My Favorite True Crime Reads
It’s complicated to be a fan of true crime.
The writer Gillian Flynn puts it best: “I love reading true crime, but I’ve always been aware of the fact that, as a reader, I am actively choosing to be a consumer of someone else’s tragedy.”
What draws me to the genre is being able to step into the mindset of the killer, finding out what would drive them to commit such horrific crimes. Serial killers are not born, they’re made. I read true crime because I want to find out what pushes that person over the edge, I want to know what makes someone lose their sense of right and wrong so completely.
The best true crime writers don’t seek to sensationalize their subjects. They approach their work with equal parts compassion and a journalist’s dedication for uncovering the truth. These are five well-written, well-researched books that delve into the darkest parts of the human mind.
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
This is a breath-taking example of true crime literature at its finest. Capote blends nonfiction with fiction and weaves together the chilling story of the 1959 murders of the Clutter family that rocked the small town of Holcomb, Kansas. Capote wrote this book over a six-year period; he interviewed residents of the town and the investigators, as well as the murderers—Richard Hickock and Perry Smith. Capote digs deep into the past of both men, and what they were thinking when they stepped into the Clutter house that night. While it is not completely factual—Capote embellished some scenes and changed certain facts to suit the story—the bulk of the book is a fairly accurate account of what transpired. Not only does he go into the psychological makeup of the killers, he also puts the reader into the mindset of the Clutter family, and in doing so, gives them back their humanity.
2. Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gendry
It’s impossible to write about true crime without mentioning the number one bestseller of all time. Written by the prosecutor of the trial, Helter Skelter dives into the man behind the gruesome Tate-LaBianca murders in 1969 Los Angeles. I highly recommend listening to the series of episodes that You Must Remember This did on Charles Manson in Hollywood, because it really helps contextualize the events of the book, and Karina Longworth is my hero. This is a dense book, it’s around 700 pages. Bugliosi goes into great detail about his investigation of the case; he’s meticulous. Not only does he go into the crime and the victims, he also investigates how much power Manson held over his followers, and why they were ready to commit murder as soon as he asked. This is a hard read—I definitely don’t recommend reading it late at night—but it’s a truly compelling portrait of humanity at its worst. (Also, true story: my journalism professor covered one of Charles Manson’s parole hearings in the ‘70s, and he sent her a box of his hair. I know this because she brought it into class and showed us, and it was just as creepy and disgusting as it sounds.)
3. I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara
This is the book that started my obsession with true crime; it’s an absolute masterpiece. It’s the most impressive piece of investigative journalism I’ve ever read. Michelle McNamara was a crime writer in Los Angeles; she coined the term the Golden State Killer when she connected the dots between the MO of the East Area Rapist (active in Sacramento in the late ‘70s) to murders in Central and Southern California that occurred until the late ‘80s. Sadly, McNamara died suddenly in 2016 while writing this book. But with the help of her husband, Patton Oswalt, and two of her fellow researchers, they were able to finish most of her work. McNamara’s voice is so clear-cut and haunting. Her research was exhaustive and she presents it in a very readable, and very gripping way. I read it huddled up in my bed, unable to tear my eyes away, a baseball bat in easy reach. Her compassion for the victims and their families shines through; as did her hope that justice was just around the corner for the man. She was right. The book was published in February 2018, and in April that year, the police found and arrested Joseph James DeAngelo, a former police officer who fit the profile that McNamara created to a T. Bonus: HBO put out a miniseries in 2020 with the same name that gives excellent background about Michelle, her research, and the crimes; I highly recommend it, because Michelle McNamara was a truly amazing woman, and her legacy should be honored.
4. Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
This book is part history, part true crime, and something that I’m desperate for more people to know about. In the late 1800s, oil was discovered beneath the land of the Osage Indian Nation. By the 1920s, the Osage were the richest people per capita in the entire world. What follows is the complicated story of how the U.S. government passed laws to take advantage of the money belonging the Osage, and how that greed turned into murder. From 1921 to 1925, over 60 Osage Indians were murdered—and Grann posits there were many more—and most of those cases remain unsolved to this day. Grann is an engaging writer, and he explains the complicated nature of the headrights and the court-appointed “guardians” who were put in charge of the Osage’s financial affairs. Through painstaking research, Grann unearths these long-forgotten crimes and the spectacular investigation that seemingly helped bring an end to the Reign of Terror. We need to remember horrible pieces of history like this, if only to remember the victims.
5. Small Sacrifices by Ann Rule
No list is complete without Ann Rule, the queen of true crime. I was hard pressed to decide on just one of her books, since she was so incredibly prolific. But I chose this one since Rule takes you deep inside the mind of the killer, which was as fascinating as it was unsettling. Small Sacrifices tells the truly awful story of Diane Downs, a young mother who shot her three children by the side of the road, killing one and severely injuring the other two. Downs claimed that she and her children were attacked by a stranger—she maintains her innocence to this day—but the ensuing trial and investigation discovered that Downs was obsessed with a former lover who went back to his wife after their affair came to an end. Rule does incredible research into the life of Diane Downs, and the portrait she paints of her is of a deeply disturbed yet charismatic woman who saw her children as obstacles standing in the way of her ultimate goal of a “perfect love.” This is a heartbreaking read, but it’s gripping and powerful. It’s definitely one of Rule’s best books.