Book picks similar to
Prisoners of Fear by Gera-Lind Kolarik
true-crime
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The Paradiso Files: Exposing an Unknown Serial Killer
Timothy M. Burke - 2008
Burke makes his case against one Leonard Paradiso. Lenny “The Quahog” was convicted of assaulting one young woman and paroled after three years, but Burke believes that he was guilty of much more – that Paradiso was a serial killer who operated in the Boston area, and maybe farther afield, for nearly fifteen years, assaulting countless young women and responsible for the deaths of as many as seven. Burke takes the reader inside the minds of prosecutors, police investigators, and one very dangerous man who thought he had figured out how to rape and murder and get away with it. The Paradiso Files generated headlines when first published in February 2008. Nine days later, Paradiso died at the age of sixty-five without commenting on any of Burke’s accusations, including that he murdered Joan Webster, a Harvard graduate student who disappeared from Logan Airport in 1981. Boston-area prosecutors announced in September 2008 that Burke’s revelations had led them to reopen the unsolved murder cases of three young women – Melodie Stankiewicz, Holly Davidson, and Kathy Williams. There were “too many similarities between the individual cases to ignore,” a prosecutor involved in the new investigation said. Burke’s account leaves little doubt that Paradiso’s deeds should go down in infamy, alongside those of the Boston Strangler.
When Animals Rescue: Amazing True Stories about Heroic and Helpful Creatures
Belinda Recio - 2020
More recently, the list of species who have been observed behaving in compassionate, helpful, and caring ways has grown exponentially, ranging from rats to elephants. Rescued by a Whale presents dozens of astonishing and heart-warming stories about animals, such as chickens, horses, dolphins, and wolves, who engage in acts of helpful kindness. During a time in history when studies show that human empathy is decreasing, our knowledge about animal empathy is increasing. These true tales of heroism, kindness, and compassion suggest that we have far more in common with other animals than we once believed and provocatively suggest that what’s best about our human natures just might be our animal natures.
Prescription for Murder: The True Story of Mass Murderer Dr. Harold Frederick Shipman
Brian Whittle - 2004
He pleaded Not Guilty. Each of Shipman's alleged victims was middle-aged or elderly and each was his patient and neighbour. The macabre exhumations of some of the bodies devastated the suburban community of Hyde in Greater Manchester, and it is the authors' inside knowledge of the region that provides the context for their investigation of the case.
Beyond Obsession: The Shocking True Story of a Teenage Love Affair Turned Deadly
Richard Hammer - 1992
Joyce Aparo seemed to be the perfect single mother. She doted on her sixteen-year-old daughter, Karin, encouraging her musical ability and lavishing affection on her. But behind closed doors, Joyce was a terror. For thirteen years, she beat Karin savagely, kept her away from other children, and demeaned her relentlessly. When Karin met the troubled yet brilliant Dennis Coleman, the two fell head-over-heels into lustful infatuation. But Joyce disapproved—so she had to die. On August 5, 1987, Joyce’s body was found under a bridge near the Connecticut–Massachusetts border. She had been strangled, and was covered in bruises, with paper stuffed in her mouth and pantyhose knotted around her throat. The police investigation soon dragged her horrific treatment of Karin into the open, and the teenage lovers became the prime suspects. Dennis eventually confessed to the murder, testifying that Karin begged him to kill her mother. But Karin had a very different story to tell, claiming to have no knowledge of Dennis’s plans. Was she manipulating the police the same way she manipulated her former boyfriend, or was she an innocent victim? Based on meticulous research, court transcripts, and interviews with the survivors, Beyond Obsession is the definitive account of an American tragedy and the basis for a popular TV movie starring Victoria Principal and Emily Warfield.
Still Standing: A Pregnant Woman. A brutal attack. An inspirational fight for survival.
Natalie Queiroz - 2019
She suffered horrific wounds to her lungs, liver, stomach and uterus, whilst the knife missed her baby by a margin of two millimeters, before the arteries in her wrists were methodically severed by the hooded attacker she finally realised was her partner and the father of her unborn child. After heroic intervention by passers-by and police, the attack was brought to an end, but her ordeal was not over. An air ambulance rescue was launched, and against all medical odds, Natalie and her baby survived - but not without life-changing physical and emotional damage.Still Standing is the story of one life-shattering event - what came before that fateful day, what happened on it, and how one woman and her baby survived to rebuild and heal together after it. At once a shocking story of evil, manipulation and violence, and a truly moving reminder that a life can be pieced back together, no matter how bad the damage, this book will empower and inspire anyone who has ever faced true adversity to rise up and stand tall.
Steven Avery - Missing Evidence: The Examination of The Making a Murderer Documentary
Tony Castella - 2016
Over night thousands of armchair detectives went on the offensive demanding Avery receive a new trial in the belief that both he and Dassey had been framed by planted evidence placed by the Manitowoc County Sheriff's Department. EDITORS NOTE: JAN 27th - Due to an error on behalf of the company formatting this book, a draft manuscript has originally been used which contained several spelling errors. This has been corrected in the current upload of this file. Those that were involved in the arrest and trial of Steven Avery immediately responded to the accuracy of the documentary Making a Murderer and complained that the film was highly biased and left out important evidence that was used to convict both Dassey and Avery. In this ground breaking new book by Tony Castella, he examines the missing evidence and presents the facts as were presented by the prosecution during both the Avery and Dassey trials. You will go behind the scenes to examine critical evidence you likely were not aware of and was not included in the Netflix documentary. It's a unique opportunity to see what the jurors saw when they handed down a guilty verdict. Includes rare photographs of evidence and links to important court documents.
The Violent Stepfather 2: A True Story Of Child Abuse
Scott B. Salvatore - 2014
He witnessed violence, cruelty and neglect on a daily basis. He wanted to fight back, protect his younger brother and defend his mother. All goes horribly wrong when he attempts to confront his violent stepfather and the full horror is unleashed. From the older brother's perspective comes the story of the violent stepfather 2 shedding light on horrific events that went on behind closed doors and a seemingly normal house. How despair, regret and fear become one. A shocking true story. “Unbelievable that this man is actually roaming freely, another amazing read with an interesting twist to be able to see the story unfold from the brother’s perspective. As a writer and mother, I felt every emotion coursing through me as I wiped away my tears reading this harrowing true story” Joan Johns (Author) WARNING: This book is based upon a true story of child abuse, and as such contains passages that some readers may find disturbing.
Kids Who Kill: Case 1: Joshua Phillips
Kathryn McMaster - 2018
There is something about him they don’t like, including his talk of sex with their girls. However, Maddie Clifton, bubbly and friendly, considers Joshua to be one of her best friends and they continue to play together. On the evening she disappears he is seen creeping up on Maddie in her front yard. For a while a neighbor watches them talk before going back inside. After that, Maddie disappears into thin air.For a frantic week the neighborhood is searched, people are interviewed, and yellow ribbons hang from trees in the hope that Maddie will return alive and well. Little do they know that Maddie Clifton is just across the street encased in a space under the waterbed of Joshua Phillips where she has been the whole time."We were raising our girls in a Christian home where we prayed every day. What we didn't know was that the devil himself had moved in right across the street."This true crime story will suit readers who enjoy books by Ann Rule, Jack Rosewood, or Kathryn Casey. Kathryn McMaster is an accomplished author who specializes in true crime and unsolved cases and explores the darkest side of the human mind.
No Safe Place
Bill G. Cox - 2000
The shocking true story of a marriage that spiraled into the most forbidden acts a man and woman could commit, and of a husband who began a campaign of intimidation against his wife that ended in murder.
Murder in Pleasanton: Tina Faelz and the Search for Justice
Josh Suchon - 2015
About an hour later, she was found in a ditch, brutally stabbed to death. The murder shook the quiet East Bay suburb of Pleasanton and left investigators baffled. With no witnesses or leads, the case went cold and remained so for nearly thirty years. In 2011, the investigation finally got a break. Improved forensics recovered DNA from a drop of blood found at the scene matching Tina’s classmate, Steven Carlson. Through dusty police files, personal interviews, letters and firsthand accounts, journalist Joshua Suchon revisits his childhood home to uncover the story of a disturbing crime and the controversial sentencing that brought long-awaited answers to a city tormented by questions.
War Stories: From a New York City Cop in the Seventies and Eighties
Jack Fitzgerald - 2018
At least a few, sometimes more than a few of our third platoon would be looking forward to spending an hour or so “unwinding from the stress” with brother officers while enjoying a cold beer.Every precinct had a “cops” bar where we could gather without concern about running into the guy we locked up last week. The bad guys knew that bar was off-limits and they were not welcome. They stayed away. After that first cold beer the conversation would usually begin with, “Let me tell you what happened to me and my partner tonight. You won’t believe it.” The storyteller would embellish his most recent policing experience and a good storyteller would always add just enough drama to keep everyone interested. Of course there was always a follow-up by someone with another story and that’s the way it would go until it was time to leave. Those stories became known as “War Stories,” as in, “Do I have a war story for you guys tonight!”
A Reason for Living - A Story that Shocked the World!
Billy Casper - 2012
It's about a child living like and often acting like a wild animal, fighting for survival, on and under the streets of England. This story may be of interest to other survivors of childhood abuse and cruelty and should be of interest to anyone with children or anyone who cares for them. It contains some powerful lessons relating to child protection and should be of an educational value to child care professionals.
DOUBT: The Madeleine McCann Mystery (Gone Girl Book 1)
Nick van der Leek - 2017
We also know the original lead investigator, Goncalo Amaral’s, counter-narrative, now a legally defensible matter of public record. The questions that arise from these opposing narratives are dead simple: Which narrative is more credible? Which narrator is more credible? What was the motive behind all the publicity? Neither Madeleine nor her abductor ultimately benefited from the ongoing media barrage, so who did? True crime maestro, Nick van der Leek, plumbs quagmires of confusion and a thicket of thorny inconsistencies to probe what lies beneath: the psychologies. What is the significance of "doctors" as suspects? Did it matter or mean anything that the McCanns and their cabal of friends in the Algarve were mostly doctors? Peeling away the gossamer threads, over the course of just four days [April 29th – May 2nd], van der Leek intuits that very little was routine: not the weather, not where meals were eaten, not where or when they slept and not what they did as a family. But what were their routines when it came to other, murkier things, like sleeping patterns, cell phones and sedatives? Drawing intangibles out of the darkness, van der Leek sews the vexing loose ends from several conflicting stories into a definite - if not definitive - end-result.
The Murder of Dr Muldoon: A Suspect Priest, A Widow's Fight for Justice
Ken Boyle - 2019
Three local women notice the couple's suspicious behaviour and apprehend them. The two are handed over to the police, charged and sent for trial. A month later, a young doctor is shot dead on the streets of Mohill, Co. Leitrim. The two incidents are connected, but how? In the days following the shooting of Dr Paddy Muldoon, the name of a local priest was linked to the killing and rumours abounded of a connection to the events in Dublin a month earlier and also that an IRA gang had been recruited to carry out the murder. However, despite an investigation at the time, the murder remained unsolved for almost 100 years. Now, newly discovered archive material from a range of sources, including the Muldoon family, has made it possible to piece together the circumstances surrounding the doctor's death, and reveals how far senior figures in the Church, State and IRA were willing to go to cover up a scandal.