Task #2: A book of true crime

[Alyson]

A stolen life: a memoir by Jaycee Lee Dugard

[Alyson]

also looking at The Hot One: A Memoir of Friendship, Sex, and Murder by Carolyn Murnick.

[Betty]

I can't stand gore. Maybe I will return to and finish The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession

[Wellington]

I have read Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann. This was an excellent book. It showcased a sad part of American history.

[Helen | readwithneleh]

Ellie wrote: "The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America - meant to read it last year for my set-within-100-miles item, but didn't. On the list again. :)"

I absolutely loved The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America!

[Crystal]

The Man Who Loved Books Too Much is a great read, and definitely fits this genre!

I can wholeheartedly recommend The Orchid Thief as well, for people looking for something nonviolent.

[Rayne]

I'm thinking either Cruel Sacrifice or Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town. Or perhaps American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land.

[Jess]

Ellie wrote: "The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America - meant to read it last year for my set-within-100-miles item, but didn't. On the list again. :)"

Oh, I just borrowed this book and hadn't even considered this for a check mark. Thanks! Because I was worried about this category.

[Catie]

I’m going with American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst by Jeffrey Toobin for this task.

I second recommendations for Columbine! It’s obviously very upsetting, but Dave Cullen is a great writer and makes the book surprisingly digestible for such a horrific story.

Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich’s The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir was one of my favorite reads of 2017. A brilliant memoir combined with a true crime narrative.

[Yrinsyde]

Betty wrote: "I can't stand gore. Maybe I will return to and finish The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession"

You might like The Poet and the Murderer. No real gore but a fun look at a forger who as well as forging a Emily Dickinson poem, tried to bring down the Mormon Church using forged articles.

[Yrinsyde]

You could even read something about political corruption - that's a crime. Something about Watergate for example would fit.

[Wendy]

Trying to stay away from serial killer or murder crimes. I'm going to go with SkyJack, The Crimes of Paris, The Gardner Heist or Master Thieves.

[Jess]

I have to read something light for this....more an anthology or something or I will never get through it. I'm thinking The Girls of Murder City: Fame, Lust, and the Beautiful Killers who Inspired Chicago or Lady Killers: Deadly Women Throughout History

[Leah]

anything by Ann Rule

[Elizabeth]

One that I found fascinating (but that my sister found boring, so your own mileage may vary) was Sex on the Moon: The Amazing Story Behind the Most Audacious Heist in History. I also really enjoyed The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession. Both are about nonviolent crimes, for those of you looking for that.

Meanwhile, I'm thinking of reading something by Ann Rule, which will be completely different from anything I normally pick out.

[Katharine]

I'm definitely going to go with white collar crime for this one, maybe The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron (about Enron), or one of the many books about Bernie Madoff

[Ashley]

Would Six Miles to Charleston: The True Story of John and Lavinia Fisher count for this category?

[Pamela]

I am a teacher and a colleague who I currently share a classroom with has several...9 I think... true crime books he has published and I happen to know he has a new one coming out in May. I have read one of his books- this one https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1... and I plan to read another to meet this challenge.

[Sarah]

I wasn't sure if Black Mass: Whitey Bulger, the FBI, and a Devil's Deal would work, but when I read the back of the book, I saw the words "True Crime" at the top, so I answered my own question.

[Kireja]

American Terrorist: Timothy McVeigh & the Oklahoma City Bombing

[Bobby]

Jordan wrote: "Okay, so, does anyone have any suggestions for something lighter for this one? Like maybe a crazy caper kind of true crime?"

How about Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake by Frank W. Abagnale

[Bobby]

Jordan wrote: "Okay, so, does anyone have any suggestions for something lighter for this one? Like maybe a crazy caper kind of true crime?"

What about Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake, by Frank W. Abagnale?

[Bobby]

I’ve been wanting to read In Cold Blood for a long time, so this may as well be the year!

[Angelica]

Brooklyn wrote: "I'm thinking either Cruel Sacrifice or Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town. Or perhaps [book:American Fire: Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing ..."

Missoula's been on my list for a long time. Probably will do the same.

[Megan]

I'm like 99% sure Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit would count for this so that's what I'm doing.

[Carmen]

If people are looking for non-violent crime books, The Forger's Spell: A True Story of Vermeer, Nazis, and the Greatest Art Hoax of the Twentieth Century is well written. I'd only advise it to people who are interested in art, though.

[Erika]

I picked up Like Father Like Son in a dollar store of all places a few years ago and it's just been sitting in my TBR pile ever since. So, I'll be using this one.

[Karen]

I'm planning to read After the Eclipse: A Mother's Murder, a Daughter's Search.

[Lindsay Alexander]

Rachel wrote: "I'm probably going to go with Absolute Madness: A True Story of a Serial Killer, Race, and a City Divided because I grew up around Buffalo and the history of that city is really som..."

Under the Banner of Heaven is a very powerful book. Highly recommend for this category.

[Bec]

For an Australian angle I’m going with Joe Cinque's Consolation, A True Story of Death, Grief and the Law by Helen Garner.

[Henriette]

I have a few books on Charles Manson on my tbr and might go with one of them, if I can find it in the danish library system.

[Renee]

I just finished I Will Find You by Detective Lt. Joe Kenda. It’s about Kenda’s career with the Colorado Springs PD. Good read, gets you into the mind of a cop. He’s real, shares the frustrations.

[Emily]

I (like many others) am not a fan of the grisly true crime. Would very much like to read The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York

Would this count?

[Deirdre]

Not sure if this is really what Book Riot has in mind, but I've been reading (and really enjoying) "Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy" by Karen Abbot, which follows four women during the American Civil War. It's true, and there's a lot of espionage, which is a crime!

[Deb]

Allison Hoover Bartlett's The Man Who Loved Books Too Much was my choice for this task. I loved it, although it took a little longer to read than expected. Not only did it hold my attention, I learned a lot of interesting things about rare book collecting. I love books where I learn new things, so this was a win/win on all levels.

[Jen]

I just found the book, Avenue of Spies: A True Story of Terror, Espionage, and One American Family's Heroic Resistance in Nazi-Occupied Paris in the "true crime" section on my my library's Cloud Library site. It seems odd to have it in this section but I think I will listen to it for this prompt.

[Allie]

Bobby wrote: "Jordan wrote: "Okay, so, does anyone have any suggestions for something lighter for this one? Like maybe a crazy caper kind of true crime?"

What about [book:Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of ..."

Second Catch Me If You Can!

[Amy]

Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town is excellent. It is not gory and it's not about murder, but it is still a dark topic.

I read Flawless: Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History. In the same vein, I recommend The Great Pearl Heist: London's Greatest Thief and Scotland Yard's Hunt for the World's Most Valuable Necklace; that ended up being a favorite read of the year.

Thank you to the folks who have suggested books about the Isabella Stewart Gardiner museum heist. I think I'll read one of those, or maybe The Bettencourt Affair: The World's Richest Woman and the Scandal That Rocked Paris; though I'm not sure there's a crime in that story.

[Kristin]

I've started reading Stolen, Smuggled Sold: On the Hunt for Cultural Treasures for my true crime pick and so far it's fairly interesting!

[EllenZReads]

Deirdre wrote: "Not sure if this is really what Book Riot has in mind, but I've been reading (and really enjoying) "Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy" by Karen Abbot, which follows four women during the American Civil..."

I just finished that--great book!

[Brandy]

Are there any short story/novella sized books on true crime? It's not normally a genre I enjoy and to be honest I don't want to spend 300+ pages reading it....

[Holly]

For those of you who want something on the non-gory side, Check out The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Lives by Dashka Slater
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

[Lisa]

Emily wrote: "I (like many others) am not a fan of the grisly true crime. Would very much like to read The Poisoner's Handbook: Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York

Woul..."

I would say so. Specific crimes are cited and outcomes of how they were solved. It was an excellent read!

[Renee]

I just finished The Aleppo Codex, by Matti Friedman, it works for this challenge. It has smuggling, stolen parts of a single scribe manuscript of the Old Testament, a trial, quite good!

[Yrinsyde]

Caroline wrote: "I haven't started it yet, but I picked up City of Light, City of Poison: Murder, Magic, and the First Police Chief of Paris from the library recently and it's a bit of a detour from..."

I read The Suspicions of Mr Whicher a few years ago and it was brilliant! A Victorian crime that happened at the very start of police detecting. Kate Summerscale has also written another book which I intend to read The Wicked Boy: The Mystery of a Victorian Child Murderer.

[Charity]

I just discovered that on Overdrive, my library has suggestions for the 1st 2 prompts of this challenge! One of the books listed for this prompt is Mrs. Sherlock Holmes which sounds interesting. Has anyone read it?

[Kayla]

I am trying to use books I already own, that I haven't read yet, as much as possible. I've seen both of these on some true crime list but wasn't 100% sure if either would work for this topic. Opinions?

Lucky

All the President's Men

[novelteathoughts]

Bugamok wrote: "For those that are looking for less gruesome options:
The Gardner Heist: The True Story of the World's Largest Unsolved Art Theft

There are also several other books about the Gardne..."

It's labeled a mystery lol, think this would qualify as a POC Mystery book too?

[Dee]

I'm going to read Molly's Game: The True Story of the 26 yr old Woman Behind the Most Exclusive, High Stakes Underground Poker Game in the World by Molly Bloom.

[EllenZReads]

Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith