Secondhand True Crime Books

The most compelling account I've read from the other side of the fence...there are welcome moments of levity' The Times'Compelling, urgent and devastating. A triumph' The Secret Barrister'Funny, heart-breaking and...

The decision to publish this book has been very difficult, and taken with heavy hearts My reason for writing it is simple- to give an account of the truth Writing...

A direct descendant of Jack the Ripper's last victim tells her ancestor's story. Between August and November 1888, five women were murdered in Whitechapel, and for more than 100 years...

Gangland Australia is a book about organized crime and the professional criminals who have recklessly cut a swathe through Australia over the last 200 years. It is a book with...

Many researchers have tried over the decades to discover Mary Jane Kelly's true identity. She was the final and most brutally murdered victim of Jack the Ripper, but almost nothing...

On January 20, 1984, Earl Washington-defended for all of forty minutes by a lawyer who had never tried a death penalty case-was found guilty of rape and murder in the...

Pablo Escobar was the most notorious drug lord the world has ever seen. He became one of the ten richest men on the planet and controlled 80 per cent of...

An epic true story of ambition, greed and hubris that nearly brought down the British government.'The British version of Bad Blood . . . [but] better' - The Sunday Times'Terrific'...

'An astonishing read, plunging you into a toxic world of Insta-wealth, betrayal and ruthless ambition... A con that made Theranos look like small fry' - The Telegraph'The largest financial scam...

The true story of the life and mysterious murder of the most talked-about and glamorous member of Kenya' s notorious Happy Valley set. Since Josslyn Hay, 22nd Earl of Erroll,...

'Breaking Bad meets City of God' Roberto Saviano, author of GomorrahHUSBAND. This is the story of an ordinary man who became the king of the largest slum in Rio, the...

In his talks to communities throughout the length and breath of Ireland, John Lonergan finds himself coming back to one theme: the importance of kindness. It is an unexpected theme...

Orchestrated to the sounds of getaway cars and machine guns, the abduction of Oklahoma City businessman Charles Urschel in 1933 was a highly publicized crime in an era when gangsters...

Gabriel Garcia Marquez's News of a Kidnapping is a powerful retelling of actual events from a turbulent period of Colombian history. 'She looked over her shoulder before getting into the...

This account examines the case of John Wayne Gacy, a successful and respected member of the community who cheered up sick children in hospital dressed as a clown, but who...

Award-winning journalist - and author of Hello, Shadowlands - Patrick Winn reveals the inside story of a forbidden republic - the narco-state of the WaThe jagged mountains dividing China and...

Hard Cases opens with a brilliant retelling of the Border Fox, in which Dessie O'Hare and his associates kidnapped and mutilated Dublin dentist John O'Grady. It continues with stories as...

John Grisham's first work of non-fiction, an exploration of small town justice gone terribly awry, in his most extraordinary legal thriller yet.In the major league draft of 1971, the first...

John Grisham's first work of non-fiction, an exploration of small town justice gone terribly awry, in his most extraordinary legal thriller yet. In the major league draft of 1971, the...

Home is where the heart is. But home is also the most common site for murder. The grimly fascinating new book from the UK's leading criminologist David Wilson uncovers the...

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR MEMOIRA 2023 NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALISTA NEW YORK TIMES, WASHINGTON POST, TIME AND NEW YORKER BOOK OF THE YEAR'Meticulously written and deeply moving ....

Enter the world of gangland crime. Some men command a respect that few others, even in this violent underworld, can equal. They live by a strict code and to them...

From the bestselling author of GANGLAND BRITAIN and REEFER MEN.Organised crime is one of Britain's biggest industries. The number of gangland murders, shootings and kidnappings, along with the levels of...

"Undercover lays bare the deceit, betrayal and cold-blooded violation practised again and again by undercover police officers - troubling, timely and brilliantly executed". (Henry Porter). The gripping stories of a...

"This is a book I wish I'd written. It's brilliantly researched, full of detail and illuminating..." -Jake Adelstein, author of Tokyo IceUncover the shocking world of the Japanese courtroom.In a...

This work charts the rise and spectacular fall of the Colombian drug lord, Pablo Escobar, richest and most powerful criminal in history. The book exposes the massive illegal operation by...

"Constructed with superb craftsmanship, written with precision and tough humour, and with an extraordinary story to tell, it seems certain to enjoy a long life." TLS "The book is suffused...

'One of the hottest memoirs of 2024' Sunday Times StyleA Guardian 'Books to look out for in 2024' pick * A Financial Times 'What to Read in 2024' pick 'An...

Colin Lees was everybody's friend. A successful businessman in the little town of Magherafelt, Co. Derry, he had charm, good connections and was a winner. Until, that is, it all...

It is a summer's night in 1860. In an elegant detached Georgian house in the village of Road, Wiltshire, all is quiet. Behind shuttered windows the Kent family lies sound...

The plea of insanity in criminal cases can be traced back at least to the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi, which dates from 1755-1759 BC. It is a complicated defence, and...

Towards the end of 1831, the authorities unearthed a series of crimes at Number 3, Nova Scotia Gardens in East London that appeared to echo the notorious Burke and Hare...

SHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA NON FICTION DAGGER'A brilliantly researched journey, capturing the gun's strangely accepted place in human life and, far too often, death' JON SNOWEVERY MINUTE, OF EVERY DAY,...

Kinahan Assassins is the extraordinary story of how the killers used by Ireland's most notorious drug gang, the Kinahan Cartel, were taken down.After an audacious assassination attempt on boss Daniel...

The inside stories of Ireland's most famous abduction cases.In the late 1970s and early 1980s Ireland was hit by a spate of high-profile kidnappings: Lord and Lady Donoughmore, Belfast-based German...

INTRODUCTION BY MISHA GLENNY, author of McMafiaA gripping narrative of power, corruption and greed, The Mechanism is the true story of how a simple investigation into money laundering uncovered the...

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2020 BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZElonglisted for the ALCS GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTIONA BOOK OF THE YEAR IN THE SUNDAY TIMES, THE TIMES, DAILY TELEGRAPH, i PAPER, NEW STATESMAN,...

'Once more, Kate Summerscale shatters our preconceptions of a classic crime' Val McDermid'A gripping account of murder, misogyny and spectatorship' Sarah Waters, author of FingersmithFrom Britain's top-selling true crime writer...