Book picks similar to
Overkill by Lyn Riddle


true-crime
non-fiction
nonfiction
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A Deadly Affair


Tom Henderson - 2001
    But in the summer of 2000, Michael found himself standing trial for the murder of his pregnant wife, Leann. The verdict—guilty of second-degree murder—would leave friends, family, and the public at large scrambling to make sense of a twisted and frightening series of events that ended in the brutal killing of Leann Fletcher. What could possibly have led Michael Fletcher to commit such a gruesome act?As a college student, Michael Fletcher married the girl of his dreams after a three-year courtship. It seems like a fairy-tale romance come true: a match made in heaven. So why would a man with no history of domestic violence murder his devoted wife right after he told her how much he loved her? Why would Michael shoot Leann in the back of the head, not only killing her but also the child that she was carrying inside her? According to prosecutors, Fletcher has been involved in an extramarital affair with a beautiful judge for two years. Was his relationship with respected District Judge Susan Chrzanowski enough cause for him to murder his wife in cold blood? Raising even more troubling questions, the startling discovery colored Leann's already shocking murder with shadings of sex, political scandal, and deadly betrayal.

A Family Business: A Chilling Tale of Greed as One Family Commits Unspeakable Crimes Against the Dead


Ken Englade - 1992
    An unsettling look at the Sconce family from the acclaimed true crime author of Deadly Lessons.   For sixty years, families in Southern California trusted the Sconce Family Funeral Home with their loved ones’ remains. That trust was betrayed in an extraordinary, horrifying fashion, as it was discovered that the family, seeing an opportunity, had been stealing gold fillings and harvesting the organs of the newly deceased, hiding the evidence by burning the bodies in their crematorium.   When the shocking acts came to light, a trial brought every gruesome detail to the forefront, and Ken Englade has—with even-handed, clear-eyed reporting—chronicled every chilling detail.

Crazy for You: A Passionate Affair, a Lying Widow, and a Cold-Blooded Murder


Michael Fleeman - 2015
    In the parking lot, a minivan pulls up next to his car. The driver pulls out a gun—and shoots Rusty four times in the chest.A HEARTBROKEN WIFESneiderman’s devoted wife, Andrea, is devastated by the crime. Who could have done this? She is shocked when police trace the shooting to a man named Hemy Neuman—who happens to be Andrea’s adoring boss. A DEADLY OBSESSIONThe prosecution accuses Andrea and Hemy of having a "forbidden relationship," and of conspiring to collect $2 million in her husband’s life insurance. But Andrea swears she never intended to kill Rusty—and that it is Hemy who’s "delusional" and obsessed. With the charges against her dropped, and the insurance money frozen, Andrea remains a mysterious character. Only one other person—the man who pulled the trigger—knows the truth about what really happened… With 8 pages of dramatic photos!

A Need to Kill: Confessions of a Teen Murderer


Michael W. Cuneo - 2011
    One night, he waited until they were asleep…then entered the house with a knife. Alec burst into the master bedroom and stabbed Tom and Lisa Haines first. Then he attacked Kevin, who fought for his life. Meanwhile, at the end of the hall, Kevin’s sister Maggie awoke to the sound of violence—and was the only one who made it out alive. Clean-cut and academically gifted, Alec seemed to have no motives, no history of psychosis—and no remorse. Some believed he was a serial killer in the making, a soulless monster plagued by “demons.” Now, for the first time, acclaimed author Michael W. Cuneo shares the inside story—with shocking details of Alec’s confession to his father, disturbing messages to his classmates, and chilling excerpts from his diaries—and takes you inside the dark, troubled mind of this teenage killer.

Almost Paradise: The East Hampton Murder of Ted Ammon


Kieran Crowley - 2005
    She stood to make millions, but it wasn't the money that made Ted's friends suspicious: Generosa Ammon had a history of violent outbursts and bizarre obsessions.BUT EVEN HIS WEALTH AND POWER…A talented interior decorator, Generosa had fashioned a lavish lifestyle for her husband and their two children, divided between Fifth Avenue, the Long Island estate, and a manor house in England. But when Generosa discovered Ted had a mistress, her demons were unleashed…COULDN'T SAVE HIM…She began a very public affair with Danny Pelosi, a strikingly handsome womanizer who was also her electrician. She called him her "tool belt guy." But he was also an ex-con who was suspected of playing a pivotal role in Ted's murder and the final destruction of a once-perfect family.In Almost Paradise, New York Times bestselling author Kieran Crowley, who has covered the Ammon case from the time it broke, recreates the three tumultuous lives that intersected fatally in East Hampton that fall.

Finding Amy: A True Story of Murder in Maine


Joseph K. Loughlin - 2006
    Twenty-five-year-old Amy St. Laurent was attractive, intelligent, and responsible. One October evening, she went out to show a friend from Florida the exciting nightlife of Portland's Old Port section. She played pool. She danced. And then, she disappeared. The police investigation into her murder riveted the state of Maine for months. This inside account of the investigation alternates between Kate Clark Flora's objective tale of dedicated police work and the dramatic recollections of then-Lieutenant Joseph K. Loughlin, who oversaw the case. police's growing certainty that she had been murdered, from the heroic efforts to locate the body to the flight from Maine of their chief suspect, and from the painstaking work of collecting evidence and building a case to the struggles over jurisdictional questions to the twists and turns of the eventual trial, Finding Amy is a dramatic story of brutal murder and exemplary police work.

The Search for the Green River Killer


Carlton Smith - 1991
    The true story of America's most notorious serial killer case ever.

Disposable Income A True Story of Sex, Greed and Im-purr-fect Murder


Tammy Mal - 2014
    With no family or friends in the area, and no reason to be there, the isolated little village seemed an odd choice for strangers to relocate too. But finding the older couple friendly and outgoing, Factoryville warmly welcomed their new neighbors, who seemed eager to fit in - at first. Soon however, the Homeyer’s pleasant disposition began to change. Anna, once highly visible and engaging, was rarely seen at all anymore, and Charles, who was always kind and neighborly, became distant and withdrawn. Local residents were baffled by their behavior, and left to wonder what they had done to alienate their new friends. But their curiosity soon turned to suspicion when Anna Homeyer suddenly vanished without a trace. Why was Charles Homeyer, a married man, receiving numerous Lonely Hearts Magazines, and scores of letters from unattached women all over the country? Why was he burning his wife's clothing and selling off her personal belongings? Why did he leave Factoryville, only to return with his wife's most cherished possession? Where was Anna? And what was that foul, putrid odor billowing from the Homeyer’s chimney? Disposable Income is one of the most bizarre tales of sex, greed, and gruesome murder you will ever read, and a crime classic in the annals of Pennsylvania history.

A Season of Darkness


Doug Jones - 2010
    But it would take more than thirty years before the case finally came to its shocking, unexpected, and long-awaited concusion.

Inside the Mind of BTK: The True Story Behind the Thirty-Year Hunt for the Notorious Wichita Serial Killer


John E. Douglas - 2007
    history. For 31 years a man who called himself BTK (Bind, Torture, Kill) terrorized the city of Wichita, Kansas, sexually assaulting and strangling a series of women, taunting the police with frequent communications, and bragging about his crimes to local newspapers and TV stations. After disappearing for nine years, he suddenly reappeared, complaining that no one was paying enough attention to him and claiming that he had committed other crimes for which he had not been given credit. When he was ultimately captured, BTK was shockingly revealed to be Dennis Rader, a 61-year-old married man with two children.

I Would Find a Girl Walking


Kathy Kelly - 2011
    And here I am, single, haveing no fun at all. Then I would go out riding around and I would find a girl walking..."-Gerald StanoHis licence plate read: No riders except blondes, brunettes, and redheads. With his flared polyester pants, open nylon shirt, and disco music on his eight track, Gerald Stano believed he was quite the ladies' man. And should a girl dare fracture his ego, he killed her.By the time he was twenty-eight, Gerald confessed to murdering up to forty women over an eleven-year period. How they died was left to the moment: strangled, stabbed, drowned, or shot. Why? They crossed Gerald's path and were tossed out like trash. But there were other troubling questions: How did this obsessive loner lure so many women into his car? And how could so many appalling crimes go unconnected for so long?Based on exclusive access to the killer-and extensive correspondence with him-as well as interviews with the lead investigator and the victims' families, this is a revealing, shocking, and unflinching portrait of a man who fancied himself one of the greatest lady-killers of them all.

Bad Girls


M. William Phelps - 2013
    The two accused killers—teen lovers Bobbi Jo Smith and Jennifer Jones—were on the run, intent on going out in a cross-country blaze of glory.M. William Phelps exposes a gripping tale of sexploitation, lust, and betrayal, while questioning the court's fateful verdict in a tantalizing forensic puzzle. Were both girls equally guilty of murder? Or was one merely a pawn in the other's dainty, blood-stained hands? Includes 16 pages of dramatic photos."Phelps is the Harlan Coben of real-life thrillers." —Allison Brennan"Phelps's writing reads like a mystery novel." —Suspense Magazine"One of America's finest true-crime writers." —Vincent Bugliosi

Bitter Blood: A True Story of Southern Family Pride, Madness, and Multiple Murder


Jerry Bledsoe - 1988
    Months later, another wealthy widow and her prominent son and daughter-in-law were found savagely slain in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Mystified police first suspected a professional in the bizarre gangland-style killings that shattered the quiet tranquility of two well-to-do southern communities. But soon a suspicion grew that turned their focus to family. The Sharps. The Newsoms. The Lynches. The only link between the three families was a beautiful and aristocratic young mother named Susie Sharp Newsom Lynch. Could this former child "princess" and fraternity sweetheart have committed such barbarous crimes? And what about her gun-loving first cousin and lover, Fritz Klenner, son of a nationally renowned doctor?

The Devil's Right-Hand Man: The True Story of Serial Killer Robert Charles Browne


Stephen G. Michaud - 2007
    Includes photos.

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.