True Crime

From "master of narrative journalism" (New York Times) and #1 bestselling author Mark Bowden, comes a gripping true crime story about the disappearance of the two Lyon sisters in 1975, and the extraordinary effort--40 years later--to bring their kidnapper to justice

On March 29, 1975, sisters Katherine and Sheila Lyon, age 10 and 12, vanished from a shopping mall in suburban Washington, D.C. As shock spread, then grief, a massive police effort found nothing. The investigation was shelved, and mystery endured. Then, in 2013, a cold case squad detective found something he and a generation of detectives had missed. It pointed them toward a man named Lloyd Welch, then serving time for child molestation in Delaware.

As a cub reporter for a Baltimore newspaper, Mark Bowden covered the frantic first weeks of the story. In The Last Stone, he returns to write its ending. Over months of intense questioning and extensive investigation of Welch's sprawling, sinister Appalachian clan, five skilled detectives learned to sift truth from determined lies. How do you get a compulsive liar with every reason in the world to lie to tell the truth? The Last Stone recounts a masterpiece of criminal interrogation, and delivers a chilling and unprecedented look inside a disturbing criminal mind.

Take a fascinating deep dive into the dark world of forensic science as experts team up to solve the identity of an unknown woman by exploring the rapidly evolving techniques being used to break the most notorious cold cases.

Fans of true crime shows like CSI, NCIS, Criminal Minds, and Law and Order know that when it comes to "getting the bad guy" behind bars, your best chance of success boils down to the strength of your evidence--and the forensic science used to obtain it. Beyond the silver screen, forensic science has been used for decades to help solve even the most tough-to-crack cases. In 2018, the accused Golden State Killer, Joseph DeAngelo, was finally apprehended after a decades-long investigation thanks to a very recent technique called forensic genealogy, which has since led to the closure of hundreds of cold cases, bringing long-awaited justice to victims and families alike. But when it comes to solving these incredibly difficult cases, forensic genealogy is just the tip of the iceberg--and many readers have no idea just how far down that iceberg goes.

For Laurah Norton, forensic science was always more of a passion than anything else. But after learning about a mishandled 1990s cold case involving missing twins, she was spurred to action, eventually creating a massively popular podcast and building a platform that helped bring widespread attention and resources to the case. LAY THEM TO REST builds on Laurah's fascination with these investigations, introducing readers to the history and evolution of forensic science, from the death masks used in Ancient Rome to the 3-D facial reconstruction technology used today. Incorporating the stories of real-life John & Jane Does from around the world, Laurah also examines how changing identification methods have helped solve the most iconic cold cases. Along the way readers will also get to see Laurah solve a case in real time with forensic anthropologist Dr. Amy Michael, as they try to determine the identity of "Ina" Jane Doe, a woman whose head was found in a brush in an Illinois park in 1993.

More than just a chronicle of the history of forensics, LAY THEM TO REST is also a celebration of the growing field of experts, forensic artists, and anthropologists (many of whom Laurah talks to in the book), who work tirelessly to bring closure to these unsolved cases. And of course, this book asks why some cases go unsolved, highlighting the "missing missing," the sex workers, undocumented, the cases that so desperately need our attention, but so rarely get it.

Engrossing, informative, heartbreaking, and hopeful, LAY THEM TO REST is a deep dive into the world of forensic science, showing readers how far we've come in cracking cases and catching killers, and illuminating just how far we have yet to go.

AN EDGAR AWARDS 2020 WINNER AND WALL STREET JOURNAL BESTSELLER

In this powerful true crime memoir, an award-winning identity theft expert tells the shocking story of the duplicity and betrayal that inspired her career and nearly destroyed her family.

Axton Betz-Hamilton grew up in small-town Indiana in the early '90s. When she was 11 years old, her parents both had their identities stolen. Their credit ratings were ruined, and they were constantly fighting over money. This was before the age of the Internet, when identity theft became more commonplace, so authorities and banks were clueless and reluctant to help Axton's parents. Axton's family changed all of their personal information and moved to different addresses, but the identity thief followed them wherever they went. Convinced that the thief had to be someone they knew, Axton and her parents completely cut off the outside world, isolating themselves from friends and family. Axton learned not to let anyone into the house without explicit permission, and once went as far as chasing a plumber off their property with a knife.

As a result, Axton spent her formative years crippled by anxiety, quarantined behind the closed curtains in her childhood home. She began starving herself at a young age in an effort to blend in--her appearance could be nothing short of perfect or she would be scolded by her mother, who had become paranoid and consumed by how others perceived the family. Years later, her parents' marriage still shaken from the theft, Axton discovered that she, too, had fallen prey to the identity thief, but by the time she realized, she was already thousands of dollars in debt and her credit was ruined. The Less People Know About Us is Axton's attempt to untangle an intricate web of lies, and to understand why and how a loved one could have inflicted such pain. Axton will present a candid, shocking, and redemptive story and reveal her courageous effort to grapple with someone close that broke the unwritten rules of love, protection, and family.

Astonishingly more key evidence is accessible today than was presented at the death penalty trial of Bruno Richard Hauptmann for the kidnap/murder of Charles Lindbergh, Jr. Viewing documents and photos that the jury never saw and forensic analysis never before published, you get to judge for yourself who committed the "crime of the century." Experts and enthusiasts alike are calling award-winning author Lise Pearlman's shocking new exposé on the Lindbergh kidnapping:

"MYTH-SMASHING, BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN, POWERFULLY ARGUED" -- Lloyd Gardner

"SHOCKING...WELL-DOCUMENTED...HIGHLY PLAUSIBLE." -- Dr. William M. Bass

"EXPERTLY RESEARCHED" "SUPERBLY CRAFTED" "MUST-READ" -- Greg Ahlgren & Stephen Monier

This shocking but true story is told in just 350 pages divided into dozens of short, riveting chapters you can't put down. Bonus features include:

-- scores of photos including what Little Charlie really looked like at the time he disappeared and other suppressed evidence

-- the May 1932 forensic report issued by the premiere medical lab now known as Bristol Myers Squibb.

-- modern forensic analysis of the corpse by a renowned pathologist published here for the first time

-- 60+ pages of detailed endnotes for armchair detectives and curious readers

-- source list of over 90+ books, archives and other reference materials

-- comprehensive index, and more!

In the depths of the Depression, millions worldwide followed every twist and turn of the Lindbergh baby kidnap/murder. Yet what was reported was largely fake news. Nearly a century after undocumented immigrant Bruno Richard Hauptmann was executed for the dastardly crime, questions still linger. If the wrong man was convicted, who did it? When? Why? Where? How? The shocking answers this book suggests have eluded all prior authors. Extensive research into dusty archives yielded crucial forensic evidence never before analyzed. Readers are invited to reexamine "the crime of the century" with fresh eyes focused on a key suspect - a slim man wearing a fedora that obscured his face. He was spotted with a ladder in his car near the Lindberghs' driveway early that fateful night. The police let an insider who fit that description oversee the entire investigation - the boy's father, international hero Charles Lindbergh. Abuse of power, amorality and xenophobia all feature in this saga set in an era dominated by white supremacists and social Darwinists. If Lindbergh was Suspect No. 1, the man who got away, what was his motive? Who else was involved? Who helped cover up the crime?

Read this book and judge for yourself.

In this memoir, Lana Wood investigates the mysterious drowning of her sister, the actress Natalie Wood, and clears up the myths and misconceptions behind one of the most notorious celebrity deaths of our time.

On the night of November 29, 1981, Natalie Wood disappeared from her yacht, the Splendour, while visiting Catalina Island with her husband, Robert "R.J." Wagner and their friend, Christopher Walken. The beloved movie star's tragic drowning shook America, inspiring troves of magazine covers and media pieces. What was originally believed to be an open-and-shut case of accidental drowning has been called into question over the years, and in 2011 the investigation was reopened. In 2018, at the urging of the public, it was reclassified as "suspicious."

Ever since, the question has remained: What really happened to Natalie Wood?

Lana Wood, Natalie's younger sister, long suspected nefarious circumstances surrounding her sister's death. Her closest confidante from childhood, Lana stood witness to Natalie's life: the successes, the heartache, and her deepest pain. But there was tremendous fear about investigating the case. Uncertain of what her own search would unravel, and frightened of the possibilities, Lana stayed silent for years, until she no longer could. She realized she was ignoring what was in front of her, and that the best way to honor her sister's legacy would be uncovering the secrets behind the very end of Natalie's life.

By elucidating previously unknown complications of Natalie's life, and offering new evidence from key parties involved in the investigation--including the boat's captain and other witnesses--Little Sister recounts Lana's search for the truth and brings to light explosive details that have been suppressed for decades. Ranging from the bonds that hold family together, to inconsistencies in interviews with detectives to complications with evidence, this story of sisterhood and mystery presents a fresh perspective on a night that has long been fodder for Hollywood lore.

The New York Times bestseller--With an Afterword and a New Epilogue by the Author

A New York Times Notable Book--Now a Netflix Film

"Meticulously reported and beautifully written . . . a haunting and powerful crime story that gives voice to those who can no longer be heard."--David Grann, author of Killers of the Flower Moon and The Wager

"Rich, tragic . . . monumental . . . true-crime reporting at its best."--Washington Post

One late spring evening in 2010, Shannan Gilbert ran through the oceanfront community of Oak Beach screaming for her life and was never seen again. No one thought much about what had happened to the twenty-four-year-old: she was a Craigslist escort who had been fleeing a scene--of what, no one could be sure. The Suffolk County police, too, seemed to have paid little attention--until seven months later, when an unexpected discovery in a bramble alongside a nearby highway turned up four bodies, all evenly spaced, all wrapped in burlap. But none of them Shannan's.

There was Maureen Brainard-Barnes, last seen at Penn Station in Manhattan three years earlier, and Melissa Barthelemy, last seen in the Bronx in 2009. There was Megan Waterman, last seen leaving a hotel in Hauppauge, Long Island, just a month after Shannon's disappearance in 2010, and Amber Lynn Costello, last seen leaving a house in West Babylon a few months later that same year. Like Shannan, all four women were petite, in their twenties, and had come from out of town to work as escorts, and they all had advertised on Craigslist and its competitor, Backpage.

Lost Girls is a portrait of the victims of the Long Island Serial Killer, of the underside of the Internet, and of the secrets we keep without admitting to ourselves that we keep them. Long considered "one of the best true-crime books of all time" (Time), this editionfeatures an afterword including the shocking fate of Mari Gilbert, Shannan's mother, for whom this case became the crusade of a lifetime, a new epilogue covering the most recent developments in the Long Island Serial Killer case, including the arrest, the missteps of the police investigation, and an updated timeline.

A haunting account of the sixteen years when a young Jamie Gehring and her family lived closer than anyone to Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber

As a child in Lincoln, Montana, Jamie Gehring and her family shared their land, their home, and their dinner table with a hermit with a penchant for murder. But they had no idea that the odd recluse living in the adjacent cabin was anything more than a disheveled man who brought young Jamie painted rocks as gifts. Ted was simply Ted, and erratic behavior, surprise visits, and chilling events while she was riding horses or helping her dad at his sawmill were dismissed because he was "just the odd hermit." In fact, he was much more--Ted eluded the FBI for seventeen years while mailing explosives to strangers, earning the infamous title of Unabomber.

In Gehring's investigative quest twenty-five years later to reclaim a piece of her childhood and to answer the questions, why, how, she recalls what were once innocent memories and odd circumstances that become less puzzling in hindsight. The innocence of her youth robbed, Gehring needed to reconcile her lived experience with the evil that hid in plain sight. In this book, through years of research probing Ted's personal history, his writings, his secret coded crime journals, her own correspondence with him in his Supermax prison cell, plus interviews with others close to Kaczynski, Gehring unearths the complexity, mystery, and tragedy of her childhood with the madman in the woods. And she discovers a shocking revelation―she and her family were in Kaczynski's crosshairs.

A work of intricately braided research, journalism, and personal memories, this book is a chilling response to the question: Do you really know your neighbor?

Find out what truly creates and defines a psychopath, from the leading expert who helped to create Killing Eve's Villanelle.

Dr. Mark Freestone has worked on some of the most interesting, infamous and disturbing cases of psychopathology in recent years. His expertise has led to a consultant role on several TV series, helping them accurately portray their fictional villains. Now, he shares his phenomenal insight into the minds of some of the world's most violent real-life criminals.

Angela "the Remorseless", a rare female psychopath, casually confessed to murder on national television without a hint of regret. Danny "the Borderline" switched from grandiosity to rage to despair within minutes and killed his defenseless friend without explanation. Tony "the Conman" preferred charm, intimidation and sexual abuse over physical violence and once tried to dupe someone into buying the Eiffel Tower. Jason "the Liar" had a fantasy life that led to vicious murders around Europe and preyed on those who see the good in people. Case by fascinating case, get to know seven of the most dangerous minds that Dr. Freestone has encountered over the last 15 years. These are up-close accounts of some of the most psychopathic criminals, and of what can happen if you fall victim to their supreme powers of manipulation.

Exploring the many factors that make a psychopath, the complexities and contradictions of their emotions and behavior, as well as an examination of how the lives of psychopaths develop inside and outside the institutions that are supposed to contain them, Making a Psychopath opens up a window into the world of those who operate in a void of human emotion--and what can be done to control them.