Three gripping true crime classics in one volume, from the New York Times–bestselling author. From the acclaimed journalist and author, three chilling tales of depravity, death, and detective work including: NO ANGELS Late one night in 1997, fourteen-year-old Brandy DuVall waited at a bus stop in the Denver area when, for reasons that are still a mystery, she got into a car with several young men. The consequence was an unimaginable nightmare of torture, rape, and murder at the hands of a vicious Denver street gang. The crime, investigation, and subsequent court cases—including four murder trials and two death penalty hearings—tore apart families, and affected all who were caught up in the brutal crime and its aftermath. SMOOTH TALKER As seen on Investigation Discovery’s Epic Mysteries series Anita Andrews was found in her own bar, stabbed to death in a bloody frenzy. She'd last been seen alive talking to a customer, a drifter playing cards and flirting with her. A month later, Michele Wallace was driving near Crested Butte, Colorado, when she gave two stranded motorists a ride. She was never seen alive again. Fourteen years later, Charlotte Sauerwin, engaged to be married, met a smooth-talking man at a Laundromat in Livingston Parish, Louisiana. The next evening, her body was found in the woods. The three murders would remain unsolved until a rookie Gunnison County sheriff’s investigator named Kathy Young began investigating . . . ROUGH TRADE On a morning in May 1997, a couple on their way to work spotted a man dragging a woman’s body up a trail. The subsequent investigation into the death of young streetwalker Anita Paley would lead from that idyllic spot to the seamy underbelly of Denver and a world of prostitution, drug dealers, and violent criminals. This is the story of two people from that world whose paths crossed first on the streets and then at a murder trial: Robert Riggan, a violent sexual predator, and Joanne Cordova, a former cop-turned-prostitute, who risked her life to testify.

"True Crime: An American Anthology" offers a comprehensive look at the many ways in which American writers have explored crime in a multitude of aspects: the dark motives that spur it, the shock of its impact on society, and the effort to make sense of the violent extremes of human behavior.

It is no secret that true crime murder stories are not for the faint of heart. They can lead you to double-check your windows and doors at night, and question everything you thought or believed about human nature. Yet they are intriguing and fascinating at the same time. What is it that makes us different from those who take the lives of others? That is a question that many ask themselves, and these true crime stories help to identify the method and psychology behind some of the most terrifying killers in modern history. This set includes three true crime books, volumes 1-3, and each is filled with a variety of true crime murder cases, including spree killers and massacres, some of which are yet to be solved. You are taken through the background of the story, the murders, and the criminal investigations that took place. Some pages will be difficult to read, due to the emotion behind them. Yet you will be unable to stop reading, turning page after page. Each true crime anthology in this collection will leave you to ponder whether the perpetrators of these crimes were really monsters. When you learn of the background of these killers, the age-old question of whether a serial killer is born to kill will be at the forefront of your mind. Explore the stories behind the murders in these True Crime volumes, the anger, the horror, and the sadism, inflicted by each killer. Feel for the victims, their families, and the investigators who had to deal with each case. And don't be surprised if you have to sleep with the light on.

Night falls and the rivers of blood flow forth once more. For what are murderers if not creatures of the dark? Hiding in plain sight as the average neighbor, co-worker or even employer, just waiting for the moment to unleash their murderous urges. Whether they are sadistic in their methods or not does not change the common trait that they all share: the presence of evil. These crimes shock us to the core, leading us to wonder just what is going on in their minds that leads them to take lives without any feeling of remorse...yet deep down we're actually intrigued by their crimes. Fascinated, even. In truth, these killers bring forth a dark curiosity that keeps us reading chapter after chapter, book after book, and once we're done we begin to reflect on how interesting the psychology behind these characters can be. It is precisely because of this wondrous fascination that we have compiled a fresh set of three True Crime Stories books, following the success of our first collection, this time with the bestselling volumes 4-6. 36 tales of bloodshed and terror, police investigation and the background of each and every killer await you, with each subject varying from serial killer to mass murderer, ruthless monster to seemingly harmless member of the community. No two killers are the same and no two murders are committed for the same reason - this much you are about to find out. Reader, you are about to embark on a road of horror, death and cruelty...are you ready to walk the blood-chilling path into the mind of a killer?

A brilliant anthology of modern true-crime writing that illustrates the appeal of this powerful and popular genre, edited and curated by Sarah Weinman, the award-winning author of The Real Lolita The appeal of true-crime stories has never been higher. With podcasts like My Favorite Murder and In the Dark, bestsellers like I’ll Be Gone in the Dark and Furious Hours, and TV hits like American Crime Story and Wild Wild Country, the cultural appetite for stories of real people doing terrible things is insatiable. Acclaimed author ofThe Real Lolitaand editor of Women Crime Writers: Eight Suspense Novels of the 1940s & 50s (Library of America) and Troubled Daughters, Twisted Wives (Penguin), Sarah Weinman brings together an exemplary collection of recent true crime tales. She culls together some of the most refreshing and exciting contemporary journalists and chroniclers of crime working today. Michelle Dean’s “Dee Dee Wanted Her Daughter To Be Sick” went viral when it first published and is the basis for the TV showThe Act and Pamela Colloff’s “The Reckoning,” is the gold standard for forensic journalism. There are 13 pieces in all and as a collection, they showcase writing about true crime across the broadest possible spectrum, while also reflecting what makes crime stories so transfixing and irresistible to the modern reader.

Truly Criminal showcases a group of highly regarded writers who all share a special passion for crime, reflected in this superb collection of essays re-examining some of the most notorious cases from British criminal history. Contributors are all members of the Crime Writers' Association (CWA), including leading novelists Peter Lovesey, Andrew Taylor and Catherine Aird (winner of 2015 CWA Diamond Dagger). There is also a bonus essay by the late great Margery Allingham about the controversial William Herbert Wallace case, which has only recently been rediscovered. Among the real-life crimes explored in the book are the cases of Samuel Herbert Dougal, the Moat Farm murderer, George Joseph Smith, the 'brides in the bath' killer and Catherine Foster, who murdered her husband with poisoned dumplings – some of the most infamous killers in British history. With a foreword by international best-selling author Peter James, this collection demonstrates the art of 'true crime' writing at its very best.

The Gory Stories Behind The Murder Ballads Cheerfully vulgar, revelling in gore, and always with an eye on the main chance, murder ballads are tabloid newspapers set to music, carrying word of the latest ‘orrible murders to an insatiable public. Victims are bludgeoned, stabbed or shot in every verse and killers often hanged, but the songs themselves never die. Instead, they mutate – morphing to suit local place names as they criss cross the Atlantic and continue to fascinate each generation’s biggest musical stars. Paul Slade traces this fascinating genre’s history through eight of its greatest songs. Stagger Lee’s “biographers” alone include Duke Ellington, James Brown, Bob Dylan, Dr John, The Clash and Nick Cave. No two tell his story in quite the same way. Covering eight classic murder ballads, including “Knoxville Girl”, “Tom Dooley” and “Frankie & Johnny”, Slade investigates the real-life murder which inspired each song and traces its musical development down the decades. Billy Bragg, The Bad Seeds’ Mick Harvey, Laura Cantrell, Rennie Sparks of The Handsome Family and a host of other leading musicians add their own insights.