Library Staff Directory
Posted Oct 3, 2014
October brings a certain autumn chill to the air. Why not let the temperature continue to drop and chill your bones with some true crime titles? We pulled some of the most thrilling new non-fiction books featuring imposters, historical crimes, true detectives, and the science behind it all. In a nutshell: they’re absolutely disturbing!
Blood Will Out: The True Story of a Murder, a Mystery, and a Masquerade by Walter Kirn
Sometimes your friends aren’t what they seem, and this holds especially true for budding fiction writer Walter Kirn when he befriends privileged banker “Clark Rockefeller.” But what happens when Clark is not Clark and is instead an imposter convicted of murder? Through the clubs of Manhattan to the courtrooms of Los Angeles, Blood Will Out is an intimate confession examining Kirn’s personal life, his connection with a kidnapper and brutal murderer, and the intricacies of identity. Just as Kirn discovered, sometimes when uncovering another’s lies, you can find the truth within yourself.
A Serial Killer in Nazi Berlin: The Chilling True Story of the S-Bahn Murderer by Scott Andrew Selby
Heavily censored during World War II, the crimes of Paul Ogorzow are more widely known today and explored in dramatic detail in Selby’s A Serial Killer in Nazi Berlin. Ogorzow, a common railroad worker who rose from manual labor to an assistant signalman started to harass women as they traveled home on the train. With Allied blackouts, Ogorzow’s harassment escalated, and he not only frightened women, but started to rape and murder them, throwing bodies out of moving locomotives. Horrific yet fascinating, the S-Bahn Murders are one piece of WWII history worth reading up on.
Blood Royal: A True Tale of Crime and Detection in Medieval Paris by Eric Jager
Travel back to 1407 and meet Guillaume de Tignoville, one of history’s first detectives. De Tignoville, Paris’ chief law enforcement officers, dives into a world of conspiracy and crime after Louis of Orleans (who often ruled in place of his lunatic brother King Charles) was brutally murdered by a gang of masked men. In the middle of the Hundred Years’ War with England, Louis of Orleans’ death left France paralyzed, but De Tignoville was relentless in following the facts regardless of where the trail will lead him. Full of high-suspense and tension, this is one true crime title that will resonate with today’s celebrity scandals.
In Murderous Minds, Haycock takes a scientific approach to psychopaths in an attempt to uncover whether or not there is a biological basis for murder. A psychopath can be simply defined as a person lacking conscience and empathy; have you ever wondered how some people can do bad things without shedding a tear? Well, through brain imaging, mappings, and scientific research, Haycock examines sociopathic brains to pinpoint what they look like and help explain how sociopathic people think and act. This breakthrough book may have serious implications and consequences for society.
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