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List: Historical True Crime


A photo of Hell put to shame : the 1921 Murder Farm massacre and the horror of America's second slavery

Hell put to shame : the 1921 Murder Farm massacre and the horror of America's second slavery

On a Sunday morning in the spring of 1921, a small boy made a grim discovery as he played on a riverbank in the cotton country of rural Georgia: the bodies of two drowned men, bound together with wire and chain and weighted with a hundred-pound sack of rocks. Within days a third body turned up in another nearby river, and in the weeks that followed, eight others. And with them a deeper horror: all eleven had been kept in virtual slavery before their deaths.

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A photo of The bishop and the butterfly : murder, politics, and the end of the Jazz Age

The bishop and the butterfly : murder, politics, and the end of the Jazz Age

"Vivian Gordon went out before midnight in a velvet dress and mink coat. Her body turned up the next morning in a desolate Bronx park, a dirty clothesline wrapped around her neck. At her stylish Manhattan apartment, detectives discovered notebooks full of names--businessmen, socialites, gangsters. And something else: a letter from an anti-corruption commission established by Governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

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A photo of The witch of New York : the trials of Polly Bodine and the cursed birth of tabloid justice

The witch of New York : the trials of Polly Bodine and the cursed birth of tabloid justice

"Before the sensational cases of Amanda Knox and Casey Anthony--before even Lizzie Borden--there was Polly Bodine, the first American woman put on trial for capital murder in our nation's debut media circus. On Christmas night, December 25, 1843, in a serene village on Staten Island, shocked neighbors discovered the burnt remains of twenty-four-year-old mother Emeline Houseman and her infant daughter, Ann Eliza.

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A photo of The last outlaws : the desperate final days of the Dalton Gang

The last outlaws : the desperate final days of the Dalton Gang

"The thrilling true story of the Dalton Gang and the most brazen heist in history, by the multiple New York Times bestselling author. The Last Outlaws is the thrilling true story of the last of the great gang of outlaws. The Dalton Gang consisted of four brothers and their rotating cast of accomplices who saw themselves as descended from the legendary James Gang. They soon became legends themselves, beginning their career as common horse thieves, before graduating to robbing banks and trains.

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A photo of A fever in the heartland : the Ku Klux Klan's plot to take over America, and the woman who stopped them

A fever in the heartland : the Ku Klux Klan's plot to take over America, and the woman who stopped them

"A historical thriller by the Pulitzer and National Book Award-winning author that tells the riveting story of the Klan's rise to power in the 1920s, the cunning con man who drove that rise, and the woman who stopped them. The Roaring Twenties -- the Jazz Age -- has been characterized as a time of Gatsby frivolity. But it was also the height of the uniquely American hate group, the Ku Klux Klan.

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A photo of The Wager : a tale of shipwreck, mutiny and murder

The Wager : a tale of shipwreck, mutiny and murder

"From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon and The Lost City of Z, a mesmerizing story of shipwreck, survival, and savagery, culminating in a court martial that reveals a shocking truth. On January 28, 1742, a ramshackle vessel of patched-together wood and cloth washed up on the coast of Brazil. Inside were thirty emaciated men, barely alive, and they had an extraordinary tale to tell.

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A photo of The angel makers : arsenic, a midwife, and modern history's most astonishing murder ring

The angel makers : arsenic, a midwife, and modern history's most astonishing murder ring

"The horror occurred in a rustic farming enclave in modern-day Hungary. To look at the unlikely lineup of murderesses--village wives, mothers, and daughters--was to come to the shocking realization that this could have happened anywhere, and to anyone. At the center of it all was a sharp-minded village midwife, a "smiling Buddha" known as Auntie Suzy, who distilled arsenic from flypaper and distributed it to the women of Nagyrév.

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A photo of Blood & ink : the scandalous jazz age double murder that hooked America on true crime

Blood & ink : the scandalous jazz age double murder that hooked America on true crime

"Vanity Fair's Joe Pompeo investigates the notorious 1922 double murder of a high-society minister and his secret mistress, a Jazz Age mega-crime that propelled tabloid news in the 20th century. On September 16, 1922, the bodies of Reverend Edward Hall and Eleanor Mills were found beneath a crabapple tree on an abandoned farm outside of New Brunswick, New Jersey. The killer had arranged the bodies in a pose conveying intimacy.

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A photo of The imposter's war : the press, propaganda, and the newsman who battled for the minds of America

The imposter's war : the press, propaganda, and the newsman who battled for the minds of America

The shocking history of the espionage and infiltration of American media during WWI and the man who exposed it. A man who was not who he claimed to be... Russia was not the first foreign power to subvert American popular opinion from inside. In the lead-up to America's entry into the First World War, Germany spent the modern equivalent of one billion dollars to infiltrate American media, industry, and government to undermine the supply chain of the Allied forces.

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A photo of Hell's half-acre : the untold story of the Benders, a serial killer family on the American frontier

Hell's half-acre : the untold story of the Benders, a serial killer family on the American frontier

"In 1873 the people of Labette County in Kansas made a grisly discovery. Buried on a homestead seven miles south of the town of Cherryvale, in a bloodied cellar and under frost-covered soil, were countless bodies in varying states of decay. The discovery sent the local community and national newspapers into a frenzy that continued for over two decades, and the land on which the crimes took place became known as 'Hells Half-Acre.' When it emerged that a family of four known as the Benders had been accused of the slayings, the case was catapulted to infamy.

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A photo of Murder at Teal's Pond

Murder at Teal's Pond

"In 1908, Hazel Drew was found floating in a pond in Sand Lake, New York, beaten to death. The unsolved murder inspired rumors, speculation, ghost stories, and, almost a century later, the phenomenon of 'Twin Peaks.' Who killed Hazel Drew? Like Laura Palmer, she was a paradox of personalities--a young, beautiful puzzle with secrets.

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A photo of The sinner and the saint : Dostoevsky and the gentleman murderer who inspired a masterpiece

The sinner and the saint : Dostoevsky and the gentleman murderer who inspired a masterpiece

"From the New York Times bestselling author of The Most Dangerous Book, the true story behind the creation of another masterpiece of world literature, Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. The Sinner and The Saint is the deeply researched and immersive tale of how Dostoevsky came to write this great murder story-and why it changed the world. As a young man, Dostoevsky was a celebrated writer, but his involvement with the radical politics of his day condemned him to a long Siberian exile.

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A photo of Wildcat : the untold story of Pearl Hart, the Wild West's most notorious woman bandit

Wildcat : the untold story of Pearl Hart, the Wild West's most notorious woman bandit

On May 30, 1899, history was made when Pearl Hart, disguised as a man, held up a stagecoach in Arizona and robbed the passengers at gunpoint. A manhunt ensued as word of her heist spread, and Pearl Hart went on to become a media sensation and the most notorious female outlaw on the Western frontier. Her early life, family and fate after her later release from prison have long remained a mystery to scholars and historians, until now.

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A photo of American black widow : the shocking true story of a preacher's wife turned killer

American black widow : the shocking true story of a preacher's wife turned killer

"From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of If You Tell comes the chilling, unputdownable story of Sharon Nelson, the minister's wife whose two husbands mysteriously ended up dead. Colorado, 1976. When Reverend Mike Fuller and his beautiful wife Sharon arrive in the sleepy town of Rocky Ford, local residents think something's off about the new couple. The God-fearing minister is gruff and cold, while charismatic Sharon has her husband wrapped around her finger.

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A photo of Long haul : hunting the highway serial killers

Long haul : hunting the highway serial killers

"From the FBI's former assistant director, a shocking journey to the dark side of America's highways, revealing the FBI Highway Serial Killings Initiative's hunt for the long-haul truckers behind an astonishing 850 murders--and counting"--

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A photo of Fat Leonard : how one man bribed, bilked, and seduced the U.S. Navy

Fat Leonard : how one man bribed, bilked, and seduced the U.S. Navy

"All the admirals in the US Navy knew Leonard Glenn Francis--either personally or by his legendary reputation. He was the larger-than-life defense contractor who greeted them on the pier whenever they visited ports in Asia, ready to show them a good time after weeks at sea while his company resupplied their ships and submarines.

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A photo of Zenith Man : death, love, and redemption in a Georgia courtroom

Zenith Man : death, love, and redemption in a Georgia courtroom

Part true crime, part courtroom drama, this moving story of an unexpected friendship between two very different men recounts the case of Alvin Ridley, an autistic TV repair man accused of murdering his wife, and the lawyer who believe in--and proved--his innocence. In October 1997, the town of Ringgold in northwest Georgia was shaken by reports of a murder in its midst.

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A photo of A murder in Hollywood : the untold story of Tinseltown's most shocking crime

A murder in Hollywood : the untold story of Tinseltown's most shocking crime

"Hollywood starlet Lana Turner was one Tinseltown's most recognizable faces in the 1940s and 50s. But, when the Academy Award-winning actress began dating mobster Johnny Stompanato-a thug for west coast mob boss Mickey Cohen-all the lights and glamor of Hollywood did not brighten the darkness of her personal life. Johnny's intense jealousy over Lana ruled their relationship from the get-go and Lana's daughter, Cheryl, witnessed her mother's bruises and abuse first-hand.

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A photo of College girl, missing : the true story of how a young woman disappeared in plain sight

College girl, missing : the true story of how a young woman disappeared in plain sight

"When Lauren Spierer-a gregarious young woman at a crossroads in her life-vanished from Indiana University in 2011, her story drew global attention from celebrities and news outlets such as People magazine, CNN, Fox News, and USA Today. What made the case so confounding to those outlets was that the 20-year-old was out with dozens of classmates in a bustling university town on the night she went missing. She was seen in public by witnesses and security cameras, and ended up in a townhouse complex with several wealthy, well-connected male students-never to be seen again.

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A photo of Warhol after Warhol : secrets, lies, & corruption in the art world

Warhol after Warhol : secrets, lies, & corruption in the art world

A story spanning a decade and starring a cast of characters straight out of novel-from rock icons and film stars, art dealers and art forgers-brings to life the bitter debate over the authenticity of a series of paintings by the most famous American artist of the 20th century.

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A photo of Columbine

Columbine

"On April 20, 1999, two boys left an indelible stamp on the American psyche. Their goal was simple: to blow up their school and to leave 'a lasting impression on the world.' Their bombs failed, but the ensuing shooting defined a new era of school violence ... Dave Cullen delivers a profile of teenage killers that goes to the heart of psychopathology. He lays bare the callous brutality of mastermind Eric Harris and the quavering, suicidal Dylan Klebold, who went to the prom three days earlier and obsessed about love in his journal.

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A photo of The case of the murderous Dr. Cream : the hunt for a Victorian era serial killer

The case of the murderous Dr. Cream : the hunt for a Victorian era serial killer

"Framed around one salacious trial in 1891 London, a fascinating and vividly told true-crime narrative about the hunt for one of the first known serial killers, whose poisoning spree in the US, Canada, and England coincided with the birth of forensic science as well as the public's growing appetite for crime fiction such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes novels"--

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A photo of The icepick surgeon : murder, fraud, sabotage, piracy, and other dastardly deeds perpetrated in the name of science

The icepick surgeon : murder, fraud, sabotage, piracy, and other dastardly deeds perpetrated in the name of science

"Science is a force for good in the world--at least usually. But sometimes, when obsession gets the better of scientists, they twist a noble pursuit into something sinister. Under this spell, knowledge isn't everything, it's the only thing--no matter the cost. Bestselling author Sam Kean tells the true story of what happens when unfettered ambition pushes otherwise rational men and women to cross the line in the name of science, trampling ethical boundaries and often committing crimes in the process"--

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