18 books like The killer department

What to read after The killer department — books similar to it, matched on shared themes.

The Day of the Jackal Frederick Forsyth · 1971 · ★ 4.3 · 377p · ≈ 12h · Moderate In a class by itself. Unputdownable' Sunday TimesOne of the most celebrated thrillers ever written, The Day of the Jackal is the electrifying story of an anonymous Englishman who in, the spring of 1963, was hired by Colonel Marc Rodin, Operations Chief of the O. A. S., to assassinate General de Gaulle. The Jackal. A tall, blond Englishman with opaque, gray eyes. A killer at the top of his… Shares: Community pick

Skeleton crew Stephen King · 1985 · ★ 4.3 · 576p · ≈ 19h · Moderate From the Flap: The Master at his scarifying best! From heart-pounding terror to the eeriest of whimsy--tales from the outer limits of one of the greatest imaginations of our time! Evil that breathes and walks and shrieks, brave new worlds and horror shows, human desperation bursting into deadly menace--such are the themes of these astounding works of fiction. In the tradition of Poe and… Shares: Community pick

Things a Killer Would Know Paula Doneman · 2006 · 278p · ≈ 9h · Moderate A no-holds-barred account of the deadly rampage of rapist and serial killer, Leonard Fraser.In April, 1999, schoolgirl Keyra Steinhardt was bashed, raped and murdered in a brazen daylight attack as she walked home from school in the central Queensland town of Rockhampton. The disappearance of Keyra made international headlines as the community and law enforcement officers hunted for the… Shares: Murderers, Serial murderers, Serial murders, True Crime

Nutcracker Shana Alexander · 1985 · ★ 4.1 · 453p · ≈ 15h · Moderate Nutcracker begins at the ballet but tells the story of a seemingly wholesome all-American family, whose tranquil life's surface erupted in shocking acts of avarice, theft and murder. The victim was Franklin Bradshaw, Mormon self-made millionaire, workaholic. The killer was Bradshaw's grandson, prep school student. The architect of the crime was said to be Frances Schreuder, Bradshaw's daughter,… Shares: Murderers, Case studies, True Crime, Murder

The True Face of Jack the Ripper Melvin Harris · 1994 · 220p · ≈ 7h · Moderate Melvin Harris, the man chiefly responsible for exposing the "Ripper Diary", now reveals the true face of Jack the Ripper. Harris disposes of all previous candidates and by using FBI techniques he tells the story of how he tracked down the real Ripper. He came to the conclusion that Robert D'Onston Stephenson was a likely suspect for the murders Shares: Murderers, Serial murderers, Serial murders, True Crime

Serial Killers Peter Vronsky · 2004 · ★ 4.0 · 422p · ≈ 14h · Moderate A comprehensive examination into the frightening true crime history of serial homicide—including information on America’s most prolific serial killers such as:Jeffrey Dahmer • Ted Bundy • “Co-ed Killer” Ed Kemper • The BTK Killer • “Highway Stalker” Henry Lee Lucas • Monte Ralph Rissell • “Shoe Fetish Slayer” Jerry Brudos • “Night Stalker” Richard Ramirez • “Unabomber”… Shares: Serial murderers, Case studies, Serial murders, True Crime

A rip in Heaven Jeanine Cummins · 2004 · ★ 4.2 · 302p · ≈ 10h · Moderate It was a headline story in the New York Times and USA Today. It was covered by Court TV and profiled on the Ricki Lake Show. Now, here is the intimate memoir of a shocking crime and its aftermath...one family's immediate and unforgettable story of what victims can suffer long after they should be safe. Shares: Case studies, True Crime, Murder, Biography & Memoir

Blind Faith Joe McGinniss · 1981 · ★ 3.7 · 448p · ≈ 14h · Moderate The Marshalls were the model family of Tom’s River, New Jersey, living the American dream of all that money could buy. Rob Marshall was the big breadwinner, king of the country club set. Maria Marshall was his stunningly beautiful wife and the perfect mom to their three great kids. Then one night Rob, his head bloodied, reported Maria had been brutally slain. Sympathy poured in—until… Shares: Case studies, True Crime, Murder

Life Means Life Nick Appleyard · 2009 From sex-crazed fiends to cold-eyed professional assassins, only those convicted of the most terrible murders are told they will die behind bars.This book tells the stories of those most depraved killers whose crimes outraged society and demanded the harshest penalty available to a British court. Among a UK prison population of close to 100,000, fewer than 40 men and women have been told they… Shares: Murderers, Case studies, True Crime, Murder

Crimes of Passion Howard Engel · 2001 · 239p · ≈ 7h · Moderate The very term "crimes of passion" evokes deep-seated, atavistic responses in everyone's heart. These are the crimes that are born in the emotional core of women and men who are pushed to do the unthinkable. There are never - well, hardly ever - any of the crass considerations of financial gain, no taint of reward; only release. These crimes are direct responses to betrayal, to broken hearts and… Shares: Case studies, True Crime, Murder

Blood Will Out: The True Story of a Murder, a Mystery, and a Masquerade Walter Kirn · 2014 · ★ 3.5 · 272p · ≈ 9h · Moderate In the summer of 1998, Walter Kirn - then a young novelist struggling with fatherhood and a dissolving marriage - set out on a peculiar, fateful errand: to personally deliver a crippled hunting dog from an animal shelter in Montana to the New York apartment of one Clark Rockefeller, a secretive young banker and art collector. Thus began a fifteen-year relationship that drew Kirn deep into the… Shares: Murderers, Case studies, True Crime

Echoes in the darkness Joseph Wambaugh · 1987 · ★ 3.6 · 415p · ≈ 13h · Moderate On June 25, 1989, the naked corpse of schoolteacher Susan Reinert was found wedged into her hatchback car in a hotel parking lot near Philadelphia's "Main Line." Her two children had vanished. The Main Line Murder Case burst upon the headlines--and wasn't resolved for seven years. Now, master crime writer Joseph Wambaugh reconstructs the case from its roots, recounting the details, drama,… Shares: Murderers, Case studies, True Crime, Murder

Born Killers Christopher Berry-Dee · 2006 · 270p · ≈ 9h · Moderate But no matter how many people they have killed, no matter how many lives they have ruined and whatever the nature of their sickening crimes, serial killers are still human. Analysing the early years of the lives of men like Jeffrey Dahmer, who abused and killed 17 young men, offers a fascinating insight into the effects of a dysfunctional or abusive childhood. Criminologists Christopher… Shares: Serial murderers, True Crime

The Monster of Florence Magdalen Nabb · 1996 · ★ 3.3 · 344p · ≈ 11h · Moderate Marshal Guarnaccia feels out of his league when he is assigned to help track down a serial killer, especially when he assigned to work under Simonetti, a man so dedicated to achieving a conviction that he is blinded to the consequences. Shares: Serial murderers, Case studies, Serial murders, True Crime

The private diary of Lyle Menendez Lyle Menendez · 1993 · ★ 4.6 · 263p · ≈ 8h · Moderate The personal story of Lyle Menendez is based on a four-and-a-half-year intimate correspondence with the author and covers the murders of Jose and Kitty Menendez by Lyle and his brother Erik and the court trials that ended in hung juries. Shares: Case studies, True Crime, Murder, Biography & Memoir

Portrait of a Killer Patricia Cornwell · 1960 · ★ 3.5 · 391p · ≈ 13h · Moderate "Between August and November 1888, at least seven women were murdered in London's Whitechapel area. The gruesome nature of their deaths caused panic and fear in the East End for months, and gave rise to the sobriquet that was to become shorthand for a serial killer - Jack the Ripper.". "For over a hundred years the murders have remained among the world's greatest unsolved crimes, and a wealth of… Shares: Serial murderers, Serial murders, True Crime, Murder

The Bloody Countess Valentine Penrose · 1970 · 192p · ≈ 6h · Moderate Descended from one of the most ancient aristocratic families of Europe, Erzsebet Bathory bore the psychotic aberrations of centuries of intermarriage. From adolescence she indulged in sadistic lesbian fantasies, where only the spilling of a woman’s blood could satisfy her urges. By middle age, she had regressed to a mirror-fixated state of pathological necro-sadism involving witchcraft, torture,… Shares: Murderers, Serial murderers, Serial murders, True Crime

Guilty of Nothing Kevin King · 2008 · 70p · ≈ 2h · Moderate When Bill Eck is accused of a crime he didn't commit, the evidence is compelling but not complete. With enough loopholes in the case to run a racehorse through, it seems as though any logical juror or judge would need more evidence to convict anyone in this position. A serial killer who strikes at the site of the racehorse track has every citizen on edge, and Bill is no exception. He is, however,… Shares: Serial murderers, Serial murders

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