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Jim's List of Great ( and a Few Not-So-Great) True Crime Books

Here are 125 True Crime books, ranging from the brilliant through the outrageous to the ridiculous, and all demonstrating that the Truth(?) is indeed stranger than fiction. For what it's worth, my favorites are the two distinctly different solutions to the 1922 William Desmond Taylor murder case in Hollywood - "A Cast of Killers" and "Tinseltown".
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The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Life (Dashka Slater)
The 57 Bus: A True Story of Two Teenagers and the Crime That Changed Their Life
1
Dashka Slater
Adnan's Story (Rabia Chaudry)
Adnan's Story
2
Rabia Chaudry
After the Eclipse (Sarah Perry)
After the Eclipse
3
Sarah Perry
All the President's Men (Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward)
All the President's Men
4
Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward
American Fire: Love, Arson and Life in a Vanishing Land (Monica Hesse)
American Fire: Love, Arson and Life in a Vanishing Land
5
Monica Hesse
American Heiress (Jeffrey Toobin)
American Heiress
6
Jeffrey Toobin
American Predator: The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century (Maureen Callahan)
American Predator: The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century
7
Maureen Callahan
Bad Blood (John Carreyrou)
Bad Blood
8
John Carreyrou
Beneath a Ruthless Sun (Gilbert King)
Beneath a Ruthless Sun
9
Gilbert King
Billion Dollar Whale (Tom Wright and Bradley Hope)
Billion Dollar Whale
10
Tom Wright and Bradley Hope
Black Dahlia, Red Rose (Piu Eatwell)
Black Dahlia, Red Rose
11
Piu Eatwell
Black Edge (Kolhatkar)
Black Edge
12
Kolhatkar
Black Klansman: Race, Hate, and the Undercover Investigations of a Lifetime (Ron Stallworth)
Black Klansman: Race, Hate, and the Undercover Investigations of a Lifetime
13
Ron Stallworth
Blood and Money: The Classic True Story of Murder, Passion, and Power (Thomas Thompson)
Blood and Money: The Classic True Story of Murder, Passion, and Power
14
Thomas Thompson
The Blood of Emmitt Till (Timothy B. Tyson)
The Blood of Emmitt Till
15
Timothy B. Tyson
Broken Faith (Mitch Weiss)
Broken Faith
16
Mitch Weiss
The Brothers (Masha Gessen)
The Brothers
17
Masha Gessen
Buried Dreams: Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer (Tim Cahill)
Buried Dreams: Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer
18
Tim Cahill
Burned (Edward Humes)
Burned
19
Edward Humes
Case Closed
Case Closed
20
A Cast of Killers (Kirkpatrick)
A Cast of Killers
21
Kirkpatrick
Catch and Kill (Ronan Farrow)
Catch and Kill
22
Ronan Farrow
Chasing Cosby: The Downfall of America's Dad (Nicole Weisensee Egan)
Chasing Cosby: The Downfall of America's Dad
23
Nicole Weisensee Egan
Columbine (Dave Cullen)
Columbine
24
Dave Cullen
The Dead Girl (Melanie Thernstrom)
The Dead Girl
25
Melanie Thernstrom
Death in the Air (Kate Winkler Dawson)
Death in the Air
26
Kate Winkler Dawson
Destiny of the Republic (Candace Millard)
Destiny of the Republic
27
Candace Millard
The Devil in the White City (Erik Larson)
The Devil in the White City
28
Erik Larson
Devil's Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three
Devil's Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three
29
Down City (Leah Carroll)
Down City
30
Leah Carroll
Echoes in the Darkness (Joseph Wambaugh)
Echoes in the Darkness
31
Joseph Wambaugh
Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty (Patrick Radden Keefe)
Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty
32
Patrick Radden Keefe
Evidence of Love (John Bloom & Jim Atkinson)
Evidence of Love
33
John Bloom & Jim Atkinson
The Executioner's Song (Norman Mailer)
The Executioner's Song
34
Norman Mailer
The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir (Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich)
The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir
35
Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich
Fatal Vision (Joe McGinnis)
Fatal Vision
36
Joe McGinnis
The Feather Thief (Kirk W. Johnson)
The Feather Thief
37
Kirk W. Johnson
The Five (Hallie Rubenhold)
The Five
38
Hallie Rubenhold
Furious Hours (Casey Cep)
Furious Hours
39
Casey Cep
Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America (Jill Leovy)
Ghettoside: A True Story of Murder in America
40
Jill Leovy
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