Book picks similar to
Brave Hearts: Extraordinary Stories of Pride, Pain and Courage by Cynthia Brown
true-crime
b-non-fiction
home-library
reading-list
Mummy's Little Girl: A Desperate Race To Save A Lost Child
Jane Elliott - 2008
She refuses to give her name, and gives birth to a baby girl. But immediately after the birth, she disappears, leaving the baby alone in the hospital. The child, named Dani after the midwife who delivered her, is put up for adoption.Twelve years later Dani is living with a foster family. A vulnerable and unworldly girl, Dani is an inconvenience and always being blamed for things that aren't her fault. After being wrongly accused of performing an act of petty childish spite, Dani is sent to a children's home. The home is full of difficult children, who bully and victimise Dani. Terrified of both the children and the grown-ups, she runs away.Dani spends several nights on the streets of London, begging for food. When a stranger offers her something to eat and a place to sleep, she accepts gratefully. But what she does not know is that this man is a brutal pimp who tries to drag Dani into a violent, drug-fuelled world of prostitution. Soon she is plunged into an unimaginable nightmare of abuse that she truly believes will never end.But there is one person out there searching for Dani; one person who has her best interests at heart; one person who will do anything to save her. It's just a matter of whether she can find her in time…
The Serial Killer Files
Paul Simpson - 2020
Of course, there are some serial killers who fit into these categories, but the married Green River Killer was not a dysfunctional loner; there are plenty of female and non-Caucasian serial killers; Dr Harold Shipman was certainly not motivated by sex; many serial killings (such as the Ipswich prostitute murders carried out by Steve Wright) happen within a confined area; the 'BTK Killer', Dennis Rader, stopped killing in 1991, but wasn't caught until fourteen years later. Many serial killers may have a low animal cunning, or be 'street smart', but few of them are Mensa-level geniuses.Each of the thirty cases covered here is unusual in some respect, perhaps in the way in which the killer carried out their crimes, the choice of victims, the way in which they were apprehended, or the method of their execution.The cases are presented alphabetically by country - from Australia via Colombia, Great Britain, Indonesia, Iran, South Africa and elsewhere to the United States - and then chronologically. They come from across history and from all over the world. The author has gone back as far as possible to contemporary source material - newspaper accounts, trial evidence, interviews with perpetrators or survivors - rather than rely on the increasingly blurred truth to be found online and in far too many collections.
Abraham and Sarah
J. SerVaas Williams - 2012
Leonard Woolley observed that "Amongst the shadowy characters of ancient history, Abraham stands out as a living personality--whom we can know, and with whom we can sympathize...and now, alongside this living personality, we find Sarah--perhaps the most remarkable, yet mysterious woman of all time!"ABRAHAM AND SARAH is an epic love story, an engrossing page-turner for the ages, a must read for every person of faith.
Extra Confessions Of A Working Girl
Miss S. - 2008
Having left behind the sauna where she was top girl, Miss S moves to London to start work as a stripper. But after one of the other dancers burns her in the back with a cigarette, she decides to try her hand at something new. It's in an escort agency that Miss S finds her true vocation, and where she encounters a colourful cavalcade of clients, including Mr Fingers and Mr Slimeball, to name just two. Packed with yet more eye-opening and true stories of what really goes on behind the scenes in the sex industry, including fetish clubs and swinging parties, Extra Confessions of a Working Girl is another addictive read written by one honest, feisty and fiercely independent lady - the illusive Miss S. Miss S started working as a paid companion when she was a student, working in a brothel. Witty, intelligent and ambitious, Miss S knows how to achieve what she wants in a job that she loves... and that she's very, very good at. She now works independently in London.
Love & Death: The Murder of Kurt Cobain
Max Wallace - 2004
On Friday, April 8, 1994, a body was discovered in a room above a garage in Seattle. For the attending authorities, it was an open-and-shut case of suicide. What no one knew then, however, is that the deceased -- Kurt Cobain, the superstar frontman of Nirvana -- had been murdered. Drawing on case tapes made by a P.I. hired by Courtney Love when her husband escaped from drug rehab and went missing -- and on new forensic evidence and police reports obtained under the Freedom of Information Act -- Love & Death explodes the long-standing theory that Kurt Cobain took his own life. Award-winning investigative journalists Max Wallace and Ian Halperin have conducted a ten-year crusade for the truth, and in Love & Death they present a stunning, convincing argument that the whole truth has yet to be revealed.
Shattered Dreams: My Life as a Polygamist's Wife
Irene Spencer - 2007
Yet Irene managed to overcome these obstacles to seek a life that she believed would be better for her and her children. She made a bold step into the "outside world" and into a freedom she never knew existed.The details of her harrowing experience will appall, astonish, and in the end, greatly inspire. This dramatic story reveals how far religion can be stretched and abused, and how one woman and her children found their way into truth and redemption.
The Yellow Jersey Club
Edward Pickering - 2015
To become one of this exclusive number requires complete dedication, brutal self-sacrifice and the most extraordinary physical attributes. Yet along with the ability to climb mountains, bomb along time trials and survive all the perils of the road, what really makes a Tour de France champion?Based on exclusive one-on-one interviews with these champions of cycling, from the oldest member of the club, 1950 winner Ferdinand Kübler, to Britain's first Tour victor Bradley Wiggins, Edward Pickering delves into the myriad factors that combine to produce success. What does it take to accumulate such great mental strength, skill and endurance? What are the differences as well as the key factors in common? What sets these men apart from the rest of the field?With sharp analysis and deft style, The Yellow Jersey Club gives the reader unprecedented access into the secrets of the greats of cycling.
The Other Schindler... Irena Sendler: Savior of the Holocaust Children
Abhijit Thite - 2009
This is the incredible true story that combines many facts - together, they form one of history’s most fascinating and at the same time, gruesome eras.Germany’s occupation of Poland during the Second World War set off a chain of events that were unprecedented in their complexities of human behaviour. With the largest Jewish population in Europe, Poland suffered the worst fallout of German atrocities. From containment of Jews in the infamous Warsaw Ghetto to their ultimate annihilation in the extermination camps, World War II forms a sordid tale of discrimination and hate.Against this is the fragrance of hope and kindness. When the world is in peril, deliverance always comes, and so it was that a few people defied the odds to emerge angel in times of distress, beacons of hope amidst the throes of darkness.This is the true account of a woman who was as gentle as she was steely-minded.Irena Sendler, a little lady who saved 2,500 Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto is today known all over the world, with thousand of websites dedicated to her. This, though, is the first complete published book of her incredible journey from an inspired young girl to a nonagenarian who spurned all personal glory.
It's a Girl: Women Writers on Raising Daughters
Andrea J. BuchananMiriam Peskowitz - 2006
Some people were happy for her; visions of flouncy pink dresses and promises of mother-daughter bonding were the predictable responses. Other people, though, were concerned: "Is your husband OK with that?" "You can try again." "Girls are tough." This mixed message led her to explore the issue herself, with help from her fellow writers and moms, many of whom had had the same experience. As she did in It's a Boy: Women Writers on Raising Sons, Buchanan and her contributors take on what it's really like to raise a child-in this case, a girl-from babyhood to adulthood.It's a Girl, is a wide-ranging, often humorous, and honest collection of essays about the experience of the mother-daughter bond, taking on topics like "princess power" ("Shining, Shimmering, Splendid"), adding a girl to a brood of boys ("Confessions of a Tomboy Mom"), dealing with a daughter's eating disorder ("The Food Rules"), and mothering "hardcore mini-feminists" ("Tough Girls").
McGraw: The Incredible Untold Story of Tam 'The Licensee' McGraw
Reg McKay - 2008
He rose from poverty in the city's East End to amass a vast fortune from crime and, when he died in 2007, his empire stretched from Glasgow to the Canaries. When he was alive, few would talk openly about the man known as 'The Licensee'. But now his incredible, untold story can finally be revealed. Real stories about the time McGraw cheated The Godfather, risking his life to end a dynasty. How he was behind the UK's biggest coke heist and who paid the price. Who killed the six Doyles in the Ice Cream Wars. Why the BarL Team was never caught even with MI5 on their case. Armed jail breakouts - who arranged them, who grassed them. There are hit contracts, backstabbings, vendettas and scores to settle with everyone from The Godfather to The Devil, M Family, Specky Boyd and Paul Ferris. McGraw did all that and much more yet was never caught. Why? He was The Licensee. Licensed to Commit Crime.
The Life: A True Story About A Brooklyn Boy Seduced Into The Dark World Of The Mafia
Larry Mazza - 2016
young Larry later learns she is married to the vicious gangster Greg Scarpa known as "The Grim Reaper." Greg takes a liking to Larry and makes him his protegé. He likes him so much that he gives his blessing for the affair to continue and brings Larry deep into the "family."
Tunnel Vision
N.P. Simpson - 2017
Simpson and edited by New York Times bestseller and True Crime legend, Jerry Bledsoe, Tunnel Vision is a chilling tale of triple murder like no other. A horrific crime that shook the largest Marine base in America quickly becomes much more than meets the eye in this meticulously researched account from N.P. Simpson. A family’s life is in shambles when a mother and two children are found brutally murdered in their home. To make matters worse, the prime suspect is their own relative. Fifteen-year-old Butch Smith was a troubled teen. Despite being kicked out of school for his aggressive behavior, his family was fiercely loyal to him. During visits home while attending a camp for troubled boys, Butch lived a fairly normal life with his mother and two siblings in their duplex at Camp Lejeune. After returning home from a rare trip to New York with his aunt and cousins in tow, tragedy struck this unsuspecting family. In the dark of the night, his aunt, cousin and one of Butch's siblings were found savagely slain. When clashing confessions point to Butch as a suspect, his life is changed forever. From its portrayal of one young man’s harrowing past, to the shocking murder that shook the North Carolina Supreme Court, Tunnel Vision is true crime reporting at its most gripping.
Tia Sharp - The True Story
Kate Smith Adams - 2019
So began a desperate search for this precious child - conducted at the apex of the London Olympics by hundreds of police officers and volunteers. The disappearance of Tia Sharp was a tale of police blunders, misplaced trust, community spirit, and sadness. It was a case which shocked the nation and reminded us that, sometimes, the real monsters hide in plain sight.
Till Death Do Us Part: The true story of misguided love, marriage, death and deception.
Siobhan Gaffney - 2005
Little did they know that underneath his cool exterior lay a twisted desire to kill.Behind the facade of normality lay a psychopathic mind struggling to control its homicidal urges. Having seduced and married his sweetheart Mary Gough, Whelan immediately began planning her brutal murder.While his young wife dreamed of a love-filled marriage, Whelan searched the internet for information on serial killers and the methods they used to strangle their victims.Compelling and disturbing, this book reveals how Whelan murdered his wife to claim a hefty life insurance policy, and how he faked his own suicide when he became the prime suspect for the murder.Till Death Do Us Part offers a fascinating insight into the true motivation behind one of Irelands most notorious murders, and is a horrifying story of love, lust, revenge and murder - all the more shocking because every word is true.
Torso: The Story of Eliot Ness and the Search for a Psychopathic Killer
Steven Nickel - 1989
Ness follows up his Untouchables fame with a search for America's first serial killer in Cleveland, Ohio