Top 10 books about missing persons
These interrupted stories, in fiction and real life, are powerfully moving and key into a universal anxiety
True crime can be an unedifying business, so why am I drawn to writing about it?
When I started reporting on an infamous serial killer, I had to navigate my way through the genre’s ethical minefields, says author Francisco Garcia
Writing wrongs: how true crime authors can fall victim to tragedy
Ever since Truman Capote, writers have struggled to both honour the victims and protect themselves. Novelist Janice Hallett investigates
The Other Side of Prospect review: murder and injustice in New Haven
In telling the story of a monstrous Connecticut injustice, Nicholas Dawidoff achieves a novelistic power and intensity
Hunting Ghislaine by John Sweeney review – compelling study of the notorious socialite
From privileged childhood to trial, this is a riveting story – although Ghislaine Maxwell remains an enigma just out of reach
James Ellroy: ‘I’m trying to have a strong third act. I’m in competition with Philip Roth’
The author of LA Confidential and Black Dahlia on falling in love with a murder victim, not owning a computer and his new true-crime podcast series
In brief: Hell’s Half Acre; The House With the Golden Door; Great Circle – review
A grim study of a family of 19th-century US serial killers; a thrilling drama set in ancient Rome; and a vivid drama about a female aviator and the actress who wants to play her
Devil House by John Darnielle review – mysteries and rumours
A true-crime author investigates an occult double murder in this metafictional puzzle from the Mountain Goats frontman
About a Son by David Whitehouse review – murder, and what comes after
The novelist worked from the diaries of a bereaved father to create this creative nonfiction account of the killing of 20-year-old Morgan Hehir
Top 10 true crime novels
Adding an intense layer of meaning to well-known facts, authors including Truman Capote, Kate Summerscale and Gordon Burn raise this genre far above its grubby reputation
In brief: Annie Stanley, All at Sea; Some Answers Without Questions; Unexplained Deaths
A charming novel about a woman’s midlife crisis, timely reflections on female creativity and the woman who revolutionised murder investigations
A real Line of Duty: the London police officer who ‘went bent’
TV series finale coincides with true crime book launch about notoriously corrupt DS Derek Ridgewell
Top 10 books about museums
Whether it is Orhan Pamuk’s love-struck Museum of Innocence, Donna Tartt’s bombing in a New York gallery, or the case of a curator who turned to crime, museums are home to fascinating stories
The Unusual Suspect by Ben Machell review – a modern-day Robin Hood?
A splendid account of Stephen Jackley, whose bank robberies were an attempt to fight poverty and injustice
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: survivor-centred true crime on the hunt for the Golden State Killer
Documentary series on Michelle McNamara’s obsession with the criminal who terrorised California for decades is a tough but sensitive and compelling watch