This Book Will Bury Me

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death.

True-crime podcasts and television shows are a motif that helps the author to explore The Ethics of True Crime—in particular, how various forms of media depict high-profile murder cases. For instance, Jane and her group watch several episodes from a popular crime show called Nina Grace that is self-consciously modeled after the real-life true-crime television host Nancy Grace. These episodes are sensationalistic and center the graphic nature of the crimes rather than the humanity of the victims. The dehumanization of murder victims bothers Jane, and on more than one occasion, she criticizes shows like Nina Grace for the nature of their coverage.

The novel also shows media such as true-crime podcasts to be sources of potential misinformation. Although the group uses an appearance on the Murder Junkies podcast to crowdsource and does ultimately uncover the identity of one of the victim’s childhood friends, podcasts like Murder Junkies also publish information that is not yet official. Several suspects prove to be false leads but become targets of harassment campaigns because they are the subject of media attention. This suggests that the ratings that often drive true-crime coverage also deemphasize moral considerations, potentially endangering the lives of individuals close to an investigation.