A Tale of Two Murders by Laura Thompson is a riveting account of the notorious “Ilford murder” which became a legal cause ce´le`bre in the 1920s and led to the hanging of Edith Thompson and her lover, Freddy Bywaters. She had made a grave mistake, believing that she had more… Read more
Georgia Tann left a dark legacy throughout the country, sewing tears among children and their birth parents for decades. Wearing gray hair, spectacles, a floral dress, and a sweet Southern smile, Tann looked like any caring grandmother—but most who encountered her learned that it was all a vile mask of… Read more
Let us know what you chose and why in the comments below!
America’s most infamous serial killers are surrounded by grisly, strange facts that have frightened and fascinated the general public for decades. But how well do you know your serial killers? Take the quiz and find out!
So often, true crime documentaries focus on cases where the truth is unknown. New evidence either puts into question the conviction or reopens an investigation, and often times, the ambiguous ending can be frustrating. Netflix’s new true crime documentary, I Am a Killer, takes a different approach to true crime, interviewing… Read more
Criminal Element is excited to announce that we’ve partnered with Macmillan Podcasts to produce a new true crime podcast, Case Closed—perfect for fans of Serial, Dirty John, Criminal, and other favorites! Hosted by renowned true crime book editor Charlie Spicer—a 30-year veteran of St. Martin’s Press who has published more than 100… Read more
Sadie is the propulsive new YA book from Courtney Summers about a missing girl on a journey of revenge and a Serial-like podcast following the clues she’s left behind. Half of the book is told from Sadie’s perspective, while the other half is told through podcast transcripts. Now, Macmillan Podcasts has created The… Read more
At the heart of true crime narratives are its victims, voices (often) lost to brutal acts of violence. Their lives are hopefully painted in the recollections of their friends, family, acquaintances, and colleagues while we, the audience, circle their bodies in search of truth and justice. If we’re lucky, we… Read more
Last summer, on a Sunday afternoon, I schlepped out to Washington Cemetery in a very ungentrified stretch of Brooklyn. Some 200,000 graves—almost all of them Jewish—occupy the 100 acres of this marvelously shabby necropolis along Bay Parkway. I was looking for the grave of Max Hochstim, a vicious Jewish racketeer… Read more
Criminals and their heinous acts are undoubtedly something that fascinates us all, especially fans of thrillers and true crime stories. We follow the sordid details when the bad guys are caught and put on trial, but it’s not the crime itself that draws us in. It’s that unanswerable question of… Read more
