True Crime
Unholy Business: a true tale of faith, greed & forgery in the Holy Land by Nina Burleigh. In 2002, an ancient limestone box that was said to be the ossuary that held the bones of Jesus’ brother, James was touted as the first material evidence of the existence of Jesus Christ. In Unholy Business, Nina Burleigh tells the full story behind one of the greatest hoaxes of all times. Israeli authorities called it the “fraud of the century.”
Set in Israel with its 30,000 digs crammed with biblical-era artifacts and full of colorful characters, the book reveals biblical forgery, fakery, and archaeological adventure – a bizarre tale of big money and headline grabbing discoveries.
Read-alikes:
Mirage: Napoleon’s Scientists and the Unveiling of Egypt, Nina Burleigh
Newton and the Counterfeiter, Thomas Levenson
Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling, Ross King
Grace O'Connor, West Islip Public Library
The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett
The theft of books, or “bibliomania,” is even more widespread than art theft. Author Allison Hoover Bartlett stumbles into the world of rare books when she’s asked to return a valuable, and rather long-overdue, book to the library. Intrigued by the botanical tome, Bartlett begins research that puts her in contact with libraries, book collectors, and rare book dealers. She learns what motivates people to go to extreme, even criminal lengths, to obtain those books.
The Man Who Loved Books Too Much provides an engaging read for book lovers and mystery readers alike. Written in a first person narrative and easy-to-read style, the story meticulously follows the pursuit of an elusive book thief. What Bartlett finds in terms of motivation is not only surprising, but also raises questions about morality, societal pressure, complicity, and philosophy. The book spends time exploring the mindset of a book collector, and the book lover obsessively driven by his passion to a life of crime. Both men are motivated by their passion, and both justify their pursuits. The Man Who . . . will appeal to a reader that enjoys solid character development; a reader that is interested in the history of rare books; or a reader that is in the mood for a good true crime story. Anecdotal and suspenseful, The Man Who . . . delves into the psychology of why people love books (and you’ll be surprised at how many reasons there are), and the criminal measures that they will go to in order to own them.
The Man Who Loved Books Too Much will pique your interest in the whole culture of books and book lovers. If you’d like to read further about this subject, try reading A Gentle Madness by Nicholas Basbanes; Among the Gently Mad also by Basbanes; or A Pound of Paper by John Baxter.
Deborah Formosa, Northport-East Northport Public Library
The Whistleblower by Kathryn Bolkovac with Cari Lynn
Sex Trafficking, Military Contractors, and One Woman’s Fight for Justice
This is the true life story of a Lincoln, Nebraska police officer turned International Human Rights Investigator. Looking for a change, Bolkovac, enticed by the high Dynocorp salaries, made the decision to apply for a job oversees. She soon discovered Dynocorp was inundated with unqualified candidates and that landing a job would be easy. Bolkovac traveled to Bosnia and began a journey that would soon lead her to discover a cover up of massive proportions.
Bolkovac discovers her employer, Dynocorp, is covering up the involvement of its own employees and contractors in the Bosnian sex trade industry. Their involvement ranges from the taking bribes to look the other way to the actually purchasing and resale of the young women. When Bolkovac discovers the wrong doing and reports it she was fired under false pretenses.
Bolkovac is a very courageous woman and there is no doubt she helped many foreign women who were victims of sex trafficking. However, this book is so structurally flawed, that it renders the text boring and practically unreadable. The tale is told in a strictly linear fashion that reads like a police deposition and lacks any kind of story-like quality. There is a lot of extraneous information inserted into the text that adds nothing to the story, while the most interesting side story, Bolkovac’s relationship with Jan, is totally glazed over (but I imagine it was very romantic). Perhaps the movie being made of this tale will be better.
Read-alikes (or alternatives to try)
The Natashas: inside the new global sex trade by Victor Malarek
Sex trafficking: inside the business of modern slavery by Siddharth Kara
The Franklin scandal: a story of powerbrokers, child abuse and betrayal by Nick Bryant
Pamela Wells, Lindenhurst Public Library
Columbine by Dave Cullen
Dave Cullen’s Columbine allows the reader an insider’s look at the horrific tragedy at Columbine High School. The reader is walked through the months, weeks, days and minutes leading up the infamous event. Details from thousands of interviews, police and FBI documents, the journals of the perpetrators, police evidence and Cullen’s own prior reporting are included. The author focuses on clarifying two major misconceptions that surround the event. The first being that the killings took place in revenge for the bullying of the boys, and the second being that it was intended to be a school shooting. He consistently debunks these myths throughout the book with cold, hard evidence. The boys had many friends and no more than the typical issues at school and although both boys were heavily armed, the real destruction was supposed to be caused by bombs.
Cullen thoroughly investigates the lives of Eric and Dylan before the event, showing how their family and friends missed the warning signals of the troubled youth. The killer’s beliefs and psychopathic tendencies are thoroughly examined, as well as their upbringing. The book also focuses on the victims in the aftermath of the incident. This allows the reader to see the whole picture, rather than the reports in the media over the years that focused on the event and the killers. Cullen takes a long, hard look at all the facts, while maintaining sensitivity to all involved.
Overall, an in-depth expose of what happened at Columbine and an explanation of why the killers, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, did what they did. The tone is somber and the reader is sometimes confused as the author alternates between the event and the aftermath. Columbine may not appeal to everyone, the reading is dense and the content can be difficult, sometimes violent. It is a thoughtful, well researched, compelling and emotional read. It dispels many myths that have been portrayed in the media over the years. Some reviewers compared Columbine to In Cold Blood and Helter Skelter, and I would say I have to agree.
Read-Alikes:
Under the Bridge Rebecca Godfrey
No Easy Answers Brooks Brown
Devil’s Knot Mara Leveritt
Judgment Ridge Dick Lehr
Donna Brown, Northport-East Northport Public Library
The Savage City by T. J. English
The Savage City is a story of New York City at war with itself. Through the inter-connected stories of three men -- a corrupt New York City cop, a Black Panther radical, and an innocent man wrongly accused of a shocking crime -- author T.J. English tells the story of how New York City descended into a virtual civil war during the decade from 1963 to 1973.
During this decade a basically corrupt and racist police force was finally confronted by a fed-up black underclass that refused to submit to any more mistreatment and brutality. The wrongful arrest and railroaded conviction of young, black George Whitmore for the “Career Girl Murders” in 1963 was just one of the precipitating factors thrown into this swirling maelstrom that at times led to a literal revolution in the streets.
This book is a searing story of a city teetering on the edge. The Savage City’s narrative rings true, because English relied on primary sources, including official transcripts of court cases and interviews with the main subjects of the book to tell his story. The Savage City is a book well worth reading for true crime fans and those who want to learn about a crucial decade in the history of New York City.
The only complaint is that the author’s prose occasionally seems to revert to “noir” speak, wherein he tries to sound like a Mike Hammer wannabe. This is often quite jarring to the reader.
Thomas Joseph “T.J” English is an award-winning freelance journalist and crime reporter. For a number of years he also drove a taxicab. He is the author of numerous bestselling true crime books, including The Westies and Havana Nocturne. He has also written a number of scripts for such television shows as NYPD Blue and Homicide.
Read-alikes would include several other true crime exposes of police corruption such as Serpico by Peter Maas, Buddy Boys by Mike McAlary, and NYPD Confidential by Leonard Levitt. You can also recommend to readers of police fiction by authors such as William Caunitz, Dan Mahoney, Joseph Wambaugh, and Ed Dee.
Bruce Silverstein, Patchogue-Medford Library
Tiger, Tiger: a Memoir by Margaux Fragoso
Margaux Fragoso’s account of the fifteen years she spent as the victim of a serial child abuser and pedophile may well be the most difficult book you will ever encounter! Written to aid in her own therapy, and as a caution so that others will more readily recognize abusers in action, the story is almost too much to bear. Fragoso’s candor, her unrelenting examination of motive and behavior, both of others and herself, as well as her forceful writing style all combine to make this a gripping, profoundly troubling read.
Fragoso was 7 years old when her 51 year old abuser began to spin his web. An only child, her mother was mentally ill, not infrequently hospitalized, and her father withdrew via work and an active bar social life. The abuser was a master manipulator, providing all a lonely child could desire: a home to visit, with animals and gardens, creative play, and most importantly, flattering, one-on-one attention. He taught her to regard themselves as a couple in love, and their relationship did not end until he took his own life.
Read-alikes would include The Source of All Things: A Memoir by Tracy Ross, abused by her step-father. Kathryn Harrison’s The Kiss recounts an incestuous relationship. Katie.com: My Story, is Katherine Tarbox’s description of a sexual predator met through the Internet. David Pelzer’s writings, including A Child Called It, give a shocking picture of childhood abuse, and the brave spirit child victims need to survive.
Suzanne McGuire, Commack Public Library
December 8, 1980: The Day John Lennon Died by Keith Elliot Greenberg
This day in the life of John Lennon was unfortunately his last. It was a busy day for John and Yoko – they were giving interviews, doing a photo shoot with neighbor Annie Leibovitz and recording in a studio. On their return to The Dakota, John was gunned down by a crazy fan, Mark David Chapman. Greenberg gives the reader background information on John, the Beatles and Chapman but the focus is December 8 and the events leading up to that day. A poignant book on John’s death, this should be recommended to avid Beatle fans and New Yorkers. A visit to Strawberry Fields in Central Park should follow.
Karen Jaffe, Comsewogue Public Library
To Have or to Harm by Linden Gross
To Have or to Harm reveals the fear stalking victims can feel, the book shows how these obsessions can begin, and how they can escalate into more deadly encounters. A final chapter offers ideas on how to protect oneself against stalkers.
The pace of the book is slow and drawn out. At times there are too many repetitive mentioning of the most known or celebrated cases. The style of the book can work as a supplement to more updated information than standing on its own. I found the style to be very dry and not compelling except for some cases. The author admitted that they did not follow up on some cases presented which was a point of contention when you had been brought into the drama and then left to wonder what had been the resulting outcome had been.
The book appeared to derive most of the material for viewpoint of expressing dissatisfaction at the lack of assistance from the police departments and the judiciary system. The author tried to propose various solutions and suggestions to establish better protective proponents. However, the resulting conclusion was that one needs to be aware of the potential risks one faces when dealing with a potential or established stalker. Each individual can react in a multitude of diverse actions that leaves the reader frustrated by the lack of definitive solutions that can alter the final outcome of any actions.
The last chapter was the most informative pertaining to dealing with a potential stalker. However, most of the advice came from security expert Gavin De Becker and therefore I would recommend reading his book.
I recommend this book only as a supplement, after reading the books by Robert L. Snow and Gavin De Becker, in the interest of historical background information.
Read-alikes
The Gift of Fear: survival signals that protect us from violence* by Gavin De Becker
Courting disaster: intimate stalking, culture, and criminal justice by Jennifer Dunn
Surviving Stalking by Michele Pathe
How to stop a stalker by Mike Proctor
Stopping a Stalker : A cop’s guide to making the system work for you* by Robert L. Snow
(*Personally recommended)
Anne Jones, East Hampton Public Library
In With the Devil: The Fallen Hero, the Serial Killer and a Dangerous Bargain for Redemption by James Keene with Hillel Levin
Jim Keene was a high school football hero, good looking and personable. He did not continue with college football because he had become a wealthy drug dealer. He and Big Jim, his dad, were very close although it appears his father was unaware of the source of his income. Jim had bankrolled some of his father’s failed endeavors with his ill-gotten gains. In 1997, this son of a policeman, was convicted as a drug dealer. He was sentenced to 10-years-to-life. After serving a few months, he was given the option of a quick release if he could get a suspected serial killer, Larry Hall, to confess his crimes. Jim’s drug dealing made millions and this prosecutor who had pursued him for ten years trying to shut down his drug operation had, in the process, gained a grudging respect for Jim’s courage and wiliness. Beaumont, the prosecutor, suspected that there were many more bodies still unaccounted for. In alternating chapters, we follow Jim in prison and Larry Hall in prison and before prison. This method was a bit distracting as the reader is often switched to the other interview in the midst of crucial happenings. In jail, Jim meets high-ranking members of the mafia and other assorted characters in his attempt to get close to Larry Hall. Life is no picnic and the pitfalls are many. Unbelievable errors were made in the tracking of the killer through many states and many murders. No real clearing house for information about unsolved homicides or missing persons exists. It is limited to the information voluntarily submitted by local police departments. My interest came primarily from our local serial murders. It would seem that the consensus believes that serial killers are white males in the same age range . Time will tell.
Other than the above mentioned chapter changes, I did enjoy the book.
James Keene was born and raised in Illinois. He now lives in Kankakee, Chicago and Los Angeles producing, writing and consulting for other film and book projects. Sean Penn and Brad Pitt have indicated an interest in a movie.
Read-alikes could include Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood and No Angel by Jay Dobyns.
Marie T. Horney, Cold Spring Harbor Library
Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City by Nelson Johnson
Johnson's work of nonfiction served as the inspiration for HBO's 2010 series of the same name. All the big names are in this story: Al Capone, Arnold Rothstein, Lucy Luciano and Nucky Johnson. This well-researched and highly enjoyable look at the beginnings of Atlantic city reads like a novel. The reader is given a peek at how things get done in city development amd how to give the customer what he wants, even if it is illegal.
Read-alikes:
Atlantic City: One hundred twenty-five years of ocean madness
by Vicki G. Levi and Lee Eisenberg
Boardwalk of Dreams: Atlantic City and the Fate of Urban America by Bryant Simon
Chance of a Lifetime: Nucky Johnson, Skinny D'Amato and how Atlantic City became the Naughty Queen of resorts by Grace Anselmo D'Amato
The Northside: African Americans and the Creation of Atlantic City by Nelson Johnson.
Kathleen Carter, Mastics-Moriches-Shirley Community Library
A Death in Belmont by Sebastian Junger
As a young boy Sebastian heard about day laborer, Al DeMarco that the Jungers hired to work on building a studio for them who later claimed to be the Boston Strangler. This family lore led Junger to investigate a murder of an elderly neighbor, Bessie Goldberg, which happened while Al was in their employ but whose murder was blamed on another part time worker, Roy Smith, who happened to clean the Goldbergs house the day Bessie was brutally raped and murdered. Junger investigates the trial and ultimate conviction of Roy Smith, a black man, and leads the reader on an intriguing and sometimes frustrating journey of Smith’s guilt or innocence. At first the reader thinks this book will show that Smith is innocent and was wrongly convicted by an all white male jury but then Junger presents evidence that makes one wonder if Smith could have actually been the murderer. Al DeMarco never confesses to Bessie’s murder and does claim “credit” for 13 other murders while incarcerated. The story is an enlightening treatise on the legend of the Boston Strangler but also on the investigation of Bessie Goldberg’s death.
Other than the above mentioned chapter changes, I did enjoy the book. James Keene was born and raised in Illinois. He now lives in Kankakee, Chicago and Los Angeles producing, writing and consulting for other film and book projects. Sean Penn and Brad Pitt have indicated an interest in a movie.
Read-alikes could include Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood and No Angel by Jay Dobyns.
Peggy McCarthy, Retired
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
Erik Larson, author of Isaac’s Storm and Thunderstruck, weaves the richly detailed account of the 1893 Columbian Exposition with the grisly tale of one of America’s first serial killers.
The brilliant and charismatic architect, Daniel H. Burnham, had a vision of a World’s Fair with all the latest innovations, technology and wonders for all to see. With a lot of convincing to do and time running out, he employs the best architects and designers he can find to make the 400th anniversary celebration of Columbus’s arrival the most spectacular event ever seen. Burnham and these men transform Chicago’s muddy Jackson Park into the “White City,” powered by Westinghouse and filled with pioneering feats of engineering (the first Ferris Wheel), consumer goods (Cracker Jacks and Shredded Wheat) and entertainers (Buffalo Bill and “Little Egypt”). The six month-long fair drew over twenty million visitors.
Meanwhile, another intelligent and captivating man, Dr. H.H. Holmes (born Herman Webster Mudgett), also selects Chicago’s Lake Michigan area for his business ventures. In the Englewood section just west of the Exposition, Dr. Holmes establishes his “castle,” complete with a restaurant and drugstore on the first floor and dozens of small, airless rooms on the second floor. What the fairgoers and the city don’t know is that Dr. Holmes has a dark side; his charm swindles money out of both men and women, then he kills them in a variety of gruesome ways. Although Holmes flees after the fair, he is finally tracked down and convicted of nine murders (though he confessed to more) and executed in 1896.
Larson’s exhaustive research and detail can be daunting, but he is also a master at making his works read like fiction. Stick with it and maybe complement it with the DVDs – “H.H. Holmes: America’s First Serial Killer” and “Make No Little Plans: Daniel Burnham and the American City.”
Read-alikes
In addition to other Larson titles, try:
The Professor and the Madman: a Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
Cathi Nashak, Deer Park Public Library
Dead Reckoning by Caitlin Rother
In 2004, Tom and Jackie Hawks were murdered aboard their yacht, the Well Deserved in southern California. Alive, they were bound together and tied to an anchor which was thrown overboard. In 2009, husband and wife, Skylar and Jennifer Deleon were convicted of the murders. Skylar was sentenced to death and Jennifer is serving two life sentences with no chance of parole.
Dead Reckoning is the play-by-play plotline of how this tragic event came to be. The Hawks’ were not randomly selected and killed for kicks. Their murders were solely about money. They had done nothing wrong; had not harmed the Deleons in any way. In fact, they had never met the Deleon’s until they decided to sell their boat.
Skylar’s plan began when he saw an ad for the Hawks’ boat. If they had a $400,000 yacht, they were probably loaded. He decided that during a test run of the yacht, he would physically force the Hawks to sign all their property and bank accounts over to him, then kill them.
Beginning in the middle of the story, the author lets us in on Skylar’s execution plan, then the book jumps back and forth detailing Skylar Deleon’s life from his childhood to the murders. We learn of his father’s abuse, the neglect by his mother and step-mother, his short TV career, his shorter stint in the Marines, where he received an “other than honorable discharge” when he went on an Unauthorized Leave after 15 days, his parole for burglary, and of his predilection for wearing make up and wanting to be a female.
Jennifer Henderson, Deleon’s wife, does not get the detailed treatment that Skylar does. She comes from a Christian family. She’s a cosmetologist. There is no evidence of untoward behavior on her part at school, with friends, or family.
A thoroughly researched and documented case that took the author 5 years to write, Dead Reckoning gives the reader all the information that TV shows Dateline, 48 Hours, and 20/20 couldn’t.
About the Author:
Caitlin Rother is a Pulitzer Prize nominee for her work at the San Diego Union-Times. She spent 19 years as an investigative reporter for daily newspapers and now teaches writing at the University of California, San Diego, where she lives.
Read-alikes:
Fatal Vision by Joe McGinniss
Anything by Ann Rule
Vanished at Sea: the true story of a child TV actor and a double murder, by Tina Dirmann (written in 2008, two years before Rother’s book)
Poisoned Love, Twisted Triangle, & Body Parts by Caitlin Rother
Lori Ludlow, Babylon Public Library
Bringing Adam Home: The Abduction That Changed America
by Les Sandiford with Joe Matthews
Bringing Adam Home is the account of what happened after Adam Walsh was kidnapped and how the Hollywood, Florida Police Department completely mishandled the case.
Beginning with Adam’s abduction from Sears, this book starts with how the police were first informed and how they handled the case. Told from Detective Joe Matthew’s point of view, this frustrating tale is one misstep after another as the lead detective focuses on people who had nothing to do with the kidnapping and refuses to listen to Matthews’ ideas on how to help. After being sent back to his precinct, Matthews kept in touch with the Walsh’s and tried to help where he could. Eventually he became friends with the family and assisted with cases on America’s Most Wanted, the show John Walsh began to help other families get closure. Finally, after 25 years of frustration and unanswered questions, the Walsh family came to the decision to ask Matthews to give it one more try. After two years of following the evidence, Matthews was finally able to give the Walsh family the closure they were due.
A frustrating tale of police failure, Bringing Adam Home is a dry read that only becomes truly engrossing in the last 100 pages when Matthews is finally able to review the entire case file and fill in the gaps. Although Adam’s body was never found, his parents believe that Matthews proved that the man who confessed to the crime truly did it and have accepted the outcome. Good for conspiracy theorists, true crime buffs and those who remember the Adam Walsh kidnapping, Bringing Adam Home is a tale of one family doing more than they should have needed to do in order to bring their son’s murderer to justice and in doing so, changed the way a nation deals with missing and exploited children.
Read-alikes:
The Ghosts of Hopewell: Setting the Record Straight in the Lindbergh Kidnapping, Jim Fisher
Lost and Found (Jaycee Dugard) John Glatt
In Plain Sight: The Startling Truth Behind the Elizabeth Smart Investigation, Tom Smart
JonBenét: Inside the Ramsey Murder Investigation, Steve Thomas
Azurée Agnello, West Babylon Public Library
Den of Thieves by James B. Stewart
Wall Street Journal alumnus Stewart covers the biggest insider trading scandal of the 80’s and the downfall of the perpetrators in a true crime story which reads like a novel. First, Stewart introduces the web of colorful characters who made a mockery of securities regulations by trading confidential information for personal gain. Then, he tells the thriller-paced tale of the government’s successful prosecution of the thieves. In the process, he satisfies the reader’s curiosity about a much-misunderstood crime.
Read-alikes include the author’s Tangled Webs, Connie Bruck’s The Predator’s Ball, and Kurt Eichenwald’s Serpent on the Rock. The movie The Social Network has similar appeal.
Jackie Malone, North Bellmore Public Library
