Criminal Element is thrilled to share that the Case Closed podcast from Macmillan Podcasts is back with a new season! For the past two seasons, we’ve shared true crime stories that have been solved, so you always walk away feeling satisfied—no frustrating cliffhangers or ambiguous endings. Now, you can listen to season 3 early on…
The name “Brach” conjures up thoughts of candy corn, caramels, chocolate nougats, and various other delicious bagged confections. However, in the annals of crime, the name conjures up Helen Brach, the wealthiest woman in the United States ever to disappear and presumed to be murdered. Started in 1904, the E. J. Brach & Sons candy…
A recent transfer to Atlanta, and the resulting ninety-minute commute, led me down an audio content rabbit hole. My first venture into this world was Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie. As the winner of the Booker of Bookers, Rushdie’s sprawling magical fiction merits its own review. With that said, I learned Midnight’s Children is not…
Trace by investigative reporter and journalist Rachael Brown tells the story of Brown’s internationally acclaimed true crime podcast which reexamines the cold case murder of Maria James in Australia in 1980 and the potential foul-play of major institutions that disrupted progress. Maria James, a 38-year-old mother of two boys, was brutally murdered in her bookstore…
Jenny Maloney provides a true-crime solution to the age-old question: what do I get Dad for Father’s Day? It’s that time of year again. Time to find the perfect gift for dad. Let’s face it, ties are just not that fun anymore. Aftershave doesn’t work that well in the summer months. And we’re all a…
A glimpse into the mind of a man who has pierced the heart of human darkness, The Killer Across the Table by John Douglas & Mark Olshaker unlocks the ultimate mystery of depravity and the techniques and approaches that have countered evil in the name of justice. John Douglas is perhaps the premier authority on serial…
In 1929, there were two “Canary Murder” Cases. The first was a film starring Louise Brooks, William Powell, and Jean Arthur, released in February, which told the story of a showgirl (“The Canary”) who was strangled after a failed attempt at blackmail. The second “Canary Murder” occurred in Chicago towards the end of the year,…
It was 1955. McDonald’s franchised its hamburger joints, Disneyland opened its doors to a magical world, and Elvis Presley commenced gyrating to screaming crowds. Times were changing. And United Air Lines Flight 629 exploded in the air killing everyone onboard to become the first bombing of a domestic aircraft and the worst act of mass…
Charles A. Gardner’s Dannemora is a gripping account of the notorious escape of two vicious convicted murderers from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, in New York’s North Country, which lead to one of the country’s most extensive manhunts and culminated in a dramatic, bloody standoff. Great nonfiction shares some key features with outstanding fiction: they both…
In Death on the River, bestselling true crime author Diane Fanning recounts a tragic kayak accident that left one man dead—and his fiancée arrested for his murder. CHAPTER ONE A brilliant sun warmed the air on a mid-April Sunday afternoon—a day that shouted with joy that spring had arrived at last. The lovely weather drew many New…
