10 Books to Read If You Love True Crime

While many people haven't heard of H.H. Holmes, he was one of the first documented serial killers, suspected of having murdered nearly 200 people. In the late 19th century, Holmes lured his victims to what they thought was a hotel, but in actuality, was an elaborately designed "murder castle," complete with soundproof rooms, a "hanging room," and a gas chamber. Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City closely follows Holmes's crimes, but also features the perspective of Daniel H. Burnham, the architect behind the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, where Holmes frequently hunted for his victims. Seamlessly alternating between their two points of view, the non-fiction bestseller perfectly juxtaposes the beauty of architecture and invention at the Fair, with Holmes's heinous crimes. Keep an eye out for the impending Leonardo DiCaprio adaptation!

Were it not for Truman Capote, the world would never have had Breakfast at Tiffany's, which was based off of the author's 1958 novella. Fortunately for us, Capote was far from a one-hit wonder and took a stab at what he referred to as a "nonfiction novel," with his 1966 In Cold Blood. The book details the murders of the Clutters, a family of four who worked on a farm in Holcomb, Kansas in 1959. Capote was very thorough and he, along with childhood friend and To Kill a Mockingbird author, Harper Lee, ventured to Kansas and personally conducted interviews to get details of the crime, making it (literally) scarily accurate.

On Aug. 8, 1969, members of the Manson family broke into a Los Angeles home and murdered five people, including actress Sharon Tate and her unborn child. Charles Manson, leader of the makeshift commune that made up the Manson "family," is currently serving a life sentence for ordering those murders, as well as committing others. Written by the prosecutor of his trial, Vincent Bugliosi, Helter Skelter is a firsthand account of the case. The accuracy and detail makes the crime all the more chilling.

In 1989, Ted Bundy was executed for multiple counts of murder and rape. The serial killer, who was also a necrophiliac, confessed to 30 murders that he committed in the 1970s, although the real victim count is suspected to be much higher. The eery details of not only his crimes, but Ted himself, is told by Ann Rule, a former co-worker and friend of Bundy. Her account, The Stranger Beside Me is not for the faint of heart.

School shootings are on the rise in America and have, tragically, become somewhat of a norm. Nevertheless, their frequency never makes them any less shocking. In 1999, the Columbine High School massacre shook the nation. Two senior students injured 24 people and took the lives of 15 others, including their own. Dave Cullen's Columbine delves into the minds of the attackers, their vicious plot, and its heartbreaking outcome.

Ever heard of the phrase "Don't drink the Kool-Aid?" Today, the expression is thrown around as a warning to peer pressure. However, the idiom is derived from the dark events that occurred in Jonestown, Guyana in 1978. Reverend Jim Jones, leader of the Peoples Temple cult, convinced over 900 people (including 276 children) to consume a fruit-flavored drink laced with cyanide poison. To this day, it is the second-greatest loss of American lives, surpassed only by the tragedies of 9/11. Raven: The Untold Story of the Rev. Jim Jones and His People chronicles Jones' life and the events that led to his demise.

Commonly a fiction writer, John Grisham is the award-winning and bestselling novelist behind thrillers such as The Pelican Brief, A Time to Kill, The Runaway Jury, and The Firm. Many of his works have been adapted into successful high-budget films over the years. In 2006, Grisham switched things up when he wrote his first nonfiction book, The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town. The story detailed the life and unjust conviction of Ron Williamson, an Oklahoma-born minor league baseball player who was sentenced to death for the rape and murder of Debbie Carter in 1982. The Innocent Man covers the crime and arrest, trial and conviction, and Williamson's eventual exoneration. Grab a copy today to learn how and why the justice system failed, and how it worked to right an incredible wrong.

In 2001, the dismembered remains of 21-year-old Australian Lucie Blackman were discovered in a seaside cave in Japan. A decade later, Richard Lloyd Parry's People Who Eat Darkness was published. The book follows Lucie's vibrant life, her tragic death, and how — in the search for the truth — nations were brought together, but a family was torn apart. Parry's three-time award-nominated book is one that you won't be able to put down.

We understand a criminal being remorseful, but begging to die? In 1976, Gary Gilmore was arrested for the robberies and murders of two Utah men. Though Gilmore had spent 10 years in prison before, he had never resorted to murder. Gilmore's case was particularly unusual because at the time of his trial, the death penalty had yet to be reinstated by the Supreme Court. His appeal to be executed was denied multiple times, resulting in three stays of executions and two attempted suicides. (Gilmore was finally executed in 1977 . . . by firing squad no less.) Norman Mailer's 1979 Pulitzer Prize-winning book The Executioner's Song considers the life and crimes of Gary Gilmore, the justice system's complicated past with capital punishment, and how one man's inner torment drove him to the extreme.

In 1994, three Arkansas teens, later known as the "West Memphis Three," were convicted of murdering three 8-year-old boys. Mara Leveritt's 2002 novel, Devil's Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three, examines the background of the victims and the accused, the details of the crime, and gives readers a glimpse of the "Satanic panic" that overshadowed the truth. Leveritt also questions the involvement of the stepfather of one of the victims, who claims to have no criminal connection to the case. Despite their initial sentences of death and life imprisonment, the trio was released in 2011 as new DNA evidence came to light. Perhaps the stepfather, or someone else, was involved after all. Maybe you'll find the answer after reading Devil's Knot.