True Crime & Legal

Perhaps few genres have benefitted as much from the rise of binge-watching culture as true crime. Any of these texts could be adapted as a streaming documentary series—and a few are already available. Dive into this collection for real drama ripped straight from the headlines.

Publication year 2017

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Truth & Lies

Tags Crime & Law, Race & Racism, US History, Mystery & Crime Fiction, World History, Biography, Social Justice, Politics & Government

The Blood of Emmett Till is a 2017 nonfiction book by Timothy B. Tyson. The text provides an account of the 1955 murder of a young African American boy named Emmet Till. Till was visiting Mississippi from Chicago, where his parents had emigrated during the Great Migration of the 1920s. They sought employment in the North, but they also sought to escape from the terror exercised by whites on blacks in the South.The Civil War... Read The Blood of Emmett Till Summary

Publication year 2002

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Tags Crime & Law, Education, Education, Mystery & Crime Fiction, World History, European History, Religion & Spirituality

The Butcher’s Tale: Murder and Anti-Semitism in a German Town (2002), a history/Judaica book by German American author Helmut Walser Smith, deals with a sensational murder case that took place in Konitz, a town in Prussia (Eastern Germany) in 1900. Ernst Winter, an 18-year-old student, was found murdered with his body parts dismembered and hidden in various places throughout the town. The residents of Konitz turned against the community’s Jewish inhabitants, accusing them of ritual... Read The Butcher's Tale Summary

Publication year 1994

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Guilt, Death, Justice

Tags Horror & Suspense, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Dramatic Literature, Crime & Law

John Grisham’s 1994 legal thriller, The Chamber, follows Adam Hall, a young associate at a prestigious Chicago law firm who risks his career to take on a last-chance death-penalty case. His client is Sam Cayhall, an unrepentant former Klansman sentenced to die in Mississippi’s gas chamber for a fatal bombing he committed in 1967. With the execution just weeks away, Adam’s desperate legal battle is complicated by a deep personal secret: Sam is his estranged... Read The Chamber Summary

Publication year 2010

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Power & Greed, Justice, Race, Politics & Government, Mothers, Death

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Crime & Law, Social Justice, Incarceration, Grief & Death, Trauma & Abuse, Realistic Fiction, Race & Racism

Publication year 2003

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Community

Tags Crime & Law, Business & Economics, Sociology, World History, Psychology, Psychology, Politics & Government

Published in 2004, The Corporation, by legal scholar Joel Bakan, demonstrates that corporations often misbehave because it is in their nature to do so. The corporate legal mandate, to pursue profit on behalf of shareholders, impels corporations to take any action, including callous, antisocial, and even unlawful behaviors, so long as they generate a profit.  Because corporations are created by governments, they are beholden to the state for their survival, yet they often manage to... Read The Corporation Summary

Publication year 2003

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Tags Crime & Law, US History, Mystery & Crime Fiction, World History, Biography

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America is a 2003 nonfiction historical thriller by American journalist Erik Larson. The book revisits the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, following the stories of two very different history-making men: Daniel Hudson Burnham, the architect of the fair, and H. H. Holmes, the notorious serial killer. The book explores themes such as the contrast between sanity and insanity; the anonymity... Read The Devil in the White City Summary

Publication year 1979

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Death, Community, Good & Evil, Justice

Tags American Literature, Journalism, Crime & Law

The Executioner’s Song (1979) is a work of literary true crime by American author Norman Mailer. The book portrays the last nine months of the life of Gary Gilmore, who kills two men after being released from prison. Using interviews, court records, and witness accounts, Mailer pieces together the story of Gilmour’s trial and execution, exploring The Death Penalty as Public Spectacle, The Influence of Love and Hate in Human Lives, and Individual Will Versus... Read The Executioner's Song Summary

Publication year 2018

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Animals, Appearance & Reality, Art, Justice, Power & Greed

Tags Crime & Law, European History, Science & Nature, Animals, Mystery & Crime Fiction, World History

The Feather Thief by American author, screenwriter, and journalist Kirk Wallace Johnson is about the 2009 heist of the British Natural History Museum at Tring. It retraces the background of the 20-year-old American thief, professional flautist, and master fly-tier, Edwin Rist, who stole 299 rare bird skins from the museum. Johnson first heard about the heist while fly-fishing on a river in New Mexico. Living with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after years of aid work... Read The Feather Thief Summary

Publication year 1991

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Loyalty & Betrayal, Death, Social Class, Safety & Danger, Siblings, Revenge, Mothers, Guilt, Fear, Order & Chaos, Power & Greed, Marriage, Justice, Trust & Doubt, Hate & Anger, Politics & Government, Appearance & Reality, Truth & Lies, Conflict, Perseverance

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Crime & Law

OverviewBook DetailsThe Firm is the second legal thriller written by attorney John Grisham. It followed his 1988 debut novel A Time to Kill. The Firm was the top-selling novel of 1991 on the New York Times bestseller list, bringing its author international fame. It focuses on new Harvard Law School graduate Mitch McDeere, who accepts a financially lucrative position with a Memphis law firm that he discovers is embroiled in unethical and illegal activities.Author HighlightsGrisham... Read The Firm Summary

Publication year 1997

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Fear, Self Discovery, Trust & Doubt, Safety & Danger

Tags Psychology, Self-Improvement, Trauma & Abuse, Crime & Law, Relationships, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Science & Nature, Sociology, Psychology, Mental Illness

Publication year 2010

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Grief, Coming of Age

Tags Realistic Fiction, Coming of Age, Dramatic Literature, Race & Racism, Crime & Law, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Depression & Suicide, Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction

The Girl Who Fell from the Sky is Heidi Durrow’s debut novel. Published in 2010 by Oneworld Publications, the novel won the PEN/Bellweather Prize for Socially Engaged Fiction, an award that recognizes work by a previously unpublished author that explores a social issue. The Girl Who Fell from the Sky explores the impact of racism and loss on a young girl whose mother is a White woman from Denmark and whose father is a Black... Read The Girl Who Fell From The Sky Summary

Publication year 2013

Genre Biography, Nonfiction

Themes Science & Technology, Politics & Government, Safety & Danger, Good & Evil, Power & Greed, Truth & Lies, Hate & Anger

Tags Crime & Law, Mystery & Crime Fiction, World History, Biography, Health, US History, Depression & Suicide, Mental Illness, Trauma & Abuse

The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder by Charles Graeber is a true crime biography of the life of Charles Cullen, one of the most prolific serial killers in US history. Graeber is an American journalist who spent time as a medical student before moving on to journalism, writing for many prolific news outlets. His joint history in medicine and writing provides him with the necessary expertise to explain the intimacies... Read The Good Nurse Summary

Publication year 2019

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Justice, Forgiveness, Perseverance, Conflict, Equality, Truth & Lies, Power & Greed, Politics & Government

Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Horror & Suspense, Crime & Law, Social Justice, Race & Racism, Incarceration, Politics & Government