Sins of the Mother


Maria Eftimiades - 1995
    1994, a hysterical Susan Smith told police a tale that would strike terror in the hearts of mothers everywhere. An unidentified gunman had sped off with her two little boys, leaving her screaming on the side of the road.For more than a week, the people in the tiny town of Union, South Carolina rallied around the young mother. They combed the woods and neighborhood parks for the missing children and prayed for their safe return, while FBI teams launched a massive manhunt.No one ever suspected that the pretty 23-year-old who tearfully pleaded for her children in front of millions of TV viewers could be capable of such a heartless act...until she led police to the watery graves of her young sons. Now, as a shaken community confronts its outrage and sorrow, a stunned nation asks how is could have happened.

A Love To Die For


Patricia Springer - 2000
    Suddenly, Christa turned on Colleen, accusing her of flirting with her boyfriend. Then, the words turned to shocking blows. An enraged Christa used a box knife to cut her rival's throat and a mini meat cleaver to inflict more havoc. Half-naked, Colleen crawled through her own blood begging for her life. In the middle of the hour-long assault, a satanic symbol was carved in the dying girl's chest. And when Christa was finally done, she took a piece of Colleen's skull as a macabre souvenir. What were the dark forces that drove angelic faced Christa to commit such a savage murder and become the youngest woman ever to be put on Death Row? In this shocking expose of a case that stunned the nation, Patricia Springer takes us through a horrifying crime scene and into the heart and mind of a murderess who killed for love-and would die for it, too.

Sworn to Silence: The Truth Behind Robert Garrow and the Missing Bodies' Case


Jim Tracy - 2021
    Theysearched for, found, and photographed the lifeless bodiesof their client’s victims and then kept it secret. They didso in the face of unendurable pressure from theauthorities and the victims’ families, who suspected thelawyers knew more than they were saying.When the American public eventually learned of thelawyers’ actions, they were horrified, outraged, andvengeful. People could not fathom how two attorneys—fathers of teenage girls themselves—and supposedofficers of the law, could conduct themselves in amanner seemingly beyond any concept of humanity.Today, this landmark legal case is studied and analyzedin law schools worldwide.These events have been indelibly marked in Tracy’s mindsince he was eight years old; in fact, he was present atthe scene of New York state’s largest manhunt after thekiller broke into Tracy’s father’s hunting camp in theAdirondack Mountains. In Sworn to Silence, Tracyweaves together a true crime narrative that should rankwith some of the most compelling American crime storiesof modern times. He does so while taking you—thereader—on a page-turning journey back to the early1970s, unveiling an American serial killer most peoplehave never heard of.

Street Justice


Chuck Zito - 2002
    From Hells Angel to celebrity bodyguard. The revealing autobiography of an American man.Chuck Zito comes by his reputation honestly as one of the toughest, most uncompromising men ever to sit astride a Harley. Now, with tales both hilarious and chilling, violent and truthful, Zito tells his life story in his own words.From growing up on the mean streets of Brooklyn and the Bronx, where fighting was a way of life, to becoming president of the New York chapter of the Hells Angels, to the wild and crazy life of protecting some of the world's biggest celebrities, Zito might be seen as a latter-day outlaw, the last of a dying breed of men. But throughout his tempestuous days, one thing defined him: his unfailing sense of justice, of what's really right and what's really wrong. That's how Zito found himself facing his biggest challenge: refusing to cooperate with a federal investigation into his brothers, the Hells Angels, and in the process losing the very thing he cherished most-his freedom.Zito's astonishing recovery from this experience, and the unique kind of stardom he forged based on hard work and sheer will, is a testament to his courage, his ambition, and his indomitable heart-a testament now recorded unflinchingly in Street Justice.

Whisper to the Black Candle: Voodoo, Murder, And the Case of Anjette Lyles


Jaclyn Weldon White - 1999
    Anjette Lyle's restaurant was a popular gathering place. It was the place to go for lunch to hear the latest news. Then, one day, Anjette Lyles was charged with the murders of two husbands, her mother-in-law, and her nine-year-old daughter, all committed over the course of seven years. The case was the most sensational Macon had ever seen. The newspaper accounts spiced up the allegations of murder with references to voodoo ceremonies and black magic. The trial attracted record crowds and received worldwide coverage. Anjette Lyles was a glamorous figure and spectators stood in line for hours, hoping for just a glimpse of the defendant. Both lucidly written and emotionally engaging, this is the story of a woman who was called both "cold-blooded" and the "sweetest woman I ever knew," and despite overwhelming evidence and her conviction, many still believe that she was innocent.

Ocean Star: A Memoir


Christina Dimari - 2006
    "Ocean Star" is the story of how God found her in the midst of an abusive childhood, became the loving parent she never had, and revealed himself in tangible ways through her amazing life journey. Filled with insightful symbolism, "Ocean Star" will help Christians and non-Christians find hope, humor, and healing in a powerful true story of a broken life made new.

Killing Love


Rebecca Poulson - 2015
     On the day of Rebecca Poulson’s 33rd birthday, her father, niece and nephew were murdered. The murderer had been part of her family; her brother-in-law, Neung, the father of the children. Killing Love is Rebecca’s journey through homicide; grief, the police investigations, the media interest, the court cases, the moments of great despair – and the healing. It is a story of individual tragedy and a family’s strength, but it is also a story of a community’s attitude to family violence. As a reluctant warrior for those who cannot speak for themselves, Rebecca talked to the NSW State Premier and politicians, on multiple TV shows and to print journalists in the hope that the mistakes made by the police force, DOCS, the legal system and solicitors will never be made again. Rebecca’s contact with policy makers has been nothing short of history-making, and her story has directly influenced domestic violence laws in the state. Neung left a note for Rebecca’s family; he hoped that he would destroy them. This is the story of how he didn’t.

Mother, Stranger


Cris Beam - 2012
    Her mother, a distant relative of William Faulkner, told neighbors and family that her daughter had died. The two never saw each other again. Nearly twenty-five years later, after building her own family and happy home life, a lawyer called to say her mother was dead. In this story about the fragility of memory and the complexity of family, Beam decides to look back at her own dark history, and for the secret to her mother’s madness.

927 Days of Summer: Around the World in a VW Van (Drive Nacho Drive)


Brad Van Orden - 2015
    This is where 927 Days of Summer picks up the trail. After shipping Nacho from Argentina to Malaysia on a container ship, Brad and Sheena resume their journey, this time with the ambitious goal of driving all the way around the world. When they roll out of the shipping container onto Malaysian soil, their odometer turns over 300,000 miles. Is Nacho really up for the brutal journey ahead?This hilarious, and often harrowing tale follows them through the sweltering jungles of Southeast Asia, the buzzing hornet's nest of India, into the remote Nepalese Himalayas, through the stony hills of Anatolia to the Sahara Desert in Africa, through Europe and beyond. Whether dodging rickshaws on crater-filled roads, defying Maoist rebels on cliff-hanging Himalayan tracks, getting hopelessly stuck in the desert on the Pakistani border, or becoming the subjects of an international missing persons case in the remote mountains of Laos, there is never a dull moment in 927 Days of Summer. Come along as a diverse cast of characters guides our subjects through a world of unfolding landscapes and cultures on the road trip to end all road trips, and then ask yourself: can you really just go home, unpack, and eat a sandwich?

Everything you didn't know about the Casey Anthony Trial


S.K. Patton - 2018
    Why did she get acquitted? Why did the jurors see George as a suspect? Why did they think she was a good mother? And how on God's green earth did they miss the suffocation search? There are surprisingly good answers for all of these questions. I argue in this book that not only did the prosecution hide evidence from the jury, but that the evidence points to Casey being factually innocent as well. Regardless of whether you agree with my viewpoint, I guarantee you'll learn something you didn't know before about this infamous case.

Fighting Back: The Rocky Bleier Story


Rocky Bleier - 1975
    Book by Rocky Bleier, Terry O'Neil

Crossing the Bamboo Bridge: Memoirs of a Bad Luck Girl


Mai Donohue - 2016
    Her battle is not against soldiers but against her neighbors and a thousand years of tradition. Born during Ho Chi Minh’s revolution against the French, she was just a baby when his followers in the village, out of spite, came to her home one night and murdered the men in the family, driving her mother mad with fear and rage. She was fourteen when her mother forced her to marry and have a child with a brutal man who beat and tortured her, finally leaving her for dead beside the road. Recovered, she ran away with her infant son, only to discover there was no place for them. To save her baby’s life, she returned home in disgrace, only to face the Viet Cong. In desperation she escaped again, leaving her child in safety, she thought. On Saigon’s deadly streets, with no identity papers, she became an outlaw, hiding from her ex-husband, grieving for her lost child. Homeless, penniless and pursued, only her dream of freedom kept her alive. Then one day she would meet a saintly woman, who gave her hope, and an Irish-American naval officer, who gave her love. Crossing the Bamboo Bridge is a tale of mothers and daughters, and of their children. It is a tale of war, and grief, and a young girl’s dreams. It is a stunning epiphany of hope where there is none, of courage in the face of despair, of love, respect and freedom.

The Lost Son: A Life in Pursuit of Justice


Bernard B. Kerik - 2001
    A portrait of the 40th Police Commissioner of New York City details his mission to fight the injustice around him and to solve the mystery of his own mother, who abandoned him forty-one years ago, and includes an afterword about the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

The Grim Reaper: The Life and Career of a Reluctant Warrior


Stu Grimson - 2019
    They all grew up dreaming of skating in the big league as stars. Then one day, a coach tells them the only way to make it is to drop the gloves. And every guy says the same thing: I'll do whatever it takes to play in the NHL.Not Stu Grimson, though. When he was offered a contract to patrol the ice for the Calgary Flames, he said no thanks, and went to university instead. And that's the way Grimson has approached his career and his life: on his own terms. He stared down the toughest players on the planet for seventeen years, while working on his first university degree. He retired on his own terms, and went on to practice law, including a stint as in-house counsel for the NHLPA.This has put him in a unique position when it comes to commenting on the game. He's seen it from the trenches, and he's seen it from the courtroom. This puts him in the eye of the storm surrounding fighting and concussions. And he handles that the way he does everything: on his own terms. When Don Cherry called him out on televison, it was the seemingly indominable Cherry who backed down. Hockey fans will be fascinated by his data-driven defence of fighting.But in the end, this is not a book about fighting and locker-room stories. It's the story of a young man who ultimately took on the toughest role in pro sports and came out the other side. Where many others have not.

Mafia Murders: 100 Kills that Changed the Mob


M.A. Frasca - 2015
    For the Mob (as they are also known), crime was big business. Feuds between Mafia families and their associates led to Lucky Luciano, the preeminent Mob boss, creating the Commission, which to this day rules over Mob activity and disputes. Throughout the 20th century, the ruthlessness of the Mafia has been in evidence: the list of Mob victims seems endless. Mafia Hits recalls the most important executions - the rival bosses, the stool pigeons and snitches, the good cops and the dirty cops, the vicious feuds and the hit-men who lived by the gun and died by it. All are here in this fascinating tale of the American underworld.