11 True Crime Titles That Might Make You Sleep with the Lights On

If there’s one genre that’s having a moment, it’s true crime. Television shows, Netflix specials, podcasts (oh, the podcasts!), and books that pull back the curtain on cold cases, serial killers, and criminal plots gone wrong are rolling out faster than you can click Add to Queue. We’ve rounded up some favorite books from our new true crime section — including classics of the genre and new titles so good you’ll be tempted to read late into the evening. Fair warning: late night reading of these selections may be hazardous to your sleep.

Recommended by Ann Shot in the Heart By Mikal Gilmore Maybe you know the story of Gary Gilmore from reading Norman Mailer’s The Executioner’s Song, but Shot in the Heart, written by Gary’s younger brother, Mikal, blows it out of the water. This takes true crime to a whole new level.

Recommended by Ann  In Cold Blood  By Truman Capote This was the book that changed the game: a true crime story written as elegantly and compellingly as a novel. Plan to sleep with the lights on.

Recommended by Niki Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith  By Jon Krakauer This exploration of a murder inside the fundamentalist Mormon church is part In Cold Blood, part Going Clear. I found it gripping and absolutely un-put-downable.

Recommended by Chelsea The Stranger Beside Me: Ted Bundy: The Classic Story of Seduction and Murder  By Ann Rule The first book by the queen of the true crime genre, this novel ties together Ted Bundy’s crimes with the author’s personal relationship with Bundy. Rule highlights her struggle to mesh the person she knew as her coworker and close friend — and one of America’s most prolific serial killers — into the same man.

Recommended by Cat Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI  By David Grann My favorite true crime books almost always have a strong history component to them. Grann’s account of the Osage Murders in the 1920s coincides with the start of the FBI and is insanely compelling — both for the uncovering of the crimes and the snapshot of America at this moment in time.

Recommended by Keltie The Last Stone: A Masterpiece of Criminal Interrogation By Mark Bowden 1975: Two sisters are kidnapped from a mall in suburban Maryland. A cub reporter in Baltimore, Mark Bowden, covers the case. The crime goes unsolved. 2013: Four determined detectives take on the very cold case. A surprise suspect emerges, already in prison for another crime. 2019: A master class in criminal interrogation, The Last Stone marks Bowden’s last dispatch on the Lyons sisters’ kidnapping.

Recommended by Chelsea I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer  By Michelle McNamara The Golden State Killer terrorized California for 12 years during the 1970s and 80s, and only recently was a suspect arrested. McNamara’s obsession with bringing the perpetrator to justice becomes the reader’s own as she draws you in with a conversational tone and chilling details.

Recommended by Sissy The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America  By Erik Larson The setting: the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago. Behind the scenes lurks America’s first noted serial killer. Larson’s storytelling skills have landed this book at the top of all the best true crime book lists.

Recommended by Cat A Murder in Music City: Corruption, Scandal, and the Framing of an Innocent Man  By Michael Bishop In 1964, Paula Herring was found dead in her Nashville living room. A man was convicted and served time for the murder. Decades later, however, local author Michael Bishop believed the wrong person was convicted. HIs intense dedication to uncovering what actually happened and compassion for Paula make this a must-read for any true crime fan.

Recommended by Sissy The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist: A True Story of Injustice in the American South  By Radley Balko, Tucker Carrington This is the story of the many wrongful convictions that brought the Innocence Project to Mississippi. Fast-paced and terrifying, the tale holds you in thrall. Will justice save the men on death row in time?

Recommended by Andy Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders By Vincent Bugliosi, Curt Gentry Written by the prosecutor in the Charles Manson case, this is the #1 best selling true crime novel of all time.

You know what else would be a crime? Missing this amazing lineup of spring events. Coming up this weekend: Mary Norris in conversation with Ann Patchett. They’ll discuss The New Yorker copyeditor’s latest book, Greek to Me: Adventures of the Comma Queen, this Sunday, April 28, at none other than the Parthenon. Click here to reserve your ticket today.