1 The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule (1980)
Ann Rule aspired to be a crime novelist in the 1970s, but she couldn’t have known that her best-selling debut would be inspired by the man who worked next to her. When she met Ted Bundy through her job at a suicide hotline, a friendship developed that gave her crucial insight into the serial killer’s psychological motivations. This personal angle adds fascinating colour to Rule’s meticulous reporting on his trial, conviction, and eventual execution. A list of true crime novels would be incomplete without this depiction of the human mind’s capacity for darkness.
2 The Red Parts: Autobiography of a Trial by Maggie Nelson (2007)
Maggie Nelson is known today for genre-defying critical successes like The Argonauts and Bluets, but this 2007 book about her aunt’s murder shows an early foray into true crime. The case had haunted her since childhood, and when new DNA evidence emerged to lay blame 35 years after the tragedy, Nelson observed the new suspect’s trial closely. Through the prism of her family’s grief, the book is beautifully lyrical at times. Her mother’s perspective is particularly crucial, as she mourns her younger sister’s short, turbulent life. Nelson remains rational and skeptical throughout, however, commenting on the nature of crime and punishment in enthralling prose.
3 Columbine by Dave Cullen (2009)
Two decades later, the Columbine shootings are as sadly relevant as ever. Dave Cullen’s 2009 examination of the massacre shows how the media storm obscured the tragedy at the time, creating myths instead of soberly investigating the circumstances. Nuance and accuracy are key to the book’s success. Cullen pushes past the image we have of the two shooters to get to the truth. In particular, this account shines a light on the students, teachers, and parents who were involved in the attacks. They are granted dignity and allowed to have a voice: a lesson in respectfully covering mass shootings that is tragically still needed today.
4 Unbelievable by T Christian Miller and Ken Armstrong
Recently adapted for a Netflix series starring Toni Collette, Merritt Wever, and Kaitlyn Dever, Miller and Armstrong’s story of a shocking rape investigation won them numerous awards, including the 2016 Pulitzer Prize. The book’s central crime took place in Lynnwood, Washington, in 2008, and justice wasn’t delivered until other cases emerged years later and 1,300 miles away in Colorado. The main victim’s story here is testament to the damage that incompetent police work can do. Miller and Armstrong ask a difficult question in this empathetic exploration: who earns the benefit of the doubt, and why?
5 The Journalist and the Murderer by Janet Malcolm (1999)
This unusual story focuses more on the ethics of journalism than the violent crimes of its titular murderer, Jeffrey MacDonald. Journalist Joe McGinniss befriended the man, who had murdered his pregnant wife and two daughters, and then wrote a book based on everything MacDonald had told him. An unprecedented trial eventually took place, in which MacDonald alleged that McGinniss had tricked and betrayed him. Malcolm analyses the relationship between the two men with level headed clarity, asking when a journalist becomes a con man. The chain of events is thrilling, and the debate is thought-provoking.
6 Party Monster by James St James (1999)
James St James paints an indelible picture of New York nightlife in this infamous tale of drugs, sex, fashion and murder. The 1996 death of a drug dealer named Angel kicked off a scandalous series of events that rocked the city’s party scene. As a club kid himself, the author shows us how he became the confidant of one of the killers, and experienced the dark side of a subculture that embraced total anarchy. Formerly titled Disco Bloodbath, the novel later became a feature film starring Macaulay Culkin.
