"A delightful read for anyone tantalized by the prospect of disappearing without a trace." --Erik Larson, New York Times bestselling author of Dead Wake "Delivers all the lo-fi spy shenanigans and caught-red-handed schadenfreude you're hoping for." --NPR "A lively romp." --The Boston Globe "Grim fun." --The New York Times "Brilliant topic, absorbing book." --The Seattle Times "The most literally escapist summer read you could hope for." --The Paris ReviewIs it still possible to fake your own death in the twenty-first century? With six figures of student loan debt, Elizabeth Greenwood was tempted to find out. So off she sets on a darkly comic foray into the world of death fraud, where for $30,000 a consultant can make you disappear--but your suspicious insurance company might hire a private detective to dig up your coffin...only to find it filled with rocks. Greenwood tracks down a British man who staged a kayaking accident and then returned to live in his own house while all his neighbors thought he was dead. She takes a call from Michael Jackson (no, he's not dead--or so her new acquaintances would have her believe), stalks message boards for people contemplating pseudocide, and gathers intel on black market morgues in the Philippines, where she may or may not obtain some fraudulent goodies of her own. Along the way, she learns that love is a much less common motive than money, and that making your death look like a drowning virtually guarantees that you'll be caught. (Disappearing while hiking, however, is a way great to go.) Playing Dead is a charmingly bizarre investigation in the vein of Jon Ronson and Mary Roach into our all-too-human desire to escape from the lives we lead, and the men and women desperate enough to give up their lives--and their families--to start again.

A comprehensive account of London's celebrated East End killer, revised and updated. The murders in London between 1888-91 attributed to Jack the Ripper constitute one of the most mysterious unsolved criminal cases. This story is the result of many years meticulous research. The author reassesses all the evidence and challenges everything we thought we knew about the Victorian serial killer and the vanished East End he terrorized.

In this cold case murder investigation from "a powerful, confident voice in the new true crime memoir genre" (James Renner, author of True Crime Addict), one of America's most notorious sprees is cracked open. With a foreword by Catherine Broad, sister of victim Timothy King, this is a deftly crafted true story set amid the decaying sprawl of Detroit.Four children were abducted and murdered outside of Detroit during the winters of 1976 and 1977, their bodies eventually dumped in snow banks around the city. J. Reuben Appelman was only six years old when the murders began and even evaded an abduction attempt during that same period, fueling a lifelong obsession with what became known as the Oakland County Child Killings. Autopsies showed that the victims had been fed while in captivity, reportedly held with care. And yet, with equal care, their bodies had allegedly been groomed post-mortem, scrubbed-free of evidence that might link to a killer. There were few credible leads, and equally few credible suspects. That's what the cops had passed down to the press, and that's what the city of Detroit, and Appelman, had come to believe. When the abductions mysteriously stopped, a task force operating on one of the largest manhunt budgets in history shut down without an arrest. Although no more murders occurred, Detroit remained haunted. Eerily overlaid upon the author's own decades-old history with violence, The Kill Jar tells the gripping story of Appelman's ten-year investigation into buried leads, apparent police cover-ups, con men, child pornography rings, and high-level corruption saturating Detroit's most notorious serial killer case. "Always deft, often sublime, Appelman uses his investigation to draw us into his personal journey through darkness, to light and life" (Chip Johannessen, producer of Dexter).

In Food and Feast in Premodern Outlaw Tales editors Melissa Ridley Elmes and Kristin Bovaird-Abbo gather eleven original studies examining scenes of food and feasting in premodern outlaw texts ranging from the tenth through the seventeenth centuries and forward to their cinematic adaptations. Along with fresh insights into the popular Robin Hood legend, these essays investigate the intersections of outlawry, food studies, and feasting in Old English, Middle English, and French outlaw narratives, Anglo-Scottish border ballads, early modern ballads and dramatic works, and cinematic medievalism. The range of critical and disciplinary approaches employed, including history, literary studies, cultural studies, food studies, gender studies, and film studies, highlights the inherently interdisciplinary nature of outlaw narratives. The overall volume offers an example of the ways in which examining a subject through interdisciplinary, cross-geographic and cross-temporal lenses can yield fresh insights; places canonic and well-known works in conversation with lesser-known texts to showcase the dynamic nature and cultural influence and impact of premodern outlaw tales; and presents an introductory foray into the intersection of literary and food studies in premodern contexts which will be of value and interest to specialists and a general audience, alike.

No one could believe the handsome young doctor might be a serial killer. Wherever he was hired -- in Ohio, Illinois, New York, South Dakota -- Michael Swango at first seemed the model physician. Then his patients began dying under suspicious circumstances.

At once a gripping read and a hard-hitting look at the inner workings of the American medical system, Blind Eye describes a professional hierarchy where doctors repeatedly accept the word of fellow physicians over that of nurses, hospital employees, and patients -- even as horrible truths begin to emerge. With the prodigious investigative reporting that has defined his Pulitzer Prize­winning career, James B. Stewart has tracked down survivors, relatives of victims, and shaken coworkers to unearth the evidence that may finally lead to Swango's conviction.

Combining meticulous research with spellbinding prose, Stewart has written a shocking chronicle of a psychopathic doctor and of the medical establishment that chose to turn a blind eye on his criminal activities.

It is one of the greatest mysteries of the twentieth century. How did Marilyn Monroe die? Although no pills were found in her stomach during the autopsy, it was still documented in the Los Angeles coroner's report that she had swallowed sixty-four sleeping pills prior to her demise. In "Marilyn Monroe: A Case for Murder," biographer Jay Margolis presents the most thorough investigation of Marilyn Monroe's death to date and shares how he reached the definitive conclusion that she was murdered.

Margolis meticulously dissects the events leading up to her death, revealing a major conspiracy and countless lies. In an exclusive interview with actress Jane Russell three months before her death, he reveals Russell's belief that Monroe was murdered and points the finger at the man she held responsible. While examining the actions of Peter Lawford, Bobby Kennedy, and Monroe's psychiatrist, Dr. Ralph Greenson, Margolis establishes a timeline of her last day alive that leads to shocking revelations.

In August 1962, Marilyn Monroe's lifeless body was found on her bed, leaving all to wonder what really happened to the beautiful young starlet. "Marilyn Monroe: A Case for Murder" provides a fascinating examination of one of the most puzzling deaths of all time.

The news is perplexing. Both the president and vice president of the United States have fallen ill with mysterious, flu-like symptoms. It is not long before both me receive the same devastating diagnosis: pancreatic cancer. But that is not the worst of it. Soon, many in Congress and the Supreme Court start to exhibit the same symptoms. In less than four months, the president is dead, the vice president is barely hanging onto life, and one-third of Congress is deceased. Unfortunately, the United States is not the only country ravaged by the scourge. By the time research leads medical experts to determine that only Muslims seem to be immune to the plague, most governments around the world are left with few survivors. As a Muslim takes over the presidency of the United States, he declares that the cancer spares no one except true believers in Allah. After he urges nonbelievers to convert to Islam in an effort to stop the population from dying off forever, a ban on pork and alcoholic beverages is put into place. But it is not long before experts discover what is truly causing the epidemic: a sinister virus. In this political thriller, the world is thrown into turmoil as a powerful group of evil saboteurs hold the future of humanity hostage.

'Indecently entertaining.' A Daily Mail Book of the Week An Amazon US Best Book of 2022 'A fascinating tale of poisons and poisonous deeds which both educates and entertains.' - Kathy Reichs As any reader of murder mysteries can tell you, poison is one of the most enduring - and popular - weapons of choice for a scheming murderer. It can be slipped into a drink, smeared onto the tip of an arrow or the handle of a door, even filtered through the air we breathe. But how exactly do these poisons work to break our bodies down, and what can we learn from the damage they inflict? In a fascinating blend of popular science, medical history, and narrative crime nonfiction, Dr Neil Bradbury explores this most morbidly captivating method of murder from a cellular level. Alongside real-life accounts of murderers and their crimes -some notorious, some forgotten, some still unsolved - are the equally compelling stories of the poisons involved: eleven molecules of death that work their way through the human body and, paradoxically, illuminate the way in which our bodies function. Drawn from historical records and current news headlines, A Taste for Poison weaves together the fascinating tales of spurned lovers, shady scientists, medical professionals and political assassins, showing how the precise systems of the body can be impaired to lethal effect through the use of poison. From the deadly origins of the gin & tonic cocktail to the arsenic-laced wallpaper in Napoleon's bedroom, A Taste for Poison leads readers on a fascinating tour of the intricate, complex systems that keep us alive - or don't.

Phil Chalmers has spent more than a decade visiting high security prisons to interview young offenders, his mission is to attempt to answer the questions we all are asking:

• Why do the crimes continue to happen?
• What sends these kids over the edge?
• Could we have seen these crimes coming and stopped them?
• How can we keep our own kids safe?

In "Inside the Mind of a Teen Killer," Phil explores the reasons why teens kill; the warning signs we must be looking for; and offers a game plan to keep our homes, schools, and communities safe. This book may help save your life or the life of a child you love

What the experts say:

"Phil Chalmers has interviewed the killers. He has corresponded with them extensively. He has exhaustively researched their crimes. There is no human being alive who knows more about these killers, and as you read this book, you will truly be taken "Inside the Mind of a Teen Killer.""

Lt. Colonel Dave Grossman, U.S. Army (retired), murder expert, and author of "Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill "

"This book has incredible knowledge and information that is invaluable to law enforcement, school resource officers, school personnel, and parents. Every single person who is in a school environment needs to read this book, and understand that some of the most horrific crimes that are being performed are being carried out by our children."

Officer Russ Diehl, School Resource / DARE Officer, Brimfield Police Dept, Kent, Ohio

"To go into the mind of a killer, you need to go into their hearts, and Phil has done just that. Phil's book raises your awareness of where we have gone wrong in society and how we can make major changes with simple steps."

Joe Shillaci, Former Miami Homicide investigator and star of the A&E show "The First 48"

The Number One bestselling memoir from Ireland's former state pathologist In 1997, Dr Marie Cassidy arrived in Dublin from Glasgow. There to discuss a possible deputy state pathologist post with Professor John Harbison, instead she was whisked by police escort to a Grangegorman murder scene. There was no turning back. She became Ireland's State Pathologist from 2004 until 2018, her image synonymous with breaking news of high-profile cases - a trusted figure in turbulent times. Here, with the scalpel-like precision and calm authority of her trade, Marie shares her remarkable personal journey from working-class Scotland into the world of forensic pathology, describing in candid detail the intricate processes central to solving modern crime. She recounts her work following the tragic deaths of Rachel O'Reilly, Siobhan Kearney, Robert Holohan, Tom O'Gorman and others - along with the Stardust exhumations and lesser known cases from her long career - outlining the subtle methods by which pathology and the justice system meet. Beyond the Tape is a unique behind-the-scenes journey into the mysteries of unexplained and sudden death - by turns poignant, stark and deeply compelling.

A tense and layered true-crime story about an all-American soldier boy turned bank robber Alex Blum was a clean-cut all-American kid with one unshakeable goal in life: to serve his country in the military. He was accepted into the elite Rangers regiment, but on the first day of his leave before deployment to Iraq, Alex got into his car with two fellow soldiers and two strangers, drove to a local bank in Tacoma, and committed armed robbery. The Blum family was devastated and mystified. How could he have done such a thing? Alex's attorney presented a defence based on the theory that trainee Rangers are indoctrinated on a level akin to the brainwashing in an extreme religious cult, and Alex insisted that he had believed the robbery was just another exercise in the famously daunting Ranger program. But Luke Elliot Sommer, the charismatic soldier behind the robbery, maintained that Alex knew exactly what he was doing, and had, in fact, planned it all with him. Who was lying? What had happened to Alex during those gruelling months of training? How accountable was he?

On the night of August 6, 1930, Joseph Force Crater, a newly appointed judge and prominent figure in many circles of Manhattan, hailed a taxi in the heart of Broadway and vanished into thin air. Despite a decades-long international manhunt led by the New York Police Department's esteemed Missing Persons Bureau, the reason for Crater's disappearance remains a confounding mystery. In the early months of the investigation, evidence implicated and imperiled New York's top officials, including then-Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt and Mayor Jimmy Walker, as well as the city's Tammany Hall political machine, lawyers and judges, and a theater mogul. Drawing on new sources, including NYPD case files and court records, and overlooked evidence discovered years later, Riegel pieces together the puzzle of what likely happened to Joseph Crater and why. To uncover the mystery, he delves into Crater's ascension into the scintillating and corrupt world of Manhattan in the Roaring Twenties and Jazz Age. In turn, the story of the judge's vanishing in the first year of the Great Depression unfolds as a harbinger of the disappearance of his lost metropolis and its transformation into modern-day New York City.

During his 20-year career as a federal prosecutor, the author worked hundreds of criminal cases, from a botched attempted bank robbery to high profile death penalty cases. In this collection of stories, the author recounts tales of trauma, drama and criminal minds. While many prosecutors might share their reflections on the details and operations of legal proceedings, the author instead focuses this collection on the human aspects of the criminals and their trials. The book ruminates on human nature, contemplating the motivations of the featured criminals and assessing the impact their crimes had on victims, family members and others. Some of the stories are light-hearted and humorous, while others are heartbreaking, but all provide unique and compelling insight into the all too human world of federal crime.