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When I was asked to write about my five favorite books, I initially shuddered at the idea of admitting to my law colleagues that I have a long-standing (and deeply ingrained) obsession with true crime. But after a quick dive into statistics about the popularity of true crime shows, films, and podcasts — particularly among women in my age range — I felt a little less exposed. Maybe what started for me in middle school, watching Dateline with my family, isn’t quite as niche as I once thought.
And maybe the appeal goes beyond morbid curiosity. For me, true crime has always been an outlet for exploring the complexity of human behavior—how ordinary, familiar people can commit acts that are shocking or profoundly disturbing, often without any clear warning signs. These stories expose the unsettling gap between appearances and reality, sometimes hiding in plain sight among people who look just like those we encounter every day.
So, I’m choosing five of my favorite books that tell some of the most fascinating true crime stories I’ve encountered—stories that have stayed with me long after I turned the last page and, more than once, sent me down Reddit rabbit holes I probably shouldn’t admit to (but will anyway).
Foreign Faction–Who Really Kidnapped JonBenet by A James Kolar
On one of my three maternity leaves, I became completely obsessed with the JonBenét Ramsey case and read just about every book on the subject I could get my hands on. This is the one that stood out above all the rest. It is, in my view, the most thorough and detailed account of the case, and it methodically dismantles the intruder theory once and for all. For anyone who considers themselves a true crime enthusiast — or who has ever fallen down the JonBenét rabbit hole — this book is essential reading for this still-unsolved case.
Author James Kolar entered the picture nine years after JonBenét’s death, when he was hired by then–Boulder District Attorney Mary Lacy as Chief Investigator for the DA’s office. That position gave him extraordinary access: autopsy findings, police reports, crime scene photographs, and grand jury materials that simply weren’t available to the many other authors who tackled this case before him.
I found myself unable to put this book down as Kolar methodically walked through the timeline of events, carefully explaining how the evidence points to an incident that began and ended inside the Ramsey home—without any credible signs of forced entry or an external offender. This case has always fascinated me (as it has much of the world) because of its sheer complexity: the volume of evidence, the unanswered questions, the larger-than-life personalities involved, and, of course, the haunting image of a beautiful child beauty queen at the center of it all. What sets Foreign Faction apart is that Kolar finally brings those puzzle pieces together into the most convincing and coherent theory I’ve read to date. Click here to purchase.
And the Sea Will Tell by Vincent Bugliosi
One of true crime’s very best writers—and a truly brilliant legal mind—Vincent Bugliosi tells the extraordinary story of a wealthy couple, Mac and Muff Graham, who sailed their yacht to the remote island of Palmyra for an extended stay. While there, they shared the same lagoon with fugitive Wesley “Buck” Walker and his girlfriend Stephanie Stearns. Eventually, Walker and Stearns surfaced in Hawaii aboard the Grahams’ yacht, claiming the wealthy couple had mysteriously disappeared.
Bugliosi, the famed prosecutor of the Charles Manson case, took on a very different role here—serving as defense counsel for Stearns in an eventual murder trial. In this book, he lays out the gripping and unsettling story of what unfolded on the high seas, walking the reader through the evidence, his strategic decisions in shaping the defense theory, and the resulting courtroom drama, which at times feels almost cinematic in its intensity.
Bugliosi ultimately secured an acquittal for his client—and in the process delivered another standout entry in the true crime canon. And the Sea Will Tell is thoroughly researched, deeply engaging, and especially fascinating for lawyers who appreciate seeing how narrative, evidence, and advocacy collide when the facts are anything but straightforward. Click here to purchase.
Sisters in Death: The Black Dahlia, The Prairie Heiress, and Their Hunter by Eli Frankel
For anyone interested in the infamous Black Dahlia case that captivated Los Angeles in 1947—and continued to haunt the public imagination for decades as the case remained unsolved—this book is a must-read. Author Eli Frankel spent three years meticulously researching the case and delivers a gripping, fresh take on the murder of Elizabeth Short. He grounds the story in the cultural and investigative realities of the time, while also boldly naming who he believes committed the grisly killing—one involving severe mutilation, the draining of the victim’s blood, and the bisection of her body.
What I found most compelling, however, is Frankel’s connecting of the dots between the Black Dahlia murder and a strikingly similar killing that occurred years earlier in Kansas City. He lays out a detailed and persuasive argument that Elizabeth Short’s murderer was the same man who killed Leila Welsh in 1941, another young, affluent woman murdered in an eerily similar manner. Frankel carefully walks the reader through how both victims knew his proposed perpetrator, all against the backdrop of media sensationalism, immense pressure on law enforcement, and the very real limitations of crime-solving techniques in that era.
On a personal note, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Frankel, and he is one of the most engaging storytellers I’ve ever listened to. For that reason alone, I highly recommend the audiobook version of Sisters in Death, which he narrates himself—bringing the story to life with a level of intensity and nuance that makes an already compelling case even more gripping. Click here to purchase.
The Lazarus Files: A Cold Case Investigation by Matthew McGough
Sherri Rasmussen, a beautiful and ambitious newlywed, was brutally murdered in her home in 1986 in what police initially dismissed as a burglary gone wrong. Nearly three decades later, DNA taken from a bite mark on the victim was revealed to belong to a woman—forcing the LAPD to confront a suspect who had been in front of them the entire time: one of their own. The suspect was a decorated detective and a spurned lover of the victim’s husband.
Author Matthew McGough painstakingly reconstructs not only the crime itself and the cast of characters surrounding it, but also the internal culture of the LAPD—and the reasons the department failed to seriously pursue a viable suspect within its own ranks. His account is as much about institutional blind spots as it is about a single, devastating crime.
When Stephanie Lazarus finally went on trial in a Los Angeles courtroom in 2012, I was a first-year associate at a Beverly Hills law firm, spending my lunch breaks obsessively reading blog accounts of the courtroom drama. The expert testimony, Lazarus’s defiance, and the conspiracy theories suggesting her DNA must have been planted in the LAPD crime lab made it impossible to look away.
This is my all-time favorite true crime case—and it features the most extraordinary police interrogation I’ve ever watched (one that’s been viewed more than 20 million times on YouTube). I implore you to get sucked in alongside me. Click here to purchase.
Columbine by Dave Cullen
Columbine is a comprehensive examination of the April 20, 1999 high school massacre—still one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history. Rather than offering a simple retelling of events, author Dave Cullen carefully dismantles many of the myths that took hold in the immediate aftermath and provides much-needed context around the social and psychological forces at play.
Cullen draws a clear distinction between the two perpetrators, portraying Eric Harris as a vindictive psychopath, while presenting Dylan Klebold as a clinically depressed and suicidal teenager—more a follower than a mastermind. I especially appreciated Cullen’s willingness to challenge widely accepted narratives about the shooters and the culture surrounding Columbine, while also offering insight into the shooters’ families, upbringing, and motivations.
As a mom, I think about school shootings and violence in schools far more often than I’d like to admit. This book was a difficult but necessary deep dive into an unthinkable tragedy—and it’s one that’s handled with care, rigor, and nuance.
As lawyers, we all navigate demanding deadlines, difficult clients, and a grind that few other professions truly understand. For me, true crime offers a rare mental escape—a way to step back from the weight of responsibility at home and in the office, explore the darker edges of human behavior, and return to the practice of law with a deeper sense of curiosity and perspective. Click here to purchase.
Natalie LeVeck is Senior Counsel at Google, where she negotiates high-profile celebrity endorsement deals and oversees some of YouTube’s largest sponsorship and co-marketing partnerships. Outside of work, she teaches Entertainment Law at SMU Dedman School of Law, produces independent film and television projects with her husband, and spends her time watching her three children play piano and sports in North Dallas.
Here are five more My Five Favorite Books columns from our readers you might have missed:
Kristen Cook gravitates toward fiction, but she also enjoys mixing in leadership and business books.
Leigha Simonton’s reading list inspired by her secret hobby of advising high-school seniors (and younger students) about college admissions.
Five books that never fail to make Shamoil Shipchandler laugh.
A handful of books that have stayed with Melanie Koltermann long after the final chapter.
Themes of self-determination, grit, speaking truth, and building self-esteem are prominent in Alvin Benton’s list.