does anyone read true crime?

[Billsbaby]

hey everyone,was wondering if anyone else out there reads true crime books?i have been reading them for about 13 years,and am hooked.i just got a shipment of 34 in from ebay!!!! the only downfall to reading true crime all the time is i am now paranoid wherever i go!! it has definately made me more aware of my surroundings and i am very careful wherever i go,but, i sometimes wonder if i am too careful now(husband thinks so)anyway just wondered if anyone else reads them,and if you've read any good ones lately.

[dg2901]

I've never read a true-crime book. i think i'd always be looking over my shoulder.
Care to share your favs?

:)
diana

[Billsbaby]

oh god there are so many,any book from Ann Rule,she is the best true crime writer. i loved the book about Thomas Copano,and also the one about Ted Bundy.but this is just off the top of my head,honestly there are so many,but i agree with you i am always looking over my shoulder!!!!

[RAS6]

The only true crime novel I ever read was Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood". I saw the movie "Capote" last year with my husband and we both read the book. It was absolutely amazing! I think this was a good one to start with, my understanding is that it was one of the first popular true crime novels. My husband picks on me too, he thinks I am morbid sometimes because I love just about anything on Court TV, I watch all the serial killer shows on Bravo and A&E too. When he first met me I was addicted to reading James Patterson and Patricia Cornwell...but had to sleep with the light on :). My tastes have changed a little since then, but I will definately look for some of the books you suggested next time I go to the Library.
-Rachel

[Billsbaby]

oh god,my husband thinks i'm kooky too,i love court tv.i am also a james patterson fan.i also love nora roberts and mary higgens clark.but true crime is my strange passion.i admit i will not read them unless my husband is home!! it is sick what people are capable of,but it is also an eye opener as to how this world has become,and since i have small children,it honestly makes me more aware when we are out somewhere.

[RAS6]

It's pretty scary to think about people like that living among us. I guess what I like about the true crime shows/books is that the killers have been caught, at least most of the time. The advances in science and forensics facinate me as well. For hating science as much as I did in highschool I guess I am my mother's child. She worked for years as a lab tech and she likes those shows too!

[Billsbaby]

its definately a good feeling knowing how far technology has come.it makes us hope that people are too scared to do things like that in fear of getting caught.i know this is not a true crime book,but,i literally just finished reading "Marley And Me". a true story about this guys yellow lab,i also have a yellow lab,so it hit close to home.it was honestly one of the best books i have ever read,and i have been reading since i was 8 religously.i cried the last half hour of reading it and now my eyes are stinging like crazy:lmao: if your a dog lover you must read this book.

[RAS6]

I understand worrying about kids. Mine are 7 and 2 and I am so paraniod sometimes. Anytime my daughter's bus is late I start worrying about her!

Thanks for telling me about "Marley and Me". I never had a dog, but absolutely love them anyways! My Dad has allergies so no dog when I was a kid and now we rent so no dog right now. We were lucky to talk our landlord into letting us move in with our cat! It sounds like a good book and I need something to take my mind off of medical troubles right now. Plus Labs are my absolute favorite breed. They are such smart, sweet dogs.

By the way, it's nice to see another New Yorker! I'm in Western New York (near Buffalo) I probably should change my profile. Most people see NY and assume I live in the city. Sad to say I've lived in this state all of my 25 years and have only been to NYC 3 times!

[Billsbaby]

my daughter is 6 and son is 2! i do the same thing with the bus:biglaugh: we rent right now too,so we had to find a place that would take our big beast!that was not easy,let me tell you.labs are def. the best breed with children(maybe i'm being a little one sided)i love my big dope to death.i know what you mean about saying your from ny!! same thing with me,been here my whole 28 years,and never seen the big apple.i live in syracuse,but i have crazy anxiety(think it has something to do with the true crime:loco: )so i can't bring myself to go there,too many people.

[mayray518]

I have been reading true crime for years. One of my favorite authors is Ann Rule, she had written a number of books over the years. i think her website is annrules.com and her books are in any major bookstore. Also the best book I have ever read is Truman Capote's In Cold Blood.

[Billsbaby]

yes,ann rule is definately the best true crime writer out there,love her.i loved "a stranger Beside Me" and the thomas copano book.its good to see someone out there a little like me :loco: lol

[RAS6]

Billsbaby,
I haven't even been to Syracuse besides driving through! My Dad is an Orangeman alumni and he yells at us all the time to go visit down there! We are going back to NYC next month and I am really nervous! First big trip since IC diagnosis and symptoms have gotten so bad I don't know if I can do it, so I understand the whole anxiety thing! Pretty cool to find another young mom with IC and kids my own kid's ages, let alone in the same state! Did you guys get tons of snow? We got over 2 feet on Sunday!
Stay warm!
-Rachel

[RAS6]

Also the best book I have ever read is Truman Capote's In Cold Blood.
That book was amazing, wasn't it? I'll have to check out Ann Rule now. Sounds really interesting!
-Rachel

[Billsbaby]

yeah we got a few feet here.parish is getting nailed.they have 5 feet now,and are supposed to get 2 more feet by saturday!! we live about a half hour from there.i'm quickly getting sick of the snow,it hasn't stopped since last week.do you live near me?if you would like i'll give you my number and we can chat.pm me and let me know.

[RAS6]

Hey Jaimie or mayray518;
I just bought the true crime book about the Zodiac killer. Anyone read this? I was at the book store today and in a huge hurry. I wanted to buy a book by Anne Rule, but at the time I couldn't remember her last name! (I am way too young to be having all these brain blips!) Anyone suggest a good one to start with? I'm going to look online. Probably will be cheaper anyway!
Thanks!

[Billsbaby]

a stranger beside me,was my favorite ann rule book ever.i just got Green river running red.its about the green river killer.but the first one is about ted bundy,and she actually knew him,so it was such a good book.honestly any ann rule book you buy you will love.she really knows how to make you feel the emotions of the victims and their families.you feel like you know them.funny,i was just sitting down to start the new book,lol.happy reading.

[RAS6]

Thanks! I found a stranger beside me online for $3.50 with shipping! Can't wait till it gets here! Take care and have a nice weekend!

[mayray518]

yes, i just read the zodiac book. you will enjoy the ann rule book i have all of hers and they are excellent. I also read an excellent true crime called The Dreams of Ada which just came out as well as John Grisham's Innocent Man. both are excellent.:woohoo:

[Billsbaby]

thats awesome,you won't be able to put it down i promise.i have every one of her books and they are all great.i also have about 50 other misc. true crime books.actually if you want,i can send you a bunch to get syarted on if you want and then just send them back when your done.we'll be like a mail order book club!!:lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

[mayray518]

thats great i can send you some as well. e mail me at sunlover518@aol.com

[RAS6]

Sounds great ladies! I'll let you know when I am done with the two I mentioned. I don't have many to offer you two though, I usually got books at the library before IC kept me stuck at home. I hadn't read alot of books over the past few years becuase of being in college full time (no time to read anything except textbooks and daughter's notes home from school!) It is nice to be reading again for FUN and not just assignments!
-Rachel

[topcop229]

I LOVE true crime!! I used to read it all the time, even when I was 11 or 12...everyone thought I was weird!! Anyway, I also love John Grisham and have read all of his legal-related books...I just started Innocent Man and so far, so good.

[Billsbaby]

well topcop were starting an online-mail order book club!!lol would you like to join?i haven't been on all night i have been reading kiss me kill me by ann rule.its so good.

[topcop229]

I would LOVE to join! I will go through my stuff to see what all I still have. I do know I have every Grisham book, I believe (unless a family member has snatched one along the way, LOL). I also have Fatal Justice, which is a GREAT book about the Jeffrey MacDonald murders in Fort Bragg, NC. It's written by two guys that found all the evidence that the gov't hid, "lost", determined wasn't useful (because it helped the defense and not them), etc. I don't know how many of you are familiar with the case (it's what Fatal Vision is about), but there has been a great division in the thoughts of whether MacDonald is guilty or innocent.

My dad and I used to fight about it all the time, I thought MacDonald was innocent and he thought he was guilty. Well, my dad read literally one chapter of this book, and he was appalled and immediately changed his mind about MacDonald's guilt.

Anyway, the others I have right off hand are:
Deadly Innocence, by Scott Burnside and Alan Cairns- about a couple that raped and killed girls
An Hour to Kill by Dale Hudson and Billy Hills- SC murder of a teenage girl by a well-respected teenage boy
Please Don't Kill my Mommy, by Fannie Weinstein and Ruth Schumann, Greensboro, NC man who had two wives die similarly (of course he did it!)
A Fatal LIe by Sally Chew, Virginia girls that killed another girl
Black Widow by Gregg Olsen, woman that killed three husbands, I think it was
Before he Wakes by Jerry Bledsoe, Durham, NC murder of a husband
Triumph of Justice by Daniel Petrocelli, about OJ Simpson
Blood Brother by Ann Bird, written by Scott Peterson's sister about why he's guilty
Unnatural Death by Michael Baden, confessions of a medical examiner
In Contempt, by Christopher Darden, about OJ
Have a couple of the Mark Furhman books, also...can't remember names of them

So, if anyone's interested in checking any of these out or wants to know more about them, feel free to PM me or email me at topcop229@triad.rr.com.

Thanks for the invite! I will definitely be interested in trading once I finish the book I'm on now.

Also, it's not true crime, but the new Mitch Albom book, For One More Day, is fantastic!!

Claudia

[Billsbaby]

wow,there are a few on your list that pop in my head that i've read.i loved the one by scott petersons sister.i also read the one by amber ****.i would love to read a couple of them.i have atleast 50 true crime in boxes,some i haven't read yet.others scattered around the house,and about 10 my friend borrowed,shes a true crime freak too.pm me anyone and we can trade some books off to read.it sounds fun!!

[topcop229]

I would LOVE to read Amber ****'s book, do you have that one or was it borrowed? I saw her on tv the other day, she's happily married and has a kid, I think.
No matter what people think of him, Mark Furhman's books were quite good. In fact, one he wrote, Murder in Greenwich, actually caused the police to reopen a murder investigation that was decades old, and they made an arrest a few years ago...it was one of the Kennedy's relatives that did it.

[Billsbaby]

i would love to read some of his books then .i love controversy like that,you never know if cops miss things.

[topcop229]

Yes, and it comes from a really good perspective, since he's on the inside.

[RAS6]

No matter what people think of him, Mark Furhman's books were quite good. In fact, one he wrote, Murder in Greenwich, actually caused the police to reopen a murder investigation that was decades old, and they made an arrest a few years ago...it was one of the Kennedy's relatives that did it.


Don't laugh, but I saw that story on Unsolved Mysteries!LOL! I forgot it was a book! I am going to have to try and find that!
I have some books here that I could throw into the "book club", but mainly fictional crime, not true crime.
I just finished Zodiac and it was really chilling. I may read the second book, Zodiac unleashed, which is able to get into more details about the main suspect now that he has passed away.
I am starting the Ann Rule book about Ted Bundy tomorrow.
Hope it's good!

[topcop229]

Rachel,
That's so funny!!! I bet the Zodiac book was really good. I enjoyed the Bundy book, I hope you like it as well.