The Serial Killer Whisperer: How One Man's Tragedy Helped Unlock the Deadliest Secrets of the World's Most Terrifying Killers


Pete Earley - 2012
    Eventually therapy and medication helped Tony largely overcome his emotional instability, and when his therapist suggested he develop a hobby, Tony acted on a whim and wrote to an imprisoned serial killer. To his astonishment, the killer wrote back. Tony’s hobby eventually turned into a full-blown obsession, and soon he was corresponding with dozens of serial killers who revealed heinous details about their horrendous crimes—even those they’d never been convicted of. The killers opened up to Tony; they trusted him, considered him a friend. Unable to feel disgust at the revolting stories, Tony began to fear that the potential for killing without guilt lurked within him, and he became suicidal. Ultimately, Tony found redemption and purpose by helping law enforcement officials solve crimes his connection uncovered, and before long, investigators from around the country were calling on him for assistance with cold cases.The Serial Killer Whisperer is not only the story of how Tony learned to use his gift in the interest of justice, but it is also an inspiring—albeit sometimes terrifying—tale of healing and closure for a man who has struggled to lead a normal life.

Chase Darkness with Me: How One True-Crime Writer Started Solving Murders


Billy Jensen - 2019
    Every story he wrote had one thing in common―they didn't have an ending. The killer was still out there.But after the sudden death of a friend, crime writer and author of I'll Be Gone in the Dark, Michelle McNamara, Billy became fed up. Following a dark night, he came up with a plan. A plan to investigate past the point when the cops had given up. A plan to solve the murders himself.You'll ride shotgun as Billy identifies the Halloween Mask Murderer, finds a missing girl in the California Redwoods, and investigates the only other murder in New York City on 9/11. You'll hear intimate details of the hunts for two of the most terrifying serial killers in history: his friend Michelle McNamara's pursuit of the Golden State Killer and his own quest to find the murderer of the Allenstown Four. And Billy gives you the tools―and the rules―to help solve murders yourself.Gripping, complex, unforgettable, Chase Darkness with Me is an examination of the evil forces that walk among us, illustrating a novel way to catch those killers, and a true-crime narrative unlike any you've read before.

The Story Behind "In Broad Daylight"


Harry N. MacLean - 2013
    MacLean tells the story of how he came to write his Edgar Award-winning book in his new true crime short, “The Story Behind 'In Broad Daylight.'” MacLean had doors slammed in his face, guns pulled on him, and was bitten by a dog. Eventually, he won over the closed community of Skidmore, Mo. The inhabitants shared with him the reign of terror Ken Rex McElroy inflicted for twenty years in Northwest Missouri, and information about his murder on the main street of Skidmore in 1981. Despite 45 witnesses, the case remains unsolved. MacLean tells the story in his book “In Broad Daylight,” first published in 1988.“The Story Behind 'In Broad Daylight'” brings the book up to date and includes several previously unpublished pictures. It also answers many questions about the killing itself, such as who was involved, and what has become of them. The author discusses the nature of the moral consequences of the killing for the town and those involved in the killing. MacLean describes the breakthrough events when key characters agreed to speak with him, and he realized he would finally get the story.“In Broad Daylight” was a New York Times bestseller for 12 weeks and was made into a movie starring Brian Denehey, Cloris Leachman and Chris Cooper. It was re-released as an e-book on Amazon on July 10, the 31st anniversary of the killing.Praise for Harry N. MacLean’s The Story Behind In Broad Daylight“A riveting behind the scenes look at an author in pursuit of the story about the bully who brought down a town and paid for his sins with his life.”—Diane Fanning, author of “Mommy’s Little Girl”“Honest and intriguing. The riveting backstory of MacLean's true crime classic...a can't miss read!”"— Kathryn Casey, bestselling author of “Deadly Little Secrets”“The Edgar Award winner takes readers right where they want to go—inside the story.”—Gregg Olsen, bestselling author of “”Fear Collector”“To understand and truly experience any story in its absolute wholeness, one must go ‘behind the scenes’ and learn the mechanics of what made it so riveting in the first place. Here, Harry MacLean takes us on a thrill ride into the crazy world beyond one of the most compelling true-crime stories of our time.”— M. William Phelps, star of the hit Investigation Discovery series “Dark Minds" and national bestselling author of 23 books, including “Nathan Hale and his latest, “Kiss of the She-Devil”

House of Evil


John Dean - 2008
    What began as a temporary childcare arrangement between Sylvia Likens's parents and Gertrude Baniszewski turned into a crime that would haunt cops, prosecutors, and a community for decades to come…When police found Sylvia's emaciated body, with a chilling message carved into her flesh, they knew that she had suffered tremendously before her death. Soon they would learn how many others—including some of Baniszewski's own children—participated in Sylvia's murder, and just how much torture had been inflicted in one HOUSE OF EVIL

The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers


Michael Newton - 1990
    From Jack the Ripper to Ted Bundy, the encyclopedia gives readers an overview of what is undoubtedly the most macabre and fascinating branch of crime and modern criminology.

Laci: Inside the Laci Peterson Murder


Michael Fleeman - 2003
    Praying for a happy ending, friends and family stood by Laci's grieving husband Scott. Four months later, Laci's decomposed body was found in the murky waters of San Francisco Bay. The body of her child had washed ashore about a mile away, after a possible "coffin birth". It was a sad closure to an exhaustive search, and a grim end to a marriage that by all account had appeared to be perfect. Authorities already had a #1 suspect... Scott Peterson's behavior had cast a mysterious shadow over the death of his pregnant wife: his alibi on the day of the disappearance was questionable; he admitted to an affair with another woman; and when he was finally charged with capital murder, he had altered his appearance. Almost immediately, the media condemned Scott, even though he maintains his innocence. Is Scott Peterson a victim of circumstantial evidence? Despite the state attorney general's claim of a "slam dunk", the case that has gripped the nation is much more complex, and is yielding even more questions, doubts, accusations and shocking revelations.

Wasted


Suzy Spencer - 1998
    Then Kim's drug-dealing boyfriend, Justin Thomas, stabbed Regina to death--and set her on fire while a cocaine-dazed Kim waited. Days later, authorities tracked down the couple. Here is the true story of a triangle from hell--of a yearning for friendship and love that turned into a fatal vile obsession, and how one Texas jury faced the difficult task of separating innocence from guilt. Photo insert.

Murder Rap


Greg Kading - 2011
    Now, for the first time, the truth behind these sensational cases is laid bare in Murder Rap, a raw and riveting account of how a dedicated and driven police detective spearheaded the task force that finally exposed the shocking facts behind the deaths of these two rap music icons. Told by Greg Kading, a much-decorated LAPD detective assigned to solve the homicides, Murder Rap unravels a twisted tale of music, money, and murder, finally answering the question of who killed Biggie and Tupac and why. With access to never-before-seen material, including the confessions of those directly involved in the killings, Kading's spellbinding saga takes readers directly inside the four-year cold case investigation, introduces a cast of unforgettable characters and provides compelling new evidence for its explosive conclusions. A torn-from-the-headlines true crime blockbuster, the scathing revelations of Murder Rap are sure to make headlines all their own.

True Stories of Law & Order: SVU: The Real Crimes Behind the Best Episodes of the Hit TV Show


Kevin Dwyer - 2007
    Beyond the actual crimes, the entire criminal process is covered-from investigation and arrest to trial and verdict. This book reveals in-depth accounts of some of the most monstrous offenses recreated on the hit series, including the gripping story of a teenage love triangle that led to the murder of a young girl and the deadly confrontation between the FBI and David Koresh's cult that made national headlines.Stopping these criminals is only the beginning. Confronting the deep psychological scars left on their victims is the real challenge. This collection offers fans of the show and those interested in crime-solving techniques a glimpse of the real stories and real people behind some of the most notable, notorious, and gut wrenching cases of sexually-based crimes in recent history.

John Wayne Gacy: Defending a Monster


Sam L. Amirante - 2011
    It is a gory, grotesque tale befitting a Stephen King novel. It is also a David and Goliath saga—the story of a young lawyer fresh from the Public Defender’s Office whose first client in private practice turns out to be the worst serial killer in our nation’s history. Sam Amirante had just opened his first law practice when he got a phone call from his friend John Wayne Gacy, a well-known and well-liked community figure. Gacy was upset about what he called “police harassment” and asked Amirante for help. With the police following his every move in connection with the disappearance of a local teenager, Gacy eventually gives a drunken, dramatic, early morning confession—to his new lawyer. Gacy is eventually charged with murder and Amirante suddenly becomes the defense attorney for one of American’s most disturbing serial killers. It is his first case. This is a gripping narrative that reenacts the gruesome killings and the famous trial that shocked a nation.

Sudden Fury


Leslie Walker - 1989
    One of the couple's three adopted children, he was shy and emotionally undemonstrative. His background and the circumstances leading to murder are the thrust of this searching study by Baltimore Evening Sun reporter Walker, less a true-crime re-creation than the story of a tortured being. Larry was given up by his birth mother when he was two and shunted from family to family, none of them willing to cope with his increasing insecurity and alienation. At age six, he was adopted by Bob and Kay Swartz, a model church-going Catholic couple but severe and demanding of their children, the father's temper sometimes growing into physical abuse.

Snowtown: The Bodies In Barrels Murders: The Grisly Story of Australia's Worst Serial Killings


Jeremy Pudney - 2005
    Now, using his years of experience as a police reporter for the Adelaide Advertiser and Network Ten, Pudney pieces together the complete story of the Snowtown murders.Not only does he investigate the lives of the convicted men but he digs deeper, telling the stories of their twelve victims and exploring the complicated social web that enabled them to not only prey on their victims, but to get away with their crimes for so long.The Snowtown murders were Australia's most horrific and sustained serial killings; details of the case appalled the nation - not to mention South Australia, which already has a reputation for producing the country's highest number of serial killers. But not every detail of this case has been made available to the public, and Snowtown contains exclusive information revealed for the first time.Part police reporting, criminology text, biography and social history, Snowtown is a compelling book without peer, and will take its place among the classics of the true crime genre.

Shattered Silence: The Untold Story of a Serial Killer's Daughter


Melissa G. Moore - 2009
    She had pretended that life was perfect after her parents divorced and she was suddenly uprooted from everything familiar and loving. She had to be silent and pretend not to be disturbed or upset by her father's actions. Those experiences prepared Moore to hide the deepest, darkest secret of all. As she began making different choices, building a successful and loving life on her own, her heart began to fill with rays of hope, though she could never quite rid herself of the dark shadow of secrecy and shame.Shattered Silence is an astonishing, true narrative of personal and spiritual transformation. From her secret life as "the daughter of The Happy Face Serial Murderer" to a woman who bared her soul and inspired millions, Moore leads the reader on the vulnerable, compelling, and sometimes very raw journey of what it took to shatter the silence and claim her own life.

The Last Godfather: The Life and Crimes of Arthur Thompson


Reg McKay - 2004
    Arthur Thompson proved them all wrong. For forty years Thompson ruled Glasgow's mean streets, always devising new terror.

The Man in the Monster: An Intimate Portrait of a Serial Killer


Martha Elliott - 2015
    His crimes were horrific, and he paid the ultimate price for them.When journalist Martha Elliott first heard of Ross, she learned what the world knew of him—that he had been a master at hiding in plain sight. Elliott, a staunch critic of the death penalty, was drawn to the case when the Connecticut Supreme Court overturned Ross's six death sentences. Rather than fight for his life, Ross requested that he be executed because he didn't want the families of his victims to suffer through a new trial. Elliott was intrigued and sought an interview. The two began a weekly conversation—that developed into an odd form of friendship—that lasted over a decade, until Ross's last moments on earth.Over the course of his twenty years in prison, Ross had come to embrace faith for the first time in his life. He had also undergone extensive medical treatment. The Michael Ross whom Elliott knew seemed to be a different man from the monster who was capable of such heinous crimes. This Michael Ross made it his mission to share his story with Elliott in the hopes that it would save lives. He was her partner in unlocking the mystery of his own evil.In The Man in the Monster, Martha Elliott gives us a groundbreaking look into the life and motivation of a serial killer. Drawing on a decade of conversations and letters between Ross and the author, readers are given an in-depth view of a killer's innermost thoughts and secrets, revealing the human face of a monster—without ignoring the horrors of his crimes. Elliott takes us deep into a world of court hearings, tomb-like prisons, lawyers hell-bent to kill or to save—and families ravaged by love and hate. This is the personal story of a journalist who came to know herself in ways she could never have imagined when she opened the notebook for that first interview.Praise for The Man in the Monster:"Elliott's harrowing story pulls off something brilliant and new. Elliott peered into the mind of a serial killer by becoming his friend. A narrative that is riveting, honest, and devastating." —Jack Hitt, author of Bunch of Amateurs: A Search for the American Character"Martha Elliott takes us inside the mind of serial killer and rapist Michael Ross. Elliott spent ten years getting to know the man behind the monster, and the pace of her book is as fast and merciless as a thriller." —Rebecca Tinsley, author of When the Stars Fall to Earth