True crime Books

Book SynopsisWhen Anne Darwin told the world and her family that her husband, John, had disappeared while canoeing in the North Sea, her life changed forever.She had just lied to the police, the press, her friends and neighbours, insurance companies and her own sons.While her husband hid in a bedsit in their rental house next door, Anne had to face the music. She claimed the life insurance payouts, endured the police questioning, accepted the consolations and left the country she loved to start her life again.But why, when she had been perfectly happy with her lifestyle, knowing her actions would hurt those she held most dear, did she do it?After years of remaining silent, Anne Darwin finally reveals the truth behind the crime that tore her family apart.

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Book SynopsisNow a major TV seriesA masterpiece that reads like a thriller' Time OutA gripping and probing account of the biggest criminal manhunt in British history.It is over 40 years since Peter Sutcliffe was convicted of murdering 13 women and attacking 7 more. Still, he remains a killer of almost mythical proportions; his surviving victims, and their families, forever attached to his infamy.Michael Bilton's acclaimed account is a powerful indictment of the calamitous investigation that logged over 2 million man-hours of police work the biggest criminal manhunt in British history. With exclusive access to the detectives involved, the pathologist's archives and declassified documents, this account reads like the most gripping of thrillers.Trade Review‘A masterpiece that reads like a thriller.’ Time Out ‘There is unlikely to be a more cmprehensive or carefully researched account of the case. To read ‘Wicked Beyond Belief’ is to have a sense of being physically present at the day-to-day investigation, experiencing the frustrations, the stress and the public outrage at its lack of success as the years passed and murder followed.’ P.D.James, Mail on Sunday ‘Bilton knows more about the Ripper case than anyone living.’ Blake Morrison, Guardian

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Book SynopsisSusan Orlean first met John Laroche when visiting Florida to write for the New Yorker about his arrest for stealing rare ghost orchids from a nature reserve. Fascinated both by Laroche and the world she uncovered of orchid collectors and growers, she stayed on, to write this magical exploration of obsession and the strange world both of the orchid obsessives and of Florida, that haunting and weird ''debatable land'' of swamps and condos, retirement communities and real-estate scams. The world of the orchid hunters, breeders and showmen, their rivalries, vendettas and crimes, smuggling, thefts and worse provide the backdrop to a fascinating exploration of one of the byways of human nature, the obsessive world of the collector, and the haunting beauty of the flowers themselves.Trade ReviewLike the orchid, a small thing of grandeur, a passion with a pedigree... The Orchid Thief shows [Orlean's] gifts in full bloom * New York Times Book Review *A lesson in the dark, dangerous, sometimes hilarious nature of obsession...you sometimes don't want to read on, but find you can't help it * USA Today *Irresistable... A brilliantly reported account of an illicit scheme to housebreak Florida's wild and endangered ghost orchid. Its central figure is John Laroche, the 'oddball ultimate' of a subculture whose members are so enthralled by orchids they 'pursue them like lovers * Minneapolis Star Tribute *Fascinating... Tales of theft, hatred, greed, jealousy, madness, and back-stabbing... An engrossing journey * Los Angeles Times *Artful... In Ms. Orlean's skillful handling, her orchid story turns out to be distinctly 'something more.' Orchids, Seminole history, the ecology of the Fakahatchee Strand, the fascination of Florida to con men... All that she writes here fits together because it is grounded in her personal experience... [Her] portrait of her sometimes sad-making orchid thief allows the reader to discover acres of opportunity where intriguing things can be found * New York Times *

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Book SynopsisShortlisted for the Financial Times Business Book of the Year!Will snare you in its web of deceit ... A brilliant investigative exposé' - Harlan Coben, bestselling thriller author Reads like a fast-paced John le Carré thriller, and never lets up' - New York Times book review The Spider Network is the almost-unbelievable and darkly entertaining inside account of the Libor scandal one of the biggest, farthest-reaching financial scams since the global financial crisis written by the only journalist with access to Tom Hayes before he was sentenced to fourteen years in prison. Full of exclusive details, and with ramifications that stretch right across the British establishment, this is a gripping, real-life story of outlandish characters and reckless greed in the City of London. By turns a rollicking account of the scandal and also a provocative examination of a financial system that was crooked throughTrade ReviewAnyone with an interest in financial services and in what has gone wrong will find The Spider Network compelling. -- Daniel Finkelstein * The Times *a surprisingly human narrative … truly memorable … a vivid depiction of the ethos of the core financial institutions upon which the global economy depends * New York Times *a model of investigative financial writing... a more satisfying read than THE BIG SHORT by Michael Lewis * Literary Review *will snare you in its web of deceit, lies, corruption, manipulation and colourful characters. [a] brilliant investigative exposé * Harlan Coben, bestselling thriller author *supremely gripping ... a thrilling tour de force of reporting, revelation and reasoning ... unmissable * Iain Martin, bestselling author of MAKING IT HAPPEN: FRED GOODWIN, RBS AND THE MEN WHO BLEW UP THE BRITISH ECONOMY *An incredibly entertaining, globe-straddling inside account of how one trader turbocharged a greedy cabal that scammed savers and borrowers everywhere. A must read if you want to understand how big banks and traders really work * Marcus Brauchli, former Executive Editor of the Washington Post and Managing Editor of the Wall Street Journal *Equally entertaining and illuminating … Enrich’s brilliant depiction … owes to deep reporting, deft writing, and a nuanced approach that characterizes the entire book… First-rate. * John Helyar, bestselling author of BARBARIANS AT THE GATE *how did a socially awkward English math whiz mastermind manipulation of lending rates on a global scale? And was Tom Hayes truly the mastermind, or just a cog in a corrupt banking system? In David Enrich’s gripping tale, the characters have nicknames worthy of the Mafia, and their ethical compasses aren't much better * Paul Ingrassia, Pulitzer Prize winner and bestselling author of CRASH COURSE *gripping and disturbing ... It reads like a thriller and has some hilarious moments, whilst raising important questions about the nature of our financial and judicial systems * Ian Fraser, journalist and author of SHREDDED: INSIDE RBS, THE BANK THAT BROKE BRITAIN *David Enrich is a masterful story teller ... Michael Lewis has a new rival * Sheila Bair, former chair of the FDIC and president of Washington College *An absorbing read that provides both a meticulous dissection of an immense scandal as well as a fascinating human story * Bethany McLean, bestselling author of THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM: THE AMAZING RISE AND SCANDALOUS FALL OF ENRON *For years, David Enrich has chased down the inside story of one the biggest financial frauds in history and was even threatened with jail by a British court if he printed what he knew. Now, in his blockbuster book The Spider Network, all of the secrets come spilling out…With an unerring eye for detail, Enrich shows in this masterful work how a toxic stew of greed, arrogance and a lust for power led to a criminal scheme of unparalleled dimensions. It should be required reading for anyone who wants to understand the dirty underbelly of the financial world. * Kurt Eichenwald, Pulitzer Prize winning author of THE INFORMANT *This dwarfs by orders of magnitude any financial scams in the history of markets. * Andrew Lo, Professor of Finance at MIT *In the hands of journalist David Enrich, the true tale of former UBS and Citigroup trader Tom Hayes becomes a page-turning crime drama that engages – and educates – readers from beginning to end. * The Charlotte Observer *A gripping narrative ... impressive reporting and writing chops are on full display ... reads like a fast-paced John le Carré thriller, and never lets up * New York Times book review *a feat of reporting, and much of it reads like a novel -- Leigh Gallagher * Washington Post *a remarkable read -- John Arlidge * Sunday Times *jaw-dropping * Financial Times *a gripping financial thriller * Daily Mail *

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Book SynopsisLike an apparition, conjured out of the darkness, a young man with light blond hair pushed his face into the car. I immediately spotted the knife. It was a long, thin weapon, almost like a letter opener, with a tapering blade. It felt cold and spiny as he pressed it to my neck. When he spoke his voice, which was quiet and controlled, sounded as though it emanated from a distant planet. But every word thudded into my skull. “Move over or I’ll kill you,” he whispered. And so began Alison’s nightmare journey with the two callous killers who were to rape her, stab her so many times doctors could not count the wounds, slit her throat and leave her for dead in a filthy clearing miles from the city of Port Elizabeth which was her home. But Alison defied death. And more than that, she denied her attackers the satisfaction of destroying her life. I Have Life is the triumphant story of a woman who refused to become a victim. The courage which allowed her to move beyond severe physical and emotional trauma and to turn a devastating experience into something life-affirming and strong, is an inspiration to people everywhere.

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Book SynopsisThis book is the fully documented story of Marilyn Monroe''s death - a heart-stopping account of the events that led to the circumstances of 4th August 1962. To this day the Los Angeles police and the District Attorney''s office have perpetuated a cover-up that was generated over 30 years ago. For the first time in 80 books and acres of newsprint, the complete story of her demise is revealed. It includes the reasons why so many joined the conspiracy of silence. Marilyn''s universe is where the glitzy world of Hollywood, the sinister one of the Mafia and the secret one of Washington DC meet. Wolfe uses newly released FBI files and the information of insiders who have broken their silence to give us the resolution of one of this century''s most enduring mysteries.From the opening description of the lifeless body to the moment-by-moment account of her final days and hours, THE ASSASSINATION OF MARILYN MONROE explodes every myth concerning her remarkable life and tragic deaTrade ReviewAdmirable! You do not have to agree with all his conclusions to see that Wolfe takes us very close indeed to the dark truth about Monroe, the Kennedys and that lonely death in the Californian night. * Anthony Summers, author of GODDESS: THE SECRET LIVES OF MARILYN MONROE *I want to restate my great admiration for Don Wolfe's magnificent, trend-setting biography of Marilyn Monroe. Mr Wolfe has far surpassed my exhaustive work and even Anthony Summer s' tour de force in 1985. * Peter Brown, co-author of MARILYN: THE LAST TAKE *Donald Wolfe has written one of the most absorbing accounts of Marilyn's life to date. It is a masterful work. * Fred Lawrence, author of NORMA JEAN *A quietly written testimony that moves relentlessly towards a conclusion that is both plausible and convincing. * NEW STATESMAN *

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Book SynopsisHe was a pillar of the community, serving on local committees, donating prizes to the rugby club, organising charity collections. His patients thought the world of him: he was attentive, kind, never too busy to chat. Yet Dr Harold Frederick Shipman was also the most prolific serial killer the world has ever known, with between 200 and 300 victims. Quietly, for many years, the small, bespectacled GP was making unexpected house calls - and walking out leaving a dead body behind.The murderous career of Dr Shipman only came to an end when police in Hyde, Greater Manchester, were called to investigate a forged will. Overnight, they found themselves embroiled in the biggest murder case in British history.Substantially revised and updated since Shipman''s suicide in prison, this is a compelling account of these monstrous crimes and of the man who committed them. The authors have had unparalleled access to friends, colleagues and patients. Their in-depth and authoritative investigaTrade ReviewRead this amazing review of systematic murder - and you'll never look at a doctor in quite the same way again * BIRMINGHAM Post *It takes a book like this to bring home how truly evil he [Dr Shipman] was * Northern ECHO *

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Book SynopsisThis is the true story of Totò Riina, the Cosa Nostra boss who rose from nothing to become the most powerful man in Sicily. The picture emerges of a bloodthirsty, power-hungry monster who, despite his lowly beginnings, is able to outmanoeuvre the other Mafia chiefs and take control of the organisation. However, the story is not just that of Riina, but also of Sicily itself. D''Avanzo and Bolzoni have transformed a complex series of events spanning several decades into a gripping narrative.In prison for 18 years now, Totò Riina still remains the dictator of the Cosa Nostra. This book tells the haunting and disturbing tale, with thorough investigation and testimony of the Sicilian Corleone.Trade ReviewForget the Sopranos because this is the real thing; the full and true story of the Life and Times of Toto Riina, the Cosa Nostra boss who terrorised Sicily... Not a glamorous life and not one to envy, but one that shows an addiction to power and violence can be the most fateful of all * NORTHERN ECHO *

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Book SynopsisAfter in-depth research of the circumstances of that fateful night, investigative writer and former journalist Noel Botham finally reveals what he alleges to be the truth - Princess Diana fell victim to a ruthlessly executed assassination. Twenty years later, the tragedy still shapes Britain as we know it today. How could the Establishment betray the trust of a whole nation? How was the killing executed? Was there really another car in the tunnel at the time of the crash? Reporting from the innermost sanctums of British intelligence and royalty, Botham reveals shocking answers to what he claims is one of the UK's most successfully kept secrets. As Botham affirms, The Murder of Princess Diana firmly lays to rest the outdated theory that Diana's death was a mere accident, and finally gives the people of Britain the explanation they deserve.

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Book SynopsisA New York Times Bestseller! For viewers of the hit Series I Am the Night and fans of the Root of Evil Podcast, the book that finally revealed the shocking identity of the Black Dahlia Killer—and the Police Corruption That Concealed It for So LongIn 1947, the brutal, sadistic murder of a beautiful young woman named Elizabeth Short led to the largest manhunt in LA history. The killer teased and taunted the police and public for weeks, but his identity stayed a mystery, and the murder remained the most tantalizing unsolved case of the last century, until this book revealed the bizarre solution.Steve Hodel, a retired LAPD detective, took up the case, reviewing the original evidence and records as well as those of a separate grand jury investigation into a series of murders of single women in LA at the time. The prime suspect had in fact been identified, but never indicted. Why? And who was he?In an account that will remind movie lovers of both LA Confidential and Zodiac, for the corruption it exposes and the insight it offers into a serial killer’s mind, Hodel demonstrates that there was a massive police cover-up. Even more shocking, he proves that the murderer, a true-life Jekyll and Hyde who was a highly respected member of society by day and a psychopathic killer by night, was his own father.This edition of the book includes new findings and photographs added after the original publication, together with a new postscript by the author.Trade Review“The most haunting murder mystery in Los Angeles County during the twentieth century has finally been solved in the twenty-first century.”—Stephen R. Kay, L.A. County Head Deputy District Attorney “As far as I am concerned, this case is closed. . . . .Los Angeles is a construct of its mythologies good and bad, fact and fic­tion. The legend of Elizabeth Short is one of the most enduring. Hodel’s investigation is thoroughly and completely convincing. So too is this book.”—Michael Connelly, author of the New York Times bestseller The Narrows“Crime was rampant as musicals in Los Angeles in the postwar years— this is the age of Bugsy Siegel, the founding of Las Vegas, Mickey Cohen and gun battles on Sunset Boulevard . . . and it’s the age of film noir. . . . George Hodel, I think, is fit company for some of noir’s most civilized villains—like Waldo Lydecker in Laura, Harry Lime in The Third Man, or even Noah Cross in Chinatown.”— New York Times Book Review"[Hodel] paints a chilling, detailed, week-by-week, year-by-year portrait of his father as an intellectual giant driven to serial killing by his arrested emotional development, his hatred of women and his obsessions with money, power and sex.”—Los Angeles Times“A must-read.” —New York Post "Fascinating."—Johnny Depp “The book has been described as ‘Hannibal Lecter meets L.A. Confidential meets Chinatown,’ but even that Hollywood characterization doesn’t do it justice. Former Los Angeles police detective Steve Hodel has written one of the most compelling true-crime books of all time.” —Seattle Weekly“An ex-L.A. cop uncovers a painful answer to the notorious 1947 Black Dahlia slaying. Hodel appears to have solved one of the most sensational murders in the history of Los Angeles.” —People “[Hodel] has written an intensely readable account. . . . So what’s the final verdict on Black Dahlia Avenger? Its accounts of cover-ups and civic cor­ruption are all too believable, and much of the circumstantial evidence it presents against George Hodel is persuasive. . . . Has Steve Hodel solved the case? I think so.” —The Weekly Standard “[Hodel] makes a strong case that the Black Dahlia was part of a larger series of ritual murders that went on for years. This unsparing, chilling account of the actions of a perfect psychopath grips to the end.” —Toronto Globe and Mail “Hodel tells the story well and with incredible objectivity. A real-life tale of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” —Richmond Times-Dispatch “This remarkable book will keep readers riveted from the first page to the very last.” —Tucson Citizen “In this 2003 case study, Hodel declares the case is solved. He offers irre­futable evidence piled fact upon fact as only the mind of a professional detective can present. Black Dahlia Avenger is packaged as neatly as a court deposition.” —St. Augustine Record “Black Dahlia Avenger is a fascinating and horrifying tale of 1940s Los Angeles—as Steve Hodel says, a real-life L.A. Confidential.” —San Jose Mercury News “The story boasts all the glamour and sinister mystique of film noir.” —The Daily Telegraph (London)“Readers must hang on tightly as Hodel hurtles along on his compelling parallel journeys of discovery—a return to the melodramatic days of old Hollywood and a simultaneous plunge into the dark roots of his own fam­ily tree.” —London Free Press “The best nonfiction book about L.A. crime I have ever read.” —Gerald Petievich, author of The Sentinel and To Live and Die in L.A.“Completely convincing . . . As far as I am concerned, this case is closed.” —Michael Connelly, bestselling author of the Harry Bosch series“The most haunting murder mystery in Los Angeles county during the twentieth century has finally been solved." —Stephen R. Kay, L.A. County Head Deputy District Attorney“A must-read book . . . A blockbuster.” —Liz Smith, New York Post

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Book SynopsisFrom the Sunday Times bestselling author, Carl ChinnThe Peaky Blinders as we know them, thanks to the hit TV series, are infused with drama and dread. Fashionably dressed, the charismatic but deeply flawed Shelby family have become cult anti-heroes. Well-known social historian, broadcaster and author, Carl Chinn, revealed the true story of the notorious gang in his bestselling Peaky Blinders: The Real Story and now in this follow-up book, he explores the legacy they created in Birmingham and beyond. What happened to them and their gangland rivals?In Peaky Blinders: The Legacy we revisit the world of Billy Kimber's Peaky Blinders, exploring their legacy throughout the 1920s and 30s, and how their burgeoning empires spread across the UK. Delve into the street wars across the country, the impact of the declaration of War on Gangs by the Home Secretary after The Racecourse War in 1921, and how the blackmailing of bookmakers gave way to new and daring opportunities for the likes of Sabini, Alfie Solomon and some new faces in the murky gangland underworld.Drawing on Carl's inimitable research, interviews and original sources, find out just what happened to this incredible cast of characters, revealing the true legacy of the Peaky Blinders.

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Book SynopsisA feast for the senses, this sumptuously illustrated book will introduce you to some of the most infamous women throughout world history, united by their shared taste for poison. Welcome to the League of Lady Poisoners. This riveting and well-researched volume by Lisa Perrin weaves together the stories of more than 25 accused women poisoners, exploring the circumstances and skill sets that led them to lives of crime. You might find yourself rooting for some of them - like Sally Bassett, who helped poison her granddaughter's enslavers in Bermuda, or Giulia Tofana, who sold her name-brand concoction to women wanting to be rid of their abusive (or otherwise undesirable) husbands. Other stories, though - including that of Yiya Murano, one of Argentina's most notorious swindlers and serial killers, or the terrifying Nurse Jane Toppan - may prove less palatable. Organized into thematic chapters based on the women's motives, the book also includes an illustrated primer that delves into the origins and effects of common poisons throughout history, as well as a foreword by Holly Frey and Maria Trimarchi, creators and hosts of the podcast Criminalia. It is a treat for true crime fans, feminist history buffs, and any curious readers fascinated by the more macabre side of human nature.

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Book SynopsisExplore fifteen life-truths gleaned from both contemporary murder investigations and ancient biblical wisdom.Every murder investigation teaches two lessons: a death lesson and a life lesson.For decades, cold-case homicide detective J. Warner Wallace investigated the causes behind deaths and murders, chasing one lead after another as he attempted to solve the case. Several of these cases remain open, unsolved mysteries. . .But even those that haven''t yet revealed the identity of the killer do expose the truths of human nature: what''s important to us, what threatens our well-being, and what causes us to flourish.Join Wallace as he investigates life lessons he learned as a detective, so that you can: Better understand your own identity and the identity of your Creator. Rethink the nature of death so you can live a better life. Uncover life-truths gleaned from both contemporary murder in

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Book SynopsisNEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERA fast-paced debut...Espionage buffs will savor this vibrant account. — Publishers WeeklyA U.S. naval counterintelligence officer working to safeguard Pearl Harbor; a Japanese spy ordered to Hawaii to gather information on the American fleet. On December 7, 1941, their hidden stories are exposed by a morning of bloodshed that would change the world forever. Scrutinizing long-buried historical documents, NCIS star Mark Harmon and co-author Leon Carroll, a former NCIS Special Agent, have brought forth a true-life NCIS story of deception, discovery, and danger. Hawaii, 1941. War clouds with Japan are gathering and the islands of Hawaii have become battlegrounds of spies, intelligence agents, and military officials - with the island''s residents caught between them. Toiling in the shadows are Douglas Wada, the only Japanese American agent in naval intelligence, aTrade Review'A fast-paced debut...Espionage buffs will savor this vibrant account.' * Publishers Weekly *

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Book SynopsisJoan Hannington was born in 1957 in London. She was known as one of Britain's most notorious diamond thieves and she was married to Boisie Hannington, an expert in antiques and a member of the criminal elite, for eleven years. Joan has two children and currently lives by the seaside with her two dogs.

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Book SynopsisGrimly fascinating engrossing' Daily Mail NINE HISTORIC CRIMES. ONE FAMILIAR OBSESSION.In early modern England, murder truly was most foul. Trials were gossipy events packed to the rafters with noisome spectators. Executions were public proceedings which promised not only gore, but desperate confessions and the grandest, most righteous human drama. Bookshops saw grisly stories of crime and death sell like hot cakes.This history unfolds the true stories of murder, criminal investigation, early forensic techniques, high court trials and so much more.In thrilling narrative, we follow a fugitive killer through the streets of London, citizen detectives clamouring to help officials close the net. We untangle the mystery of a suspected staged suicide through the newly emerging science of forensic pathology. We see a mother trying to clear her dead daughter's name while other women faced the accusations sometimes true and sometimes not of murdering their own children.These stories are piece

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Book SynopsisHELP! I am addicted to this series! UnputdownableAlex Pine has done it again! Another excellent crime thriller? I was hooked from the first page. Read it ? you won?t be disappointedAbsolutely gripping? I was on the edge of my seatTrade Review Praise for Alex Pine: ‘I loved this book! It is dark, gritty and thrilling … It is fast-paced and has you hooked from the first few pages. I devoured this book in two sittings.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Dang! Now this was one heck of a story! If you want suspense, thrills and chills, then this is your book!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘A chilling page turner’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘WOW! This book had me hooked from the first page, I didn’t want to put it down and this was one of the twistiest and most complicated murder cases I’ve ever read about.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘Another fantastic book from Alex Pine!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘I loved this book and enjoyed every minute of it. There were so many twists, turns and surprises on just about every page.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘DI James Walker is fast becoming a favourite of mine along with Alex Pine being one of my top authors.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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Book Synopsis The basis for the Apple TV+ show Black Bird. In with the Devil presents the true story of a young man destined for greatness on the football fielduntil a few wrong turns led him to a ten-year prison sentence. He was offered an impossible mission: Coax a confession out of a fellow inmate, a serial killer, and walk free. Jimmy Keene grew up outside of Chicago. Although he was the son of a policeman and rubbed shoulders with the city''s elite, he ended up on the wrong side of the law and was sentenced to ten years with no chance of parole. Just a few months into his sentence, Keene was approached by the prosecutor who put him behind bars. He had convicted a man named Larry Hall for abducting and killing a fifteen-year-old. Although Hall was suspected of killing nineteen other young women, there was a chance he could still be released on appeal. If Keene could get him to confess to two murders, there would be no doubt about Hall''s guilt. I

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Book Synopsis BE THE FIRST TO READ DAVID WILSON''S NEW TRUE CRIME BOOK A PLOT TO KILL BY PRE-ORDERING NOW ''Hugely insightful and thought provoking . . . I read it from cover to cover in one go'' - Emilia Fox''With characteristic brilliance and admirable sensitivity, Wilson illuminates the complex causes of their often horrific crimes'' - Professor Simon Winlow, Vice President of the British Society of CriminologyProfessor David Wilson has spent his professional life working with violent men - especially men who have committed murder. Aged twenty-nine he became, at that time, the UK''s youngest ever prison Governor in charge of a jail and his career since then has seen him sat across a table with all sorts of killers: sometimes in a tense interview; sometimes sharing a cup of tea (or something a little stronger); sometimes looking them in the eye to tell them thTrade ReviewA riveting exploration of the psychology of those who have committed unthinkable crimes. It's also hugely insightful and thought provoking about our justice system, I read it from cover to cover in one go. David's professional experiences make an absolutely compelling read for anyone who is interested in the criminal mind and its motivationsWilson's fascinating career brought him into contact with Britain's most violent criminals. In this gripping book, he moves beyond the usual media sensationalism to discuss in detail his life among our prison system's most notorious murderers, serial killers, sex offenders and hitmen. With characteristic brilliance and admirable sensitivity, Wilson illuminates the complex causes of their often horrific crimes. And in the background of Wilson's pitch-perfect central narrative, lies an accompanying account of a strained criminal justice system and the gradual disintegration of the rehabilitative ideal. Page-turning stuff. I'm sure this book will prove to be a great hit

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Book SynopsisThis first installment in the New York Times bestselling Crime Files series is a chilling collection of shocking crimes and the ensuing struggles to bring the perpetrators to justice—from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Stranger Beside Me. Soon to be a Lifetime original movie.The “country’s premier true crime author” (Library Journal) brings her clear-eyed, compassionate writing and investigative skills to this unputdownable anthology. Distinguished by the former Seattle police officer’s razor-sharp eye for detail and her penetrating analysis of the criminal mind, the featured case in this collection is the twisted story of Randy Roth—a man who married, and murdered, for profit. Following are compelling tales of bloody vengeance, estranged relationships that turn deadly, and fateful encounters. With her trademark “unwavering voice” (Publishers Weekly), Ann Rule exposes the darkness that lurks among us.

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Book Synopsis** NOW A MAJOR DOCUMENTARY SERIES FROM HBO AND SKY **WINNER OF THE GOOD READS BEST NONFICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2018THE NEW YORK TIMES #1 BESTSELLERSHORTLISTED FOR THE GORDON BURN PRIZE 2018The masterful true crime account of the Golden State Killer the serial rapist turned murderer who terrorised California for over a decade from the late Michelle McNamara.I'll Be Gone in the Dark offers a unique snapshot of suburban West Coast America in the 1980s, and a chilling account of the wreckage left behind by a criminal mastermind. It is also a portrait of one woman's obsession and her unflagging pursuit of the truth, three decades later, in spite of the personal cost.Updated with material which takes in the extraordinary events that followed its initial publication, Michelle McNamara's first and last book is a contemporary classic humane, haunting and heroic.

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Book SynopsisTHE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. American Kompromat unravels the Russian-influenced operations that amassed the dirty little secrets of the richest and most powerful men on earth. American Kompromat is based on extended and exclusive interviews with high-level sources in the KGB, CIA, and FBI, as well as lawyers at white-shoe Washington firms, associates of Jeffrey Epstein, and thousands of pages of FBI reports, police investigations, and news articles in English, Russian, and Ukrainian. A narrative offering jaw-dropping context, and set in Upper East Side mansions and private Caribbean islands, gigantic yachts, and private jets, American Kompromat shows that, from Donald Trump to Jeffrey Epstein, Russian operations transformed the darkest secrets of the most powerful people in the world into potent weapons that served its interests. Among its many revelations, American Kompromat addresses what may be the single most important unanswered question of the entire Trump era — and one that Unger argues is even more important now that Trump is out of office: Was Donald Trump a Russian asset? Just how compromised was he? And how could such an audacious feat have been accomplished? To answer these questions and more, Craig Unger reports, is to understand kompromat — operations that amassed compromising information on the richest and most powerful men on earth, and that leveraged power by appealing to what is, for some, the most prized possession of all: their vanity. This is a story that transcends the end of the Trump administration, illuminating a major underreported aspect of Trump’s corruption that has profoundly damaged American democracy.Trade Review‘For the first time a former KGB employee has gone on record to describe Donald Trump's historic relationship with the Kremlin. It's a bombshell that must be looked into.’ -- Robert Baer, former CIA operative and author of See No Evil‘Trump's loyalty to Russian dictator Vladimir Putin was deeper and more insidious than merely envying his wealth and power. America has removed Putin's puppet from the White House, but the KGB man who controlled him is still in the Kremlin, eager to repeat the success of his greatest operation: President Trump. Read Craig Unger to understand why the danger to American democracy is far from over.’ -- Garry Kasparov, chairman of the Renew Democracy Foundation and author of Winter Is Coming: why Vladimir Putin and the enemies of the free world must be stopped‘By compiling decades of Trump's seedy ties, disturbing and consistent patterns of behaviour, and unexplained contacts with Russian officials and criminals, Unger makes a strong case that Trump is probably a compromised trusted contact of Kremlin interests.’ -- John Sipher * Washington Post *‘Craig Unger has just published a wonderful, well-written book. The jewel in the crown is how the KGB cultivated Donald Trump. With assistance of the eminent former KGB officer Yuri Shvets, American Kompromat establishes how it really took place.’ -- Anders Åslund, senior fellow of The Atlantic Council‘A must-read. The gun's not quite smoking, but the barrel's plenty hot, and there are Russian shell casings all around.’ STARRED REVIEW * Kirkus Reviews *‘Unger shows how the most powerful people in the world use kompromat — Russian for compromising information — to further their political goals. Think Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein, Russians and Israelis — and ask how they get this information.’ * Library Journal *‘Make[s] the unassailable case that Donald J. Trump has been cultivated by Soviet and Russian leaders.’ * CounterPunch *

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Book Synopsis'I love puzzles, and finding answers is the only truly enjoyable part of what I do.'This is because Professor Patricia Wiltshire is a forensic ecologist, her days spent at crime scenes collecting samples, standing over dead bodies in a mortuary, or looking down her microscope for evidence. Nature has given us a messy, imperfect world, but her job is to help make sense of it when we need it to most. A pioneer of forensic ecology - using the natural world to help solve crimes - Patricia has been involved in some of the most high-profile murder cases. Not only does she help the police solve crimes and give answers to the most bemusing circumstances, she can help to exonerate the innocent and enable confessions from the guilty. Working at the interface of where the criminal and natural world interact, Patricia will show us how she finds the answers to some of the worst crimes imaginable.Through a study of her most infamous cases, we join Patricia in putting the puzzle together, teasing the evidence out of her cases - 'a garden came out of his hair' - and showing us all how life and death have always been, and always will be, intertwined. But how do you find justice for a mother who has lost her daughter in the most horrific of circumstances? How does she face the very worst of humanity's crimes, and the weight of responsibility to the victims and those they leave behind?

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Book SynopsisA thrilling expos recounting how members of Opus Deia secretive, ultra-conservative Catholic sectpushed its radical agenda within the Church and around the globe, using billions of dollars siphoned from one of the world's largest banks.For over half a century, Banco Popular was one of the most profitable banks in the worlduntil one day, in 2017, when the Spanish bank suddenly collapsed overnight. When investigative journalist Gareth Gore was dispatched to report on the story, he expected to find yet another case of unbridled capitalist ambition gone wrong. Instead, he uncovered decades of deception that hid one of the most brazen cases of corporate pillaging in history, perpetrated by a group of men sworn to celibacy and self-flagellation who had secretly controlled Popular and abused their positions there to help spread Opus Dei to every corner of the world. Drawing on unparalleled access to bank records, insider accounts, and exclusive interviews with whistle-b

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Book SynopsisIn this gripping work of true crime, a criminal lawyer takes readers inside the notorious Lori Vallow case and the devastating doomsday murders.A blonde beauty queen, missing children, six suspicious deaths, and the twisted Mormon doomsday writings of her fifth husband are only the beginning of a tragic crime saga that gripped Americans and instigated frantic searches all over the country. It all started when Lori Vallow met Chad Daybell at a doomsday prepper event. Their story grew like a wildfire that creates its own weather, and what happened next will shock even the most experienced true crime reader. Clinging to and manipulating one another, Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell believed the return of Jesus Christ was imminent and that God had chosen them to lead the 144,000 and usher in the new millennium. When the people closest to them began dying, it became clear they would stop at nothing to be together and fulfill their mission. When the bodies of Lor

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Book SynopsisThere was Megan Waterman, last seen leaving a hotel in Hauppauge, Long Island, just a month after Shannon’s disappearance in 2010, and Amber Lynn Costello, last seen leaving a house in West Babylon a few months later that same year.Trade Review“Kolker is a careful writer and researcher...[he paints] a far more nuanced picture of each young woman than any screaming headline could.” — Miami Herald “Through extensive interviews with the victims’ families and friends, Kolker creates compassionate portraits of the murdered young women, and uncovers the forces that drove them from their respective home towns into risky, but lucrative, careers as prostitutes in a digital age.” — New Yorker “Captivating.” — Boston Globe “Robert Kolker unflinchingly probes the 21st-century innovations that facilitated these crimes… ...An important examination of the socioeconomic and cultural forces that can shape a woman’s entry into prostitution.” — Kirkus Reviews “Beautifully and provocatively written.... [Lost Girls] will make all but the hardest-hearted empathetic. Add a baffling whodunit that remains, as the subtitle indicates, unsolved, and you have a captivating true crime narrative that’s sure to win new converts and please longtime fans of the genre.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review) “Robert Kolker’s LOST GIRLS is reportage at the highest level; it’s miss-your-bedtime storytelling… It’s a wonder.” — Darin Strauss, author of Half A Life “Lost Girls is a marvelous book, taking a complicated, trying story and making it compulsively readable. Kolker is an outstanding reporter and a sensitive narrator who does justice to a horrible tragedy by paying exactly the kind of attention that no one else did, or would.” — Nick Reding, author of Methland “The absence of the killer is the making of this book, a constraint that allows it to become extraordinary…humane and imaginative…[Kolker] shows the dented magnificence and universal sorrow within ordinary lives, and makes you realize how much more they are worth.” — Laura Miller, Salon “Kolker indulges in zero preaching and very little sociology; his is the lens of a classic police reporter. And often in Lost Girls, the facts are eloquent in themselves.” — Newsday “Some true crime books are exploitative…others grasp at serious literature. Robert Kolker’s new book falls into the latter category.” — New York Observer “Readers expecting an SVU-style true-crime story will be disappointed. But through detailed profiles of the victims themselves, Kolker has written a more provocative book—a book that is as much about class and economic pressures as it is about sex work and murder.” — The Daily Beast “Meticulously reported and beautifully written, Robert Kolker’s Lost Girls is a haunting and powerful crime story that gives voice to those who can no longer be heard. It is a story that you will not be able to forget.” — David Grann, author of Killers of the Flower Moon “A gothic whodunit for the Internet age…nearly unputdownable…[LOST GIRLS is] a horrific, cautionary tale that makes for a very different kind of beach read…Kolker expertly chronicles the sad cycle of poor, uneducated white women faced with lots of kids and few resources.” — Mimi Swartz, New York Times Book Review “Rich, tragic...monumental...true-crime reporting at its best.” — Washington Post “Engrossing...a car-crash of a book...By humanizing the women, Mr. Kolker has produced a subtle indictment of the sex trade.” — Nina Burleigh, New York Observer “A heart-chilling non-fiction tour-de-force...terrifying and intensely reported.” — Complex Magazine “A rare gem of a book that not only tells a riveting story but illuminates something about a slice of America and gets into a lot of very deep issues. Its really great on every front.” — Slate, DoubleX “Riveting and often heartbreaking...a lashing critique of how society, and the police, let these young women down.” — New York Times “Immensely evocative...we are left with is a visceral understanding of the lives of the victims and why they should have mattered more.” — New York Daily News “Terrific...vivid and moving...Grade: A-” — Entertainment Weekly “So masterful.” — Megan Abbott, author of Dare Me , via Twitter “By learning the intimate details of the women’s lives, seeing them as humans rather than victims, we see our similarities…Lost Girls is possibly the realest, fullest picture of what is happening with sex work in the US right now.” — The Guardian (UK) “Kolker does not hold back in addressing the fact that there was dysfunction in these women’s lives. They were drug addicts and teenage mothers and petty criminals. They suffered. But he can also see that within those circumstances they had moments of strength and self-assurance. ” — Barnes & Noble Review “Lost Girls is partly unsolved mystery...[partly]the intimate story of the five women… [and] a case study in the profound impact of the Internet, and particularly Craigslist, on the business of buying and selling sex.” — National Post (Canada)

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Book SynopsisThis book tells the history of forensics through the ?capture stories' of some of the most notorious serial killers, going back almost a century.Trade Review"Her absorbing narratives include grisly details, but emphasis on criminology elevates the text. . . . Ramsland presents concise, compelling examples of the progress of police work over the last century. Highly recommended for true crime buffs."—School Library Journal "Ramsland (The Forensic Psychology of Criminal Minds) surveys in this engrossing account the methods used to catch serial killers, retelling the capture of famous, and not so famous, murderers....Ramsland writes knowledgeably in an accessible style. This is a welcome addition to the true crime shelf."—Publishers Weekly​ “Readers will be chilled to the core.”—Booklist"Her absorbing narratives include grisly details, but emphasis on criminology elevates the text. VERDICT A focus on how killers are caught brings a fresh approach even to familiar cases. Ramsland presents concise, compelling examples of the progress of police work over the last century. Highly recommended for true crime buffs." —Library Journal "Ramsland writes knowledgeably in an accessible style. This is a welcome addition to the true crime shelf." —Publishers Weekly

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Book SynopsisTHE SHOCKING TRUE STORY BEHIND THE HIT TV DRAMA THREE GIRLS When detective Maggie Oliver first discovered that children as young as 10 were being groomed, abused and trafficked for sex by gangs of men in the Rochdale area, she felt like a lonely voice calling for people to act. Banging on closed doors, it seemed that nobody was able or willing to help her save these vulnerable girls, but she couldn't just sit back while countless lives were being destroyed forever in plain sight. Instead, she launched a one-woman campaign to bring down these sickening gangs. This is the heart-breaking and shocking story of how the actions of one determined detective secured convictions in what is now one of the most notorious grooming cases in the UK. Along the way Maggie discovered countless examples of how the authorities were letting down our most vulnerable children. She blew the whistle, losing her job and at times her mind at times, in a bid to stop others from experiencing the same. This is the first ever account from a police insider on the endemic problem of child sexual exploitation across the nation and how these cases are handled by the authorities put in place to protect us. It tells the story of a woman brave enough to speak out and a group of girls who found the strength to fight for justice after having their lives completely shattered by their abusers; together they show in shocking detail why this must never happen again.

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Book SynopsisRulloff was a brilliant yet utterly amoral murderer - some have called him a ''Victorian-era Hannibal Lecter'' - whose crimes spanned decades, but by 1871 he was captured, chained in a cell - a psychopath holding court while curious 19th-century ''mindhunters'' got to work.From alienists (early psychiatrists who tried to analyse the source of his madness) to neurologists (who wanted to dissect his brain) to phrenologists (who analysed the bumps on his head to determine his character), each one thought he held the key to understanding the essential question: is evil born or made?Expanding on her hit podcast, Tenfold More Wicked, acclaimed crime historian Kate Winkler Dawson draws on hundreds of source materials and never-before-shared historical documents to present one of the first glimpses into the mind of a serial killer - a century before the term was coined - through the scientists whose work would come to influence criminal justice for decades to come.

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Book Synopsis''A lively and dramatic account of greed, corruption, and scandal that will captivate you from start to finish.'' FRANK W. ABAGNALE, subject of Catch Me If You Can''Everything you feared was true about crypto and much worse are laid bare in this gripping and infuriating insider account... Funny, illuminating and beautifully written.'' LIAM VAUGHAN, author of Flash Crash: A Trading Savant, a Global Manhunt and the Most Mysterious Market Crash in HistoryCrypto Confidential tells the salacious story of the industry everyone is talking about right now. In doing so, it sheds light on some of the most scandalous financial crimes of the twenty-first century. From billion-dollar fraud cases to international money laundering cartels, political bribery and even faked deaths, it lifts the lid on the intricate and immense web of malpractice that crypto founders spin to trap ordinary investors.Wr

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Book SynopsisThe 'Wild West', or American Frontier as it is also known, developed in the years following the American Civil War. However, this period of myth-making cowboys, infamous gunslingers, not always law-abiding lawmen, and saloon madams, is as much the product of fiction writers and film makers as reality. The outlaw came into his, or indeed her, own in the mid to late 19th century. Some of these individuals, men such as Billy the Kid, William Clarke Quantrill, Butch Cassidy or Harry Longabaugh, better known as the Sundance Kid, became household names. Many of those who roamed America's West in the period between 1850 and 1900 often appear as colourful, romanticised, legendary characters. This includes the likes of Frank and Jesse James, who had stepped outside the law due to the harshness of life after the Civil War or under circumstances beyond their control. The majority of outlaws, though, were anonymous common criminals. In 1877, for example, the State Adjutant General of Texas, published 'wanted posters' for some 5,000 outlaws and bandits in the Rio Grande district alone, almost all of whom have since vanished into the mists of time. When it comes to the Wild West, it is important to separate fact from fiction. Of the known recorded killings by the various outlaws and gunfighters, Billy the Kid killed four men, not the twenty that some writers attributed to him. A notorious gunslinger, John Wesley Hardin was said to have killed twenty-seven men, but was only charged with one murder. Wild Bill Hickok killed three men, two of them in Abilene whilst he was City Marshal, and one in Springfield, Missouri, for which he was tried and found not guilty. Clay Allison, however, was thought to have killed at least fifteen men in his time as a gunfighter, whilst some of the outlaw gangs, such as the Rufus Buck Gang and the Evans Gang, were particularly violent and ruthless. The days of the outlaws of the Wild West gradually came to an end at the turn of the nineteenth into the twentieth century. The legends, however, live on.

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Book SynopsisTHE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER FROM PABLO ESCOBAR’S SONUntil now, we believed that everything had been said about the rise and fall of the most infamous drug lord of all time, Pablo Escobar – from books to film to the cult series ‘Narcos’. But these versions have always been told from the outside, only capturing half the truth, and never from the intimacy of his own home. Now, more than two decades after the full-fledged manhunt finally caught up with Escobar, his son brings us the dramatic truth as never before.Here we find a man of contradictions – generosity and infinite love for his family; yet capable of the most extreme acts of cruelty and violence. In a deeply personal exploration of his father, we see the inner world of a man who was celebrated by some as a benevolent Robin Hood figure and by others, as a dangerous leader of the most ruthless mafia organisation in human history, reaping vengeance and death on anyone that might stand in his way. When Escobar died, his then teenage son vowed revenge. But Escobar Jr. quickly recognised that meant following in his father's footsteps—something neither of them had ever wanted. With his change of heart, he denounced the Pablo Escobar legacy. This is far from the story of a child seeking redemption, but a shocking look at the consequences of violence and his attempt to come to terms with it.

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Book SynopsisA BOOK OF THE YEAR FOR THE FINANCIAL TIMES AND FORTUNE MAGAZINE. The epic story of how a young social climber from Malaysia pulled off one of the biggest financial heists in history. In 2015, rumours began circulating that billions of dollars had been stolen from a Malaysian investment fund. The mastermind of the heist was twenty-seven-year-old Jho Low, a serial fabulist from an upper-middle-class Malaysian family, who had carefully built his reputation as a member of the jet-setting elite by arranging and financing elaborate parties for Wall Street bankers, celebrities, and even royalty. With the aid of Goldman Sachs and others, Low stole billions of dollars, right under the nose of global financial industry watchdogs. He used the money to finance elections, purchase luxury real estate, throw champagne-drenched parties, and bankroll Hollywood films like The Wolf of Wall Street. Billion Dollar Whale reveals how this silver-tongued con man, a ‘modern Gatsby’, emerged from obscurity to pull off one of the most audacious financial heists the world has ever seen, and how the financial industry let him. It is a classic harrowing parable of hubris and greed in the financial world.Trade Review‘An extraordinary tale … richly woven … with dogged reporting … Like all good business stories, Billion Dollar Whale is bigger than the immediate one it tells. It is a story of emerging markets crippled by corruption and cronyism and comes from the era of egregious — and mostly punishment-free — banking … One thing is clear. If ever Hollywood gets round to telling the story on screen, here is perfect material for the script.’ * Financial Times *‘If you like global intrigue, financial crime, wealth porn, and absurdity, Billion Dollar Whale, by Tom Wright and Bradley Hope, is for you … It almost seems made up. Still, anyone who has followed the news out of Malaysia will know that the story is all too real.’ * The New Yorker *‘As Bad Blood is to biotech, Billion Dollar Whale is to international finance … a wonderful read … Thrilling.’ -- Bill Gates‘An impeccably researched book.’ -- Matthew Valencia * The Economist *‘One of the best business books in a long time.’ * Brian Sullivan, CNBC *‘What a blast to read! A true life thriller that reads like a Hollywood movie, Billion Dollar Whale traces the exploits of the most mercurial, mysterious big player in history. Jho Low is Gatsby with twice the bank account and ten times the ambition, and the stories surrounding his exploits leap right off the page!’ * Ben Mezrich, New York Times bestselling author of The Accidental Billionaires and Bringing Down The House *‘I couldn’t put it down.’ -- Pete Tong * The Times *‘One of the most important books of 2018.’ * MoneyLaundering.com *‘Wright and Hope deliver a scintillating and prodigiously reported tale of a globe-spanning modern Gatsby and his audacious fraud.’ * Jesse Eisinger, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for ProPublica and author of The Chickenshit Club *‘This story of a Wharton graduate who carried out the $5 billion swindle known as 1MDB offers a textbook case of financial fraud in the modern age.’ * New York Times *‘A rip-roaring case in kleptocracy.’ * The Economist *‘An incredible story … If you need some billionaires to despise—look no further than these charlatans.’ * Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit *‘Even the most skilled fiction writer would have trouble conjuring the corrupt and colorful protagonist of Billion Dollar Whale. Bradley Hope and Tom Wright's gripping portrait of Jho Low and his enablers throughout the global financial system will both fascinate and enrage you.’ * Sheelah Kolhatkar, staff writer at The New Yorker and New York Times bestselling author of Black Edge *‘The story of a massive international financial scandal … As the authors amply prove, the scandal reaches far beyond Low. To succeed, he relied on the naivete, greed, and generally immoral conduct of huge banks as well as corrupt governments.’ * Kirkus *‘Wright and Hope transform their investigation of a mind-boggling financial fraud into a nonfiction thriller … This is an epic tale of white-collar crime on a global scale.’ STARRED REVIEW * Publishers Weekly *‘An amazing tale of greed … juicy and entertaining.’ STARRED REVIEW * Library Journal *‘Well-researched and well-documented … Reveals how Low used a bag of tricks, including financial fraud, to make himself seem more powerful, more influential, and more successful than he actually was … This is a must-read.’ * Booklist *‘Billion Dollar Whale does more than dissect a financial fraud of epic proportions; it takes the reader on a fascinating journey inside the heart of a con that was years in the making. Wright and Hope show how perception becomes reality in the hands of a consummate financial illusionist. Billion Dollar Whale proves once again that truth is stranger than fiction.’ -- Gregory A. Coleman, retired FBI Special Agent; Case Agent, ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ Investigation‘The authors strike a good balance between keeping Low’s story at the centre and making it clear that 1MDB was a scandal waiting to happen … they also provide some telling anecdotes.’ * Money Week *‘I highly recommend this rip-roaring story of brazen fraud … political corruption … and investment-banker callousness.’ * Adam Lashinsky, Fortune *‘Jaw dropping.’ -- Ed Needham * Strong Words *‘Gripping … The heist of the century.’ * Axios *‘Take one chubby Malaysian business school graduate. Mix with Middle Eastern sheikhs and greedy Southeast Asian politicians. Add Wall Street investment banks, law firms and Swiss wealth managers. Then mix in superyachts, five-star hotels, luxury apartments, nightclubs, models, A-list movie stars — and bathtubs of champagne … [This] richly reported page-turner is meticulously pieced together from interviews, documents and emails by Wall Street Journal reporters Tom Wright and Bradley Hope.’ * Peter Thal Larsen, Reuters *‘Compelling.’ * Minneapolis Star Tribune *‘A wonderful book … A rip-roaring, absolutely delightful account of one of the biggest financial cons in the history of the world … If you liked Bad Blood, you might well enjoy Billion Dollar Whale … An incredible story of a con artist at the height of his game.’ * David Plotz, Slate “Political Gabfest” *‘A cracking read.’ * Unreserved Media *‘An incredible story.’ * Knowledge@Wharton *‘Just finished reading Billion Dollar Whale and was blown away. I thought I had seen it all with Russian kleptocracy, but the story of the money stolen in Malaysia in 1MDB and all the enthusiastic Western enablers was unbelievable.’ -- Bill Browder, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Red Notice‘This thrilling true story reads like a Hollywood movie.’ * Sheerluxe Man *

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Book SynopsisPeople lie, cheat, steal and even kill for a variety of reasons, one of which is to go motor racing, a particularly expensive and egotistical sport. This intriguing book, the result of years of research, encompasses not just those who have been 'driven to crime' in order to pay for their sport but also characters within motor racing who have been involved in wrongdoing, sometimes through no fault of their own. Over 60 true stories cover webs of deceit and numerous crimes including drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement, robbery, fraud, murder and money laundering. The author investigates misdemeanours at all levels, from drivers, designers and mechanics to team owners, entrants and sponsors. This book will appeal not only to motor racing enthusiasts and cognoscenti on both sides of the Atlantic but also to anyone who enjoys reading about crime. Key content • Stories of motorsport chicanery from all over the world, including… • Fraud: Southern Organs (lay preachers who faked suicide and hid on a remote Scottish island); Jerry Dominelli (a Ponzi scheme that funded top-level racing Porsches); Jean-Pierre Van Rossem (self-styled stock-market guru who bankrolled an F1 team); Dominic Chappell (serial bankrupt racer brought down after purchasing a British department store); David Thieme (the Lotus sponsor who vanished). • Murder: David Blakely (the driver killed by his lover Ruth Ellis); Franco Ambrosio (F1 sponsor of Shadow and Arrows); Elmer George (American racer who married into Indy ‘royalty’); Ricardo Londoño-Bridge (Colombia’s first F1 driver); Mickey Thompson (1960s American drag-racing icon); Nick Whiting (casualty of the biggest gold bullion heist in British history). • Swindles: James Munroe (accounts manager who embezzled his way to a racing McLaren F1 GTR); Lord Brocket (jailed for staging the theft of his classic cars, including Ferraris); Andrea Harkness (stripper who ripped off NASCAR). • Drugs: Ian Burgess (sometime British F1 racer); Randy Lanier (drug-smuggling IMSA champion); John Paul Sr and Jr (talented son dragged into a racing father’s drug-running); Vic Lee (super-successful team owner with a dodgy transporter); the Whittington brothers (more misdeeds in IMSA circles). • Other misdemeanours: Roy James (Great Train Robbery getaway driver); Bertrand Gachot (jailed after road rage in London); Juan Manuel Fangio (kidnapped by Cuban rebels in 1958); Colin Chapman (the unresolved ‘DeLorean Affair’); ‘Spygate’ (Ferrari design secrets passed to McLaren).

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Book SynopsisINSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERLONGLISTED FOR THE FINANCIAL TIMES 2023 BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR'A smart, savvy road map through the mayhem of the cryptocurrency madness.' —RON CHERNOW, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Alexander HamiltonFrom “one of the crypto industry’s unlikely but most prominent critics” (Washington Post), an entertaining and well-researched account of the rise and fall of cryptocurrency. At the height of the pandemic, TV star Ben McKenzie was the perfect mark for cryptocurrency: a dad stuck at home with some cash in his pocket, worried about his family, armed with only the vague notion that people were making heaps of money on something he—despite a degree in economics—didn’t entirely understand. Lured in by grandiose, utopian promises, and sure, a little bit of FOMO, McKenzie dove deep into blockchain, Bitcoin, andTrade Review“If you're looking for a smart, savvy road map through the mayhem of the cryptocurrency madness, Easy Money is the guidebook for you. Ben McKenzie has given us a wry and knowing saga of his personal quest to expose the crypto charlatans, and his sleuthing uncovers a world of frauds, true believers, and opportunists that you won't soon forget.” * Ron Chernow, Pulitzer Prize–winning and New York Times bestselling author of Alexander Hamilton and The House of Morgan *“Ben McKenzie takes us on an amazing journey, guiding us through the astounding story of how a bizarre cast of swindlers and scammers persuaded millions of people to take leave of their senses and part with trillions of dollars, only to put them into the surreal and illusory world of so called ‘crypto assets’ and watch them vanish into thin air. When it is all over, the last couple of years will prove to have been one of the strangest episodes in the history of money.” * Liaquat Ahamed, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Lords of Finance *“Ben McKenzie's Easy Money is a perfectly timed page-turner that gets to the heart of the fundamental scam that was (and is) the mania around cryptocurrency. It's a devastatingly well-told story of greed, con men, and endless gullibility. McKenzie goes down the rabbit hole, only to become a full-throated skeptic who then takes us along on his journey of enlightenment and discovery, proving once again that if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.” * William D. Cohan New York Times bestselling author of Power Failure and House of Cards *“Superb . . . the terrible story of our economic times.” * Julian Zelizer, coeditor of Myth America and professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University *“Easy Money is a deceptively ambitious project—at once a riveting account of the financial crime of the century, and a thoughtful meditation on the nature of democracy and what we owe each other.” * Zachary Carter, author of The Price of Peace: Money, Democracy, and the Life of John Maynard Keynes *“Easy Money is a smart, fast-paced, and timely exposé of corporate greed, fraud, and incompetence masquerading as genius. Simultaneously illuminating and infuriating, authors McKenzie and Silverman’s page-turning book goes on a global journey to explain how crypto is the latest Ponzi scheme orchestrated to seduce and defraud the masses while benefitting the very few.” * Wajahat Ali, author of Go Back to Where You Came From *“The perfect guide to the recent bitcoin hysteria…. gripping.” * Financial Times *One of the golden rules of finance is never invest in something you don’t understand. This book shows what happens when you ignore it. * Times of London *

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Book SynopsisOver the past few decades, there has been a remarkable rise in the number of people who speak publicly about their experience of crime. These personal accounts used to be confined to the police station and the courtroom, but today bookshops heave with autobiographies by prisoners, criminals, police and barristers while streaming platforms host hours of interviews with serial killers, death-row residents, vigilantes and gang members. In this fascinating new book, criminologist Jennifer Fleetwood examines seven infamous crime stories to make sense of this modern confessional impulse, including Howard Marks's outlandish autobiography Mr Nice, Shamima Begum's controversial Times interview, Prince Andrew's disastrous Newsnight appearance and Myra Hindley's unpublished prison letters.

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Book SynopsisThe shocking true-crime story of two orphaned sisters who arrived at a health retreat as patients - but only one would ever make it out alive... An extraordinary and gripping account of the starvation doctor from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of If You Tell.In 1911 two British heiresses, Claire and Dora Williamson, read a brochure about a revolutionary fasting treatment that promised a lifetime of good health. The sanatorium in the village of Olalla, west of Seattle, was surrounded by a beautiful forest, sparkling waters and fresh air. The sisters agreed it sounded perfect and exactly the restorative holiday they needed.But within a month of arriving, under the supervision of Doctor Linda Burfield Hazzard, Claire and Dora began to realise the frightening truth - they were not patients but prisoners at the isolated sanitorium.Starved and on the edge of death, the sisters made several desperate attempts to escape. But only one would ever make it out alive.Chilling and harrowing, Starvation Heights is a story of two vulnerable sisters, and how they were manipulated by a cunning and dangerous doctor into believing that her monstrous treatments would 'cure' them. Will totally hook fans of The Five and The Devil in the White City.What readers are saying about Starvation Heights:"A fascinating turn-of-the-century story of medical malpractice and murder. If you liked The Alienist, you'll find Starvation Heights all the more gripping because this story is true." Michael Connelly"An engrossing and compelling look at a shocking crime in another era. Olsen's deft touch takes us back to the early 1900s so cleverly that reading Starvation Heights is akin to stepping into a time machine." Ann Rule"One of today's true-crime masters." Caitlin Rother, New York Times bestselling author"Grab a glass of wine and buckle up... If you're into dark true crime, this is the book for you!" Goodreads reviewer, <☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆>"I couldn't put it down." Goodreads reviewer, <☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ >"One of the best books I have read in a long time." Goodreads reviewer, <☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ >"Fascinating... a must read for any true crime or history buff." Goodreads reviewer, <☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ >"Mind blowing." NetGalley reviewer, <☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ >"A blistering good tale... mind boggling... a definite winner for fans of true crime, mystery and thrillers and one I will be reflecting on for a long time." Goodreads reviewer, <☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ >"A wonderful true crime read." NetGalley reviewer, <☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ >"In depth and well researched you will find yourself immersed... I found myself completely wound up in it and felt like I was in the courtroom. Terrific." Goodreads reviewer, <☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ >"True crime masterpiece... highly disturbing yet riveting and unusual." Goodreads reviewer, <☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ >"I absolutely loved this!... so disturbing and fascinating." Nicoles.novel.obsession, <☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ >"Olsen has done it again... remarkably detailed... not a book I will soon forget." Inky Book reviews, <☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ >Trade ReviewA fascinating turn-of-the-century story of medical malpractice and murder. If you liked The Alienist, you'll find Starvation Heights all the more gripping because this story is true. -- Michael ConnellyAn engrossing and compelling look at a shocking crime in another era. Olsen's deft touch takes us back to the early 1900s so cleverly that reading Starvation Heights is akin to stepping into a time machine. -- Ann RuleOne of today's true-crime masters. -- Caitlin Rother, New York Times bestselling authorAn account of real-life villainry that outdoes anything a novelist might concoct. -- Les Standiford, author of Meet You in Hell

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Book SynopsisAS SEEN IN THE SUNDAY TIMES, THE UK'S NO.1 FORENSIC ECOLOGIST LOOKS AT HER MOST HIGH-PROFILE AND INTERESTING CASES...'I love puzzles, and finding answers is the only truly enjoyable part of what I do.' Professor Patricia Wiltshire is a forensic ecologist, her days spent at crime scenes collecting samples, standing over dead bodies in a mortuary, or looking down her microscope for evidence.Working at the interface of where the criminal and natural world interact, Patricia has been involved in some of the most high-profile murder cases. Now, through a study of her most infamous, and fascinating cases - including the murder of Sarah Payne, and the Soham murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman - Patricia will show us how she finds the answers to some of the worst crimes imaginable. Not only does she help the police solve crimes and give answers to the most bemusing circumstances, she can help to exonerate t

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