These are some of the True Crime books that I will be reading this year. I’m a lover of history and true crime, I’m sure these books will make for very fascinating and dark reads, I mean we can never go into history without encountering its darker side, now can we.
Beneath a Ruthless Sun by Gilbert King
From the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning bestseller Devil in the Grove, the gripping true story of a small town with a big secret.
In December 1957, the wife of a Florida citrus baron is raped in her home while her husband is away. She claims a “husky Negro” did it, and the sheriff, the infamous racist Willis McCall, does not hesitate to round up a herd of suspects. But within days, McCall turns his sights on Jesse Daniels, a gentle, mentally impaired white nineteen-year-old. Soon Jesse is railroaded up to the state hospital for the insane, and locked away without trial.
But crusading journalist Mabel Norris Reese cannot stop fretting over the case and its baffling outcome. Who was protecting whom, or what? She pursues the story for years, chasing down leads, hitting dead ends, winning unlikely allies. Bit by bit, the unspeakable truths behind a conspiracy that shocked a community into silence begin to surface.
Beneath a Ruthless Sun tells a powerful, page-turning story rooted in the fears that rippled through the South as integration began to take hold, sparking a surge of virulent racism that savaged the vulnerable, debased the powerful, and roils our own times still.
Amazon
Conan Doyle for the Defense by Margalit Fox
“A wonderfully vivid portrait of the man behind Sherlock Holmes . . . Like all the best historical true crime books, it’s about so much more than crime.”—Tana French, author of In the Woods
For all the scores of biographies of Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of the most famous detective in the world, there is no recent book that tells this remarkable story—in which Conan Doyle becomes a real-life detective on an actual murder case. In Conan Doyle for the Defense, Margalit Fox takes us step by step inside Conan Doyle’s investigative process and illuminates a murder mystery that is also a morality play for our time—a story of ethnic, religious, and anti-immigrant bias.
In 1908, a wealthy woman was brutally murdered in her Glasgow home. The police found a convenient suspect in Oscar Slater—an immigrant Jewish cardsharp—who, despite his obvious innocence, was tried, convicted, and consigned to life at hard labor in a brutal Scottish prison. Conan Doyle, already world famous as the creator of Sherlock Holmes, was outraged by this injustice and became obsessed with the case. Using the methods of his most famous character, he scoured trial transcripts, newspaper accounts, and eyewitness statements, meticulously noting myriad holes, inconsistencies, and outright fabrications by police and prosecutors. Finally, in 1927, his work won Slater’s freedom.
Amazon
Sons of Cain: A History of Serial Killers from the Stone Age to the Present by Peter Vronsky
From the author of Serial Killers: The Method and Madness of Monsters comes an in-depth examination of sexual serial killers throughout human history, how they evolved, and why we are drawn to their horrifying crimes.
Before the term was coined in 1981, there were no “serial killers.” There were only “monsters”–killers society first understood as werewolves, vampires, ghouls and witches or, later, Hitchcockian psychos.
In Sons of Cain–a book that fills the gap between dry academic studies and sensationalized true crime–investigative historian Peter Vronsky examines our understanding of serial killing from its prehistoric anthropological evolutionary dimensions in the pre-civilization era (c. 15,000 BC) to today. Delving further back into human history and deeper into the human psyche than Serial Killers–Vronsky’s 2004 book, which has been called the definitive history of serial murder–he focuses strictly on sexual serial killers: thrill killers who engage in murder, rape, torture, cannibalism and necrophilia, as opposed to for-profit serial killers, including hit men, or “political” serial killers, like terrorists or genocidal murderers.
These sexual serial killers differ from all other serial killers in their motives and their foundations. They are uniquely human and–as popular culture has demonstrated–uniquely fascinating.
Amazon
Lady killers: Deadly women throughout history by Tori Telfer
Inspired by author Tori Telfer’s Jezebel column “Lady Killers,” this thrilling and entertaining compendium investigates female serial killers and their crimes through the ages.
When you think of serial killers throughout history, the names that come to mind are ones like Jack the Ripper, John Wayne Gacy, and Ted Bundy. But what about Tillie Klimek, Moulay Hassan, Kate Bender? The narrative we’re comfortable with is the one where women are the victims of violent crime, not the perpetrators. In fact, serial killers are thought to be so universally, overwhelmingly male that in 1998, FBI profiler Roy Hazelwood infamously declared in a homicide conference, “There are no female serial killers.”
Lady Killers, based on the popular online series that appeared on Jezebel and The Hairpin, disputes that claim and offers fourteen gruesome examples as evidence. Though largely forgotten by history, female serial killers such as Erzsébet Báthory, Nannie Doss, Mary Ann Cotton, and Darya Nikolayevna Saltykova rival their male counterparts in cunning, cruelty, and appetite for destruction.
Each chapter explores the crimes and history of a different subject, and then proceeds to unpack her legacy and her portrayal in the media, as well as the stereotypes and sexist clichés that inevitably surround her. The first book to examine female serial killers through a feminist lens with a witty and dryly humorous tone, Lady Killers dismisses easy explanations (she was hormonal, she did it for love, a man made her do it) and tired tropes (she was a femme fatale, a black widow, a witch), delving into the complex reality of female aggression and predation. Featuring 14 illustrations from Dame Darcy, Lady Killers is a bloodcurdling, insightful, and irresistible journey into the heart of darkness.
Amazon
Black Klansman: Race, Hate, and the Undercover Investigation of a Lifetime by Ron Stallworth
The New York Times Bestseller!
The extraordinary true story and basis for the Academy Award-nominated film BlacKkKlansman, written and directed by Spike Lee, produced by Jordan Peele, and starring John David Washington and Adam Driver.
When detective Ron Stallworth, the first black detective in the history of the Colorado Springs Police Department, comes across a classified ad in the local paper asking for all those interested in joining the Ku Klux Klan to contact a P.O. box, Detective Stallworth does his job and responds with interest, using his real name while posing as a white man. He figures he’ll receive a few brochures in the mail, maybe even a magazine, and learn more about a growing terrorist threat in his community.
A few weeks later the office phone rings, and the caller asks Ron a question he thought he’d never have to answer, “Would you like to join our cause?” This is 1978, and the KKK is on the rise in the United States. Its Grand Wizard, David Duke, has made a name for himself, appearing on talk shows, and major magazine interviews preaching a “kinder” Klan that wants nothing more than to preserve a heritage, and to restore a nation to its former glory.
Ron answers the caller’s question that night with a yes, launching what is surely one of the most audacious, and incredible undercover investigations in history. Ron recruits his partner Chuck to play the “white” Ron Stallworth, while Stallworth himself conducts all subsequent phone conversations. During the months-long investigation, Stallworth sabotages cross burnings, exposes white supremacists in the military, and even befriends David Duke himself.
Black Klansman is an amazing true story that reads like a crime thriller, and a searing portrait of a divided America and the extraordinary heroes who dare to fight back.
Amazon
The Art of the English Murder: From Jack the Ripper and Sherlock Holmes to Agatha Christie and Alfred Hitchcock by Lucy Worsley
The history of the evolution of the traditional English murder, from Jack the Ripper and Sherlock Holmes to the cozy crimes of the Golden Age.
Murder—a dark, shameful deed, the last resort of the desperate or a vile tool of the greedy. And a very strange obsession. But where did this fixation develop? And what does it tell us about ourselves?
Our fascination with crimes like these became a form of national entertainment, inspiring novels and plays, prose and paintings, poetry and true-crime journalism. At a point during the birth of the modern era, murder entered the popular psyche, and it’s been a part of us ever since.
The Art of the English Murder is a unique exploration of the art of crime—and a riveting investigation into the English criminal soul by one of our finest historians.
Amazon
Hell’s Princess: The Mystery of Belle Gunness, Butcher of Men by Harold Schechter
In the pantheon of serial killers, Belle Gunness stands alone. She was the rarest of female psychopaths, a woman who engaged in wholesale slaughter, partly out of greed but mostly for the sheer joy of it. Between 1902 and 1908, she lured a succession of unsuspecting victims to her Indiana “murder farm.” Some were hired hands. Others were well-to-do bachelors. All of them vanished without a trace. When their bodies were dug up, they hadn’t merely been poisoned, like victims of other female killers. They’d been butchered.
Hell’s Princess is a riveting account of one of the most sensational killing sprees in the annals of American crime: the shocking series of murders committed by the woman who came to be known as Lady Bluebeard. The only definitive book on this notorious case and the first to reveal previously unknown information about its subject, Harold Schechter’s gripping, suspenseful narrative has all the elements of a classic mystery—and all the gruesome twists of a nightmare.
Amazon
Categories: Books
A few of these sound difficult to read! I do have Lady Killers on my list, but I’ll have to wait until I’m in the mood. I hope you end up enjoying them all. Great post. 😁
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thank you. Yes books like these are always difficult to read. Let’s see how I do 😁
LikeLiked by 2 people
So many interesting ones here! I’ve only read Beneath a Ruthless Sun from your list and it was very good. I’ve been curious about Conan Doyle for the Defense, I think it sounds fascinating! I also wondered about Sons of Cain when it came out but I worried it might be too much serial killer all at once 😳 I can’t wait to hear your reviews on all of these!!
LikeLiked by 3 people
Oooh! I’m glad you liked Beneath a Ruthless Sun, that’s my first read from my list. Yes I know what you mean about too much serial killer all at once, let’s see how do with that one😀
LikeLiked by 2 people
I think Hell’s Princess looks good.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Yeah, I do too 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a great list! Just the perfect group of books to satisfy my weird fasination with serial killers. All of which have been added to my TBR list.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Sweeet! My girrrl 😊 ❤️ ❤️
LikeLiked by 1 person
Super list! I’ve read a lot of true crime and am always looking for a couple more for my TBR:)
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thank you so much Paul 😊 Hope you like 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow.. Rose… You do have eclectic tastes… I haven’t read any but I am eagerly waiting to read your review… Woohooo
LikeLiked by 2 people
😄 Indeed I do. Gosh Shalini, can you apply anymore pressure 😅 looking forward to reading your comments on said reviews.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What an interesting list Rosemarie! You know I’d be all over this lol. I’ve read and reviewed Sons of Cain, it was good. and I’ve read about all of Schechter’s books except this one, but I’ve read and own a few on ol’ Belle. She’s a trip, and I think you’ll enjoy it. The most recent thinking on her is that she lured a lady to her farm and killed her to use as a body double in the fire, so she could get away and live on in the woman’s old life in another state. Pretty slick eh? She supposedly died of old age under the other woman’s name. Fascinating theory. Looking forward to your reviews 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’m gonna have to go check out your review on Sons of Cain, glad you liked it and now I know I’ll like it too lol. Yes I thought Belle would be a good one, she sure is trip that’s for sure, she was a devious for.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love true crime TV shows and books, Rose! I think I’d have fun with this list- taking note! Wonderful post! ♥️
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thank you Jen. Me too I watch a lot of true crime shows, listen to a lot of podcasts and read the books😄 My favourite channel for true crime shows is the Investigative Discovery channel😄
LikeLiked by 2 people
I love that channel too! If you have the Oxygen channel, don’t miss Cold Justice! A new season just started!
LikeLiked by 1 person
😊 Nice will be watching that.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love these kinds of books. Reality is definitely much stranger than fiction.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Indeed it is. Thank you checking out my post, I appreciate.
LikeLiked by 2 people
My pleasure. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fascinating list, RoseMarie! I haven’t heard of a lot of these female killers.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you Jonetta 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love this list!! Hope you get to read Black Klansman soon! Been reading very differentiating reviews on it! Can’t wait to read your take!
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thank you Jee 😘 Can’t wait tp read one too.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’ve read Lady Killers and loved it. I don’t know why I’m more horrified by these women but I am. I also finished Black Klansman and I’m still trying to wrap my mind around it. It was, well, I have no words for it which is why I haven’t written my review. My kids made me read it and I was so…. Let me just say that the book is a lot better than the movie and hopefully soon I’ll be able to write my review. It was an amazing read.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Wow! Happy to see you loved Lady Killers and that Black Klansman was better than the book, normally I read the book before I watched the movie, but it didn’t happen this time around, so happy to hear that. I can’t wait to delve into these books.
LikeLike
These all sound great, I might have to look into these!
LikeLiked by 2 people
You totally should! I’m looking forward to reading them.
LikeLike
Wow these sounds totally gripping!!!! Based off the descriptions, I’m going to add Beneath a Ruthless Sun and BlackkKlansman to my TBR list for sure! Thank you for compiling this roundup, Rose!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you 💜 and Thank you for reading and commenting 😊
LikeLike
Great list, I haven’t heard of any of these cases/books yet. The Lady Killers intrigues me and so does The BlacKkKlansmen. When I first heard about the movie, I thought it was about a black KKK member so wasn’t interested in it but based on your description, I am definitely now intrigued. I hope you will get the chance to read all these
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you Diana, I hope I get to read them all too 😊 Hope you get to read a couple of them as well. Thanks for checking out the post, I appreciate.
LikeLike