Book picks similar to
Noir Fiction: Dark Highways by Paul Duncan
crime
noir
non-fiction
nonfiction
The Murders of Christopher Watts
Cheryln Cadle - 2020
Cheryln Cadle contacted him and started visiting him in prison. Christopher started writing her letters from his prison cell in Wisconsin. These letters had his confessions of things he had never told anyone else. Now she shares the letters and the truth about what happened that fateful night in Frederick Colorado to Shanann, Nico, Bella and Celeste Watts at the hands of their father. Was he just a monster or was it truly his girlfriend that he wanted to start a life with the reason he was willing to kill his family?
Death of a Dream
Paul LaRosa - 2008
She was a gifted midwestern beauty, the daughter of Ohio State University's marching band director: to dance on Broadway. Soon after high school graduation, Catherine left Columbus for New York City, determined to be a star. Three years later, she was dead -- murdered in cold blood in her East Side apartment. The shocking revelations that emerged from the police investigation made tabloid headlines: few knew that the struggling artist paid her bills by dancing in a topless club. But there was another hidden facet to Catherine's life -- a shattering love triangle with two men, one of whom would ultimately be convicted of her brutal stabbing death. It's a chilling account of obsession, violence, and the surprising, minute evidence on which the entire case hinged. For a talented young woman reaching for the top, and the heartbroken family she left behind, it is truly the death of a dream.
Gotti's Boys: The Mafia Crew That Killed for John Gotti
Anthony M. DeStefano - 2019
He didn’t do it alone. Surrounding himself with a rogues gallery of contract killers, fixers, and enforcers, he built one of the richest, most powerful crime empires in modern history. Who were these men? Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Anthony M. DeStefano takes you inside Gotti’s inner circle to reveal the dark hearts and violent deeds of the most remorseless and cold-blooded characters in organized crime. Men so vicious even the other Mafia families were terrified of them. Meet Gotti’s Boys … * Charles Carneglia: the ruthless junkyard dog who allegedly disposed of bodies for the mob—by dissolving them in acid then displaying their jewels. * Gene Gotti: the younger Gotti brother who ran a multimillion-dollar drug smuggling ring—enraging his bosses in the Gambino family. * Angelo “Quack-Quack” Ruggiero: the loose-lipped contract killer who was wire-tapped by the FBI—and dared to insult Gotti behind his back. * Tony “Roach” Rampino: the hardcore stoner who looked like a cockroach—and used his gangly arms and horror-mask face to frighten his enemies. * Salvatore Gravano: the Gambino underboss who helped John Gotti execute Gambino mob boss Paul Castellano—then sang like a canary to take Gotti down. Rounding out this nefarious group were the likes of Frank “Franky D” DeCicco, Vincent “Little Vinny” Artuso, and Joe “The German” Watts, a man who wasn’t a Mafiosi but had all of the power and prestige of one in John Gotti’s slaughterhouse crew. Gotti’s Boys is a killer line-up of the crime-hardened mob soldiers who killed at their ruthless leader’s merciless bidding—brought to vivid life by the prize-winning chronicler of the American mob.
The Queen's Marriage
Lady Colin Campbell - 2018
In this new book royal historian Lady Colin Campbell covers The Queen’s Marriage in intimate detail. Using her connections and impeccable sources she recounts details of the inside story of the monarch’s relationship with the Duke of Edinburgh and her close family.
A Deal With the Devil: Discovering Chris Watts: - Part Two - The Facts
Netta Newbound - 2020
Little Girl Lost: The True Story of The Vandling Murder
Tammy Mal - 2012
But when Mae’s beaten and mutilated corpse was found the next day in an abandoned house, her throat slashed and her face battered beyond recognition, the small town of Vandling was thrust into one of the most intensive police investigations in the history of Pennsylvania.The murder sent shock waves through the small town and surrounding area, holding residents hostage in the grips of a paralyzing fear. Who could have committed such a brutal crime against a child who was walking home from church? What kind of animal would discard a little girl like nothing more than trash?As police doggedly investigated the horrific murder, long before the use of DNA, computers, or modern forensic science, one key piece of evidence would lead them to 13-year-old Myron Semunchick. Brilliant, good looking, and extremely popular, Myron projected the image of the all American boy. He was also a cunning killer who murdered sadistically and almost got away with it.Little Girl Lost is the true story of one of the most notorious crimes in history. A case that made headlines across the United States and into Canada, it is also the story of the youngest person ever charged with 1st degree murder and sentenced to life in prison in the state of Pennsylvania.
Prescription: Murder! Volume 3: Authentic Cases From the Files of Alan Hynd
Alan Hynd - 2014
From the files and pen of world renowned true crime writer Alan Hynd (1903 - 1974) comes the final installment of deliciously dark true murder cases of the first half of the 20th Century. These stories, the third of these three short collections, are unified by a single theme: they all involve physicians. And not for the autopsy, but as perpetrators or accused perpetrators. You may never see your family care giver again in the same light. Told in the characteristic wry, anecdotal reportorial style that made Alan Hynd famous in his day (two wartime best sellers in 1943, contributions to The Reader's Digest, Colliers, Coronet, The Saturday Evening Post, True, Liberty, The American Mercury and almost every true detective magazine in print) these tales will have you cringing one minute, laughing the next, and gasping in shock a moment later. Truly, no one could make up classics like these. We meet here the notorious Dr. Cream, a twitchy-eyed psychotic with a yen for prostitutes, a Philadelphia chiropractor whose girlfriend lost her head, and Marcel Petiot, whose patients payed their own way out of this world. Then as a bonus, get to know (from a safe distance) "Lethal Louise," the black widow of California, and Adolf Luetgert of Chicago, whose sausage-making plant was put to extracurricular uses. This is not for the faint of heart. True crime is always farther out there than fiction.
Born To Be Killers
Ray Black - 1874
In this volume the stories reveal the complexity of abnormal human behaviour. In some cases the reason appears to be psychosis or demonic voices, for others, overpowering compulsions with deep psychological roots and for some killing is better than sex and the only way they can achieve total gratification. Ted Bundy, Jack the Ripper, Jeffrey Dahmer, Richard Chase, Andrei Chikatilo and many more.Part One: Children who Kill - what makes them kill? including Mary and Norma Bell, Jessie Holtmeyer, Larry SchwartzPart Two: Men who Kill - these men are monsters including The Yorkshire Ripper, The Cannibal Killer, The Boston Strangler, The Ultimate Psycho, The Real Dracula.Part Three: Women who Kill - can women be a cold-blooded as men? including Elizabeth Bathory, Lizzie Borden, Velma Barfield, Mary Ann Cotton, Florida's Black Widow.Part Four: Couples who Kill - torturous teams including Fred and Rosemary West
Bike Path Rapist: A Cop's Firsthand Account of Catching the Killer Who Terrorized a Community
Jeff Schober - 2009
After working tirelessly on behalf of a convicted man, DNA slides were discovered at a local medical center. Capozzi was exonerated and released before Easter 2007. Bike Path Rapist: A Cop's Firsthand Account of Catching the Killer Who Terrorized a Community will examine the complex and compelling story inside the investigation of a thirty-year string of serial rapes and killings. With detailed information culled from interviews, police reports and insights from Delano and his colleagues on an elite task force that solved the crime, the book will blend the drama of Cold Case and CSI with a behind-the-scenes look at investigative techniques and angles examined by investigators.
All the Madmen: Barrett, Bowie, Drake, the Floyd, the Kinks, the Who and the Journey to the Dark Side of English Rock
Clinton Heylin - 2012
'All the Madmen' tells the story of six stars who travelled to the edge of sanity in the years following the summer of love, and charts how they made some of the most seminal rock music ever recorded.
Killing for Company: The Case of Dennis Nilsen
Brian Masters - 1985
Within days he had confessed to fifteen gruesome murders over a period of four years. His victims, all young homosexual men, had never been reported missing. Brian Masters, with Nilsen's full cooperation, has produced a unique study of a serial killer's mind, revealing the disturbing psychology of a mass murderer.
Footsteps in the Attic: A true account of the slayings at the Hinterkaifeck Farmstead
Edward Chilvers - 2016
He believed that rogues were in his house. I offered to help him to search the property, to which Gruber replied that he was not afraid.” Sometime during the evening of the 31st March 1922, at an isolated farmstead deep in rural Germany, five members of the same family, alongside their maid, were brutally slain in their own home, hacked to death with a short handled pickaxe. The killings stunned a Bavaria already racked by the aftermath of war and hyper-inflation. Almost a century on the murders remain unsolved. In this, the first in depth English language investigation into the slayings, Edward Chilvers attempts to separate myth from fact, relying on contemporary police sources and witness statements to paint a picture of an insular, incestuous family who, for reasons as yet unknown, took it upon themselves to ignore the numerous warnings of what was to come in the days leading up to their demise.
The Hollywood Book of Scandals: The Shoking, Often Disgraceful Deeds and Affairs of More Than 100 American Movie and TV Idols
James Robert Parish - 2004
Add a famous Hollywood star or two to the mix and the nation is hooked. The Hollywood Book of Scandals provides the full account of 32 big, provocative scandals--complete with all the sexy, scintillating, and often shocking details. Written by veteran show business chronicler James Robert Parish, this book dishes the full dirt on:Bob Crane's mysterious deathElizabeth Taylor's seduction of Eddie FisherRobert Mitchum's arrest for drug possessionJudy Garland's public meltdownErrol Flynn's trial for statutory rapeWinona Ryder's shoplifting trialMore than 100 black-and-white celebrity photos offer readers a close-up look at the leading players in these sordid dramas.
Oklahoma's Atticus: An Innocent Man and the Lawyer Who Fought for Him
Hunter Howe Cates - 2019
When Youngwolfe recants his confession, saying he was forced to confess by the authorities, his city condemns him, except for one man—public defender and Creek Indian Elliott Howe. Recognizing in Youngwolfe the life that could have been his if not for a few lucky breaks, Howe risks his career to defend Youngwolfe against the powerful county attorney’s office. Forgotten today, the sensational story of the murder, investigation, and trial made headlines nationwide.Oklahoma’s Atticus is a tale of two cities—oil-rich downtown Tulsa and the dirt-poor slums of north Tulsa; of two newspapers—each taking different sides in the trial; and of two men both born poor Native Americans, but whose lives took drastically different paths. Hunter Howe Cates explores his grandfather’s story, both a true-crime murder mystery and a legal thriller. Oklahoma’s Atticus is full of colorful characters, from the seventy-two-year-old mystic who correctly predicted where the body was buried, to the Kansas City police sergeant who founded one of America’s most advanced forensics labs and pioneered the use of lie detector evidence, to the ambitious assistant county attorney who would rise to become the future governor of Oklahoma. At the same time, it is a story that explores issues that still divide our nation: police brutality and corruption; the effects of poverty, inequality, and racism in criminal justice; the power of the media to drive and shape public opinion; and the primacy of the presumption of innocence. Oklahoma’s Atticus is an inspiring true underdog story of unity, courage, and justice that invites readers to confront their own preconceived notions of guilt and innocence.
Clues to Christie: The Definitive Guide to Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot, Tommy & Tuppence and All of Agatha Christie's Mysteries
Agatha Christie - 2011
Interspersed throughout are quotes from Christie, a list of the Christie novels that were her personal favorites and three of her classic short stories: The Affair at the Victory Ball, Greenshaw’s Folly and A Fairy in the Flat.Clues to Christie Table of Contents: “Agatha Christie: An Introduction” by John Curran; The Hercule Poirot Mysteries; “The Affair at the Victory Ball”; The Miss Marple Mysteries; “Greenshaw’s Folly”; The Tommy and Tuppence Mysteries; “A Fairy in the Flat”; Agatha Christie’s Stand-Alone Mysteries and Short-Story Collections; The Queen of Mystery’s Personal Favorites; Ten Other Ways to Read Agatha Christie; “On Agatha Christie and Poisons”; The A to Z of Agatha Christie