True Crime Everyone Should Read (61 books)

True Crime books that are so good that everyone should read them at least once

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1	In Cold Blood by Truman Capote 4.09 avg rating — 722,059 ratings score: 694, and 7 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
2	Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by David Grann (Goodreads Author) 4.14 avg rating — 438,349 ratings score: 467, and 5 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
3	The Stranger Beside Me: Ted Bundy: The Shocking Inside Story by Ann Rule 4.14 avg rating — 111,000 ratings score: 392, and 4 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
4	The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson (Goodreads Author) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 751,321 ratings score: 377, and 4 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
5	Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit by John E. Douglas 4.09 avg rating — 80,803 ratings score: 297, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
6	I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara 4.11 avg rating — 261,754 ratings score: 296, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
7	Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt 3.92 avg rating — 293,234 ratings score: 292, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
8	Death of Innocence: The Story of the Hate Crime That Changed America by Mamie Till-Mobley 4.44 avg rating — 1,245 ratings score: 273, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
9	At Any Cost: A Father's Betrayal, a Wife's Murder, and a Ten-Year War for Justice by Rebecca Rosenberg (Goodreads Author) 4.15 avg rating — 1,319 ratings score: 200, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
9	The Pale-Faced Lie by David Crow (Goodreads Author) 4.27 avg rating — 29,019 ratings score: 200, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
11	Columbine by Dave Cullen (Goodreads Author) 4.29 avg rating — 101,575 ratings score: 196, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
12	Forensics: The Anatomy of Crime by Val McDermid 4.10 avg rating — 12,553 ratings score: 194, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
13	Unnatural Causes: The Life and Many Deaths of Britain's Top Forensic Pathologist by Richard Shepherd 4.32 avg rating — 47,392 ratings score: 191, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
14	Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President by Candice Millard 4.23 avg rating — 83,087 ratings score: 185, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
15	Journey Into Darkness by John E. Douglas 4.02 avg rating — 7,502 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
15	Race Against Time: A Reporter Reopens the Unsolved Murder Cases of the Civil Rights Era by Jerry Mitchell 4.42 avg rating — 2,118 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
15	Raven: The Untold Story of the Rev. Jim Jones and His People by Tim Reiterman 4.32 avg rating — 2,651 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
15	The Death of an Heir: Adolph Coors III and the Murder That Rocked an American Brewing Dynasty by Philip Jett (Goodreads Author) 3.72 avg rating — 453 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
15	Green River Killer: A True Detective Story by Jeff Jensen (Writer) 3.85 avg rating — 5,477 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
15	The American Compendium of British Crimes by William Ruby (Goodreads Author) 4.60 avg rating — 5 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
15	The Best New True Crime Stories: Crimes of Passion, Obsession & Revenge by Mitzi Szereto (Goodreads Author) (Editor) 3.66 avg rating — 47 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
15	De vermoedens van Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale 3.51 avg rating — 24,949 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
23	The Light of Truth: Writings of an Anti-Lynching Crusader by Ida B. Wells-Barnett 4.54 avg rating — 171 ratings score: 99, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
23	Golden Boy: A Murder Among the Manhattan Elite by John Glatt (Goodreads Author) 3.75 avg rating — 2,784 ratings score: 99, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
23	The Best New True Crime Stories: Partners in Crime by Mitzi Szereto (Goodreads Author) (Editor) 3.71 avg rating — 35 ratings score: 99, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
26	The Zong: A Massacre, the Law and the End of Slavery by James Walvin 4.24 avg rating — 120 ratings score: 98, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
26	Tears of Rage by John Walsh 4.26 avg rating — 4,187 ratings score: 98, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
26	The Best New True Crime Stories: Well-Mannered Crooks, Rogues & Criminals: by Mitzi Szereto (Goodreads Author) (Editor) 3.58 avg rating — 38 ratings score: 98, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
26	Tangled Vines: Power, Privilege, and the Murdaugh Family Murders by John Glatt (Goodreads Author) 3.93 avg rating — 3,682 ratings score: 98, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
30	Slavery by Another Name: The Re-Enslavement of Black Americans from the Civil War to World War II by Douglas A. Blackmon 4.38 avg rating — 7,097 ratings score: 97, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
30	The Anatomy Murders: Being the True and Spectacular History of Edinburgh's Notorious Burke and Hare and of the Man of Science Who Abetted Them in the Commission of Their Most Heinous Crimes by Lisa Rosner 3.66 avg rating — 195 ratings score: 97, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
30	The Best New True Crime Stories: Small Towns by Mitzi Szereto (Goodreads Author) (Editor) 3.28 avg rating — 321 ratings score: 97, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
33	People Who Eat Darkness: The Fate of Lucie Blackman by Richard Lloyd Parry (Goodreads Author) 3.79 avg rating — 23,186 ratings score: 96, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
33	Dark Places of the Earth: The Voyage of the Slave Ship by Jonathan M. Bryant 3.53 avg rating — 94 ratings score: 96, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
33	Devil's Knot by Mara Leveritt (Goodreads Author) 4.16 avg rating — 12,615 ratings score: 96, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
33	The Best New True Crime Stories: Serial Killers by Mitzi Szereto (Goodreads Author) (Editor) 3.41 avg rating — 551 ratings score: 96, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
37	The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism by Edward E. Baptist (Goodreads Author) 4.45 avg rating — 5,569 ratings score: 95, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
37	Smoke, Mirrors, and Murder and Other True Cases (Crime Files, #12) by Ann Rule 3.93 avg rating — 2,807 ratings score: 95, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
37	A Different Class of Murder: The Story of Lord Lucan by Laura Thompson 3.33 avg rating — 575 ratings score: 95, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
40	The Killer Across the Table: Unlocking the Secrets of Serial Killers and Predators with the FBI's Original Mindhunter by John E. Douglas 4.15 avg rating — 23,636 ratings score: 94, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
40	The Winecoff Fire: The Untold Story of America's Deadliest Hotel Fire by Sam Heys 4.27 avg rating — 157 ratings score: 94, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
40	Last Dance, Last Chance and Other True Cases (Crime Files, #8) by Ann Rule 4.02 avg rating — 3,187 ratings score: 94, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
40	Murder at Dusk: How US soldier and smiling psychopath Eddie Leonski terrorised wartime Melbourne by Ian W. Shaw 3.85 avg rating — 66 ratings score: 94, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
44	And the Dead Shall Rise: The Murder of Mary Phagan and the Lynching of Leo Frank by Steve Oney 4.08 avg rating — 481 ratings score: 93, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
44	Bitter Harvest: A Woman's Fury, a Mother's Sacrifice by Ann Rule 4.10 avg rating — 10,934 ratings score: 93, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
46	The Beast of Chicago: An Account of the Life and Crimes of Herman W. Mudgett, Known to the World As H.H. Holmes by Rick Geary 3.83 avg rating — 758 ratings score: 92, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
46	My Confession: Recollections of a Rogue by Samuel E. Chamberlain 4.19 avg rating — 423 ratings score: 92, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
48	The Saga of the Bloody Benders by Rick Geary 3.84 avg rating — 616 ratings score: 91, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
48	And Never Let Her Go: Thomas Capano: The Deadly Seducer by Ann Rule 4.12 avg rating — 9,168 ratings score: 91, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
50	The Lindbergh Child by Rick Geary 3.85 avg rating — 612 ratings score: 90, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
50	Green River, Running Red by Ann Rule really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 20,137 ratings score: 90, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
52	Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34 by Bryan Burrough 3.98 avg rating — 6,084 ratings score: 89, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
53	Days of Rage: America's Radical Underground, the FBI, and the Forgotten Age of Revolutionary Violence by Bryan Burrough 3.97 avg rating — 2,482 ratings score: 88, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
54	The Third Bank of the River: Power and Survival in the Twenty-First-Century Amazon by Chris Feliciano Arnold (Goodreads Author) 4.07 avg rating — 112 ratings score: 86, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
55	Wicked Atlanta: The Sordid Side of Peach City History by Laurel-Ann Dooley (Goodreads Author) 3.66 avg rating — 58 ratings score: 85, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
56	Wilmington's Lie: The Murderous Coup of 1898 and the Rise of White Supremacy by David Zucchino 4.43 avg rating — 4,187 ratings score: 84, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
57	The Third Rainbow Girl: The Long Life of a Double Murder in Appalachia by Emma Copley Eisenberg (Goodreads Author) 3.12 avg rating — 6,417 ratings score: 83, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
58	Praying with One Eye Open: Mormons and Murder in Nineteenth-Century Appalachian Georgia by Mary Ella Engel 3.48 avg rating — 33 ratings score: 82, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
59	Death of an Empire: The Rise and Murderous Fall of Salem, America's Richest City by Robert Booth (Goodreads Author) 3.26 avg rating — 144 ratings score: 81, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
60	Cry of the People: United States Involvement in the Rise of Fascism, Torture and Murder and the Persecution of the Catholic Church in Latin America by Penny Lernoux 4.32 avg rating — 40 ratings score: 79, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
61	Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America's Most Powerful Mafia Empires by Selwyn Raab 4.15 avg rating — 6,482 ratings score: 76, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars