Does anyone have any good recommendations of first hand accounts of True Crime?

I just read Sole Survivor by Holly Dunn. It was outstanding. I'm looking for more books like that. Especially if it's available in audiobook. Other true crime books I've tried weren't as good as they were written by an outside third party.

Your filter (only books written by surviving victims) narrows it way down, but I really enjoyed 'The One Who Got Away' by Gilles Tetreault. Its about Mark Twitchell (the 'Dexter copycat killer') up in Canada.

Fascinating & chilling, but actually almost funny at times since Twitchell was such a bungling idiot. Amazing that he actually successfully killed someone else.

Blood and Money is an older book but it is about Dr. John Hill in Houston.

Fatal Vision is an older book about Dr. Jeffrey Mcdonald.

And of course, Helter Skelter

I'm reading Helter Skelter now (The Manson Family). An unbelievable amount of information and it's so interesting to see every hangup and progression the cases had. It was written by the lead prosecuting attorney. I'm barely half through it and I would recommend it to anyone interested in true crime.

Books I've picked up but haven't gotten into yet:
The Stranger Beside Me - Ann Rule (Ted Bundy)
Green River, Running Red - Ann Rule (Green River Killer)
I'll Be Gone in the Dark - Michelle McNamara (Golden State Killer/East Area Rapist/Visalia Ransacker)
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - John Berendt
The City of Falling Angels - John Berendt

A little more from the police side and maybe more vignette-y, but David Simon's "Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets" is great.

Mississippi Mud: Southern Justice and the Dixie Mafia is a good one. The sequence of events took place when I was a kid in the town I grew up in.

Not really true crime like the others listed but a fantastic read nonetheless.

Under and Alone: The True Story of the Undercover Agent Who Infiltrated America's Most Violent Outlaw Motorcycle Gang

It's the firsthand account by the ATF agent who went undercover and infiltrated the Mongols MC.

While not "true crime", The Cartel Trilogy ("The Power of the Dog", "The Cartel", and "The Border") by Don Winslow is an incredible read. It is essentially the story of El Chapo and the Sinoloa Cartel.

https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/books/qa-don-winslow-on-writing-the-real-life-horrors-in-the-cartel/

These books will grab you by the hair and bash your face into the doorjamb.

The Monster of Florence

It'll make you appreciate the American justice system.

Casino and Wiseguy, both by Pileggi. These are the books that Casino and Goodfellas were based on. Both very good.

The Man From the Train

Can't recommend enough (as someone that reads a book maaaaybe once a quarter....)

TexasAggie008 said:

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The Man From the Train

Can't recommend enough (as someone that reads a book maaaaybe once a quarter....)

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Agreed.

Bill James also wrote "Popular Crime," which is sort of a survey of multiple highly publicized crimes through American history. Really good read.

In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson.

It's the story of essentially the last US Ambassador to Nazi Germany in the 30s. It's fascinating, and Larson is the best history writer out there; story teller and makes you feel like you're there.

He brings the thuggery and darkness of Berlin to life, as the country finally fell to Nazism. I know it's not exactly True Crime but it shows the deception and tactics of the Nazi elite as they swooned diplomats while suppressing dissent in their people.

I promise, that you will thank me.
And you will proceed to go grab the rest of his books like Devil in the White City.

"I: The Creation of a Serial Killer" by Jack Olsen, tells the true story of a serial killer largely from the perspective of the killer. Very long and detailed, unnerving at times.

"Evil Has a Name" is an Audible Original. It tells the crimes and eventual capture of the Golden State Killer via audio interviews with victims and investigators.

"A Killer Among Us" by Charles Bosworth is also one of the better books I've listened to on Audible. It deals with a case of a young mother brutally murdered, the husband is suspected. A lot of twists and turns.

Think I'll read this

Killing Pablo was a good read if you liked Narcos.

Chipotlemonger said:

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Think I'll read this

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Let me know what you think afterwards.

I 2nd The Stranger Beside Me.

ScottishFire said:

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In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson.

It's the story of essentially the last US Ambassador to Nazi Germany in the 30s. It's fascinating, and Larson is the best history writer out there; story teller and makes you feel like you're there.

He brings the thuggery and darkness of Berlin to life, as the country finally fell to Nazism. I know it's not exactly True Crime but it shows the deception and tactics of the Nazi elite as they swooned diplomats while suppressing dissent in their people.

I promise, that you will thank me.
And you will proceed to go grab the rest of his books like Devil in the White City.

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You liked In the Garden of Beasts better than Devil in the White City?

ScottishFire said:

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In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson.

It's the story of essentially the last US Ambassador to Nazi Germany in the 30s. It's fascinating, and Larson is the best history writer out there; story teller and makes you feel like you're there.

He brings the thuggery and darkness of Berlin to life, as the country finally fell to Nazism. I know it's not exactly True Crime but it shows the deception and tactics of the Nazi elite as they swooned diplomats while suppressing dissent in their people.

I promise, that you will thank me.
And you will proceed to go grab the rest of his books like Devil in the White City.

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It's not true crime, but Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania is another of his books that is good.

MW03 said:

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ScottishFire said:

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In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson.

It's the story of essentially the last US Ambassador to Nazi Germany in the 30s. It's fascinating, and Larson is the best history writer out there; story teller and makes you feel like you're there.

He brings the thuggery and darkness of Berlin to life, as the country finally fell to Nazism. I know it's not exactly True Crime but it shows the deception and tactics of the Nazi elite as they swooned diplomats while suppressing dissent in their people.

I promise, that you will thank me.
And you will proceed to go grab the rest of his books like Devil in the White City.

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You liked In the Garden of Beasts better than Devil in the White City?

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Personally, I'm a World War II nut (and History major), so In the Garden of Beasts was more enjoyable to me.

Devil in the White City is still really good, I just prefer the former.

I had been told to read the Man From The Train before and forgot about it until this thread. Had B&N gift card from Christmas burning a hole in my wallet.

Thanks for starting the thread. Excited to get started with this one.

What order would you recommend reading these?

How the hell do you do that on a tablet?

Priceless, the first hand account of the creation of the FBI's Art Crime Team.

Good book. Several interesting stories.

https://www.robertwittmaninc.com/about-priceless

mayglan said:

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I'm reading Helter Skelter now (The Manson Family). An unbelievable amount of information and it's so interesting to see every hangup and progression the cases had. It was written by the lead prosecuting attorney. I'm barely half through it and I would recommend it to anyone interested in true crime.

Books I've picked up but haven't gotten into yet:
The Stranger Beside Me - Ann Rule (Ted Bundy)
Green River, Running Red - Ann Rule (Green River Killer)
I'll Be Gone in the Dark - Michelle McNamara (Golden State Killer/East Area Rapist/Visalia Ransacker)
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil - John Berendt
The City of Falling Angels - John Berendt

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Did you wind up reading McNamara's book? If so, how was it?

My wife and I really tried to give the documentary on HBO a shot, and watched through the episode where she dies at the end. While it's horrible that she died, we gave up on it because her struggles (especially the constant reading of texts/emails with her husband) just aren't that interesting when compared to the Golden State Killer.

Mindhunter by John Douglas is a fascinating read about yhe beginnings of the FBI profiling unit. Robert Ressler's are also good.

A few that I have recently enjoyed

Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World's Stolen Treasures
The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century
The Last Pirate of New York: A Ghost Ship, a Killer, and the Birth of a Gangster Nation