Tag: true crime

  • Abducted in Plain Sight (Netflix)

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Abducted in Plain Sight: WHAT THE EVERLOVING F—?! Quick synopsis: Jan Broberg was sexually molested by a family friend. You will meet her and a string of some of the dumbest human beings you have ever seen. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: She was kidnapped more than once. By the…

  • The Road to Jonestown by Jeff Guinn

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Road to Jonestown: Drink this Kool-Aid! The book I mean. Quick synopsis: The story of Jim Jones from his childhood to Jonestown and the mass suicide of over 900 people. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: “Don’t drink the Kool-Aid,” as a saying is because of this story. 900 people…

  • The Girl on the Velvet Swing by Simon Baatz

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Girl on the Velvet Swing: A whole lotta crazy going on. Quick synopsis: A true crime story from the early 1900s. A famous architect rapes a woman and he is later murdered publicly by the woman’s husband. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Stanford White was a famous architect who…

  • Ghost Soldiers by Hampton Sides

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Ghost Soldiers: You’ll cancel your hibachi reservation after reading this. Quick synopsis: The story of the jailbreak for the survivors of the Bataan Death March. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: What did the U.S. Army do when their soldiers got tired in World War II? Amphetamines! (Club music begins) Fun…

  • Random Musing: Serial Killers

    Random Musing: Serial Killers

    What’s this musing about: The cult of the serial killer. When I interviewed one of my favorite authors, Mike Dash, he said something really profound. He mentioned he does not like true crime books and shows because they often obsess about the killer at the expense of the victims. The victims usually end up being…

  • American Predator by Maureen Callahan

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for American Predator: Want to get away with murder? Don’t use the ATM card. Quick synopsis: The capture of (and botched interviews of) Israel Keyes. He was a very successful serial killer. And creepy as all hell. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Well not a fun fact but informative. Keyes got…

  • Murder Aboard by C. Michael Hiam

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Murder Aboard: Of course, they blamed the minority and not the previously incarcerated crazy dude. Quick synopsis: A true crime story about murders aboard a ship in 1896. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Canadians used to call New England the “Boston States.” I feel like everywhere but Boston would find…

  • The Killer Across the Table – J. Douglas/M. Olshaker

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The Killer Across the Table: You won’t want to be a criminal profiler after this. You may want to be Dirty Harry, though. Is that reference too old? Ok, you’ll want to be the Punisher. Quick synopsis: John Douglas (the guy who made criminal profiling a “thing”) recounts four scum he…

  • Dannemora by Charles Gardner

    Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for Dannemora: This was a hell of a lot more like Shawshank than I expected. Quick synopsis: The prison escape of Richard Matt and David Sweat from New York’s Clinton Correctional Facility in 2015. Fun Fact Non-History People Will Like: Seriously, it’s just like Shawshank! The two guys dug out of their…