True Crime
Braille - Grade 2. Compiled: 2009.
The titles in this booklist are just a selection of the titles available for loan from the RNIB National Library Service braille collection.
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Archer, Jeffrey.
A prison diary. Vol. 1,; Belmarsh - hell. 2002. 4v.
Jeffrey Archer was sentenced to four years' imprisonment in 2001. Within six hours, Prisoner FF8282, as he is now known, was on suicide watch in the medical wing of Belmarsh top security prison in South London. This, he discovered, is standard procedure for first-time offenders on their first night in jail. Jeffrey Archer's diary of his first three weeks imprisonment is a raw account of life in a top-security jail in Britain. The tales of his fellow inmates - many of whom are in for life - are often moving stories of hopelessness. Unsuitable for family reading.
Archer, Jeffrey.
A prison diary. Vol. 2,; Wayland - purgatory. 2004. 5v.
On 9 August 2001, twenty-two days after Jeffrey Archer was sentenced to four years in prison for perjury, he was transferred from HMP Belmarsh, a double-A Category high-security prison in south London, to HMP Wayland, a Category C establishment in Norfolk. He served sixty-seven days in Wayland and during that time, as this account testifies, encountered not only the daily degrations of a dangerously overstretched prison service, but the spirit and courage of his fellow inmates.
Archer, Jeffrey.
A prison diary. Vol. 3,; North Sea camp. 2004. 6v.
The final volume of Jeffrey Archer's prison diaries covers the period of his transfer from Wayland to his eventual release on parole in July 2003. It includes a shocking account of the traumatic time he spent in the notorious Lincoln jail and the events that led to his incarceration there - it also throws light on a system that is close to breaking point. Contains swear words.
Beavan, Colin .
Fingerprints: murder and the race to uncover the science of identity. 2001. 4v. UK Loan only.
This title concerns the true story of the development of the science of identity and the history of fingerprint detection. In 1905 an elderly couple were found murdered in their shop in Deptford, London. The only evidence at the scene of the crime was a sweaty fingerprint on a cashbox. Was it possible that a single fingerprint could be enough to lead to a conviction? Could the pattern of these tracks hold the secrets of the science of identification? Beaven recreates the 19th-century race to find a scientific method of identification. This text concerns the true story of the development of the science of identity and the history of fingerprint detection. In 1905 an elderly couple were found murdered in their shop in Deptford, London. The only evidence at the scene of the crime was a sweaty fingerprint on a cashbox. Was it possible that a single fingerprint could be enough to lead to a conviction? Could the pattern of these tracks hold the secrets of the science of identification?
Blundy, Anna.
Everytime we say goodbye: the story of a father and a daughter. 1998. 5v. UK Loan only.
On 17th November 1989 Anna Blundy received a phone call to say that her father, David Blundy, a foreign correspondent, had been killed in El Salvador. In a way she had expected this all her life. Every time they said goodbye, she knew he might not return. Eight years later, Anna went to El Salvador to try to discover the truth about his death, and finally, to come to terms with her loss.
Boswell, James.
Boswell for the defence, 1769-1774. 1960. 9v. UK Loan only.
Boswell practiced as a lawyer in Edinburgh and his accounts of the criminals he defends gives a clear impression of the state of the law and justice of the time. It concludes with a public execution.
Bowden, Mark.
Killing Pablo: the hunt for the richest, most powerful criminal in history. 2001. 8v.
This work charts the rise and spectacular fall of the Colombian drug lord, Pablo Escobar, richest and most powerful criminal in history. The book sets out to combine the energy of a Tom Clancy techno-thriller and the detail of award-winning investigative journalism. This text charts the rise and fall of Pablo Escobar, the richest and most violent criminal in history. It exposes for the first time the massive covert operation by US Special Forces to hunt down and assassinate the man described as the billionaire godfather of international drug trafficking. This book also tells the story of the men of the Special Forces who ultimately destroyed Pablo Escobar. The author has had exclusive access to highly classified intelligence documents, secret surveillance footage and Escobar's wiretap transcripts, and has interviewed the major players in the manhunt.
Britton, Paul.
The jigsaw man: the remarkable career of Britain's foremost criminal psychologist. 1997. 14v.
Forensic psychologist, Paul Britton, has an almost mythic status in the field of crime deduction because of his ability to detect the psychological characteristics of those who stalk, torture, rape, abduct and kill other human beings. In recent years he has been at the centre of more than a hundred headline-making investigations, from the murder of Jamie Bulger to the slaying of Rachel Nickell. The autobiography of Paul Britton, one of the foremost offender profilers in the world. Over the past dozen years, Britton has assisted the police in over one hundred cases involving murder, rape, arson, extortion and kidnapping. He has also advised the FBI and the Russian Ministry of the Interior. Contains sex scenes.
Broad, John.
Science and criminal detection. 1997. 14v.
Forensic psychologist, Paul Britton, has an almost mythic status in the field of crime deduction because of his ability to detect the psychological characteristics of those who stalk, torture, rape, abduct and kill other human beings. In recent years he has been at the centre of more than a hundred headline-making investigations, from the murder of Jamie Bulger to the slaying of Rachel Nickell. The autobiography of Paul Britton, one of the foremost offender profilers in the world. Over the past dozen years, Britton has assisted the police in over one hundred cases involving murder, rape, arson, extortion and kidnapping. He has also advised the FBI and the Russian Ministry of the Interior. Contains sex scenes.
Burn, Gordan.
Happy like murderers. 1998. 8v. UK Loan only.
Reveals the strange inner dynamic of Fred and Rosemary West's' relationship. The author examines whether Rosemary West was a vicious, sadistic and insatiable bisexual, her husband's full partner in the lust murders, or whether she was a physically and psychologically tormented obedience slave, shaped by him and her own submissive dependence into something compliant and corrupt.
Collins, Frank.
Baptism of fire: the astonishing true story of a man of God. 1997. 12v. UK Loan only.
Following a life of gang-led petty crime and poverty in Newcastle, Frank Collins finally joined the SAS. After spending time in America and Northern Ireland there was nothing he didn't know about guns and killing. Then, out of the blue, he experienced an extraordinary religious conversion, so powerful that he was compelled to change his life. He is now ordained as a Church of England minister.
Cordingly, David.
Under the black flag: the romance and the reality of life among the pirates. 1995. 3v. American Braille. UK Loan only.
Dispels the romantic fantasy about swashbuckling pirates and exposes them as brutal, violent criminals. Highlights their daily lives, the major ports where they thrived, the pets commonly kept, and the eventual demise of their class by government sanction. Includes notorious women and infamous buccaneers.
Cornwell, Patricia.
Portrait of a killer: Jack the Ripper - case closed. 2002. 6v. UK Loan only.
Using the firsthand expertise she has gained through writing the bestselling Kay Scarpetta novels, Patricia Cornwell utilizes the demanding methods of modern forensic investigation to re-examine the evidence in the Jack the Ripper murders. These include state-of-the-art DNA testing on various materials, computer enhancement of watermarks and expert examinations of hand-writing, paper, inks and other relics. She also uses her knowledge of profiling on the possible suspects, as well as consulting experts in the filed. On presenting her conclusions to a very senior Metropolitan Police officer she learns that had the investigators of the time been presented with the facts she has unearthed, her suspect would definitely have been arrested and would probably have faced trial. Naming the killer as the artist, Walter Sickery, Cornwell details the reasons and evidence for this conclusion. Contains swear words Contains violence.
Devlin, Angela.
Going straight: after crime and punishment. 1999. 6v. UK Loan only.
Going straight looks at a range of criminals who have changed their way of life. They include famous, notorious, creative and ordinary people who were prepared to talk about the turning point in their lives - the events which caused them to leave crime behind.
Dickie, John.
Cosa Nostra: a history of the Sicilian Mafia. 2004. 6v.
The Mafia has been given many names since it was founded in the mid-19th century - the Sect, the Brotherhood, the Honoured Society, and now Cosa Nostra. Yet as times have changed, the Mafia's subtle and bloody methods have remained the same. This book reconstructs the complete history of the Sicilian Mafia from its origins to the modern day, from the lemon groves and sulphur mines of Sicily, to the streets of Manhattan. Contains swear words.
Edwards, Owen Dudley.
Burke & Hare. 1993. 9v.
Edwards gives the first unvarnished account of two of history's most notorious criminals. The reader is not spared the inevitably sordid details of the killings, but they are accompanied by careful historical analysis. As poor Irish immigrants, Burke and Hare resorted to murder as a money-making enterprise, paid for by anatomist Dr Knox.
Farrell, Harry.
Shallow grave in Trinity County. 1997. 4v. American Braille. UK Loan only.
This is the tragic story of a small California town rocked by the 1955 murder of fourteen-year-old Stephanie Bryan, whose killer turned out to be college student Burton Abbott, who lived nearby.
Fido, Martin.
Murder guide to London. 1994. 5v. UK Loan only.
The author gives an account of London's most notorious murders including Jack the Ripper, Dr Crippen, Krays and Dennis Nilsen. He shows how the character of each London district is reflected in the nature of its murders, for example, gangland executions in the East End and servant-related murders in Belgravia. It is possible to visit all London's major surviving murder sites using this book as a guide.
Foot, Paul.
Murder at the farm: who killed Carl Bridgewater? 1986. 8v.
Britain was shocked when 13-year-old Carl Bridgewater was shot dead. He was delivering a paper to a farmhouse when he interrupted a robbery. Four Birmingham criminals were arrested, and a local jury found them guilty. Then, four weeks after the conviction, there was another murder - at the farm next door. Paul Foot believes the wrong men were convicted. In this book, he tells the full story of both murders, both inquiries and both trials in meticulous detail.
Fraser, Frankie.
Mad Frank and friends. 1998. 5v.
The text details Frankie Fraser's and his friend's memoirs of life in and out of prison. The text includes figures such as `Ruby' Sparks, the famous pre-war burglar, and Spark's girlfriend, the `Bobbed-Haired Bandit', the first woman on a smash-and-grab team, with Billy Hill and Bert Marsh, the self-styled Bosses of the Underworld, and with the thieves they employed. Contains violence
Gould, Terry.
Paper fan: the hunt for the triad gangster, Steven Wong. 2004. 9v. UK Loan only.
The author hunts one of the most notorious criminals of all time--a criminal from New York's Chinatown who led a gang of killers in Vancouver, was pronounced dead in an accident in the Philippines in 1992, and has re-emerged as a wanted man. Contains swear words
Graham, Anne E.
The last victim: the extraordinary life of Florence Maybrick, the wife of Jack. 1999. 7v. UK Loan only.
Did Florence Maybrick really poison her husband, or was she set up? Who knew about Maybrick's connection to the Ripper murders, and what lengths would they go to keep it quiet? Why was evidence suppressed from the trial? This text explores the life of Florence and her marriage to James Maybrick.
Grantham, Leslie.
Life and other times: my autobiography. 2006. Coming Soon.
"Life and Other Times" is the long-awaited autobiography of Britain's best-known soap star Leslie Grantham - 'Dirty Den' of East Enders. With searing honesty, Leslie recounts his early life, from growing up in a dysfunctional family in Camberwell to his time as a boy soldier in Shropshire and subsequent posting to Germany, a move that led to the murder of a German taxi driver. He tells of the reality of serving a life sentence, where sex and acting provided an exciting escape from the numbing routine of prison life, only to be disowned by his family on his release. Within four busy years of leaving drama school, where he met his future wife, Jane Laurie, Leslie had joined the cast of the BBC's new soap-opera as the landlord of the Queen Vic, becoming the idol of millions of fans. But with his past sensationally exposed in the tabloids Leslie became the subject of unprecedented and unrelenting press interest culminating in the notorious internet sting which threatened to destroy both his family and his career.
Graysmith, Robert.
Zodiac: the shocking true story of America's most elusive serial killer. 2007. Coming Soon.
"This is the Zodiac speaking. I like killing people because it is so much fun...the most thrilling experience..." This shocking true crime classic is now a major movie. A sexual sadist, the Zodiac's pleasure was torture and murder. He taunted the authorities with mocking notes telling where he would strike next. The official tally of his victims was six. He claimed 37 dead. He was never caught. Robert Graysmith tells the inside story of the hunt for the hooded killer, and finally reveals his possible true identity.
Hill, Gregg and Hill, Gina.
On the run: a mafia childhood. 2006. 3v.
The children of Henry Hill share their experiences of growing up in their father's world of witness protection program identities and mafia retribution.
Holman, Bob.
Children & crime. 1996. 5v.
In 1995 Britain was shocked by the fatal stabbing of headmaster, Philip Lawrence, by youths. Previously the brutal murder of toddler Jamie Bulger, by two 10-year-old boys disturbed the nation. Such incidents highlight the rising tide of burglaries, muggings, joy-riding and drug-dealing perpetrated by children and young people. What has gone wrong with our society and what can be done about it?
Hughes, Robert.
The fatal shore: a history of the transportation of convicts to Australia, 1787-1868. 1987. 15v.
In describing Australia's painful transition from prison camp to open society, Robert Hughes draws on a wealth of documents, private and official. Their vivid testimony adds to the most complete account yet written of how 160,000 men, women and children, some innocent, some not, were shipped off the face of the known world to suffer, to die, to succeed and to go on to found a new nation.
Keating, H.R.F.
Blood on my mind: a collection of new pieces by members of the Crime Writers' Association about real crimes, some notable and some obscure. 1972. 2v. UK Loan only.
Some notable and some obscure.
Kelley, Kitty.
His way: the unauthorized biography of Frank Sinatra. 1986. 18v.
Frank Sinatra has dominated the entertainment industry for more than fifty years, and, after his death, he continues to excite interest in his music, his life, his women, his politics and his Mafia connections. Kitty Kelley draws a vivid portrait of Sinatra from his childhood to his rise to fame and the trail of broken friendships and broken marriages. . Frank Sinatra has dominated the entertainment industry for more than fifty years, and, after his death, he continues to excite interest in his music, his life, his women, his politics and his Mafia connections. Kitty Kelley draws a vivid portrait of Sinatra from his childhood to his rise to fame and the trail of broken friendships and broken marriages.
Kemp, Ross.