Non-Fiction, Reference & True Crime

Recent and Upcoming Non-Fiction, Reference & True Crime Releases

Weinman, Sarah, Without Consent (true crime) | Buy this book | Buy the audio | Kindle it!
A deep dive into the landmark case from 1978 that eventually but finally made spousal rape an actual crime, and its aftermath, legal, political and personal. Weinman looks straight into the “the damaging and inherent misogyny of American culture” and doesn’t blink.

Child, Lee, Reacher: The Stories Behind the Stories | Buy this book | Buy the audio | Kindle it!
The behind-the-scenes scoop on each of the Reacher novels, plus a brand new Reacher short story, “A Better Place.”
Wondrich, David, The Comic Book History of the Cocktail (reference) | Buy the book | Kindle it!
Absolutely nothing to do with private eyes (I think), but hey, it’s my site. Illustrated guide to various cocktails through the ages. Plus 30 recipes. Cheers!

Atkins, Ace, Sunset Park (true crime) | Kindle it!
Hutchison, Don, The Great Pulp Heroes (non-fiction) | Buy this book
Latest revised and updated edition of the 1996 book, this affectionate if not particularly critical volume chronicles the heroes whose legacy still reverberates through our pop culture in literature, film, television, comics, and beyond, covering everyone from Doc Savage and The Shadow to Zorro and Tarzan and numerous hard-boiled dicks.

Kushins, C.M., Cooler Than Cool (biography) | Buy this book | Buy the audio | Kindle it!
“The Life and Work of Elmore Leonard―A Biography of the Master of American Crime Writing”

Bishop, Paul, 52 Weeks: 52 Sherlock Holmes Novels (non-fiction) | Buy this book | Kindle it!
A deep dive into 52 “traditional favorites and exciting new discoveries.”
Nummelin, Juri, Dark Places & Little Tramps (criticism) | Buy this book
Our old pal Juri’s writings on noir, hardboiled, sleaze and other genres. Informed, passionate, personal and full of surprising picks and takes (I thought I was the only one to have read that!), this is just what you may need right now. It’s a small, hard-boiled, nourish world, after all!

Karakatsanis, Alec, Copaganda: How Police & the Media Manipulate Our News | Buy this book | Kindle it!
Muller, Eddie, Dark City Dames: The Women Who Defined Film Noir | Buy this book | Buy the audio | Kindle it!
Revised and expanded edition of the classic, from the host of TCM’s Noir Alley.

Aldous, Steve, & Gary Gillies, The Harry O Viewing Companion | Buy this book | Kindle it!
Impressive history and episode guide to the classic seventies P.I. series.
Burgess, Charles L., Backfire/Never Kill a Cop & Other True Crime Stories (true crime) | Buy this book
A novel, a short story, and 13 true crime stories from the pulp era.
McAleer, John, Rex Stout : Killer Conversations (non-fiction) | Kindle it!
Long out of print collection of interviews with the creator of Nero Wolfe.

Kennedy, Pagan, The Secret History of the Rape Kit (non-fiction) | Buy this book | Buy the audio | Kindle it!
The woman who invented the rape kit, “Marty Goddard,” finally gets her due. Ballsy and inspiring, but ultimately heartbreaking.
MacDonald, Erin E., Outlander and Lord John as Crime Fiction: Essays on the Novels, Stories and TV Series (non-fiction) | Buy this book | Kindle it!

Seros, Alexandra, Ida Lupino, Forgotten Auteur: From Film Noir to the Director’s Chair (non-fiction) | Buy this book | Kindle it!
About time! Too long overlooked, the author makes a compelling case for Lupino, one of there era’s most ballsy filmmakers.

Booker, M. Keith, American Film Noir: From The Maltese Falcon to Gone Girl (non-fiction) | Buy this book | Kindle it!
The author tracks the development of the genre’s development, from the classics to what he tags as “revisionary noir.” Sharp and compelling.
Choi, Anne Soon, L.A. Coroner (non-fiction) | Buy this book
True-crime bio of Los Angeles’ Thomas Noguchi, the “Coroner to the Stars.”

Grisham, John, & John McClosky, Framed: Astonishing True Stories of Wrongful Convictions (non-fiction) | Buy this book | Buy the audio | Kindle it!
Grisham and McClskey from Centurion Ministries drive a truck through the American legal system’s big gaping holes, with ten disturbing real-life stories.

Bieson, Sheri Chinen, Through a Noir Lens: Adapting Film Noir Visual Style | Buy this book | Kindle it!
Film history professor Bieson traces noir’s stylistic evolution right up to (almost) the present, not just defining it but also explaining how the practical constraints of various eras helped shape the “shadowy iconography.” Fascinating, and a must for film students.

Enfantino, Peter, The Wild World of Off Beat Detective, Crime and Sleaze Digests | Buy this book
Put on your hip waders for this deep-water waltz through the 1950s and 60s era of B-list crime digests. We’re not talking the much-lauded A-list (your Ellery Queens, your Manhunts, etc.), but five of the far scrappier also-rans (Justice, Keyhole Mystery, Keyhole Detective, Sure Fire Detective, and Off Beat Detective), who offered something a little spicier, a little more violent, and a whole lot… pulpier. Enfantino, author of The Manhunt Companion dishes up the history, and breaks all five mags down, story by story, taking no prisoners. An essential for both fans and collectors.
Hazard, Robert, Hacking New York (non-fiction) (r) | Buy this book | Kindle it!
Long overdue reprint of fascinating 1930 book relating the misadventures of a Big Apple cabbie and all the various scams, rackets, weirdos and traffic he had to plough through in the “good old days.” New intro by Jeff Vorzimmer.

Patterson, James, & Matt Eversmann, The Secret Lives of Booksellers and Librarians | Buy this book | Buy the audio | Kindle it!
The world’s bestselling writer (and Matt Eversmann) pays tribute to the unsung heroes of literature. For those of us who’ve worked in the trenches are grateful for the heads-up.