The Best Free and Discount True Crime Books to Download Now from Apple Books

Robert Keller investigates 12 of the most chilling serial killer cases in American history, from the Milwaukee Cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer and the Green River Killer Gary Ridgway to Illinois' John Wayne Gacy and the BTK Killer of Wichita, Kansas. 

Related: Hit True Crime Podcast Dr. Death Will See You Now 

In 1937, as threat of Japanese occupation looms, the mutilated body of a young Englishwoman named Pamela Werner is discovered in the backstreets of Peking, China (now Beijing). The tense investigation is complicated further when local detective Col. Han Shish-ching is forced to work alongside Richard Dennis, an investigator trained at Scotland Yard. As pressure mounts, the case stalls out, and Werner's murder slips into the past—until now. Historian Paul French won both the Edgar Award for Best Fact Crime and the CWA Non-Fiction Dagger for this in-depth investigation into the unsolved death. 

In Ann Rule's true crime classic, the monster is not some shadowy and distant threat but the stranger sitting right beside you. In the early 1970s, Rule was a psychology student at the University of Washington, where she worked at a crisis hotline center. It was here that she met a charming young man who in just a few short years would become one of America's most prolific serial killers. Combining in-depth investigative journalism with a firsthand perspective that only she could provide, Ann Rule's examination of the life and crimes of Ted Bundy is as unnerving now as when it first hit shelves. 

Related: 7 True Crime Books for Ann Rule Fans 

New York Times bestselling author Caitlin Rother investigates 10 true crime cases from the states of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. From love turned deadly in the Sunshine State to a prolific serial killer in South Carolina who managed to kill a fellow inmate while on death row, this true crime box set shows that sometimes one's Southern charm hides a dark side. 

Join Charlotte Greig as she investigates dozens of the world's most notorious serial killer cases. From vicious acts of lust to grisly acts of cannibalism, from killers whose cases dominated the front page to lesser-known murderers, Greig's compelling account serves as a warning of humanity's capacity for pure evil. 

In 1986, Paula Sims made a startling claim to police: A masked gunman had broken into her Illinois home and snatched her infant daughter. Investigators believed her story—until three years later, when her second newborn suffered the exact same fate. Written by the lawyer who prosecuted Sims and the journalist who covered the case, this New York Times bestseller offers a riveting, up-close account of a seemingly average family who hid a terrible secret. 

Related: 8 True Crime Books About Terrifying Mothers 

Friendly neighbor or depraved killer? William Murray explores the many masks worn by history's most violent predators. Profiling a wide variety of murders and covering cases that span the globe, this book asks what leads some people to kill and what motivates them to kill again.