These are boom days for writers and readers looking for thoughtful, hard-hitting stories about real-life crime. Whether you’re in the mood for a high-octane page-turner, an investigation, or a penetrating memoir, chances are there’s a book (and many a podcast or docu-series) out there for you. Every month, we round up the best new crime non-fiction with recommendations from CrimeReads staff. Here are the selections for September 2020:
Ben MacIntyre, Agent Sonya: Moscow’s Most Daring Wartime Spy
(Crown)
MacIntyre, one of the foremost chroniclers of the history of espionage, is back with a new chapter from the midcentury annals: a woman living a quiet life in an English village, soon revealed to be one of Moscow’s most accomplished daring spies. MacIntyre traces her professional roots back to her recruitment in 1930s Shanghai, her commitment to the cause of worldwide workers’ revolution, and her operations during WWII. Her evolving beliefs offer a fascinating reflection of world ideologies and compromises, a difficult arc that MacIntyre traces skillfully. –Dwyer Murphy, CrimeReads Editor-in-Chief
Scott Anderson, The Quiet Americans: Four CIA Spies at the Dawn of the Cold War—A Tragedy in Three Acts
(Doubleday)
Anderson brings us a vivid, richly researched, and deeply engaging history of the earliest forays of the Cold War, when the CIA was first forming and organizing its mission and Soviet intelligence was widening its influence across Germany and the Eastern Bloc. Focusing on the histories of four spies with disparate backgrounds, Anderson brings a still obscure battlefront into sharper relief and shows how profoundly that era crafted the world we live in today. –DM
Debora Harding, Dancing With the Octopus
(Bloomsbury)
Debora Harding takes a darkly humorous and matter-of-fact approach in her new memoir of abuse and generational trauma, anchored by a childhood incident in which the 14-year-old Harding was kidnapped and assaulted by a 17-year-old stranger. Harding draws a complex web of interlinked experiences to show how suffering can set up shop for good in a family and a town. Dancing With the Octopus joins a host of recent true crime memoirs dedicated to grounding crimes in a wider framework of social and familial contexts. –Molly Odintz, CrimeReads Senior Editor
Steven Dudley, MS-13: The Making of America’s Most Notorious Gang
(Hanover Square Press)
Dudley is the co-founder of Insight Crime, a go-to resource for reporting and policy analysis on crime in the Americas, which means he’s been tracking the violent evolution of MS-13 for a long time, and is able to cut through the dark mythology that’s grown up around the sprawling gang to offer here an authoritative history. He also brings moments of piercing humanity to the story, with striking portraits of former gang-members and those who have been traumatized by the violence. What emerges is a nuanced and complex portrait of a criminal phenomenon, one that’s badly needed in the current political climate if we’re to move forward and address the troubles. –DM
George Anastasia and Ralph Cipriano, Doctor Dealer: A Doctor High on Greed, a Biker Gang High on Opioids, and the Woman Who Paid the Ultimate Price
(Berkley)
Anastasia and Cipriano, a pair of Philadelphia reporters, have one hell of a crime on their hands. A prominent local doctor and his wife, a radio personality and military supporter, are at the center of the story. The wife is found dead, and the trail eventually leads to a notorious local motorcycle gangs. It also leads to claims of false military service, drug milling, and murder for hire. Each new wrinkle brings an ugly twist to a dark story of false appearances and outlaw illusions. –DM
Tyler Maroney, Modern Detective: How Corporate Intelligence Is Reshaping the World (Riverhead)
Maroney, a private detective with experience at some of the world’s busiest security firms, brings an eye-opening journey through the world of the modern PI, how they spend their time, who hires them, and where they fit in the contemporary landscape of corporations and individuals in need of information. The book is a swift and engaging read packed with insights into a profession that for all its place in the pop culture remains mostly obscure. –DM
