Serial Killers True Crime

The definitive book on the hunt to find the most ruthless serial killer in Los Angeles' history, told by the fearless reporter who broke the story. In 2008, Christine Pelisek broke the story of a terrifying serial killer who went unchecked in Los Angeles for decades, killing the most vulnerable women in one South Central neighborhood.

In 1975, after Manson Family member Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme’s attempt to kill President Gerald Ford, the FBI found a cache of letters in the would-be assassin’s Sacramento apartment. The return address belonged to future forensic psychologist Jeffrey Smalldon, then a young undergraduate. A decade later, after the shocking murders of two co-workers, Smalldon’s quest to understand the twisted minds and motivations of killers became personal in a way it never had been before.

Serial Killers and Prostitutes taps into the best-selling author's expertise on serial murderers and sex trade workers in offering an in-depth look at four noteworthy cases in which the two worlds collide.

Ted Bundy is such an enigma that it is a challenge to describe him in one sentence. He is certainly one of the most notorious serial killers of all time and one which both fascinates and terrifies us all in some way or another. To think that he was able to sustain a life of education, romance, politics, and ordinary day-jobs while he brutally raped and murdered countless women across the United States is gut-wrenching - there were no signs of what he hid behind his charming smile and boyish personality.

More than 40 years ago Charles Manson and his mostly female commune killed nine people, among them the pregnant actress Sharon Tate. It was the culmination of a criminal career that author Jeff Guinn traces back to Manson’s childhood. Guinn interviewed Manson’s sister and cousin, neither of whom had ever previously cooperated with an author. Childhood friends, cellmates, and even some members of the Manson family have provided new information about Manson’s life. Guinn has made discoveries about the night of the Tate murders, answering unresolved questions.

On the night of October 10, 2008, Johnny Altinger was heading to his first date with a woman he had met online. He was never seen again. Two weeks earlier, aspiring filmmaker Mark Twitchell, a young father with a devotion to the television series Dexter, began a three-day shoot for his latest short film. His horror story featured a serial killer who impersonates women on an online dating site to lure unsuspecting men to his suburban kill room. But was his script actually the blueprint for a real-life murder?

The idea of Scotland Yard is steeped in atmospheric stories of foggy London streets, murder by lamplight, and fiendish killers pursued by gentleman detectives. From its establishment in 1829 through the eve of World War II, Scotland Yard—the world’s first modern, professional, and centrally organized police force—set new standards for policing and investigating. Based on official case files, contemporary newspaper reporting, trial transcripts, and the first-hand accounts of the detectives on the beat, Scotland Yard tells the tales of some of history’s most notorious murders.

The six true-crime stories included in this collection are dark and chilling, and will leave you with a new understanding of just how fragile the human mind can be.

In 1990, a young woman was strangled on a jogging path near the home of Pat Brown and her family. Brown suspected the young man who was renting a room in her house, and quickly uncovered strong evidence that pointed to him - but the police dismissed her as merely a housewife with an overactive imagination. It would be six years before her former boarder would be brought in for questioning, but the night Brown took action to solve the murder was the beginning of her life's work.

In September 1998, young reporter Claudia Rowe was working as a stringer for The New York Times in Poughkeepsie, New York, when local police discovered the bodies of eight women stashed in the attic and basement of the small colonial home that Kendall Francois, a painfully polite 27-year-old community college student, shared with his parents and sister. Growing up amid the safe, bourgeois affluence of New York City, Rowe had always been secretly fascinated by the darkness and soon became obsessed with the story and with Francois.

A lot of people have hobbies - most of the time, that hobby is directed by their penchant for a certain thing; sometimes travel and exploration, sometimes food, and in other cases, crafts. However, there are people whose hobbies consist of sinister things: some of them desire to kill women, both young and old, children, or homosexuals.

Smile is a chilling account of Rodney Alcala, one of the most prolific serial killers in American history. Ryan Green gives a suspenseful narrative that draws the listener into the real-life horror experienced by the victims with all the elements of a captivating thriller.

To all appearances, Dennis Rader was a model citizen in the small town of Park City, Kansas, where he had lived with his family almost his entire life. He was a town compliance officer, a former Boy Scout leader, the president of his church congregation, and a seemingly ordinary father and husband. But Rader's average life belied the existence of his dark, sadistic other self: he was the BTK serial killer.

Ever been fascinated by the complex world of serial killers? It's so complex but also simple if you really think about it. Right? Want to get a deeper insight like, "What makes someone turn to cannibalism?" or "How do experts dissect a crime scene?" Well, "Serial Killer Trivia" will satisfy all those burning curiosities. And the ones you didn't know existed!

Have you ever come face-to-face with the devil? In a tapestry of sports, business, and dating, there is an evil presence that is not quite visible to anyone: the Bedroom Strangler. A serial killer who scales 15-story buildings, enters through the balcony, and stealthily slithers under the bedroom bed, with the sole intent of raping and murdering innocent women in their sleep. He has been classified as the worst serial killer in Ontario's history and Canada's most dangerous criminal ever, operating at the height of London's 40-year serial killer period, from 1974 to 1978.

Israel Keyes was an American serial killer who was active from approximately 2001 to his capture in 2012. He was known for his extreme attention to detail, his patience, and his discipline in selecting targets that lived far away from him. He was also meticulous in disposing of his victim's bodies as authorities have not uncovered any other evidence that Keyes did not provide.

Welcome back to Unsolved Serial Killers, the third volume with 10 more bone-chilling and nightmare-inducing cases of serial killers you've never heard of, and the victims whose names were either never discovered or have been forgotten over time. Featuring 10 more of the most shocking and notorious serial killers who were never caught, take a ride from coast to coast, and relive the terrible crimes that rocked perfectly normal communities and shattered their sense of security as they encountered firsthand the depravity of mankind.

We may not always see what truly hides within the minds and hearts of certain people, and where we believe is a good, pure individual, lays a terrible murderer capable of the most horrible acts. Robert Berdella was one such man, a helpful and friendly individual who - in a spree separated by a few years - managed to capture and horrifically torture seven young men, murdering six along the way. Control and dominance were his tools, pain was his method.

They thought they had got away with murder. They were wrong. Discover the vital clues, the crucial evidence, the lucky breaks, the chases, the painstaking detective work, and the unlikely heroes that led to the capture of some of the world's most notorious murderers and serial killers, such as "The Good Nurse" poisoner Charles Cullen, finally detected by a young colleague; "Night Stalker" Richard Ramirez, spotted by a 13-year-old boy; "Son of Sam", unmasked by a parking ticket; John Wayne Gacy, connected to his final victim by a stray receipt; and, Rodney Alcala, spotted on a TV game show...

The nice guy next door was hiding a dark secret - a homicidal obsession with young girls. It didn't end until his final victim, still bound in handcuffs, escaped while he slept. She recounted the details of a night of horror spent with an elusive serial killer. Neither family nor friends saw Richard Marc Evonitz's dark side - he saved that for his victims - until his double life came undone by a courageous, resourceful 15-year-old. The authorities had questions about many unsolved cold cases, but Evonitz had one more shocking surprise in store for everyone. Into the Water is a cautionary tale about the vulnerability of our children.