New True Crime Books: Chilling Cases and Crimes

As much as we love (or loathe) sparkling vampires in popular culture, we all know that these blood-sucking creatures of the night are not real. But apparently not everyone thinks so. Enter Aubrey Trail, a con man and self-proclaimed “vampire”, and his “queen” Bailey Boswell, who lured several young women to tragic ends. 

Chat Hardin spins a compelling tale of cult leaders and their manipulated victims, packed with interviews, reports, and other unsettling details in The Vampire's Cult. Overall, a disturbing and sensational read.

Despite the best efforts, not all true crime cases get resolved and there are many events that remain unexplained till date. Noted true crime storyteller Sebastian Krahl collects several such eerie tales of murder, kidnapping, torture and the like in a single volume that will definitely send shivers down your spine. 

Alongside true crime reports, there are also accounts of hauntings and alien encounters, told in vivid detail. A perfect binge-read for true crime fanatics and mystery buffs.

It’s one thing to read a biography of a killer and wonder about his motivations, and another thing to read all about it from his daughter’s perspective—a daughter raised by the same man with love and adoration. This book tells the story Linda Scarpa and her father, Gregory Scarpa, Sr who was part of the Colombo crime family and infamously referred to as the “Grim Reaper”. 

The book explores what it’s like to grow up in the mafia from the perspective of a young woman, and how she slowly comes to terms with the violence that her dad has wrought. A brutal and enticing read.

If you’re looking for a true story filled with enough twists and turns to make you gasp, get set for Pamela Colloff’s Catch the Devil that reads like a sensational crime thriller but is entirely real. 

It tells the riveting story of Paul Skalnik, a con man so used to lying and getting out of jail that he managed to frame others for his misdeeds and actually put an innocent man on the death row. Colloff’s reporting is top-notch, and it also reveals the flaws of the American justice system.

Yeah, we get it. Some of us obsessed with true crime are in it only for the ghastly and utterly unsettling stories of serial killers. And if you belong to that camp, Caroline Fraser’s book is meant for you. This book focuses on the history of not one but several serial killers in the Pacific Northwest, including Ted Bundy and his peers like the Green River Killer, the Night Stalker and of course, Charlie Manson. 

Fraser’s in-depth investigation probes into the factors that had fostered a whole generation of serial killers and what that reveals about the dark underbelly of America.

Finally, when it comes to identifying criminals or sentence someone to death, forensic science plays a huge role. Without forensics, it is often impossible to convict someone of a crime, and yet at the same time, any mistakes on part of the scientists or deliberate tampering with the evidence can put an innocent life on the death row. 

Sue Black’s fascinating book delves into the knotty history of forensic science, how forensic techniques evolved over the years and the terrifyingly high cost of convicting the wrong person in a courtroom. Accompanied by detailed analyses of court cases, Sue Black’s book is an extremely interesting and informative read.