential readers have weak stomachs, I would advise not reading this book as it contains details of dismemberment and cannibalism. Generally speaking, I recommend this book to other true crime readers.
Profile Image for Lisa Millett.
298 reviews10 followers
April 25, 2019
Grisly true crime

Ryan Becker continues to write exceptional true crime books. In this box set he covers 48 murderers from various ages, walks of life and both males as well females. Each case has good distinct details that describes the murders and the victims. I highly recommend this box set.
Profile Image for Ashley Hedden.
5,259 reviews43 followers
January 6, 2021
True Crime Stories: 48 Terrifying True Crime Murder Cases was a good read by Ryan Becker. This list examines horrific crimes and delves into the awful mindset of these murderers. This is a good read for any true crime fan. Ryan Becker has a great way of narrating a story that keeps you enthralled even if you already know the cases. I can't wait to read more by Ryan Becker.
2 reviews
October 10, 2021
Avid fan

The never ending series of true crime. I enjoyed the flow of the prose. A feeling of being the victim was how I read through the stories. The crime scene descriptions were vivid and I could see myself walking through the rooms. A page Turner and I had to just keep reading as fast as I could.
Profile Image for Rachel DiSanto.
22 reviews
February 26, 2024
Enjoyed the short true crime stories, but wow, the editing could have been better! Lots of grammatical errors and typos. Some stories I would have to go back an re-read/check because they would all of a sudden have a different name, date, or location than what was stated at the beginning of the story.
Profile Image for Susan Margaret Leedy.
117 reviews
May 4, 2019
As always very well written, Ryan writes with an elegance and truth that while terrifying us with the crimes committed, enthrals us with a 'how did we ever miss these stories?'
Further, it also makes us aware of all that we didn't know!
Profile Image for Rachel.
141 reviews20 followers
May 17, 2019
This needs editing for continuity. I found several errors in dates that should be rechecked. Otherwise it was interesting as I remember some of the cases being in the news. These stories give a new and different perspective.
509 reviews13 followers
August 5, 2019
Four book bundle where each chapter is the summery of a crime
A great mix of well known cases and ones I’ve never heard of
Very interesting and well narrated highly recommended
I received a free review audiobook and voluntarily left this review
Profile Image for Sara Waldo.
85 reviews7 followers
March 8, 2024
Mind blowing

I really enjoyed these stories. I knew about a few of them, but I enjoyed reading about the others. Would recommend. It's sad that innocent people lost their lives by evil people.
Profile Image for Toni Marie.
69 reviews
April 26, 2019
I am a huge fan and follower of Ryan Becker’s! And this series of books has me super excited and will have me busy reading for days!
10 reviews
May 7, 2019
Can't get enough. Love reading these stories. Always looking for more.
Profile Image for Kris Gordon Oliphant.
148 reviews3 followers
Read
February 9, 2020
Terrifying indeed!

Interesting read, still have a hard time wrapping my around how people could even act like this. Crazy world we live in.
Profile Image for Troy Buffington.
67 reviews1 follower
May 11, 2020
This collection covers lesser known criminals,and brings to light certain mental illness’s that are too often ignored.
Profile Image for Ruth martinez.
2 reviews
June 25, 2020
Must read

If you truly love reading about true crimes this is the book for you interesting from beginning to end again a must read
Profile Image for Patricia Farmer.
168 reviews2 followers
September 11, 2020
Excellent

Very interesting book and a great asset for the true crime reader's library. I highly recommend, you will not be disappointed.
3 reviews
February 12, 2024
Facts, not a lot more

It read very matter of fact, not a lot of padding. Therefore found it good but dry. I prefer a little more.
Profile Image for Kristina Molls.
5 reviews
November 17, 2024
Good stories but lots of spelling errors. Made it kind of confusing who you were actually reading about
Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews

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