Kate Summerscale's 6 favorite true crime books about real murder cases
The best-selling author recommends works by Helen Garner, Gwen Adshead, and more

When you make a purchase using links on our site, The Week may earn a commission. All reviews are written independently by our editorial team.
Kate Summerscale is the best-selling author of "The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher" and several other acclaimed works of British true crime. Her latest work is "The Book of Phobias and Manias," to be followed in early 2025 by "The Peepshow: The Murders at Rillington Place."
'Life After Life' by Tony Parker (1990)
Parker recorded interviews with 12 British men and women who had been convicted of murder, then transcribed and edited their words to create a series of extraordinary first-person narratives. Along with Truman Capote's (very different) In Cold Blood, this book opened my eyes to the possibilities of writing about crime. Buy it here.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
'This House of Grief' by Helen Garner (2014)
A wonderful account of the trial of an Australian man charged with the 2005 murder of his three young sons. Garner documents every twist in the proceedings — and her own feelings about the case. Buy it here.
'The Journalist and the Murderer' by Janet Malcolm (1989)
A brilliant, bracing examination of the relationship between Jeffrey MacDonald, a U.S. Army captain who was eventually convicted of having killed his wife and children in 1970, and his biographer Joe McGinniss, who claimed to believe in MacDonald's innocence but denounced him in print. Buy it here.
'The Adversary' by Emmanuel Carrère (2000)
The shocking story of Jean-Claude Romand, an apparently respectable French doctor who murdered his wife, his children, and his parents in 1993. Romand's whole life, it emerged, had been a weird and elaborate hoax. Buy it here.
'The Devil You Know' by Gwen Adshead and Eileen Horne (2021)
A forensic psychiatrist reflects on some of the criminal offenders she has treated at Broadmoor, the storied psychiatric hospital west of London. Adshead offers fascinating suggestions about the meaning of their violence. Buy it here.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
'A Thread of Violence' by Mark O'Connell (2023)
This is another book that interrogates the act of writing about crime. O'Connell tracked down and interviewed Irish socialite Malcolm Macarthur, who killed two strangers in Dublin in 1982. To write about Macarthur, he realized, was both to exalt and to exploit him. "Whether I liked it or not," he says, "I was implicated." Buy it here.
This article was first published in the latest issue of The Week magazine. If you want to read more like it, you can try six risk-free issues of the magazine here.
-
6 peaceful homes in farm country
Feature Featuring a two-story solarium in California and a three-season screened porch in Wisconsin
By The Week US
-
5 'slow TV' shows for overstimulated kids
The Week Recommends In an era of fast-paced content and short attention spans, the slow TV movement can be a boon to parents
By Theara Coleman, The Week US
-
The worst coral bleaching event breaks records
The Explainer Bleaching has now affected 84% of the world's coral reefs
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
6 peaceful homes in farm country
Feature Featuring a two-story solarium in California and a three-season screened porch in Wisconsin
By The Week US
-
Ghosts: a 'scorching' retelling of Ibsen's scandalous tale
The Week Recommends Gary Owen's modern revamp of the classic play is a 'cracker'
By The Week UK
-
Holy Cow: a charming 'micro-budget' film about Comté
The Week Recommends First-time director Louise Courvoisier elicits 'brilliant performances' from her non-professional cast
By The Week UK
-
The Story of Murder: a 'thoughtful' fictional retelling of a true crime story
The Week Recommends Hallie Rubenhold novel delivers belated justice to the victim of a 1910 London murder
By The Week UK
-
Film reviews: Sinners and The King of Kings
Feature Vampires lay siege to a Mississippi juke joint and an animated retelling of Jesus' life
By The Week US
-
Music reviews: Bon Iver, Valerie June, and The Waterboys
Feature "Sable, Fable," "Owls, Omens, and Oracles," "Life, Death, and Dennis Hopper"
By The Week US
-
Susan Page's 6 favorite books about historical figures who stood up to authority
Feature The USA Today's Washington bureau chief recommends works by Catherine Clinton, Alexei Navalny, and more
By The Week US
-
Book reviews: 'The Thinking Machine: Jensen Huang, Nvidia, and the World's Most Coveted Microchip' and 'Who Is Government? The Untold Story of Public Service'
Feature The tech titan behind Nvidia's success and the secret stories of government workers
By The Week US