The Uneasy Comfort of True Crime

by Denise Micale

My first date with my husband of 50 years was the movie In Cold Blood. It was my first exposure to the genre of true crime. Fast forward to the present and my guilty pleasure is a compulsion for Dateline on Friday evenings. According to Dean Jobb of the Chicago Tribune, true crime is now “one of the hottest genres in book publishing.” These days, true crime podcasts are also seemingly everywhere, and with recent advances in DNA analysis and genetic genealogy, cold cases decades old are being solved and publicized.

What draws many of us, otherwise very non-dramatic types, to this ostensibly dark sphere of storytelling? For Jessica Grose, in her November 16, 2024 New York Times opinion piece, “true crime usually reflects a black and white moral universe with dedicated law enforcement and trust in the science of crime where victims and their loved ones often, if even belatedly find justice.“ These books also transport their reader to unfamiliar times and settings amidst the universal human frailties and strengths that permeate life.

Here are some recommendations for some of the best true crime books in 2024: