Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou

Title: Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
Author: John Carreyrou

Genre: Non-fiction, True Crime

Have you ever heard of Elizabeth Holmes? How about Theranos? They both were poised to revolutionize the healthcare world with blood diagnostic machines that could run lots of tests on just a drop or two of blood. The idea was that they could provide quick and accurate results to help people manage their health and thereby avoid serious illness or at least catch it in time. Sounds almost too good to be true...
Follow the meteoric rise of this silicon valley startup, its big-name investors, its cloak and dagger treatment of employees, and its eventual exposure at the hands of a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter.
-Sarah R.

Check out Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou @ the library!

I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara

Title: I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer
Author: Michelle McNamara
Genre: Nonfiction/True Crime

This one is for all the Murderinos out there! In the 1970s and early 1980s, California was terrorized by a serial rapist and murderer. For more than ten years, a mysterious and violent predator committed fifty sexual assaults in Northern California before moving south, where he perpetrated ten sadistic murders. Then he disappeared, eluding capture by multiple police forces and some of the best detectives in the area. Over 30 years later, investigative journalist Michelle McNamara began her obsessive search to find the killer. Unfortunately, she suddenly died before a discovery could be made.This book chronicles her search for the Golden State Killer and elaborates on the crimes he committed during his reign of terror. Now a HBO mini-series, this book is a must read for any true crime lover.

- Megan

Check out I'll Be Gone in the Dark : One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara @ the library!

The Feather Thief by Kirk Johnson

Title: The Feather Thief

Author: Kirk Johnson

Genre: True Crime

What an intriguing and bizarre read! I don't even know where to start with this book! It was so strange (in the best way possible). An American college student studying flute at London's Royal Academy of Music with a fly-tying hobby planned and executed a heist to steal rare and valuable feathers from the British Museum of Natural History. He never went to jail, and was only required to pay a fine that was just a fraction of the actual value of the stolen goods. Only one third of what was stolen was returned, and even then they were unusable to the museum because they had informational tags removed. What possesses a flute player with a fly-tying hobby to steal feathers? How did he get off so easy? What happened to all the missing feathers that were never returned? What makes feathers so valuable, anyway? What even is fly-tying and who even cares?

I'd highly recommend checking out this book. It is well-researched and well-written, and answers most of these bizarre questions, leaving only a few unanswered. I'm not much for true crime, but this was fast-paced (especially towards the end) and was really interesting.

- Sarah P.

Check out The Feather Thief @ the library.

The Library Book by Susan Orlean

Title: The Library Book

Author: Susan Orlean

Genre: True Crime, Journalism, Libraries

Here is a non-fiction, true crime suspense that reads like great fiction. Investigative journalist and author Susan Orlean tells the story of the seven hour fire that destroyed almost three quarters of the collection of the Los Angeles Public Library on April 28, 1986. She delves into the unique characters of the library's history and the world of librarianship and then into the history of Harry Peak's 'fumbling' possible involvement in the fire. She leaves no stone unturned so that the reader gets the most detailed and wide-ranging context for the fire in the history of the Los Angeles Public Library. The narrative from beginning to end is spellbinding and will leave you wanting to read more from Orlean as well as to visit and appreciate your local library again.

- Elizabeth

Check out The Library Book @ the library.

The Year of Fear by Joe Urschel

In the 1930s, American gangsters needed to find a new source of income. The end of Prohibition put a stop to bootlegging and, due to the Great Depression, many banks were not worth robbing. Kidnapping became the most lucrative crime and many wealthy men or their family members were snatched and held for ransom. Law enforcement was practically helpless in the face of this crime. Local police could not pursue criminals across state lines and often cooperated with the criminals. In Washington, D.C., J. Edgar Hoover was trying to turn the Bureau of Investigation into an incorruptible national police force that could take control of criminal investigations before local authorities could mishandle the evidence, or worse, abet the criminals.

When George "Machine Gun" Kelly and his wife, Kathryn, kidnapped wealthy Oklahoma oilman, Charles Urschel, Hoover and his agents were ready to enforce the newly enacted Federal Kidnapping Act, rescue Mr. Urschel and catch the perpetrators. Once the ransom was paid and Urschel was released, the agents began to track down the criminals. Using clues provided by the alert and observant victim, the agents began at the farm in Texas where Urschel had been held and crisscrossed many states to the east, finally nabbing the Kellins in Memphis, Tennessee. Their capture was the first major case solved by Hoover's newly named Federal Bureau of Investigation and the first case prosecuted under the federal kidnapping law.

"Machine Gun" Kelly and his wife Kathryn were colorful characters--charming, good-looking, and fond of elegant clothing and expensive cars. J. Edgar Hoover was a beleaguered and maligned civil servant, disliked by many powerful people. Due to Hoover's doggedness, their fortunes were reversed. In The Year of Fear, author Joe Urschl combines their compelling stories with American history, creating a fascinating true crime book.

Run, Brother, Run

Run, Brother, Run: a Memoir of a Murder in My Family by David Berg



Run, Brother, Run is a true tale of murder and how it affects a family.  The book is written by David Berg, whose older brother was murdered under mysterious circumstances by hit man Charles Harrelson (father of actor Woody Harrelson).  While a good portion of the book deals with the crime, police investigation and the aftermath of the court case surrounding Alan Berg’s murder, much of the story is about the Berg family.  It is a story about memory and how tragic events can alter the way you see the past and the future.

Berg begins with memories from his childhood using wit and honesty to portray life in a very stressful home.  Here is one example:

“That was 1946, the year our father met Dorothy Heinrich in a Kalamazoo diner.  She would one day become his wife, but for now, she was his waitress.  “Dot” was five ten, with the sultriness of Rita Hayworth.  Mom was four ten, with the temperament of Henry VIII- so there you have it.  It wasn’t the first time Mom had caught Dad cheating, but it was the last.  Our parents would scream at each other for what felt like hours.  Alan would cry in bed beside me, and then, to my astonishment, get up and go down the hall to intervene.  Mom would shriek, Get out of here, Mr. Buttinski, this is not your business!  Get back in that bed! “(4).

Berg talks a lot about growing up in the Berg household.  A big part of that time was David and Alan’s father wanting his sons to go to medical school.  Alan took quite a few detours before getting there (including leaving the Navy due to holding a floating crap game) but Alan finally made it into the medical program at the University of Texas.  After a fight with his father, Alan took off instead of registering for classes.  The hopes of having a physician in the Berg family had died yet another death.

David becomes a lawyer much to his father’s dismay.  When Alan disappears in May of 1968, David admits to being busy starting his new career.  But it is clear that certain things don’t add up.  Alan had been involved in gambling, but he was also very in love with his wife who was then pregnant with their third child.  The police refused to start an investigation, insisting that Alan must have just taken off.  But David and his father knew different.  They began hunting for leads which took them down a whirlwind of different paths, most of which involved paying a fee of some kind.  When Alan’s body was finally found six months later, questions surrounding Charles Harrelson and a business associate of Alan and David’s father swirled in earnest. 

There isn't a happy ending to this tale.  There is no justice for the dead, and none for the surviving family.  David berg tries his best to use his knowledge of the law to lay out the facts surrounding his brother's murder and subsequent trial.  It is a stark tale of true crime in America in the 1960s.

  

Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake by Frank W. Abagnale

Pan Am pilot, Columbia University pediatrician, Harvard Law School graduate, university professor - or 17-year-old high school dropout from New York with a penchant for the sweet life and a brilliant brain for the art of the steal?  Highly intelligent, elusive, charismatic, dapper ladies' man Frank Abagnale is sort of like James Bond - if 007 was funding his international escapades with swindles, cons, and counterfeit checks.  Follow Frank on his crime caper across the United States and Europe - and find out why you never ever ever want to get caught committing a crime in France - and check out Catch Me If You Can @the library!  And, when you're done reading the book, watch Leonardo diCaprio impersonate Frank in the movie.