Must-Read Follow-Ups to Your Favorite True-Crime Documentaries
These eight books are thrilling, heartbreaking and empowering all at once, offering an honest look into some of the most infamous cases.
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For some, sitting down with a good book means cozying up by the fireplace, ready for characters to whisk them away to an imaginary world. For others, the escape comes from the thrill of traveling back in time, eager to learn from the stories of generations past. However, another group of bookworms is motivated by an alternative curiosity. Authors such as Truman Capote and David Grann command their attention with narratives of police investigations, cold cases and wrongful convictions.
Although true crime has captured audiences’ attention for decades, the genre has recently experienced an obsessional revival, surfacing an overwhelming collection of documentaries, docuseries and podcasts. But what pulls a particular story out from the noise? What distinguishes a gripping documentary from sensationalized nonfiction?
The best true crime stories pack a punch deeper than engaging, binge-worthy mysteries. If told right, these investigations offer a complex look into the nightmarish moments that altered the course of someone’s life, holding perpetrators accountable, advocating for justice or offering a fresh angle on the cases we thought we knew. For all the true crime lovers and aspiring investigative podcasters alike, these books are the perfect read if you’re not ready to let go of that one case just yet.
The best true crime books and dark memoirs
- What Is a Girl Worth? by Rachael Denhollander
- Stolen Innocence by Elissa Wall with Lisa Pulitzer
- I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
- Unmasked by Paul Holes
- Bad Blood by John Carreyrou
- The House of My Mother by Shari Franke
- Uncultured by Daniella Mestyanek Young
- American Predator by Maureen Callahan
What Is a Girl Worth? by Rachael Denhollander
- Read after Athlete A
For nearly 30 years, sports doctor Larry Nassar worked with America’s most elite gymnasts. When his career finally came to a halt, he was left with over 100 sexual assault allegations from the female athletes who were told to trust him. As the first athlete to publicly accuse Nassar of sexual assault, Denhollander’s account boldly calls into question what it takes to speak out in a society that isn’t guaranteed to listen. What Is a Girl Worth? advocates for the vulnerable. Her story is a beautiful example of resistance loaded with the power to end overlooked cycles of abuse.
Stolen Innocence by Elissa Wall with Lisa Pulitzer
- Read After Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey
Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey is the kind of documentary that takes days to shake. Throughout four unsettling episodes, viewers are immersed in the polygamist group of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints led by self-professed prophet Warren Jeffs. But behind the horror of the docuseries are the courageous survivors who remain unafraid to share their stories. Elissa Wall is one of these survivors. Stolen Innocence lays bare the bravery Wall enlisted to escape a living nightmare and the resilience she finds to move forward each day.
I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
- Read after Quiet on Set
Jennette McCurdy first stole audiences’ hearts while portraying teenage Sam Puckett on Nickelodeon’s iCarly and Sam & Cat. It was her mother’s dream for McCurdy to be a star, and it was McCurdy’s dream to make her mother happy. In her raw and honest memoir, McCurdy lays it all out on the table. From extreme restrictive eating to extensive at-home makeovers, McCurdy recounts the brutal realities of life as a child star. Told with a dark sense of humor that keeps the pages turning, McCurdy’s story unpacks how the child star reclaimed her identity away from the pressures of the spotlight and her mother.
Unmasked by Paul Holes
- Read after I’ll Be Gone in the Dark
As a retired cold case investigator, Holes’s nights always seem to end the same—drenched in sweat after being awoken by persistent nightmares of decaying corpses. But if you were to ask him if it was worth it, he would say it was never a choice. In his 27-year career, Holes helped to keep the most heinous killers off the streets. Unmasked tells the story of Holes’s career in the midst of his 20-year hunt for the Golden State Killer. His thoughtful reflections reconcile the personal sacrifices he made in order to bring justice and closure to countless families and victims. Holes always promised to do his best to solve their cases, and he finds solace knowing it’s a promise he can keep.
Bad Blood by John Carreyrou
- Read after The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley
How could a brilliant Stanford dropout trick an entire industry? How could a medical technology that didn’t actually work earn Elizabeth Holmes’s company, Theranos, an estimated $9 billion? When a whistleblower came forward with the tip needed to expose Holmes’s lies, Wall Street Journal reporter John Carreyrou went digging for the answers. Unfazed by threats of lawsuits against himself and the Journal, Carreyrou’s investigation persisted. Bad Blood is a thrilling page-turner that takes readers through his investigation in cinematic detail to unearth one of Silicon Valley’s largest corporate frauds.
The House of My Mother by Shari Franke
- Read after Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke
Before the days of TikTok influencers and day-in-my-life videos, YouTube vloggers ruled the internet. For Shari Franke and her five siblings, this meant growing up under the watchful eye of 2.5 million subscribers. However, behind the scenes of the viral 8 Passengers YouTube channel was their abusive mother, Ruby Franke, who enforced a tyrannical parenting style. Published almost two years after Ruby and her partner, Jodi, were convicted on charges of child abuse, The House of My Mother is a vulnerable firsthand account of Shari’s fight for truth, survival and redemption under the cruel reign of her mother.
Uncultured by Daniella Mestyanek Young
- Read after Shiny Happy People
Shiny Happy People investigates a world where, behind the masks of welcoming church pastors, lurk hidden agendas and authoritarian leaders. The Children of God, now known as The Family International, is arguably one of the most infamous religious cults. Founded by David Berg, The Family emerged from the 1960s counterculture, promoting communal living and apocalyptic Christian teachings under Berg’s prophetic leadership. Strict rules that forced sexual, emotional and physical abuse onto Mestyanek Young were all she knew. After escaping at 15, she believed she had finally found her home in the military. However, she soon discovered the men who surrounded her in Afghanistan struck a disturbing resemblance to the men she fought relentlessly to escape. Uncultured goes beyond that of a cult horror story. The memoir takes readers through the seemingly impossible challenge of belonging and the harrowing dangers of group mentality.
American Predator by Maureen Callahan
- Read after Method of a Serial Killer
For any true crime lover, it’s easy to get lost in the complexities of a case. But what happens when curiosity turns into obsession? Very few would likely go on to uncover answers in the thoroughly detailed fashion of journalist Maureen Callahan. Haunted by the monstrous crimes of serial killer Israel Keyes—which went undetected for over a decade—Callahan began a relentless pursuit for answers. American Predator brings together years of interviews with key figures in law enforcement, Keyes’s life and research from classified FBI files to create a compelling recount of the FBI investigation that finally brought an end to the elusive killer.
