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 October:
Jake Brennan, Disgraceland: Musicians Getting Away with Murder and Behaving Very Badly (Grand Central Publishing)
The loyal listeners of Brennan’s popular Disgraceland podcast will be familiar with the concept here: the music world and crime go hand-in-hand. Brennan has carved himself a fascinating niche, telling engaging, bloody, and occasionally uproarious stories of true crime from the annals of rock ‘n roll. Elvis is a central figure in his new book of true crime retellings, Elvis young and old, Elvis the man, Elvis the symbol. But readers can expect many rollicking, shocking stories besides. There’s no shortage of epic material, and Brennan is a skilled storyteller
Jan Stocklassa, The Man Who Played with Fire: Stieg Larsson’s Lost Files and the Hunt for an Assassin (Amazon Crossing)
Many dedicated crime readers will remember that Stieg Larsson, author of the international juggernaut Millennium series (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, etc.), was also a prominent journalist in his home country, Sweden. What they might not know is that at the time of his death in 2004, Larsson was years into an explosive news project, investigating the 1986 assassination of Olof Palme, Sweden’s Prime Minister. Larsson was on the story from the beginning, and over the years it sometimes consumed him, as he delved into the shadowy conspiracies and extremist outfits connected to the killing. Now, Jan Stocklassa has picked up Larsson’s files to continue the investigation, picking up new leads but also telling the story of how Larsson probed this dark, fascinating mystery.
Andy Martin, With Child: Lee Child and the Readers of Jack Reacher (Polity)
In 2014, author Andy Martin began one of the stranger and more interesting projects in recent literary memory. He was going to accompany author Lee Child, creator of the iconic Jack Reacher series, every day as Child wrote his latest novel. During that time, the two would discuss story decision, craft, and just about everything under the sun. The result was a remarkable book called Reacher Said Nothing. But the two weren’t done. They decided Martin would also accompany Child for the aftermath: the publication and first reception of the book, as readers consumed their new installment of Reacher. Again, Martin has produced a wondrously insightful and engaging account of their literary adventures. Anyone interested in literature, crime, craft, or just life in general will want to read With Child.
Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan, The Compatriots (Public Affairs)
In this highly engaging journey through the Cold War, Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan take us into the complex and frequently antagonistic relationship between Russia and her exiles. Given that millions had left the Russian Empire even before the Bolshevik takeover necessitated a new, aristocratic diaspora, there were a plethora of Russian-speakers on both sides of the ideological fence, ready to help or hinder American espionage efforts depending on their beliefs (and of course, their financial solvency). In The Compatriots, you can learn all about the daring escapades of these expats and exiles.
Larry E. Wood, Bigamy and Bloodshed (Kent State)
Wood’s scholarly account of the late 19th century murder conviction of George Graham offers a fascinating snapshot of America at the time, as well as a meticulous account of an exceptional crime. In 1885, a Missouri man named George Graham was convicted of murdering his first wife, possibly in conspiracy with his second wife (whom he’d married while his first was still alive) and her mother, nationally prominent temperance advocate, Emma Molloy. The trial of Graham for the murder, and his eventual lynching, made up a strange moment in American history, and Wood handles the material ably, with a sharp eye for all the most telling details and theories.
