18 books like The octopus

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

Invisible Darkness Stephen Williams · 1996 · ★ 4.0 Invisible Darkness is the story of one of the more bizarre cases in recent memory--killings so sensational that they prompted the Canadian government, in the interests of justice, to silence its national press and to lock foreign journalists out of the courts.To all appearances, Paul and Karla Bernardo had a fairytale marriage--beautiful working-class girl weds bright upper-middle-class guy and… Shares True Crime, Nonfiction

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 True Crime, Murder, Nonfiction

The Authentic Life of Billy, The Kid Pat Garrett · 2008 · 128p · ≈ 4h · Light Hankering for a mostly true tale about the hard-living desperadoes who inhabited America's desert Southwest in the mid-1800s? This biography of the ill-fated gunslinger Billy, the Kid was written by Pat Garrett, the sheriff who shot Billy down. Although some historians now question the veracity of some of the self-aggrandizing bluster Garrett and his ghostwriter included in the book, The… Shares True Crime, Nonfiction

Death's Shadow Jon Wells · 2013 · 248p · ≈ 8h · Moderate Shares True Crime, General, Murder with this book.

Tyrants David Wallechinsky · 2006 · ★ 4.0 · 368p · ≈ 12h · Moderate Today more than ever, international headlines are dominated by dispatches from the many dictatorships that still dot the globe. Although Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has been deposed, North Korea's Kim Jong-il continues to attract attention on the world stage; at the same time, other dictatorships, led by royal families, military juntas, and single political parties, persist in repressing and… Shares Politics, True Crime, Nonfiction

Cannibalism Brian Marriner · 1992 · ★ 4.0 · 268p · ≈ 8h · Moderate In this gruesome yet compelling study, Brain Marriner charts a journey through the dark depths of the human psyche, tracing cannibalism from its prehistoric roots to the present day. From the Aztecs who ritually sacrificed and devoured their enemies to shipwreck survivors who ate the cabin boy; from the Japanese student who shot his girlfriends and sliced her thinly to eat raw, to the horrific… Shares True Crime, Murder, Nonfiction

Murder in America Stephen T. Holmes · 1994 · 200p · ≈ 6h · Moderate "A major revision of the best-selling Murder in America, this Second Edition examines both common and unusual acts of homicide in light of society's changing norms, values, attitudes, and customs. The authors, Ronald and Stephen Holmes, have worked with numerous police departments on more than 300 murder and rape cases. They have authored a variety of books and written many articles addressing… Shares True Crime, General, Murder

Bringing Adam home Les Standiford · 2011 · ★ 4.5 · 305p · ≈ 10h · Moderate This is the story of an unfathomable crime that would forever embed itself into the collective American psyche and lead to sweeping legislative changes in the way that missing person cases are handled. In 1981, Adam Walsh was a healthy and bright 6 1/2 year old boy with his entire life ahead of him. On the afternoon of July 27th, Adam accompanied his mom, Revé, to the local Sears department store… Shares True Crime, General, Murder

Neither 5 nor 3 Helen MacInnes · 1951 · 350p · ≈ 11h · Moderate Shares Journalists, General with this book.

A Talent to Deceive William Norris · 2006 · 327p · ≈ 10h · Moderate The kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh's infant son, and the subsequent trial and execution of Bruno Richard Hauptmann, have been a source of fascination for more than 70 years. Now, for the first time, William Norris delves into sources of information ignored by previous investigators and comes up with the identity of the true culprit. Lindbergh is exposed as having obstructed the… Shares True Crime, Nonfiction

A Descent Into Hell Kathryn Casey · 2008 · ★ 4.0 · 383p · ≈ 12h · Moderate Bright, attractive, and both from good families, University of Texas college student Colton Pitonyak and vibrant redhead Jennifer Cave had the world at their beckoning. Cave, an ex-cheerleader, had just landed an exciting new job, while a big-money scholarship to UT's prestigious business school lured Pitonyak to Austin. Yet the former altar boy had a dark, unpredictable streak, one that ensnared… Shares True Crime, Murder, Nonfiction

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 True Crime, Murder

Under the Banner of Heaven Jon Krakauer · 2003 · ★ 4.0 · 395p · ≈ 13h · Moderate Jon Krakauer's literary reputation rests on insightful chronicles of lives conducted at the outer limits. In UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN, he shifts his focus from extremes of physical adventure to extremes of religious belief within our own borders. At the core of his book is an appalling double murder committed by two Mormon fundamentalist brothers, Ron and Dan Lafferty, who insist they… Shares True Crime, General, Murder, Nonfiction

The Billion-Dollar Molecule

The Billion-Dollar Molecule Barry Werth · 1994 · ★ 4.0 · 445p · ≈ 14h · Moderate The Billion-Dollar Molecule raises the curtain on the fascinating and tumultuous drama of a radically new start-up pharmaceutical company. That company, Vertex, is trying to design a lifesaving new drug that - if it works - will prove the potential of a brand-new drug-making technique and also fulfill the vision of Vertex's founder and chairman, Joshua Boger, one of the most promising scientists… Shares United States

Nice Girl

Nice Girl Rachael Jane Chin · 2011 Shares True Crime with this book.

Outlaws

Outlaws Adam Shand · 2011 Shares True Crime with this book.

The Four Pools Mystery Jean Webster · 1908 Terry Patten, star-reporter for the The Post-Dispatch, is called to investigate a case of missing bonds allegedly stolen by a ghost from a safe at Four-Pools Plantation in Virginia when Colonel Gaylord, the patriarch of the plantation, is found murdered. Shares Journalists, 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 True Crime, Murder

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