Obsessed with True Crime discussion
True crime read 2024-25: Post reviews here!
date
newest »
newest »
Hooked Up for Murder by Robert Mladinich and Michael Benson3 stars
This one was OK in its message -- that being enchanted with gangsters is completely stupid -- but somehow it took an awfully long time to get to the point. The authors put the reader in the position of a juror who really doesn't know what happened until the testimony is being presented. The trial was run very creatively and the authors didn't use the trial election of the book to repeat what they'd already told us. The jury process was really unusual and I wish I knew more about what happened during deliberation!
Love Is a Burning Thing: A Memoir, by Nina St. Pierre5 stars!
This was a great addition to my Family Secrets and True Crime shelves. The memoir traces the author's attempts to make sense of something that happened before she was born, when her mother and a friend set fire to each other in Ann Arbor, Michigan for reasons they wouldn't explain when they were being treated in the hospital burn unit. Beautifully written and moving, even overwhelming in spots. Takes us back and forth across the boundaries of criminal intent, love, destructiveness and sheer madness. Don't miss this one.
Blood Cold: Fame, Sex, and Murder in Hollywood, by Dennis McDougall and Mary Murphy3 stars
An interesting read about a very twisted situation. This books comprised mostly the duelling biographies of the victim and the suspect in a famous Hollywood crime, showing us how these two unique characters became what they were and how their lives collided. Unfortunately, the book screeched to a halt before the trial started. Now I need to find a book that covers the legal proceedings!
Dandelion Child: Based on a true story, by Sandy Taranto4 stars
I had to keep taking breathers as I read this one, as short as it is. It's the unvarnished memoir of a battered child and her incredibly unlikely rescue. Not for the faint of heart. And she doesn't even tell you all of it, because there was just too much of it to describe. Read it if you dare. I have to say this one left me with many unanswered questions; at the end she says her brother, who grew up to be a serial killer, is easily found on Murderpedia, but he isn't there or on Google. And...and that's just one of the questions.
Charmed to Death by Steve Singular4 stars
This lady is certainly bizarre. The story was interesting, but not unusual, really. Crazy wife murders husband has been done lots of times. But it held my interesting because it was not repetitive and the courtroom proceedings were nicely condensed. A search told me that the murderess is still alive and imprisoned.
The Fall Guy: Pickton in His Own Words3 reluctant stars
This short little book was really tough going. I hope Pickton didn't speak the way he wrote because it would have made defending him in court much, much harder to do. I'm glad he chose to focus so much on Wendy Eistetter, whom I knew for years only as Sandra Ringwald, who is maybe the only survivor of an attack by Pickton. This really lit up the landscape for me; it's the only detailed account I've ever seen of what happened to any of these women. I can't say it's impossible that some of these women were killed by the Hell's Angels he hung out with, but then most of the missing women were never mentioned at all in here, so there's no evidence here to think about. And if he had nothing to do with any of it, why were so many traces of these women found in his living quarters? But I also know it's easy to get a guy like him to confess to almost anything. I came away more impressed than ever that Wendy survived. RIP, ladies.
The Serpent's Tooth by Christopher Andersen3 stars
This was pretty good after I got used to the weird page layout -- enormous margins with tiny text squozen down into the book's spine. A fine story of rich people in pain, and a bloody map of where greed takes you. I submit that Guido Dal Molin, whose criminal career was thumbnailed in these pages, definitely needs his own book. He's far more interesting than the Benson family's car bombs!
Hometown Betrayal: A Tragic Story of Secrecy and Sexual Abuse in Mormon Country by Emily Benedek4 stars
This book made me think about people I know that were raped by people they knew or family members. It made me wonder how men can do something that they must know could cause lifetime trauma to that person. This was sad because so many people seemed to know what was going on, but did nothing. They belonged to a religion who thought women should be virtuous, but boys will be boys. On top of that, they lived in a small community where everyone either knew or was related to everyone else. This was a sad story, but also one that needed to be told.
Gator Country: Deception, Danger, and Alligators in the Everglades, by Rebecca Renner3 stars
This is a great read if you like biography combined with really, really, really slow-burn true crime. The whole front end of the book is the author's autobiographical account of her relationship with swamp life, and the next section is the biography of the undercover wildlife officer she is trying to find out more about. Right at the end the crime story starts to pick up speed, and it's a good one. This is must-have reading material for alligator fans!
In My Father's House: A New View of How Crime Runs in the Family, by Fox Butterfield4 stars!
A great read about a family constantly in trouble with the law, generation after generation. The author ties the interview content with specific individuals to scientific research that attempts to explain how whole families go wrong, marry their kids off to members of similar families and have even more kids that go wrong. Fascinating despite the feeling I was left with, that what the author found is only scratching the surface.
The Serial Killer's Apprentice, by James Renner3 stars
This was a good book about a number of Ohio cases that had not been solved when it went to press. Googling for more detail on unfamiliar crimes did give me answers about some of them, but some I could not find anywhere. The last chapter, which gave the book its title, cast some serious doubt on a case that is supposedly cleared up. A worthwhile read, well worth your time.
Preacher's Girl: The Life and Crimes of Blanche Taylor Moore, by Jim Schutze4 stars!
I've read a number of books about poisoners, but this one is by far the grisliest. The author takes you through every miserable moment of what the victims experienced. This story combines heartrending tragedy, dreadful suspense, moments of relief, outrage, disgust, shock, you name it. Well-written and never drags. If you think you can stomach it, be sure to read this one.
Bestial: The Savage Trail of a True American Monster by Harold Schecter 3 stars
It took me a long time to finish this book. The print was small, and the book seemed to move slowly. The killer, Earl Leonard Nelson's MO starting in 1926, was killing women who ran boarding houses. It started out interesting, but after a while each case started to sound the same. I've read other Schecter books that were very good. I think this one is probably my least favorite.
In Light of All Darkness: Inside the Polly Klaas Kidnapping and the Search for America's Child by Kim Cross2 stars
I was kind of disappointed in this book. The author kept alternately going on tangents about, say, the history of the SWAT team or the organizational structure of the FBI, and then returning to Polly's story only to inform us that she wasn't going to tell us too much because she didn't think we, the readers, could handle it. Then she proceeded to give us every tiny detail of the interviews with the killer which seemed to go on for years. With that said, the lessons learned from Polly's needless death and the way she changed our country were interesting and well told. I'm also happy that the killer never overshadowed his victim in this story.
The Rule of Crime and Me: An Intimate View of Ann Rule Shared By Her Friend of Thirty Years by Anne Jaeger3 stars
I so excited to see this book about one of my favorite true crime authors that I bought it on the spot. But I was a little disappointed that this was not so much about Ann Rule as it is about the author. Granted, the beginning of the book is about Ann's younger years and the end of the book focuses on her last several years and her health issues, but in-between there is a long story about Diane Downs, the lady who shot her 3 children, murdering one, with only a mention here and there of Ann Rule. Ann wrote, I believe, somewhere in the neighborhood of 37 books, but this is the only case the author focused on, mostly because she could insert herself in the story. The story about meeting Charles Manson when she was a child seemed totally disconnected to the subject of the book, other than the author said that Ann knew Ted Bundy and she also had met a killer, but that story went on way too long. At the end of the book, the author states that Ann Rule's daughter is also working on a biography of her mother. Maybe that one be more about Ann.
“Deviant” by Harold Schechter. 3/5.It's a solid and interesting book, especially in regards to the psychological profile and reasoning, but unfortunately the book wasn't very special. While I've gained a lot of new knowledge it is the information that I will remember, not the book I read it from (if that makes sense). Gein has inspired much in pop-culture media, and an example I thought of which wasn't mentioned in the book is Buffalo Bill from “The Silence of the Lambs”.
The Serial Killer's Apprentice, by Tracy Ullman and Katherine Ramsland3 stars
I liked this one very much because it gave us Wayne Henley's unique perspective on Corll's crimes and told us much more about how it unfolded. The parallel cases, like Lee Malvo's, and the bibliography and appendices were also very informative and useful. With all that said, the psychobabble in this book quickly grew tiresome and the authors seemed to be trying to constantly confuse the reader by telling and re-telling us about the same incidents, changing the order, almost as if Randall Harvey and Homer Garcia were killed more than once while Henley happened to be there. Overall very good, but the text needed tidying.
Once Upon a Time: A True Story of Memory, Murder and the Law by Harry Maclean3 stars
As you might guess, any book that is 566 pages long with small print, it just seemed to go on forever and I kept putting it up to read shorter books, so it took me about 3 months to finish this. This book is about a woman who suddenly remembers seeing her father murder a young girl through a repressed memory. The research done into the past lives of the families was very thorough. The courtroom scenes were a bit repetitive. At the end, the author gives his personal opinion about repressed memories, which I pretty much agree with. Worth a google search to find out what happened to the father after the book was printed.
Out of the Woods: A Girl, a Killer, and a Lifelong Struggle to Find the Way Home by Gregg Olsen3 stars
This was a different True Crime book, in that it mostly focuses on a girl who was kidnapped, raped, and watched her brother being killed over the course of several months and tells what happened to this girl over the course of her adult life to the present. What I didn't like was how each chapter went back and forth in time. The molestation is so graphic that it would have been ok to read it once, but just when you think you are past it, it goes back to that time again. I would have liked a more linear approach and only telling about the abuse once. I found this very repetitive. This book is not for the faint of heart. It is an Amazon First Reads so it was free before it is published and I think a lot of people may be reading this genre for the first time and are not really prepared for it.
Corrupt Bodies: Death and Dirty Dealing in a London Morgue, by Peter Everett5 stars!
This memoir was just about impossible to put down. The author lived in a sort of maelstrom of crime for years because of his fascination with the dead and unlocking their secrets. But there was a lot more going on in this man's life and career and he tells us all about it. I was frustrated that the lack of detail -- even names and dates -- made it impossible to look up more about some of the crimes under discussion, but I guess that's the way the cookie crumbles. This was still a fascinating, informative, sometimes hilarious read.
Adirondack Enigma: The Depraved Intellect and Mysterious Life of North Country Wife Killer Henry Debosnys, by Cheri Farmsworth3 stars
A very short read, the first true-crime effort by an author better known for writing books with titles like HAUNTED WOONSOCKET. This is indeed a very mysterious case, centered around a very mysterious man who may or may not have killed 3 wives. There is even a whiff of the paranormal in this story. For some reason nobody has apparently suggested the most obvious route to clearing up who this man really was. I came away both intrigued and frustrated.
The Real Silent Witnesses: Shocking cases from the World of Forensic Science by Wensley Clarkson3 stars
This proved to be a guided tour through a few of the better-known cases, chosen as likely to be of interest to fans of a long-running British forensic crime drama called SILENT WITNESSES. There was nothing very in-depth here, but most of the cases were interesting. The great virtue of this book is that it refuses to treat DNA testing as infallible and explains why it isn't, even giving examples of people wrongly convicted on incorrect DNA findings. Worth your time.
Deer Creek Drive: A Reckoning of Memory and Murder in the Mississippi Delta, by Beverly Lowry5 stars!
Absolutely engrossing. Combines the group biographies of a number of prominent Mississippi families with the struggle to desegregate. The central issues, tbough, are the lingering questions around a hideous murder, plus the author's own tumultous life in that same time and place. One of the best reads of 2025 for me. Don't miss it.
Dark Obsession, Shelley Sessions and Peter Meyer4 exhausted stars
If anyone is seeking insight into how a child molester justifies his disgusting desires, and breaks the law over and over without ever feeling bad about it, look no farther. This true story was brutal to get through, but Shelley's persistence shows that a person can get through almost anything and the outcome was so worth it. For anyone tempted to feel sorry fot the whiny, self-pitying child rapist, a glance at his victim's honesty and clarity will immediately set you straight.
Killer Story: The Truth Behind True Crime Television by Claire St. Amant4 stars
Not really what I expected from the title, but interesting anyway. I expected it was going to be dishing dirt on the True Crime television industry, but it was more a memoir of her experience, and not a tell-all of the industry itself. This gal is gutsy and goes after what she wants and has a lot of luck along the way. She was a producer of the show 48 hours. I was not aware that producers were out in the field, sitting in courtrooms and going after interviews themselves and sometimes even placing themselves in danger. Fans of True Crime TV will be interested.
The Idaho Four: An American Tragedy by James Patterson4 stars
In the beginning I loved this book. I love having the background information on the victims and the killer. But this is almost the whole book. There is little about the investigation and there is no courtroom proceedings because the book was written before the trial. However, a search can tell you in detail what happened. About half way, it just seemed to be very repetitive. It would have been a much better book if the author had waited just a few more months to get the whole story. This is about the murder of 4 college students in Idaho, by a killer who seemed to have very little reason to do so.
Uncultured: A Memoir, by Daniella Mestyanek Young3 solid stars
A good memoir that takes the reader through almost every year of the author's life without bogging down or -- despite incredible amounts of trauma in a cult and later in the military -- dwelling on the effects of the many terrible experiences she's gone through. It focuses mostly on how she focused on the future and kept moving forward, often without any resources, meaningful support or any real plan. Read this one; you won't be sorry.
Mapping the Trail of a Serial Killer: How The World's Most Infamous Murderers Were Tracked Down by Brenda Ralph Lewis2 stars
This one was just OK. Most of the cases were already known to me and the emphasis was not, as stated, an exploration of how the police caught the various killers, almost all of whom were either serial types or spree killers who travelled as they killed. (Not sure what Aileen Wuornos was doing in here, as she did neither of these things.) It was just a quickie retelling of each case, without even a complete list of each of the killers' crimes or good timelines, just maps showing more or less where most of the killings happened. If there was good coordination between the different jurisdictions involved, which would be important in cases like these, we never heard about it. It was also full of mistakes, the kind that made me wonder if the author was a native English speaker or what -- it says in here that one victim, her throat slit by Tommy Sells,"staggered naked" 400 KILOMETERS to get help, equating that to the 400 or so yards she actually walked to get to the nearest neighbor. They also said the Beltway Snipers used a "truck" to kill their victims, when there was a photo right there of the Chevy Caprice sedan they used. It makes me wonder what other mistakes I might have missed.
I Got a Name: The Murder of Krystal Senyk by Eliza Robertson and Myles Dolphin5 stars
I found this to be a quietly powerful read, focused on understanding who Krystal Senyk was, why she died and what became of the man who killed her. Full of unanswerable questions, eerie moments and weird coincidences. Worth your time.
(Jesus Freaks) by: Don Lattin 3 reluctant stars
It's hard to give a high rating to a book that left me so heartsick and disgusted, but it's as well-researched as the author could manage and the information seems to have been handled very responsibly. The one sentence that brought all the fragments together was somebody's statement about how we need to stop thinking of the Family as a religious cult and see it as a crime syndicate. Ricky is only the highest-profile victim. RIP Ricky.
Obsessed with True Crime
Books mentioned in this topic
[(Jesus Freaks)] [by: Don Lattin] (other topics)I Got a Name: The Murder of Krystal Senyk (other topics)
Mapping the Trail of a Serial Killer: How The World's Most Infamous Murderers Were Tracked Down (other topics)
Uncultured: A Memoir (other topics)
The Idaho Four: An American Tragedy (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Hallie Rubenhold (other topics)Hallie Rubenhold (other topics)
Hallie Rubenhold (other topics)
Ron Franscell (other topics)
5 stars!
A horrifying and inspiring read, almost impossible to put down. I will be haunted forever by the image of Mollie Maggia's coffin glowing as they exhumed her for autopsy. Don't miss this one.