Extraordinarily powerful stories of ordinary people locked up for crimes they did not commit, and how they were freed against great odds.A nightmare from a thousand B-movies: a horrible crime is committed in your neighborhood, and the police knock at your door. A witness swears you are the perpetrator; you have no alibi, and no one believes your protestations of innocence. You're convicted, sentenced to hard time in maximum security, or even death row, where you await the execution...

Recalling the great muckrakers of the past, an outraged team of America’s best-selling writers unite to confront the disasters of wrongful convictions.Wrongful convictions, long regarded as statistical anomalies in an otherwise sound justice system, now appear with frightening regularity. But few people understand just how or why they happen and, more important, the immeasurable consequences that often haunt the lucky few who are acquitted, years after they are pro...

In this gripping collection of investigative accounts from her private archives, “America’s best true-crime writer” (Kirkus Reviews) exposes the most frightening aspect of the murderous mind: the waiting game. Trusted family members or strangers, these cold-blooded killers select their unsuspecting prey, wait for the perfect moment to strike, then turn normality into homicidal mayhem in a matter of moments. Ann Rule will have you seeing the people and places around you with height...

The legendary FBI criminal profiler and inspiration for the hit Netflix show Mindhunter offers a personal look into the workings of the justice system.“At the top of his form.” —James PattersonFor the first time since his retirement, the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of The Killer Across the Table and The Killer’s Shadow teams up with award-winning author Mark Olshaker to delve into his most notori...

The story of a musical prodigy turned serial killer—including his shocking confession—is exposed in the L.A. Times bestselling author’s true crime classic.To the outside world, Anthony Allen Shore was an average guy: a twice-divorced father who drove a tow truck in suburban Houston. But in his mind he was a superstar. A musical prodigy who never realized his potential, Shore decided to outsmart society by getting away with murder. And he wanted the whole w...

The man who revolutionized the way we think about baseball now examines our cultural obsession with murder—delivering a unique, engrossing, brilliant history of tabloid crime in America.Celebrated writer and contrarian Bill James has voraciously read true crime throughout his life and has been interested in writing a book on the topic for decades. Now, with Popular Crime, James takes readers on an epic journey from Lizzie Borden to the Lindbergh b...

In Perfect Murder, Perfect Town, Lawrence Schiller thoroughly recreates every aspect of the complex case of the death of JonBenét Ramsey. A brilliant portrait of an inscrutable family thrust under the spotlight of public suspicion and an affluent, tranquil city torn apart by a crime it couldn't handle, Perfect Murder, Perfect Town uncovers the mysteries that have bewildered the nation. - Why were the Ramseys, the targets of the investigation, able to control the direction of the police inq...

A landmark in the fight against the death penalty. Extensively researched and brilliantly written . . . The Wrong Men is a gem.” Martin Garbus, criminal defense attorneyEvery day, innocent men across America are thrown into prison, betrayed by a faulty justice system, and robbed of their lives-either by decades-long sentences or the death penalty itself. Injustice tarnishes our legal process from start to finish. From the racial discrimination and violence used by...

Read the true story of the manhunt that inspired The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, the acclaimed FX series.“The breadth and thoroughness of [Maureen] Orth’s research are often staggering.”—The New York Times“Fascinating . . . ripe with chilling detail.”—Entertainment WeeklyOn July 15, 1997, Gianni Versace was shot and killed on the steps of his Miami Beach mansion ...

The Edgar Award–nominated true crime story of the 2001 death of Kathleen Peterson and the trial against her husband Michael—the subject of an acclaimed documentary, The Staircase , and an HBO Max miniseries starring Colin Firth."[Fanning's] writing is superb. . . . [She] has written a true-crime book focused more on the truth than on the crime. . . . A triumph." —Vance Holmes, author of ...

No one knows the story behind the sensational headlines of the Scott Peterson murder trial better than defense attorney Matt Dalton. For six straight months after Peterson's arrest, Dalton was the defense's only full-time investigative attorney on the case. During that time, he lived in Modesto and investigated every element of the case, interviewing scores of witnesses, reviewing more than 35,000 pages of police documents, and meeting almost daily with Scott Peterson in j...

"The horror genre is tremendously indebted to serial killers. A listing of books and movies that deal with serial killers would almost be a book in itself. Something about their twisted psychology and abhorrent acts have turned folks like John Wayne Gacy, Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, David Berkowitz, and Andrei Chikatilo, to name a few, into household names and media figures. In The Serial Killer Compendium, true crime author RJ Parker offers five books that deal with the names above and als...