Share:

23 Best True Crime Books

Goal: Find the best True Crime books according to the internet (not just one person's opinion).

Method:

  1. Search for "best true crime books" and study the top 5+ pages.
  2. Add only the books mentioned 2+ times.
  3. Rank the results neatly here.

23 Best True Crime Books

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases (at no extra cost to you).

1

In Cold Blood

by Truman Capote

Also recommended by:

Ben Shapiro, Sam Harris, Tim Draper

2

Killers of the Flower Moon

The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI

by David Grann

3

The Stranger Beside Me

by Ann Rule

4

Helter Skelter

The True Story of the Manson Murders

by Vincent Bugliosi

5

I'll Be Gone in the Dark

One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer

by Michelle McNamara

6

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

by John Berendt

7

My Dark Places

by James Ellroy

8

Under the Banner of Heaven

A Story of Violent Faith

by Jon Krakauer

9

Bad Blood

Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

by John Carreyrou

10

Black Edge

Inside Information, Dirty Money, and the Quest to Bring Down the Most Wanted Man on Wall Street

by Sheelah Kolhatkar

Also recommended by:

Peter Attia, Max Levchin

11

The Journalist And The Murderer

by Janet Malcolm

Also recommended by:

Patrick Collison, Balaji Srinivasan

12

The Devil in the White City

A Saga of Magic and Murder at the Fair that Changed America

by Erik Larson

Also recommended by:

Edgar Wright

13

American Fire

Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land

by Monica Hesse

14

American Predator

The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century

by Maureen Callahan

15

Devil's Knot

The True Story of the West Memphis Three

by Mara Leveritt

16

Lost Girls

An Unsolved American Mystery

by Robert Kolker

17

Mindhunter

Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit

by John E. Douglas

18

Party Monster

A Fabulous But True Tale of Murder in Clubland

by James St. James

19

Shot in the Heart

by Mikal Gilmore

20

The Blood of Emmett Till

by Timothy B. Tyson

21

The Fact of a Body

A Murder and a Memoir

by Alex Marzano-Lesnevich

22

The Feather Thief

Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century

by Kirk Wallace Johnson

23

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher

A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective

by Kate Summerscale

Sources

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

Comments

Did we miss something? Have feedback?

Help us improve this page by sharing your thoughts

We only use your email to notify you about replies.

All comments are moderated.