Nonfiction True Crime

Almost every year, we believe that nothing can top the abject horror of the last 12 months when it comes to true crime stories, homicides, execution-style murders, or serial killers that are still on the prowl, leaving behind a trail of blood, tears, and sorrow. Then, of course, the New Year begins.

It is no secret that true crime murder stories are not for the faint of heart. They can lead you to double-check your windows and doors at night, and question everything you thought or believed about human nature. Yet they are intriguing and fascinating at the same time. What is it that makes us different from those who take the lives of others? That is a question that many ask themselves, and these true crime stories help to identify the method and psychology behind some of the most terrifying killers in modern history.

A gripping and heartbreaking story, A Thousand Miles From Care tells the 30 year quest Steve Johnson undertook to uncover the truth about his brilliant brother's brutal murder in Manly. Winner of the 2025 Ned Kelly Award for Best True Crime At the entrance of Sydney Harbor, the cliffs rise...

A much-loved mother, teacher and friend steps on a plane for an overseas adventure and is never seen again. When Marion Barter disappeared in 1997, police initially dismissed it as the actions of a divorced mother abandoning her family. In this book, the creators of the addictive global hit...

Marty Goddard dreamed up a new crime-solving tool—a kit that could help rape survivors fight for justice. This thrilling investigation tells the story of the troubled, heroic woman who kicked off a feminist revolution in forensics, and then vanished into obscurity. "Astonishing . . . Marty...

'Troubling, uplifting, heartbreaking... a masterwork.' Ron Suskind, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Life, Animated On a cool autumn night in 1999, twenty-six-year-old Sarah Green crept out of her house and ran for her life. She was escaping not just the Aggressive Christianity Missions Training...

'Murderland reads like a true crime thriller' SUNDAY TIMES 'Haunting, elegant and fiercely intelligent' OBSERVER 'Lyrically luminescent' NEW YORK TIMES A terrifying true-crime history of serial killers in the Pacific Northwest and beyond - from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Prairie Fires...

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Killers of the Flower Moon, a mesmerizing collection of true-crime stories that includes "The Old Man and the Gun"—the inspiration for the movie starring Robert Redford and Sissy Spacek, along with two other riveting tales. "The Old Man and the...

In 1978, the bloody conflict in Northern Ireland, known as The Troubles, had reached a boiling point. Hundreds of members of the Irish Republican Army, determined to drive the hated British out of the province—killing soldiers and police, detonating bombs, while arming themselves with firearms and explosives—had been arrested and incarcerated in the notorious British prison known as the Maze.

In 2004, the body of a young Perth woman was found on the grounds of a primary school. Her name was Rebecca Ryle. The killing would mystify investigators, lawyers, and psychologists - and profoundly rearrange the life of the victim's family. It would also involve the author's family, because his brother knew the man charged with the murder. For years, the two had circled each other suspiciously, in a world of violence, drugs, and rotten aspirations.

In the early 1980s on a remote part of the Sudanese coast, a new luxury holiday resort opened for business. Catering for divers, it attracted guests from around the world. Little did the holidaymakers know that the staff were undercover spies, working for the Mossad - the Israeli secret service. Providing a front for covert night-time activities, the holiday village allowed the agents to carry out an operation unlike any seen before. What began with one cryptic message pleading for help, turned into the secret evacuation of thousands of Ethiopian Jews....

Nurses and neighbours, partners and parents - all murderers who shocked Australia with the severity of their crimes. But what makes them tick? Society couple Michael O'Neill and Stuart Rattle had it all - their lavish country property, their interior design business - until Michael bludgeoned...

Fourteen-year-old Adrianna arrives on Casey’s doorstep with no possessions, no English, and no explanation. It will be a few weeks before Casey starts getting the shocking answers to her questions…. Brought to Casey as a short-term emergency placement, fourteen-year-old Adrianna arrives with...

When a passenger jet crashes onto the beaches of Waikiki, bestselling thriller writer Ian Ludlow knows the horrific tragedy wasn’t an accident. Years before, the CIA enlisted Ian to dream up terrorism scenarios to prepare the government for nightmares they couldn’t imagine. Now one of those schemes has come true, and Ian is the only person alive who knows how it was done...and who is behind the plot. That makes him too dangerous to live. Ian goes on the run, sweeping up an innocent bystander in his plight - Margo French, a dog walker and aspiring singer.

By a Walkley Award-winning journalist, a gripping true crime-meets-political intrigue about East Timor, a place where animistic belief, witchcraft and tribal conflict ensure that truth and justice follow separate, uncertain paths. A president shot, a prime minister attacked, a rebel leader...

By the author of the international Number One bestsellers KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON and THE WAGER ‘Chilling . . . Poignant . . . Haunting and gripping . . . gets into worlds that are otherwise invisible to us’ Daily Mail A Polish detective tries to determine whether an author planted clues...

_____________________________ THE NEW YORK TIMES NO. 1 BESTSELLER on the murder behind the Netflix documentary Killer Inside He had it all. A $40 million NFL contract. Fame. Adoration – until he was convicted of murder, and jailed for life without parole. A true story told by the master of...

A frank and witty memoir of life at the Bar and on the Bench, from former High Court Judge The Hon. Sir Harry Ognall. For many years, Harry Ognall enjoyed a formidable reputation as an advocate at the criminal Bar. As counsel, and later as judge, he was involved in numerous high-profile trials...

Brought to you by Penguin. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas - until now. Whether you're a Vegas regular or have only heard the city's tales through whispers, this book will surprise and astound you . . . It's not just the five-star dining, or the casinos, or the clubs, or the crowds. It's...

A riveting account of the infamous unsolved murder of two remarkable women in Shenandoah National Park, by a journalist with unprecedented access to all key elements of the case. This story reveals the challenges of wilderness forensics, the failures of our justice system, and offers an...