Whodunit: A killer true crime list
Editor’s note: True crime is everywhere—from podcasts to OTT, and we can’t stop bingeing. Everyone seems to have forgotten that non-fiction books are the OG kings of true crime—starting with Truman Capote’s ‘In Cold Blood’. Anannya has put together a more contemporary list that is every bit as engrossing. Meet absinthe smugglers, dyslexic spies and robbers who come bearing flowers. Binge away!
Written by: Anannya is an educator, librarian, activist, social justice worker and writer. In her free time, she runs a small book review page called @anyahkuttythings on Instagram where she recommends her favourite books, and writes about her reading experiences.
The Wily Old Woman of Dongri by S. Hussain Zaidi: This 49-page book that can be read in one sitting must be the first on my list—and yours too. As Dawood Ibrahim rose to power in Dongri, a woman named Jenabai Daaruwali ruled the Mumbai mafia world. This book follows her strategy to crack the greatest peace truce in the underbelly of the city.
While you might expect this to read like a long-form news report, Zaidi's craft of world-building in such a short read will astound you—and stay with you for days. Please couple with the audiobook in which Kalki Koechlin reads this story out loud!
The Spy Who Couldn't Spell by Yudhijit Bhattacharjee: Bhattacharjee writes this spy thriller of the FBI’s hunt for the ingenious traitor Brian Regan—long before Snowden’s infamous data breach—who committed espionage using a complex system of coded messages fueled by his dyslexia. FBI Special Agent Steven Carr started building a case against the traitor who stole and sold military secrets concerning the Middle East to Libya, Iraq, Iran, and China and somehow used his learning disability to his advantage for years. The author’s deep-dive into Regan’s childhood and his advent to becoming a brilliant cryptologist deserves a special mention, look out for chapters three and four!
Hellhound on His Trail by Hampton Sides: This story follows two men who unluckily cross paths in the late 1960s—James Earl Ray, con man and assassin of Martin Luther King Jr.—one of the greatest civil rights figures in the world. While King was being ruthlessly surveilled by the FBI during his last days, Ray stalked him until the fateful day of April 4, 1968, when he caught up to King and assassinated him. What followed was the largest manhunt for the fugitive and nationwide protests in the wake of King’s death. This book takes the cake for being thoroughly immersive in the retelling of both sides of an assassination that rocked the world.
Ghosts of Crook County by Russell Cobb: If you enjoyed ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’, then this one's for you! To reap the Black Gold Rush that began in 1900s Oklahoma—Americans impersonated, defrauded, and murdered Native property owners to snatch up hundreds of acres of oil-rich land. Cobb—a 4th gen Oklahoman evocatively writes the story of land owned by a ‘Tommy Atkins’ who was consistently impersonated and stolen from despite having died earlier. This book is the perfect primer to understand how unabashedly greedy men exploited indigenous land.
Ballad of the Whiskey Robber by Julian Rubinstein: Strap on for a hilarious ride about an account of crime in the heart of the new Europe! Meet the eccentric Attila Ambrus—the Hungarian Robin Hood of Eastern Europe—who wanted to rob as many banks as possible and did. This true crime-adventure comedy follows the widely popular antics of Ambrus which range from his very polite demeanor, his crazy disguises, and his habit of giving female bank tellers flowers before each robbery to sending the police bottles of wine.
The Absinthe Forger by Evan Rail: Journalist Evan Rail follows this astonishing story of the world’s most potent drink—absinthe, and its birth in Switzerland through its coming of age in France, and on to its modern revival. When absinthe was banned for over a century, Rail also reveals a mysterious world of collectors who were obsessed with the rare pre-ban bottles which are priced astronomically. The book also encapsulates the story of an absinthe forger who managed to rise through the ranks of the collecting community and weaved a web of deception that would ultimately unravel—and Rail’s detective-like approach to uncovering the truth behind these forgeries makes for a highly compelling read.
The Sing Sing Files by Dan Slepian: In the 1990s, six men were wrongfully serving a 25-year sentence in prison for murder—and years later, an NBC producer named Dan Slepian begins an investigation which eventually leads to their freedom. This eye-opening investigative account describes the numerous prison visits, court hearings and powerful reporting it took to bring justice to those six men imprisoned for crimes they did not commit. Slepian adequately describes his 20-year journey through a criminal justice system that was fiercely resistant to rectifying—or even acknowledging—its mistakes and their consequences. This read packs a larger punch than expected while uncovering the messy realities of justice systems that are not serving a rehabilitative goal—but more of a punitive one—which helps nothing and no one.
Lady Killers by Tori Telfer: This collection offers 14 gruesome stories of serial killers who are female—and who history largely forgot despite them rivalling their male counterparts in many ways. Each account describes the cruel crimes committed by women while unpacking their portrayal in the media—some of it even being riddled with sexist stereotypes. As Telfer provides a critical take on why people are tempted to reason away the acts of female killers, this book makes for a fascinating read for those interested in sociology and psychology.
Murder on the Menu by Nirupama Subramanian: This book follows the infamous downfall of India’s “Dosa King”—P Rajagopal, founder of the Saravana Bhavan restaurant chain—who used everything from lust, black magic, kidnapping to murder to get himself a married woman, while already being married to two. Subramanian has penned a riveting page-turner that follows the intricate murder plot over eight districts of Tamil Nadu and the courtroom dramas that took place until the Supreme Court upheld his life sentence for murder. I strongly recommend you pair this book with this NYT piece called Masala Dosa to Die For.
Bonus recommendation: This True Crime Trivia & Activity Book by Lana Barnes is perfect for puzzle-solving—with a range of different types of activities to do such as cryptograms, sudoku, fingerprint match and trivia—all of it weaved from true crime stories.
