American Crime

In 1901, as America tallied its gains from a period of unprecedented imperial expansion, an assassin's bullet shattered the nation's confidence. The shocking murder of President William McKinley threw into stark relief the emerging new world order of what would come to be known as the American Century.

The State of Jones is a true story about the South during the Civil War, the real South. Not the South that has been mythologized in novels and movies, but an authentic, hardscrabble place where poor men were forced to fight a rich man's war for slavery and cotton. In Jones County, Mississippi, a farmer named Newton Knight led his neighbors, white and black alike, in an insurrection against the Confederacy at the height of the Civil War.

When Keyshia and Clyde meet, they are instantly drawn to each other. Forced to pay back a large sum of cash to one nasty Harlem kingpin or risk the lethal consequences, Keyshia and Clyde use their tight game and their loyalty to pull off the impossible. And when Clyde is falsely accused of a bank hit, Keyshia vows to stick by her man - no matter the cost.

Born with Olympic dreams in her heart, Jemeker Hairston's path took a brutal detour. A series of devastating events ignited a fierce determination to escape poverty, leading her into the perilous world of American drug cartels. "American Queen Pin" is the unfiltered and powerful story of her rise and fall, a gritty chronicle of power, peril, and the raw power of redemption.

An extraordinary fiction debut: a large, stirring novel of suspense that is, at the same time, a work of brilliantly astute social observation. Publishers Weekly predicts this "will be the talk of the political in-crowd this summer," and Booklist's starred review calls it "a roman à clef with fascinating insights into the behind-the-scenes machinations of racial and power politics." Don't miss this one!

Dovey Johnson Roundtree was most famous for her successful defense of an indigent Black man accused of the murder of Mary Pinchot Meyer, a prominent White Washington, DC, socialite, in 1965. Despite her triumph in this high-profile case, Roundtree continued to represent the poor and the underserved. She was the first lawyer to bring a bus-desegregation case before the Interstate Commerce Commission, clinching the ruling that enabled Robert F. Kennedy to enforce bus integration. She was also among the first Black women to enter the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps.

American Animals is a coming-of-age crime memoir centered around three childhood friends: Warren, Spencer, and Eric. Disillusioned with freshman year of college, and determined to escape from their mundane Middle-American existences, the three hatch a plan to steal millions of dollars' worth of artwork and rare manuscripts from a university museum. The story that unfolds is a gripping adventure of teenage rebellion, from meetings with black-market art dealers in Amsterdam, to the opulent galleries of Christie's auction house in Rockefeller Center.

Sixteen years after Richard Hill testified in court that he crouched under the tablecloth and saw Henry Clayton rape his white momma and murder her and his black poppa, a DNA swab earns the prisoner a pardon and his freedom. Returning to Red River Falls, Clayton claims that he has been reborn and offers to help Hill, now a patrol officer, identify who really killed his parents. Hill, who relives the family horrors every day, doesn't believe him. But how can he prove DNA evidence wrong?

Eliot Ness presents the first complete picture of the real Eliot Ness. Both fearless and shockingly shy, he inspired courage and loyalty in men twice his age, forged law-enforcement innovations that are still with us today, and earned acclaim and scandal from both his professional and personal lives. Through it all, he believed unwaveringly in the integrity of law and the basic goodness of his fellow Americans.

Six moving profiles reveal the complex realities behind gun violence in the United States. Author Daniel J. Patinkin exhaustively interviewed each of six shooters about their life experiences and about the unique circumstances that compelled them to use a firearm against another person. The result is a series of profound narratives that is sure to distress and challenge the listener, but also, perhaps, to provide enlightenment and inspiration.

Tony Russo thought he had it all figured out. Fresh out of prison and leading his crew of skilled bank robbers, Tony's plans to start over in Tampa seemed airtight. But after a series of high-stakes heists, their latest job goes disastrously wrong, leaving Tony and his crew on the run, hunted by the cops and facing a city closing in around them. In an ironic twist of fate, Tony finds himself in the middle of an amateur robbery at a Tampa dive bar. When the situation turns violent, Tony steps in to stop the chaos and protect an innocent bystander.

Upstanding officer, dedicated daughter, or stone cold killer? She's taking crime to an unspeakable level. At a very young age, Crystal knew that she wanted to be a police officer just like her father. Crystal's dad was nothing less of a superhero in her eyes and she was flabbergasted every time she caught a glimpse of him on television in his superhero uniform. Of course, as she got older she realized that it was just the evening news reporting local crime, but that didn't undercut her admiration for him.

This is the riveting account of one of the first Americans to spy for Joseph Stalin. A brilliant Columbia University graduate, Isaiah Oggins went to Berlin to establish a safe house and spy for his country - but he turned coat. Working for the Soviets, he was nevertheless poisoned in 1947 on Stalin's orders. Classified for decades, Oggins' story is a cloak-and-dagger tale to rival the best novels.

He is a street star from the Southside of Jamaica Queens and a towering icon from the underworld of New York. At the dawn of the crack era he was the Don Dada of Baisley Projects and set the tone and styles for the would-be rappers and future CEO's of the music industry. They catered to and emulated him and his crew. He was the original hip-hop hustler and an American Gangster of epic proportions. Listen to his story today.

The story of Amy Biehl is well known in South Africa. The 26-year-old white American Fulbright scholar was brutally murdered on August 25, 1993, during the final, fiery days of apartheid by a mob of young black men in a township outside Cape Town. Her parents' forgiveness of two of her killers became a symbol of the truth and reconciliation process in South Africa. Justine van der Leun decided to introduce the story to an American audience. But as she delved into the case, the prevailing narrative started to unravel.

There was no shortage of well-known public enemies like John Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson, but none fascinated the American public as much as Bonnie and Clyde. While the duo and their Barrow Gang were no more murderous than other outlaws of the era, the duo's romantic relationship, and the discovery of photographs at one of their hideouts, added a more human dimension to Bonnie and Clyde, even as they were gunning down civilians and cops alike.

As Melanie Carson and Kim Foster board their flight in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, bound for Paris, France, they are giddy with excitement to be on their first international adventure - studying at the Sorbonne. They could never have imagined the horror that will confront them only weeks into their Parisienne adventure. When Melanie disappears from her room one night, Inspector Pierre Dubois is called in to investigate. His sharp instincts and experience, after a brief investigation, tell him she didn’t leave on her own but was kidnapped. But by whom? And why Melanie?

Vivian is a cosmopolitan Taiwanese-American tourist who often escapes her busy life in London through adventure and travel. Johnny is a 15-year-old Irish teenager living a neglected life on the margins of society. He has grown up in a family where crime is customary, violence is a necessity, and everything - and anyone - can be yours for the taking. As Vivian looks to find her calling professionally, she delights in exploring foreign countries, rolling hillsides, and new cultures. But all of that changes when...Vivian's path collides with Johnny.

For the last decade, Margaret Regan has reported on the escalating chaos along the Arizona-Mexico border, ground zero for immigration since 2000. Undocumented migrants cross into Arizona in overwhelming numbers, a state whose anti-immigrant laws are the most stringent in the nation. And Arizona has the highest number of migrant deaths. Fourteen-year-old Josseline, a young girl from El Salvador who was left to die alone on the migrant trail, was just one of thousands to perish in its deserts and mountains.

An estimated 800,000 children are reported missing each year in the United States. Only one in 10,000 are found dead. Yet unsolved child murders are almost a daily occurrence - of nearly 52,000 juvenile homicides between 1980 and 2008, more than 20 percent remain open. Drawing on FBI reports, police and court records, and interviews with victims’ families, this book provides details and evidence for 18 unsolved cases from 1956 to 1998.