Skip to main content

True Crime Author Spotlight

We all love a good crime story, and crime fiction is one of the most popular genres on Bookreporter.com. But now we’re featuring an entirely different way to read about missing persons, mysterious kidnappings, and cold-blooded murders --- through the real-life stories. Our True Crime Spotlight brings you chilling accounts of crimes that have actually occurred --- many of which are little known or long unsolved, and all written by experts --- along with the fallout.

Helltown: The Untold Story of a Serial Killer on Cape Cod by Casey Sherman

1969: The hippie scene is vibrant in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Long-haired teenagers roam the streets, strumming guitars and preaching about peace and love...and Tony Costa is at the center of it all. To a certain group of smitten young women, he is known as Sire --- the leader of their counter-culture movement, the charming man who speaks eloquently and hands out hallucinogenic drugs like candy. But beneath his benign persona lies a twisted and uncontrollable rage that threatens to break loose at any moment. Tony Costa is the most dangerous man on Cape Cod, and no one who crosses his path is safe.

Read more »

Midnight in Peking: How the Murder of a Young Englishwoman Haunted the Last Days of Old China by Paul French

Historian and China expert Paul French at last uncovers the truth behind the notorious murder of a young Englishwoman, and offers a rare glimpse of the last days of colonial Peking.

Read more »