The 16 Best True Crime Books Of All Time | Time

25 Best True Crime Books of All Time — Books About Murder

26 Best True Crime Books of All Time - Top Nonfiction Crime Books

The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI

Los asesinatos de Osage y el nacimiento del FBI

Killers of the Flower Moon

Asesinos de la Luna de Flores

On a crisp morning in November 1959, Herbert Clutter oversees his expansive ranch while across Kansas, Perry Smith rendezvouses with Dick Hickock. The Clutters carry on with their routines, unaware of the impending danger as Smith and Hickock prepare their car for a long journey. By the end of the day, they arrive at the Clutter residence, armed with deadly intentions.

The following morning, the grim discovery of the Clutter family's lifeless bodies stuns two of Nancy Clutter's friends. The local authorities are initially perplexed, with Bobby Rupp, a friend of the family, briefly considered a suspect. The lead investigator, Alvin Dewey, theorizes that the culprit must be someone familiar with the family, setting the community into a whirlwind of speculation and fear. In the meantime, Smith and Hickock, the true culprits, have returned to Hickock's home in Olathe. After committing check fraud, they flee to Mexico, where they engage in frivolous spending and dream of a life of luxury. Perry, reminiscing about his troubled upbringing, knows the money won't last.

As the investigation stagnates, a prisoner named Floyd Wells, incarcerated in the Kansas state prison at Lansing, recognizes Hickock's involvement in the crime. He contemplates revealing what he knows to the authorities. Concurrently, Smith and Hickock, now penniless in the American desert, attempt car theft unsuccessfully. Wells eventually confesses, prompting Dewey to initiate an extensive manhunt. The duo manage to avoid capture for a while, even returning to Kansas City and Miami, before their luck runs out in Las Vegas when their stolen vehicle's license plate is identified. Following intense interrogation, both men confess and are sentenced to death. They spend the following five years on Death Row, enduring the company of other hardened criminals, while their appeals are processed. As their execution approaches, Dick's demeanor is clumsy, while Perry expresses regret.

In Cold Blood

A Sangre Fría

One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer

La búsqueda obsesiva de una mujer por el asesino del Estado Dorado

I'll Be Gone in the Dark

Me habré ido en la oscuridad

Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America

Asesinato, Magia, y Locura en la Feria que Cambió América

The Devil in the White City

El Diablo en la Ciudad Blanca

A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective

Un Asesinato Escandaloso y el Desmoronamiento de un Gran Detective Victoriano

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher

Las Sospechas del Sr. Whicher

A Story of Justice and Redemption

Una Historia de Justicia y Redención

Just Mercy

Solo Misericordia

Art801the Best Crime Books Ever Written.Aspx

100 Best Crime Books of All Time, As Chosen By Readers - Dead Good

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

La Chica del Dragón Tatuado

Eight disparate individuals receive invitations to make their way to a secluded island off the English coast. Among them are Vera Claythorne, a previous governess who believes she's been employed as a secretary, along with Philip Lombard, an explorer, and William Blore, a former detective, both of whom assume they've been recruited to provide security. Dr. Armstrong anticipates catering to the health needs of the island owner’s wife. The remaining invitees, Emily Brent, General Macarthur, Tony Marston, and Judge Wargrave are under the impression that they are set to reconnect with old acquaintances. 

Upon their arrival, the guests are met by the Rogers, a butler and housekeeper duo, who share that the host, an individual known only as Mr. Owen, won't be present until the following day. A dinner is held, after which a recorded voice accuses each guest of a specific past murder that was never solved. The guests quickly realize that they have all been assembled as part of an odd scheme. The plot thickens as Tony Marston dies due to poisoned whiskey, which bears resemblance to a verse from a nursery rhyme "Ten Little Indians," that is found in every bedroom. As the days pass, more guests die mysteriously. 

The plot reaches its climax as the remaining guests, Vera, Lombard, and Blore, decide to stay outdoors to avoid the unknown killer. Blore is killed by a falling statue, and they find Armstrong's body washed ashore. Vera, believing Lombard to be the murderer, shoots him and proceeds to hang herself in her room. The perplexing mystery is finally solved when a message in a bottle reveals that the late Judge Wargrave was the orchestrator of this macabre sequence of events, in an attempt to punish those guilty of past crimes. With a terminal illness looming, Wargrave chose to go out with a bang and met his end through a self-inflicted gunshot wound, leaving the island strewn with ten lifeless bodies.

And Then There Were None

Diez negritos

The Stranger Beside Me

El Extraño a Mi Lado

The True Story of the Manson Murders

La Verdadera Historia de los Asesinatos Manson

Helter Skelter

Columbine

An Unsolved American Mystery

Un Misterio Americano Sin Resolver

Lost Girls

Chicas Perdidas

A Novel

Una Novela

Presumed Innocent

Presunto Inocente

Strangers on a Train

Extraños en un tren

Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York

Asesinato y el Nacimiento de la Medicina Forense en la Era del Jazz en Nueva York

17 Best Crime Books of All Time

Killers of the Flower Moon

The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI

In Cold Blood

I'll Be Gone in the Dark

One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer

The Devil in the White City

Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher

A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective

Just Mercy

A Story of Justice and Redemption

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

And Then There Were None

The Stranger Beside Me

Helter Skelter

The True Story of the Manson Murders

Columbine

Lost Girls

An Unsolved American Mystery

Presumed Innocent

A Novel

Strangers on a Train

The Poisoner's Handbook

Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York

Party Monster

A Fabulous But True Tale of Murder in Clubland

My Dark Places

Sources

What To Read Next

17 Best Crime Books of All Time

Killers of the Flower Moon

The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI

In Cold Blood

I'll Be Gone in the Dark

One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer

The Devil in the White City

Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher

A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective

Just Mercy

A Story of Justice and Redemption

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

And Then There Were None

The Stranger Beside Me

Helter Skelter

The True Story of the Manson Murders

Columbine

Lost Girls

An Unsolved American Mystery

Presumed Innocent

A Novel

Strangers on a Train

The Poisoner's Handbook

Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York

Party Monster

A Fabulous But True Tale of Murder in Clubland

My Dark Places

Sources

What To Read Next

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