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Books > Fiction > True stories > Crime
The closest you’ll ever get to the most infamous drug kingpin in modern history, told by the person who stood by his side The story of Pablo Escobar, one of the wealthiest, powerful and violent criminals of all time has fascinated the world. Yet the one person closest to him has never spoken out – until now. Maria Victoria Henao met Pablo when she was 13, eloped with him at 15, and despite his numerous infidelities and violence, stayed by his side for the following 16 years until his death. At the same time, she urged him to make peace with his enemies and managed to negotiate her and her children’s freedom after Pablo’s demise. The most intriguing character in the Escobar narrative is ready to share her story and reveal the real man behind the legend.
From John Douglas-the legendary FBI criminal profiler, #1 New York Times bestselling author, and inspiration for the Netflix show Mindhunter-comes a chilling journey inside the mind and crimes of Larry Gene Bell, one of the most dangerous serial killers Douglas confronted, and the desperate effort to identify and catch him. On May 31, 1985, two days before her high school graduation, Shari Smith was abducted from the driveway of her family home in South Carolina. Based on the crime scene and the abductor's repeated and taunting calls to the family, law enforcement quickly realized they were dealing with a sophisticated and highly dangerous criminal. A letter arrived the next day entitled "Last Will & Testament," in which Shari, knowing she was to be murdered, wrote bravely and achingly of her love for her parents, siblings, and boyfriend, saying that while they would miss her, she knew they would persevere through their faith. The abduction rocked her quiet town, triggering a massive manhunt and bringing in the FBI, which enlisted profiler John Douglas. A few days later, a phone call told the family where they could find Shari's body. Then nine-year-old Debra May Helmick was kidnapped from her yard, confirming the harsh realization that Smith's murder was no random act. A serial killer was evolving, and the only way to stop him would be to use the study of criminal behavior to anticipate his next move before he could kill again. Douglas devised a risky and emotionally fraught strategy to use Shari's lookalike older sister Dawn as bait to draw out the unknown subject. Dawn and her parents courageously agreed. One of the most haunting investigations of Douglas's storied career, this case details how the eerily accurate profile he created-alongside his carefully crafted and stage-managed manipulation of the killer's psychology-combined with dedicated police work and cutting-edge forensic science to end a reign of criminal terror. As Shari's family took incredible personal risks to lure her killer from the shadows, Douglas and the FBI pushed criminal profiling to its limits, culminating in one of his most dramatic and effective confrontations with a sadistic and remorseless killer.
Discover the extraordinary role of plants in modern forensics, from their use as evidence in the trials of high profile murderers such as Ted Bundy to high value botanical trafficking and poaching. We are all familliar with the role of blood splatters or fingerprints in solving crimes, from stories in the media of DNA testing or other biological evidence being used as the clinching evidence to incriminate a killer. This book lifts the lid on the equally important evidence from plants at a crime scene, from the incriminating presence of freshwater plants in the lungs of a drowning victim, to rare botanical poisons in the evening gin and tonic, to exotic trafficked flowers and drugs. In Planting Clues, David Gibson explores how plants can help to solve crimes, as well as how plant crimes are themselves solved. He discusses the botanical evidence that proved important in bringing a number of high-profile murderers such as Ian Huntley (the 2002 Shoham Murders), and Bruno Hauptman (the 1932 Baby Lindbergh kidnapping) to trial, from leaf fragments and wood anatomy to pollen and spores. Throughout he traces the evolution of forensic botany, and shares the fascinating stories that advanced its progress.
Digital pirates, particularly in China, steal and resell hundreds of billions of dollars worth of intellectual property each year. CRACK99 is an edge-of-the-seat account of the United States Justice Department's prosecution of the biggest cybercriminal operation to date. On a cheesy website called CRACK99, Xiang Li sold everything from satellite tracking and aviation simulation to communications systems design software for knock-down prices. When David Locke Hall and his team started buying CRACK99's products, the hunt for this elusive pirate began. After earning Xiang's trust, Hall's team met Xiang on Saipan, where the sting was nearly foiled before Xiang was captured, flown to the US and prosecuted. An eye-opening look at the dark side of cybercrime and the chilling consequences for technology and national security, CRACK99 reads like a caper-only it's true in every riveting detail.
In 1973, Myra Hindley, the most notorious woman in Britain, is serving a life sentence for the moors murders - a case that shocked the world. Behind bars she has fallen in love. When Hindley is refused parole she persuades a sympathetic prison officer and former nun to help her break out of London's grim Holloway prison. The women plan to run away together to Brazil. Twenty years after Hindley's death, this extraordinary true story is brought to life in vivid new detail by Howard Sounes, author of the true crime classic Fred & Rose, drawing on unseen prison files and new interviews with former Holloway inmates, prison officers and detectives. It is a tale of infatuation and manipulation, crime and punishment. Despite her part in the appalling murders of five children and teenagers, Myra Hindley is revealed as a highly complex woman of intelligence and charm, which she used to get what she wanted. Or was she, as her supporters claimed, a misunderstood person who regretted her past and only attempted to escape out of desperation? Revealing the 'most wicked woman in Britain' in new light, This Woman is an atmospheric prison story and a love story that will make readers think again about the woman behind the moors murders.
Vivir bajo una identidad ficticia y arriesgar su vida eran parte
del trabajo diario de Hipolito Acosta, agente del gobierno de los
Estados Unidos. Trabajaba regularmente en operaciones clandestinas
de gran importancia, infiltrando las bandas criminales de
contrabando de inmigrantes y los carteles del narcotrafico
mexicano.
The tenth-anniversary edition of the definitive account of the
Enron scandal, updated with a new chapter
The true story of London's toughest, deadliest street gangs: the events, the rules and the real top boys. Are the streets of London some of the deadliest in the world? What's the truth behind the headlines? And who are the real top boys? Looking beyond the hit TV series, The Real Top Boys reveals the lives of the street gangs who have taken over, and now rule, dozens of corners of the UK's capital. Bestselling true crime author Wensley Clarkson takes us on a tour of the housing estates and volatile neighbourhoods where pride, rivalry and revenge are the codes people live and die by. He talks to the criminals who have helped create this chilling modern-day underworld and recounts the vicious turf wars that changed the map, unravels the rules and rights of the streets, and charts the rise and fall of many of the game's key players over the decades that have transformed the city. Featuring interviews with real-life gangsters and told in a gripping story that lays bare the hard life in this world, The Real Top Boys is the ultimate account of gang life in London and a jaw-dropping look at who really runs the streets.
Mark Hofmann is no ordinary murderer. Until he was incarcerated he was the world?s greatest literary forger: a man who combined meticulous historical research with craftsmanship and forensic science. In 1997, one of his most accomplished forgeries, a poem by the much-loved 19th-century poet Emily Dickinson, turned up at a Sotheby?s and was sold for $21,000 to the library in Dickinson?s home town, Amherst.
Every day, Canadian police put their lives on the line to bring safety and security to our communities. Fallen Officers is a memorial to the men and women shot in the line of duty. Their heroic stories and tragic sacrifices deserve to be remembered: * Four Mounties from Mayerthorpe were shot while trying to apprehend James Roszko, who was suspected of having a marijuana grow-operation on his property. In a high-risk drug raid gone horribly wrong, Basil Parasiris shot Laval Constable Daniel Tessier to death before surrendering. * After pulling over a truck for failing to turn down its high beams, Constable Dennis Strongquill was gunned down by Robert Mario Sand, who was the subject of a Canada-wide warrant. Veteran Corporal Jim Galloway was shot by Martin Ostopovich, a diagnosed schizophrenic, as Ostopovich tried to flee from police. Constable Marc Bourdages and single mother Constable Robin Cameron are killed by Curtis Dagenais after pursuing him near Mildred, Saskatchewan. An all-out manhunt ensued when the body of Constable Christopher Worden was discovered at an apartment building in Hay River, Northwest Territories.
'The Night Manager meets Narcos' Saul David 'To catch this criminal took incredible courage and skill. This is James Bond meets Jason Bourne' Bear Grylls 'This is the book that warned us years before the Ukraine invasion about the power and reach of Moscow's Merchants of Death... Should be on the bookshelf of every Western anti-narcotics officer and not a few spies. No cliche this time - this is truth which really does trump fiction' Euan Grant, UK former intelligence analyst for ex-Soviet states. Russian billionaire Viktor Bout was the world's foremost arms dealer. Known as the 'Merchant of Death' he was both "Public Enemy No. 1" to the global intelligence agencies who hunted him and a ruthless criminal worth a fortune. He was also a former KGB officer and a tool of the Kremlin. For decades Bout had eluded capture, building up a labyrinthine network of airlines rushing weapons to dictators, rebels, despots and terror groups worldwide. An enemy of the free nations of the world and a top global sanctions buster, Bout was hunted by MI6, INTERPOL, the CIA, the NSA and more. Holed up in Moscow - from where he masterminded the sale of anything from AK47s to state-of-the-art helicopter gunships and anti-aircraft missiles - he was shielded by a Russian state that was a partner in his dark dealings. In short, Bout appeared utterly invulnerable and beyond hope of capture. Step forward former SAS man Mike Snow, AKA 'The Bear'. After serving in the world's most famous special forces unit, Snow had worked as a bush pilot in war-torn Africa, where he'd got to know Bout well. Via a secretive, shadow network, Snow was approached by the US Drugs Enforcement Agency. The DEA agents had one question for him: was Snow able to get Bout - the Lord of War? This is the incredible tale of OPERATION RELENTLESS, the top-secret mission masterminded by Snow and a handful of DEA operatives - a manhunt that ranges from the steamy jungles of Colombia to the ice-bound streets of Moscow, and from horrific bloodshed and tyranny in Afghanistan to a snatch operation like no other. Based upon the first hand testimonies of those who were there, award-winning author Damien Lewis reveals a story that reads like an impossible thriller, but every word is true
"One of the best true crime books of all time" -Time The inside story of one of the notorious and elusive serial killer who stalked the vulnerable, the young, and the ignored in 1980s Los Angeles-and then returned decades later to kill again. The Grim Sleeper was one of the most brutal serial killers in California history, preying on the women of South Central for decades. No one knows this story better than Christine Pelisek, the reporter who followed it for more than ten years. Based on extensive interviews, reportage, and information never released to the public, The Grim Sleeper captures the long, bumpy road to justice in one of the most startling true crime stories of our generation from his violent first crime while serving in the US Army to his inevitable death in prison. As seen on Investigation Discovery's true-crime documentary "The Grim Sleeper: Mind of a Monster"
A thrilling investigation of a true Victorian crime at Dublin railway station, shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction 2022. 'All the shocks and surprises of the best crime fiction' The Times Crime Club Dublin, November 1856: George Little, the chief cashier of the Broadstone railway terminus, is found dead, lying in a pool of blood beneath his desk. Yet there is no sign of a murder weapon and the office door is locked, apparently from the inside. Thousands of pounds in gold and silver are left untouched at the scene of the crime. Augustus Guy, Ireland's most experienced detective, teams up with Dublin's leading lawyer to investigate the murder - but the case defies all explanation. Then a local woman comes forward, claiming to know the killer... 'An intriguing and compelling true-crime whodunnit' Irish Times 'A true-crime masterclass... As compelling as any thriller' Philip Gray, author of Two Storm Wood
Harry Markopolos and his team of financial sleuths discuss first-hand how they cracked the Madoff Ponzi scheme "No One Would Listen" is the thrilling story of how the Harry Markopolos, a little-known number cruncher from a Boston equity derivatives firm, and his investigative team uncovered Bernie Madoff's scam years before it made headlines, and how they desperately tried to warn the government, the industry, and the financial press. Page by page, Markopolos details his pursuit of the greatest financial criminal in history, and reveals the massive fraud, governmental incompetence, and criminal collusion that has changed thousands of lives forever-as well as the world's financial system.The only book to tell the story of Madoff's scam and the SEC's failings by those who saw both first handDescribes how Madoff was enabled by investors and fiduciaries alikeDiscusses how the SEC missed the red flags raised by Markopolos Despite repeated written and verbal warnings to the SEC by Harry Markopolos, Bernie Madoff was allowed to continue his operations. "No One Would Listen" paints a vivid portrait of Markopolos and his determined team of financial sleuths, and what impact Madoff's scam will have on financial markets and regulation for decades to come.
The storied career of ATF agent Cynthia Beebe is told through the lens of six-high profile cases involving bombings, arson, and the Hell's Angels. She includes riveting trial testimony from dozens of key characters, including killers, bombers, arsonists, victims, witnesses and judges. Boots in the Ashes is the memoir of Cynthia Beebe's groundbreaking career as one of the first women special agents for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, (ATF). A smart and independent girl growing up in suburban Chicago, she unexpectedly became one of the first women to hunt down violent criminals for the federal government. As a special agent for 27 years, Beebe gives the reader first-hand knowledge of the human capacity for evil. She tells the story of how, as a young woman, she overcame many obstacles on her journey through the treacherous world of illegal guns, gangs and bombs. She battled conflicts both on the streets and within ATF. But Beebe learned how to thrive in the ultra-masculine world of violent crime and those whose job it is to stop it. Beebe tells her story through the lens of six major cases that read like crime fiction: four bombings, one arson fire and a massive roundup of the Hell's Angels on the West Coast.
As a kid, Randy Lanier dreamed of achieving four-wheel glory at the Indianapolis 500, but knew he'd never be able to afford the most expensive sport on earth. That all changed when he bought a speedboat and began smuggling pot from the Bahamas. Fueled by what would become a historically massive smuggling operation, he started racing cars and became an overnight sensation. For Randy and his teammates, money was no object, and bigger hauls meant faster cars. At every event they attended, they were behind the wheel of the best machinery, flaunting their secret in front of huge crowds and live television cameras. But no matter how fast they drove, they couldn't outrun the law. As Randy came ever closer to reaching his dream of high-speed glory, one of the biggest drug scandals ever to hit the professional sports world was about to unfold. Set in the 1980s Florida of Miami Vice, this is the unbelievable, unforgettable, unparalleled story of an ordinary guy whose attempts to become famous doing the thing he wanted most-become a world class race car driver-devolved into a you-can't-make-this-up tale of one of the biggest crime rings and drug scandals of the 1980s. Now, with the help of New York Times bestselling author A.J. Baime, Randy tells the whole truth for the first time ever, a gripping narrative unlike any other, a sports story for the ages, and shocking a true crime epic.
This book tells for the first time the story from a police perspective. For ten years, the officer in charge of the investigation, Detective Superintendent John Bennett QPM, has refused to tell his story. Now, together with BBC journalist Graham Gardner, he reveals the full story of how the Wests were caught, how the case was prepared and how it nearly failed to come to court. This book chronicles the roles of those who brought down two of Britain's most infamous killers, shedding light on the real heroes of one of the saddest chapters of criminal history. It explores the court processes, the complications of Rose West's trial, her unsuccessful appeal and the difficulty of dealing with witnesses in such a traumatic case. On one level, this is a story of the triumph of good over evil; on another it is a detailed documentation of how a murder investigation really works - the pressures, the commitment and the physical and emotional drain on those who carry out this work.
What is it like to learn that your ordinary, loving father is a serial killer? In 2005, Kerri Rawson opened the door of her apartment to greet an FBI agent who shared the shocking news that her father had been arrested for murdering ten people, including two children. That's also when she first learned that her father was the notorious serial killer known as BTK, a name he'd given himself that described the horrific way he committed his crimes: bind, torture, kill. As news of his capture spread, the city of Wichita celebrated the end of a thirty-one-year nightmare. For Kerri Rawson, another was just beginning. In the weeks and years that followed, Kerri was plunged into a black hole of horror and disbelief. The same man who had been a loving father, a devoted husband, church president, Boy Scout leader, and a public servant had been using their family as a cover for his heinous crimes since before she was born. Everything she had believed about her life had been a lie. Written with candor and extraordinary courage, A Serial Killer's Daughter is an unflinching exploration of life with one of America's most infamous killers and an astonishing tale of personal and spiritual transformation. A Serial Killer's Daughter will give you the encouragement you need to learn how to: Pick up the pieces of your life when everything falls apart Begin to heal from the long-lasting effects of violence Trust that light will overcome the darkness Kerri Rawson's story offers the hope of reclaiming sanity in the midst of madness, rebuilding a life in the shadow of death, and learning to forgive the unforgivable.
The story of Irish-American racketeer Danny Greene and his war with the Mafia. Basis for the film Kill the Irishman starring Ray Stevenson, Vincent D'Onofrio, with Val Kilmer and Christopher Walken. |
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