True Crime Reader

I had no idea that a monster hid behind his perfect mask, but my normally affectionate dog, Toby, instantly sensed the danger - standing in front of me was a serial killer, a sadist whose days and nights were consumed by murderous obsession.

The world’s most secure diamond vault. A team of master thieves. A robbery so clever the alarms never made a sound. In February 2003, a gang carried out one of the most ambitious crimes in history: the Antwerp Diamond Heist. They left no fingerprints. No DNA. No witnesses. So how did they get caught? The Almost Perfect Heist tells the true story behind the legendary break-in — rewritten in clear, simple English for A2–B1 English learners and adult reluctant readers. Discover how Leonardo Notarbartolo charmed a city, assembled a team of specialists, and defeated a vault considered “...

Real-life thrillers, mysteries, and tales of cold-blooded murder from the Reader's Digest archives.

A true crime podcast sets a trophy wife's present life on a collision course with her secret past in this "blazingly intense" Reese Witherspoon book club pick and New York Times Best Crime Novel of the Year (A. J. Finn). The day Anna McDonald's quiet, respectable life exploded started off like...

A real-life thriller in the vein of The Devil in the White City, Kate Winkler Dawson's debut Death in the Air is a gripping, historical narrative of a serial killer, an environmental disaster, and an iconic city struggling to regain its footing. London was still recovering from the devastation...

Nathaniel Carter was stunned by the verdict: guilty - with 25 years to life in prison. To the police, it was an open-and-shut case. To Carter's family and a few concerned friends, it would become a crusade for justice.

No one ever suspected that Dennis Rader, a seemingly ordinary man, could be a killer - let alone a cold-blooded serial killer. His infamous signature, "BTK", police would later discover, stood for "Bind, Torture, Kill".

Unsolved Murders Murder Mystery For Adults 33 short stories that will have you on the edge of your seat. Unravel the Mysteries of Unsolved Murders In the annals of history, countless murders lie unsolved, shrouded in secrecy, each one an irresistible riddle awaiting your keen intellect. From the ancient assassination of Julius Caesar to the modern-day murder of Tupac Shakur, these unsolved murders have held humanity in their thrall. Embark on a Journey into the Shadows Prepare for a quest into the depths of the inexplicable as you immerse yourself in unsolved murders that have confounded ...

For fans of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder and Veronica Mars, this whip-smart thriller follows a sapphic detective agency as they seek the truth behind a growing trail of missing girls in small-town Louisiana. A year ago, beloved cheerleader Stella Blackthorn vanished without a trace. Devastated...

AN NPR BOOK OF THE YEAR A tightly plotted page-turner ripped from the headlines of history, as three very different women must work together to stop a killer and save the truest home they've ever known. Before hypnotism, there was Mesmerism. And in 1894 Minneapolis, in the wake of a...

“Every sin has a price. Every secret has a cost.” Detroit’s streets never forget — and they never forgive. Nikki is a mother fighting demons she can’t put down. Her addiction has cost her everything, including the respect of her son Tee, who’s struggling to build a better life for his own child. But when tragedy strikes and old wounds are reopened, their broken family is pulled right back into the darkness they’ve been trying to escape. Meanwhile, Uncle Nice is on a mission that will shake the city to its core. A man bound by loyalty and blood, he’s out for payback — and ...

At the crest of a hill in Kansas City, Missouri, in the old stone house on Grandview Road where he had been born, Donin Wright and his girlfriend, Janet Clark, held loaded rifles. Wright regularly patrolled his property with a gun slung on his hip, but today's plan called for something more extreme.

Three years ago, a little painting caused big trouble for undercover agent Bob Wittman. Here, for the first time, he tells all.

Walentin Ivano's murder was no isolated act of brutality. It was the handiwork of one of the most virulent street gangs in American history.

It was a profound "Aha!" moment for Karen Lodrick: She suddenly realized how she knew the vaguely familiar looking woman in jeans and Gucci glasses, carrying a brown suede coat and a Prada purse, standing beside her at a local Starbucks. Karen's ID had been stolen five months earlier. Her bank account had been emptied, and her life sent reeling out of control. The suede coat was the same one she'd seen in the bank surveillance tape, worn by the woman who'd stolen Karen's ID.

A fake death. A missing canoeist. A global manhunt. This is the unbelievable true story of how one man fooled the police, the public, and even his own sons — and how the truth finally came crashing down. When John Darwin “drowned” at sea, everyone believed it. Everyone except the one person forced to live the lie: his wife, Anne. But faking your own death is never simple. As police search the coastline, reporters swarm the family home, and suspicion spreads through the seaside town of Seaton Carew, Anne must pretend to be a grieving widow — while John secretly hides next door, ...

Too much fun wasn't a problem for good-looking Brent Wilson "Wil" Hicks and his athletic girlfriend, Alex Santini. In a case that has drawn comparisons to the infamous Bonnie and Clyde, the couple robbed $500,000 from a half dozen banks then lived the high life on the lam.

In this "edge-of-your-seat" thriller and sequel to the Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine book club pick Conviction (The Los Angeles Times), Anna and Fin find themselves on another breathtaking chase across Europe—and another race to save their own lives. Deception. Theft. Murder. All you need...

A chilling thriller about an unlikely friendship between a true-crime fan and a former high school classmate suspected of murdering her influencer boyfriend, perfect for fans of Holly Jackson and Courtney Summers. On July 28 at 6:30 p.m., Kiri Dunsmore walks out of the desert wearing her...

Real-life thrillers, mysteries, and tales of cold-blooded murder from the Reader's Digest archives.