The 50 best true crime books
The best true crime books ranked: serial killers, cold cases, investigations and legal dramas. A top 50 with short reviews and where to read each one.
True crime at its best is careful reporting, not sensation. The list includes the classics, such as In Cold Blood and Helter Skelter, along with modern investigations and narrative non-fiction that treat victims and facts with care.
These are editorial picks, ranked for readability and lasting appeal, and nobody pays to be on the list. Not sure where to start? Try the book finder and get three picks for your mood.
Top 50 true crime books, ranked
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In Cold Blood
The murder of a Kansas family and the men who did it.
- Gripping
- Thoughtful
Where to read
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The Stranger Beside Me
The author's friendship with Ted Bundy.
- Gripping
Where to read
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I'll Be Gone in the Dark
One woman's obsessive search for the Golden State Killer.
- Gripping
- Moving
Where to read
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Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
A murder in Savannah.
- Gripping
- Funny
Where to read
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The Devil in the White City
A serial killer at the Chicago World's Fair.
- Gripping
Where to read
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Killers of the Flower Moon
The murder of Osage Indians and the birth of the FBI.
- Gripping
Where to read
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The Executioner's Song
The story of Gary Gilmore.
- Gripping
Where to read
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Mindhunter
Inside the FBI's elite serial crime unit.
- Gripping
- Thoughtful
Where to read
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Bad Blood
Secrets and lies in a Silicon Valley startup.
- Gripping
Where to read
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Catch and Kill
Lies, spies and a conspiracy to protect predators.
- Gripping
Where to read
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Say Nothing
A true story of murder and memory in Northern Ireland.
- Gripping
- Thoughtful
Where to read
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Empire of Pain
The secret history of the Sackler dynasty.
- Gripping
Where to read
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Fatal Vision
The Jeffrey MacDonald murder case.
- Gripping
Where to read
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Small Sacrifices
A true story of passion and murder.
- Gripping
Where to read
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Zodiac
The Zodiac killer in San Francisco.
- Gripping
Where to read
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Columbine
The story of the 1999 school shooting.
- Gripping
- Moving
Where to read
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The Sociopath Next Door
The ruthless versus the rest of us.
- Thoughtful
Where to read
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American Predator
The hunt for a meticulous serial killer.
- Gripping
Where to read
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The Five
The untold lives of the women killed by Jack the Ripper.
- Thoughtful
- Moving
Where to read
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Under the Banner of Heaven
A story of violent faith.
- Gripping
- Thoughtful
Where to read
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Missoula
Rape and the justice system in a college town.
- Gripping
- Moving
Where to read
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Hunting Eichmann
How survivors tracked down a notorious Nazi.
- Gripping
Where to read
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The Man from the Train
Solving America's most terrifying unsolved crime.
- Gripping
Where to read
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Evidence of Love
The Candy Montgomery axe-murder case in Texas.
- Gripping
Where to read
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My Dark Places
An L.A. crime memoir about his mother's murder.
- Gripping
- Moving
Where to read
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The Cases That Haunt Us
Profiling the unsolved cases of the last century.
- Gripping
Where to read
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Whoever Fights Monsters
My twenty years tracking serial killers for the FBI.
- Gripping
Where to read
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Charles Manson: The Man and the Myth
A biography of the cult leader.
- Gripping
Where to read
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The Poisoner's Handbook
Murder and the birth of forensic medicine in Jazz Age New York.
- Gripping
- Thoughtful
Where to read
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Bitter Blood
A true story of Southern family pride, madness and multiple murder.
- Gripping
Where to read
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The Poison Squad
One chemist's single-minded crusade for food safety.
- Gripping
- Thoughtful
Where to read
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The Fact of a Body
A murder and a memoir.
- Moving
- Gripping
Where to read
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Blood and Money
The Texas murders of Joan Robinson Hill.
- Gripping
Where to read
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The Run of His Life
The People v. O.J. Simpson.
- Gripping
Where to read
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A Stranger in the Woods
The extraordinary story of the last true hermit.
- Gripping
- Thoughtful
Where to read
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The Journalist and the Murderer
A study of the ethics of journalism, built on a murder case.
- Thoughtful
- Gripping
Where to read
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Ghettoside
A true story of murder in America.
- Gripping
- Thoughtful
Where to read
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Furious Hours
Murder and the making of To Kill a Mockingbird.
- Gripping
- Thoughtful
Where to read
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Black Mass
The true story of an unholy alliance between the FBI and the Irish Mob.
- Gripping
Where to read
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Green River, Running Red
The real story of the Green River killer.
- Gripping
Where to read
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The Monster of Florence
A true story of serial murder in Tuscany.
- Gripping
Where to read
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Dead Man Walking
An eyewitness account of the death penalty.
- Moving
- Thoughtful
Where to read
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The Innocent Man
Murder and injustice in a small town.
- Gripping
- Moving
Where to read
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Just Mercy
A story of justice and redemption.
- Moving
- Inspiring
Where to read
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Black Dahlia Avenger
A genius for murder.
- Gripping
Where to read
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Lost Girls
An unsolved American mystery.
- Gripping
- Moving
Where to read
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A Father's Story
One man's anguish at the crimes of his son.
- Moving
- Thoughtful
Where to read
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My Friend Dahmer
A graphic memoir of a teenage friendship.
- Thoughtful
- Moving
Where to read
Each link opens that store’s search for the book. Availability and prices vary by store and country. We may earn a commission from some stores, which never changes the ranking.
Types of true crime books
Looking for something more specific? These are the main kinds of true crime, with the sort of story or subject each one covers.
Classic true crime
In Cold Blood and Helter Skelter.
Serial killer cases
FBI profiling and investigations.
Cold cases and unsolved mysteries
Obsessive searches for answers.
Legal and justice system books
Wrongful convictions and the courts.
Corporate crime
Fraud, scandal and greed.
Historical true crime
Crimes of earlier centuries.
Want to write and publish your own true crime book?
Many readers of this page are also writers. The stores in the lists above are where readers find books, while Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, IngramSpark, Lulu and Draft2Digital are the tools authors use to publish and distribute a book to those stores. You can also publish to Barnes & Noble Press and Google Play Books directly.
Our free KDP calculators help with print cost, royalties and cover size, and our publishing services can take care of setup for you.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best true crime book ever written?
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote is the benchmark. I'll Be Gone in the Dark and Killers of the Flower Moon are also widely praised.
Are these books suitable for all readers?
Many describe violent crimes in detail. Check the content of a book before you start if you are sensitive to this.
Where can I read or buy the best true crime books?
Each of the 50 books has links to Amazon, Kindle, Barnes & Noble and Google Play Books. Authors who want to publish their own true crime book can start with our free guides to Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, Lulu and Draft2Digital.
Not sure what to read next?
Pick a genre and a mood and the book finder will suggest three books to try.