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Books > Fiction > True stories > Crime
Shortlisted for the 2022 Financial Times Business Book of the Year
Award. ***A Waterstones Best Books of 2022 pick*** A Financial
Times, The Times and The Economist Book of the Year 'Gripping... A
startling tale of fraud and impunity. ' The Economist 'I read it in
one sitting, and I know it'll stay with me for a long time.' Oliver
Bullough, Sunday Times bestselling author of Moneyland Inside the
corrupt and secret business of global shipping, the explosive true
story of a notorious international fraud and murder In July 2011,
the oil tanker Brillante Virtuoso was drifting through the
treacherous Gulf of Aden when a crew of pirates attacked and set
her ablaze in a devastating explosion. But when David Mockett, a
maritime surveyor working for Lloyd's of London, inspected the
damaged vessel, he was left with more questions than answers. Soon
after his inspection, he was murdered. Dead in the Water is a
shocking expose of the criminal inner-workings of international
shipping, an old-world industry at the backbone of our global
economy. Through first-hand accounts of those who lived the
hijacking - from members of the ship's crew and witnesses to the
attacks, to the ex-London detectives turned private investigators
seeking to solve Mockett's murder - award-winning reporters Matthew
Campbell and Kit Chellel piece together the astounding truth behind
one of the most brazen financial frauds in history.
A victim of violent abuse at the hands of his stepfather, Lenny
spent much of his teenage life in borstal as he began to follow a
life of crime. However, it was his ability as a fighter that was to
turn his life around. Lenny McLean inspired fear in many, but
respect from all, as he became a bare-knuckle fighting legend. His
fame became even greater in later life, appearing in Guy Ritchie's
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels just as his autobiography was
reaching the top of the bestsellers chart. Lenny's untimely death
from cancer in 1998 marked the beginning of the end of the old
Cockney way of life and interest in his story has only increased
since his passing, inspiring documentaries as well as a feature
film, My Name is Lenny. In these unedited conversations between
Lenny and his 'book man' Peter Gerrard, featuring many anecdotes
that did not appear in The Guv'nor, we get to see the man behind
the public image. As he looks back on his life, these transcripts
reveal Lenny's humour and charm as well as the volatility that made
him one of the most notorious figures ever to emerge from the East
End.
More than thirty years ago, Tom Walker published "Fort Apache:
New York's Most Violent Precinct," introducing the world to the
4-1, a South Bronx precinct that was home to more murders than the
entire city of San Francisco. To this day, his story about life as
police lieutenant in the 4-1 precinct remains the definitive
account of the vicious cycle of violence that griped urban America
in the late twentieth century.
The battle between criminals and law enforcement did not end in
1971, but massive controversy over the book's publication precluded
the release of a sequel-until now. With "Return to Fort Apache:
Memoir of an NYPD Captain," Walker finally tells the rest of his
fascinating life story.
"Return to Fort Apache" was written to counter the prevailing
politically correct opinion that the officers in Fort Apache used
their weapons first and their wits last. In addition, Walker hopes
to memorialize the courageous officers he served with in the 4-1,
to remember forever their sacrifices, their courage, and their
daily brushes with death and violence.
Massacres, mayhem, and mischief fill the pages of Outlaw Tales of
Alaska. Pan for gold with dry gulchers and claim jumpers. Duck the
bullets of murderers, plot strategies with con artists, hiss at
lawmen turned outlaws. A refreshing new perspective on some of the
most infamous reprobates of the Last Frontier. From Unimak Island
to Fairbanks, and beyond, the Last Frontier was populated by
characters as tough and as dangerous as any in the lower
forty-eight. Take the legendary Blue Parka Bandit--whose generosity
earned him Robin Hood status among some, and whose flair for
escapes kept folks on edge even after his arrest. Or Fred Hardy
who, in 1902, achieved the dubious distinction of being the first
convicted murderer hung by the feds in the Territory of Alaska.
That's not to mention "Kultuk," whose murderous exploits spread
fear through the hearts of trappers in his rugged domain.
The career of Donald "D.J." Vodicka encompassed the rapid expansion
of the prison system. For sixteen years, he was a prison guard in
California's highest security prisons, serving meals to gang
leaders, serial killers in lockdown cells, and patrolling exercise
yards filled with violent felons while unarmed and outnumbered
1000-to-2. He belonged to an elite unit called the Investigative
Services Unit (Internal Affairs), responsible for solving horrific
crimes inside the walls. He was a decorated veteran officer. He
became the largest "whistle-blower" to uncover a group of rogue
prison guards who called themselves "The Green Wall."The Green
Wall" is a real-life drama of one man's courage to do the right
thing against the California State Prison System. It is an
unblinking look at what can go wrong when only one person is
willing to stand up and speak for what is right, against almost
insurmountable odds. Vodicka's televised state senate testimony
exposed a scandal that led to resignations, transfers, sudden
retirements, and reforms of the system that are still underway. The
story is a classic tale of the triumph of personal integrity in the
most dishonest place imaginable.
We are enamored with stories about cops, but rarely do we get a
chance to walk in the shoes of one while reading about the personal
and spiritual battles waged when one is fighting crime. Jim's
narrative will pull you into the moment of each crisis. These
stories are the material of movies but they happened in real life.
Jim will weave his experiences into the truth taught in Scripture.
Whether or not you are part of the law enforcement community, you
will be entertained by the adventures. Regardless of your
relationship with Christ, you will be challenged to do something
with the claims made by Jesus. There is engaging action in this
book, but the serious purpose is that it will serve as a
challenging devotional guide and bring you closer to Christ.
Between Good and Evil is Roger Depue's retrospective look at a life
spent apprehending criminals - mostly serial killers - as a
small-town police chief, Swat team member, Behavioural Sciences
Unit chief and developer of revolutionary law enforcement
programmes that were the precursor to VICAP. The book also charts a
spiritual odyssey that culminated in Depue becoming a Brother of
the Missionaries of the Holy Apostles. While a seminarian, he
counseled maximum security inmates. Following his time in the
clergy, he re- entered law enforcement and today heads up the
world's most elite forensics think tank, The Academy, which was the
basis for the Chris Carter-created Fox TV show Millennium.
The Linden Triangle: Linden Avenue and Linden Place, Hempstead,
Long Island. At this blighted intersection, seemingly forgotten by
the middle and upper class communities that surround it, the dream
of suburban comfort and safety has devolved into a nightmare of
flying bullets and bloodshed. Here, a war between the Bloods and
Crips has torn a once-peaceful neighborhood apart.The book tells
the true story of one year in the life of a suburban
village-turned-war-zone. Written by Kevin Deutsch, award-winning
criminal justice reporter for Newsday, it follows two warring gangs
and the anti-violence activists and police desperate to stop them.
As the body count climbs and conflict spreads to New York City,
young men wielding military grade weaponry wage a prolonged battle
over pride, respect, revenge and their legacies.Based on immersive
reporting and more than 250 interviews with gang members, their
families, drug addicts, police and others, The Triangle is the
first insider account of a New York Bloods/Crips gang war from the
only journalist ever given access to the crews' secretive realm.
Triangle is a chilling investigation of a world in which teenagers
shoot their childhood friends over drug debts; where gang rape is
used as a form of retaliation; and once-promising students are
molded into cold-blooded assassins. With gang and drug-related
violence responsible for as many as half of all non-domestic
homicides in the United States, The Triangle will make a
significant contribution to the national conversation about gangs,
chronicling the effects of armed gang conflicts not just on Long
Island and New York City but throughout America.
On Nov. 28, 1969, Betsy Aardsma, a 22-year-old graduate student in
English at Penn State, was stabbed to death in the stacks of Pattee
Library at the university's main campus in State College. For more
than forty years, her murder went unsolved, though detectives with
the Pennsylvania State Police and local citizens worked tirelessly
to find her killer. The mystery was eventually solved-after the
death of the murderer. This book will reveal the story behind what
has been a scary mystery for generations of Penn State students and
explain why the Pennsylvania State Police failed to bring her
killer to justice.More than a simple true crime story, the book
weaves together the events, culture, and attitudes of the late
1960s, memorializing Betsy Aardsma and her time and place in
history.
This fascinating account of how two young Americans turned traitor
during the Cold War is an "absolutely smashing real-life spy story"
(The New York Times Book Review). At the height of the Cold War,
some of the nation's most precious secrets passed through a CIA
contractor in Southern California. Only a handful of employees were
cleared to handle the intelligence that came through the Black
Vault. One of them was Christopher John Boyce, a hard-partying
genius with a sky-high IQ, a passion for falconry, and little love
for his country. Security at the Vault was so lax, Boyce couldn't
help but be tempted. And when he gave in, the fate of the free
world would hang in the balance. With the help of his best friend,
Andrew Daulton Lee, a drug dealer with connections south of the
border, Boyce began stealing classified documents and selling them
to the Soviet embassy in Mexico City. It was an audacious act of
treason, committed by two spoiled young men who were nearly always
drunk, stoned, or both--and were about to find themselves caught in
the middle of a fight between the CIA and the KGB. This Edgar
Award-winning book was the inspiration for the critically acclaimed
film starring Timothy Hutton and Sean Penn--a true story as
thrilling as any dreamed up by Ian Fleming or John le Carre. Before
Edward Snowden, there were Boyce and Lee, two of the most unlikely
spies in the history of the Cold War.
To anyone who has followed his career, Ray Schindler was the
greatest detective of the mid-twentieth century. He was a pioneer
in scientific detection before modern forensic science, and he
handled more than 10,000 cases covering almost every crime recorded
on the police blotter. Rupert Hughes acts as a faithful Dr. Watson
to Schindler s Holmes, and guides us from case to case, watching a
man who can t be excited, can t be stampeded, and can t be
frightened; a man who matches ingenuity of crime with an even
greater mental resourcefulness; a man who has a dogged
determination and a big fighting heart. Ray Schindler s biography
is the story of a great investigator, of a life that is packed with
exciting adventures, and of criminals who are outwitted,
out-fought, and defeated. Mere fictional detective stories pale in
comparison to the real life drama inherent in every one of Ray
Schindler s cases."
Several decades ago the boxer "Kid" McCoy was sent to San Quentin
for the murder of his girlfriend. A taciturn prisoner, McCoy once
blurted to his warden: "You know who I am, don't you-I'm McCoy, not
one of those Hollywood types or the kind you find in made-up
stories in the pulps. I'm the real McCoy." How much do you know
about the real McCoys-and Suttons, Capones, Mansons, and Oswalds?
The True Crime Quiz Book is filled with hundreds of questions to
help you find out, in varying degrees of difficulty for anyone from
the casual armchair detective to the most perceptive crime
historian. Who done it...and why? Who beat it...and when? Who
cracked it...and how? Here is the definitive testing ground for
aficionados of real life crime. The True Crime Quiz Book lets you
test yourself in all facets of criminal misdoing, and the Master
Sleuth scoring shows how you stand against the best lawmen. The
True Crime Quiz Book has hundreds of criminal teasers to satisfy
even the most insatiable crime buffs.
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