book reviews
Book reviews for true crime junkies; probe the minds of murderers with our collection of novels, memoirs, biographies, criminal psychology and forensic science books.
Book Review: "The Psychopath" by Mary Turner Thomson
When we think of a psychopath, most of us think of murderous and horrid people and we would be right to do so. But most of us do not even know how to define a psychopath, have not actually met one or have only really seen this stuff on television so do not connect with it in a truer sense. As we are unable to actually put this into perspective, it always comes as a surprise when someone writes about their experience with a psychopath in a very realistic way because it challenges the notions put forward in films such as "American Psycho" (2000) - which may be a good film but not wholeheartedly accurate according to the DSM.
By Annie Kapur5 years ago in Criminal
5 Modern True Crime Books You Need to Read
True crime has honestly become more and more popular as a genre over the last ten years. Not only in literature but also in film and TV, we have more and more documentaries on crime and documentary 'limited series' on crime being made at an almost alarming rate. Documentary true crime has also become more popular thanks to the Netflix True Crime culture in which everything from serial killers to drug lords are shown being captured and given the sentences they deserve in extraordinary circumstances of small evidence that causes their downfall. And yet, in all of this, I have been happy to say that though some of these are original screenplays made for documentary film/TV - some of them are also adapted from books. These books have become more and more popular as this rise has continued over time.
By Annie Kapur5 years ago in Criminal
Book Review: "Love as Always, Mum" by Mae West
When we talk about true crime, we normally speak about the person who wrote the book as simply an author - someone who had done their research, spoken to people, compiled evidence of psychologists and forensics to paint a close analysis of this criminal in question. However, in this true crime book, no research was needed. This may have been the author of the book but she was also the daughter of the killers - bearing witness and often suffering their brutality.
By Annie Kapur5 years ago in Criminal
Book Review: "Killing for Company" by Brian Masters
I'm pretty sure that it said somewhere in the book that Brian Masters himself is against the word 'evil' as it is an adjective that opens up so many different arguments. But I am going to use the word 'evil' because there is not any other way I can find to describe this man, he makes me sick.
By Annie Kapur5 years ago in Criminal
Lockdown guide to Australian true crime books
As I enter yet another week of lockdown here in Australia, during the pandemic, I thought to myself, what can I write about. The answer was staring me right in the face. Australian True Crime of course. Initially I thought I would write about my top five true crime books. I quickly realised there was more than five on the list. So here is my top ten list. There are some older titles, which hopefully you can still track down online.
By Stephen J Words 6 years ago in Criminal
"In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
I first read this book when I was about fifteen years’ old and it was because I had seen it in the local library but it was a tattered copy and so, I bought my own - intact. From not even opening the book, I felt like this was an important text. I wrote the following about it in my diary even before actually reading the book: “there’s something strange about this book. It’s as if it is asking me not to read it but it’s pulling me in. Something about the phrase ‘in cold blood’ sounds unnerving and dangerous. I’ve heard a bit about it but I was never sure to rely on other people’s verdicts of novels. Apparently though, according to some people - this isn’t really a novel at all. Then what is it?” That was the question I had asked: “What is it?” It isn’t really a novel because it isn’t really fiction and, as I know after many re-reads over the years, it isn’t entirely accurate either and so, it isn’t a non-fiction novel. It is an embellishment of the truth for the sake of entertainment and so, it is half and half, something that humans have been doing for centuries. Yet, it is entirely new. It is the new, modern version of criminal justice novels. It was true-crime and this is where I had first encountered a book of which the entire genre would come to change everything about what I believed literature could be. I would be obsessing over true crime for near a decade afterwards and it would be because of “In Cold Blood”. The first question you always ask yourself when you read “In Cold Blood” for the first time and that was the same question I asked myself when I finished the book. I wrote in my diary: “This was a strange book, I’ve never really read anything like it. The moment I finished it, I just sat there thinking about the same question over and over again - ‘what happens if it’s all entirely true?’”
By Annie Kapur6 years ago in Criminal
The Executioner’s Song by Norman Mailer
It’s been a few years since I read “The Executioner’s Song” when I was eighteen years’ old and it was a funny experience because I’d only ever seen a picture of the book before that. I had constantly wanted to read it over the course of a year because it sounded amazing. But when I received it in the post, my jaw dropped at how long it was in comparison to how long I thought it was. I managed to get it done in a few days anyway. I really just couldn’t put it down at all. At some points, I was actually crying about the other characters. My first reading experience was heavily emotional and I was put into an emotional whirlwind of sorrow. It completely changed my perspective on creative nonfiction, just like the book “In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote had done some years before.
By Annie Kapur6 years ago in Criminal
Reconstructing Amelia - A Book Review
No matter what, keep fighting to make a change. Reconstructing Amelia is a novel written by Kimberly McCreight. Kate struggles to accept the suicide of her daughter. Before her death, Amelia was undergoing the stressful dramas of high school. In the clues leading up in the investigation, Kate learns important news and secrets that Amelia was hiding from her.
By Marielle Sabbag6 years ago in Criminal
