The Greatest Works of True Crime
This selection of true crime writing is based on the continuing research carried out for The Greatest Literature of All Time and additional research into crime literature acclaimed by the world's readers, writers, critics and scholars.
The Greatest Works of True Crime focuses on major works in the field, namely book-length publications.
You may also be interested in The Greatest Crime and Mystery Literature, The Greatest Historical Fiction, The Greatest Nonfiction or The Greatest Memoirs.
This list is updated as new works are discovered and appreciation of older works evolves. Please note the revision date when citing the list.
Latest update: November 6, 2025
The 55 Greatest Works of True Crime
1807
A Narrative of the Life of Henry Tufts
by Henry Tufts, United States
Nonfiction, fully titled A Narrative of the Life, Adventures, Travels and Sufferings of Henry Tufts Now Residing at Lemington, in the District of Maine
1827–1854
On Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts
by Thomas De Quincey, England
Nonfiction
1910
Trial of Oscar Slater
by William N. Roughead, Scotland
Nonfiction
1924
Studies in Murder
by Edmund Pearson, United States
Nonfiction
1951
Classic Crimes
by William N. Roughead, Scotland
Nonfiction, subtitled A Selection from the Works of William Roughead
1966
In Cold Blood
by Truman Capote, United States
Nonfiction novel
1974
Helter Skelter
by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry, United States
Nonfiction, subtitled The True Story of the Manson Murders
1979
The Executioner's Song
by Norman Mailer, United States
Nonfiction novel
1980
The Stranger Beside Me
by Anne Rule, United States
Nonfiction
1986
Zodiac
by Robert Graysmith, United States
Nonfiction
1994
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
by John Berendt, United States
Nonfiction novel
1995
Shot in the Heart
by Mikal Gilmore, United States
Nonfiction
1996
News of a Kidnapping
by Gabriel García Márquez, Colombia
Nonfiction, originally Noticia de un secuestro
My Dark Places
by James Ellroy, United States
Nonfiction, subtitled An L.A. Crime Memoir
1999
Disco Bloodbath
by James St. James, United States
Nonfiction, subtitled A Fabulous but True Tale of Murder in Clubland, also known as Party Monster
2000
The Adversary
by Emmanuel Carrère, France
Nonfiction, subtitled A True Story of Monstrous Deception, originally L'Adversaire
Joe Cinque's Consolation
by Helen Garner, Australia
Nonfiction, subtitled A True Story of Death, Grief and the Law
2001
City Possessed
by Lynley Hood, New Zealand
Nonfiction, subtitled The Christchurch Civic Crèche Case
Justice
by Dominick Dunne, United States
Nonfiction, subtitled Crimes, Trials, And Punishments
2003
The Devil in the White City
by Erik Larson, United States
Nonfiction, subtitled Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
Under the Banner of Heaven
by Jon Krakauer, United States
Nonfiction, subtitled A Story of Violent Faith
2006
Gomorrah
by Roberto Saviano, Italy
Nonfiction, originally Gomorra
2008
The Suspicions of Mr Whicher
by Kate Summerscale, England
Nonfiction novel, fully titled The Suspicions of Mr Whicher or The Murder at Road Hill House
2009
Columbine
by Dave Cullen, United States
Nonfiction
2010
The Poisoner's Handbook
by Deborah Blum, United States
Nonfiction, subtitled Murder and the Birth of Forensic Medicine in Jazz Age New York
2014
Just Mercy
by Bryan Stevenson, United States
Nonfiction, subtitled A Story of Justice and Redemption
2015
One of Us
by Åsne Seierstad, Norway
Nonfiction, subtitled The Story of Anders Breivik and the Massacre In Norway
2017
Killers of the Flower Moon
by David Grann, United States
Nonfiction, subtitled The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
American Fire
by Monica Hesse, United States
Nonfiction, subtitled Love, Arson, and Life in a Vanishing Land
The Fact of a Body
by Alex Marzano-Lesnevich, United States
Nonfiction, subtitled A Murder and a Memoir
2018
Bad Blood
by John Carryrou, United States
Nonfiction, subtitled Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
I'll Be Gone in the Dark
by Michelle McNamara, United States
Nonfiction, subtitled One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer
2021
Empire of Pain
by Patrick Radden Keefe, Ireland
Nonfiction, subtitled The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty
