7 Must-Read Books for Fans of True Crime
True crime has become so popular, and whether it’s binging the latest true crime documentary on Netflix or picking up a new book filled with mystery, suspense, and unforeseen crimes, there are endless options to getting your fix. These seven books — from thrilling suspense novels to unbelievable memoirs — will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.
1. A Stranger on the Beach by Michele Campbell ($28): This highly anticipated summer novel is a twisted story for fans of Dirty John. Caroline Stark’s life is perfect. Living in her Hamptons beach house, she loves nothing more than her family, home, and social status. But when she learns her husband may be cheating on her, she takes matters into her own hands, having a short-lived affair with a local bartender, the police chief’s brother. As her life starts to fall apart, the young bartender begins to take a strange and obsessive liking to Caroline and before she knows it, her husband has been killed, leaving her to blame for his death.
2. Miracle Creek by Angie Kim ($27): If you’re a fan of courtroom dramas, you’ll love this new novel from Angie Kim. Married couple Young and Pak are at the head of an experimental operation, Miracle Submarine, that helps people cure issues like autism and infertility. When their machine explodes and kills two people, they are suddenly faced with murder allegations and thrown into a trial that will reveal dark and mysterious secrets about their small town in Virginia… secrets that were never supposed to be brought to light.
3. The Parrot’s Perch: A Memoir by Karen Keilt ($17): In this riveting and brutal memoir, Karen Keilt tells the story of her privileged upbringing and life in Brazil with her parents, and how everything changes when she’s thrown into a Brazilian jail, put through 45 days of torture for an unknown crime and then ransomed. The Parrot’s Perch is a shocking true tale, and the author overcomes her fear of reliving the painful experience in order to bring awareness to the ongoing human rights violations in Brazil and stand up for truth and justice.
4. The Escape Room by Megan Goldin ($27): An escape room gone wrong is at the center of this thrilling debut from Megan Goldin. Vincent, Jules, Sylvie, and Sam are all excelling in their Wall Street careers and enjoying their luxurious lifestyle. But signing up to participate in a team building activity will have deadly consequences for these ambitious colleagues. As the escape room game begins, they’ll find that its purpose is to bring up dark secrets about each person’s past, leading them to question which one of them would commit murder in order to keep their privileged life.
5. The Department of Sensitive Crimes: A Detective Varg Novel by Alexander McCall Smith ($25): The Swedish criminal justice system sees all kinds of crimes. From a man who has been stabbed in the back of the knee to a woman’s missing imaginary boyfriend, one team of investigators takes on the strangest cases Sweden has to offer. With a memorable cast of unique characters and cases, The Department of Sensitive Crimes is one that stands out from the rest.
6. The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver ($28): In this first novel in a thrilling new series from New York Times bestselling author Jeffery Deaver, Colter Shaw has just taken on the case of his life. As an expert tracker, Shaw helps police solve tricky cases. Taking on a missing person case, he’s on the mission to find a young woman in Silicon Valley where a sick gamer is bringing a dangerous video game to life and kidnapping helpless victims. Tracking down the kidnapper through Silicon Valley and in the depths of the dark web, Colter finds himself being targeted as well.
7. Such A Perfect Wife by Kate White ($27): Such A Perfect Wife is a must-read for true crime fans because it centers around a true crime writer (in fact, there are several books in this series). When mother and wife Shannon Blaine goes missing after her morning jog, her family and police are torn between a few possibilities: Her husband had something to do with it, she left on her own accord, or she was taken by a local sexual predator. While police look for answers, true crime writer Bailey Weggins heads to the city where Shannon disappeared in search of answers. What she finds is a horrifying plethora of secrets that will affect the rural town of St. George and everyone in it.
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