April Scaredy Kit: True Crime

This month we are going to be reading true crime stories, which I find really scary. Murder, kidnappings, robbery, cons - whatever evil the human mind can think of has been attempted by someone and there is usually a book about it.

Many real life crimes are stranger than fiction and can be upsetting to read about so if you find real life murders too much, then perhaps a book about some lesser crimes, such as cons or robberies would fit. What ever you chose to read, enjoy your book and let us know both before and after how it was.

To help give you some ideas here is a list of books that would fit:

In Cold Blood by Tuman Capote
Helter Skelter by Vincent Buglioski – Charles Manson
Not my Type by E. Jean Carroll – Carroll versus Donald Trump
The Stranger Beside Me by Ann Rule – Ted Bundy
Columbine by Dave Cullen – High School Shooting
Go Down Together by Jeff Guinn – Bonnie and Clyde
The Greatest Heist Stories Ever Told – edited by Tom McCarthy

For those who participate here is the link to the Wiki: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/2026_ScaredyKIT

I am planning on reading about a murder that happened in Victoria, B.C. with Under the Bridge by Rebecca Godfrey.

I'll be reading Whack Job: A History of Axe Murders.

this is one of my favourite categories for ScaredyKIT!

I plan to listen to The Mushroom Tapes about the mushroom murders in Victoria, Australia. It will be my first time venturing into "real" true crime - so far I have only read novels inspired by or retelling true cases.

Twelve true tales of people who died by the axe. Actually, some of them are pretty iffy about whether or not an axe was the instrument of death, but an axe was in the mix. Or a sharpened rock.
There's an opening with each chapter that introduces the type of axe used in the ensuing events, and it's a surprise that there are so many varieties. Who knew?

James is a thorough researcher, so there are several cases that I'd never heard of, along with ones you'd expect, such as Lizzie Borden and Candy Montgomery. The Axe Man of New Orleans and the Villisca murders are missing. They should have been here.
I'd recommend this book for the research. James isn't a natural writer and too many sentences have to be picked apart because of the clunking structure. She inserts her opinion too often, attempts at humor are flat, and she goes deep into the backgrounds of those involved, giving the reader a lot of information that isn't relevant. But again, her research skills are admirable.

I listened to The Mushroom Tapes by Helen Garner, Chloe Hooper & Sarah Krasnostein. I understand that many readers have been disappointed by this book because it does not meet the expectations of what true crime books usually are, but I really liked it.

I read Under the Bridge by Rebecca Godfrey. The author details the murder of a 15 year old teen who was first beaten by a mob of teens and then murdered by holding her head under water. This all took place under a bridge in Victoria, B.C.. I remember this case very well as it was hyped by the media as a case of teen bullying which wasn't exactly what did happen. The author certainly dug deep to bring forth the real story.

The Barn by Wright Thompson ★★★★


In summer 1955, two men, Roy Bryant and J. W. Milam, were charged with the torture and murder of the fourteen-year-old Emmett Till in Money, Mississippi, and acquitted in a mockery of justice, leaving behind an ink cloud of a false confession. In The Barn, Wright Thompson reveals the true nature and location of the long night of hell that August: inside the barn of one of the killers, within the six-square-mile grid whose official name is Township 22 North, Range 4 West,
Section 2, West Half, fabled in the Delta of myth as the birthplace of the blues, and twenty-three miles from Thompson’s own family farm. Wright Thompson has a deep, local understanding of this story—the world of the families of both Emmett Till and his killers, the historical forces that brought them together in the same place, and how the crime came to loom so large. Putting the killing floor of the barn on the map of West Half, and the Delta, and America, is a way onto the road this country must travel if we are to heal our oldest, deepest wound.

While not a 100% about the murder of Emmitt Till, this is still a great book and a must-read about racial inequality and the history of the Mississippi Delta. Like the author states at the end, this book was written for southern white boys who never learned this history. Even though he grew up 3 miles from the crime scene, he never heard of Emmitt Till until he went to college. This is why we need to teach all histories, from all people, and not try to brush it away to avoid hurting feelings.

I never got to mine, but I will eventually! I will come back and post here when I do.
Manson: the life and times by Jeff Guinn

I read 18 Tiny Deaths which isn't technically a true crime book, BUT it is all about true crime scenes. The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death were developed as a tool to educate police officers and others who are first on the scene.

I was way behind in my April reading, but this is what I'd planned to read, and I finally got to it (and finished a few days ago).