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"The World's Finest Mystery and Crime Stories" returns with the second volume in this annual series collecting the very best of the year's mystery and crime fiction from all around the world.
From Ferdinand von Schirach, one of Germany’s most prominent defense attorneys, comes a jolting debut collection of short stories that daringly brings to light the motivations stirring within the criminal mind. By turns witty and sorrowful, unflinchingly brutal and heartbreaking, the deeply affecting, quietly unnerving cases presented in Crime urge a closer examination of guilt and innocence. In “Fähner,” a small-town physician and avid gardener betrays little emotion when he takes an ax to his wife’s head, an act that shocks the locals but provides a long-awaited reprieve for the good doctor. Abbas, a Palestinian refugee who is cornered into a life of crime, finds true love and seemingly a saving grace with a beautiful student named Stefanie in “Summertime.” But when she is viciously murdered in a hotel room after having been paid to sleep with one of the country’s wealthiest men, is Abbas to blame or is it the man who seems to have it all? And in the startling story “Love,” a young man’s infatuation with his girlfriend takes a grisly turn as he comes to grips with his unconventional—and uncontrollable—impulses to truly know a woman. “Guilt,” writes von Schirach, “always presents a bit of a problem.” In this beautifully nuanced and telling collection, guilt is indeed never as clear-cut as the crime, and justice is more nebulous still.
Travel around the world and inside the minds of monsters in this true crime anthology featuring sixteen astonishing serial killer exposés. Serial killers: Ted Bundy, John Wayne Gacy, and Jeffrey Dahmer are often the first names that spring to mind. Many people assume serial killers are primarily an American phenomenon that came about in the latter part of the twentieth century—but such assumptions are far from the truth. Serial killers have been around for a long time and can be found in every corner of the globe―and they’re not just limited to the male gender, either. Some of these predators have been caught and brought to justice whereas others have never been found, let alone identified. Serial killers can be anywhere. And scarier still, they can be anyone. Edited by acclaimed author and anthologist Mitzi Szereto, The Best New True Crime Stories: Serial Killers reveals all-new accounts of true-crime serial killers from the contemporary to the historic. The international list of contributors includes award-winning crime writers, true-crime podcasters, journalists, and experts in the dark crimes field such as Martin Edwards, Lee Mellor, Danuta Kot, Craig Pittman, Richard O. Jones, Marcie Rendon, Mike Browne, and Vicki Hendricks. This book will leave you wondering if it’s ever really possible to know who’s behind the mask you’re allowed to see. Perfect for readers of true crime books such as I’ll Be Gone in the Dark, Mindhunter, The Devil in the White City, or Sons of Cain. “An engrossing and multi-faceted anthology for a new era of true crime writing.” ―Piper Weiss, author of You All Grow Up and Leave Me
A thrilling account of a hundred years of sensational and sinister deeds that marked and shaped one southern town. Crimes that captivated attention in the Charlotte area over the years run the gamut from missing people to the wrongly accused. This collection of headline stories features violent motorcycle gangs, crusading mothers, a fraudster who claimed a president was poisoned by his wife, a serial killer who broke all the rules and even a man who made Bigfoot. With a mystery novelist's ear for a good tale, Cathy Pickens presents more than a century of sensational sinister deeds that marked this diverse and dynamic city.
Proceeding from an intriguing photo album documenting some 30 murders committed in Paris between 1887 and 1902, Parry investigates the ever eluding question of why people commit capital crimes. 60 duotones.
Obsession, Unrequited Love, Jealousy, Revenge, and Violence Collide in this Page-Turning Anthology #1 New Release in Forensic Science Law and Hoaxes & Deceptions Crimes of passion are both eerie and strangely tantalizing. How can someone you hold dear become someone you fear? This riveting anthology explores the question through some of the most compelling true crime accounts and stories of obsession and vengeance. Crimes fueled by emotions. Love, passion, obsession, jealousy, and betrayal. When it comes to the emotions, people can react in strange and unexpected ways. Whether it’s a heart hurt by unrequited love, or a lover so passionate they’ll stop at nothing to get their way—even the most mild-mannered soul can suddenly flip, becoming a vengeful spirit with dark intentions. From the ancient Greek myth of Jason and Medea to Shakespeare’s Othello, themes dealing with deeply felt emotions have persisted. But unlike mythology or fiction, The Best New True Crime Stories: Crimes of Passion, Obsession & Revenge contains stories from real life. A special selection of stories written exclusively for this book. The Best New True Crime Stories: Crimes of Passion, Obsession & Revenge includes stories from around the world and from different times. As with all titles in the popular The Best New True Crime Stories series, this volume contains original nonfiction accounts penned by writers from across the literary spectrum. Dive into these twisted true tales of passion and unrequited love turned violent. Examine why some have fully embraced their dark side, resorting to crime to achieve their own special brand of satisfaction and retribution. If you enjoyed Mitzi's last book in her series, The Best New True Crime Stories: Well-Mannered Crooks, Rogues & Criminals, and books like You Love Me, and The Big Book of Serial Killers Volume 2, then you’ll love The Best New True Crime Stories: Crimes of Passion, Obsession & Revenge.
Why do true crime stories exert such popular fascination? What do they have to say about the fear of crime in the present moment? This book examines the historical origins and development of true crime and its evolution into distinctive contemporary forms. Embracing a range of non-fiction accounts - true crime book and magazines, law and order television, popular journalism - it traces how they harness and explore current concerns about law and order, crime and punishment and personal vulnerability.
The #1 New York Times–bestselling “master of narrative journalism” and author of Black Hawk Down presents a compelling collection of true crime stories (The New York Times). Acclaimed investigative reporter Mark Bowden has ferreted out unbelievable-yet-true stories of wrongdoing, murder and mayhem for decades. His illustrious body of work has won him a lifetime achievement award from the International Thriller Writers organization, and a reputation as “a Woodward that outdoes even Woodward” (Malcom Gladwell, The New Yorker). The Case of the Vanishing Blonde collects six of Bowden’s most riveting stories—accounts spanning four decades of fascinating characters and unsettling tales to illustrate all manner of crimes and the ways technology has progressively altered criminal investigation. From a 1983 story of a University of Pennsylvania campus rape that sparked a national debate over the nature of consent, to three cold cases featuring the inimitable Long Island private detective Ken Brennan and a startling investigation into a murderer deep within the LAPD’s ranks—shielded for twenty six years by officers keen to protect one of their own—these stories are the work of a masterful narrative journalist.
CrimeSong: True Crime Stories From Southern Murder BalladsCrimeSong plunges readers into a world of violence against women, murders, familicide, suicides, brutal mob action, and many examples of a failed justice system. Although these ballads and stories are set in specific times, cultures, and places, they present universal themes of love, betrayal, jealousy, and madness through true-life tales that are both terrifying and familiar'stories that could be ripped from today's headlines. This compelling investigation of the gripping true crimes behind American ballads dispels myths and legends and brings to life a cast of characters --both loathsome and innocent--shadowy history, courtroom dramas, murders, mayhem, and music. In CrimeSong, law professor and authentic storyteller Richard H. Underwood recreates in engaging and folksy prose the true facts behind twenty-four Southern murder ballads. All of these ballads were composed and eventually written down by simple folk, mostly unknown, who were preserving, in their homespun lyrics, actual, tragic events. Because of Underwood's interest and experience in the law, he has resurrected these stories and shares them with the reader through his old lawyer trifocals. He presents his case studies, documented through contemporary news accounts and court records, as a series of dramas filled with jump-off-the-page real and memorable characters. These stories are sometimes harrowing, but they are always completely readable.CrimeSong includes 90 illustrations, including a map relevant to stories and the original art of a North Carolina artist and a Kentucky artist.
