I know that this is a picture from a fictional crime scene on a post about true crime, but just roll with it.
Better Know a Dewey Number: 364.1523: True Crime
Once while I was working at the reference desk, someone asked me, “Where are the murder books?” After asking a couple of questions, I figured out that what this patron wanted was the true crime books. While not everyone asks for them by calling them “true crime books,” they’re pretty popular at FDL. However, not everyone knows we have a section of books devoted to true crime, or they know we do but don’t know that true crime covers a number of different scenarios. So, here is a sample of what FDL has in its true crime section. As always, if you have any questions, please ask our awesome reference librarians. If there’s a true crime book you would like but don’t see, we can always try to find it for you from a different library!
The Esperanza Fire: Arson, Murder and the Agony of Engine 57 by John N. MacLean. This book tells the story of Raymond Lee Oyler, the man accused of setting the Esperanza Fire in 2006 – a wildfire in the San Jacinto Mountains in California. This fire ended up killing five men on a U.S. Forest Service engine crew, causing Oyler to also be accused of murder.
Life After Murder: Five Men in Search of Redemption by Nancy Mullane. Mullane details her interviews with five men in San Quentin prison over the course of four years. Each of these men committed murder, and Mullane’s discussions with them ask the question: Can murderers redeem themselves and live again in the regular world?
The Valley of the Shadow of Death: A Tale of Tragedy and Redemption by Kermit Alexander. This book is written by a surviving victim of true crime. Kermit Alexander, former 49ers cornerback, recounts the murder of his mother, sister, and two nephews and his attempts to find answers and justice for their deaths.
The Year of Fear: Machine Gun Kelly and the Manhunt that Changed the Nation by Joe Urschel. This book is both true crime and history. It takes place in 1933 at the height of Prohibition and follows Machine Gun Kelly’s attempt at kidnapping, in addition to J. Edgar Hoover’s quest to find him and boost his career into what would be the director of the FBI.
The Ultimate Jack the Ripper Companion by Stewart P. Evans and Keith Skinner. No list or sampling of a true crime collection would be complete without Jack the Ripper. This book claims to be the most extensive work on the Ripper case ever to be published and runs at 758 pages.
Post by Carey Gibbons, Reference Specialist
About #FDL
Welcome to #FDL! #FDL is a twice weekly update on all things Fondulac District Library and East Peoria. Twice a week, library staff will make posts that highlight some aspect of library life and relate it to you – our readers. Have you ever wanted to know which Dewey number represented a certain topic? Are you looking for book recommendations based on your favorite television show or television recommendations based on your favorite book? Have you ever wondered about the secret details of librarian life? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then #FDL is for you. We look forward to writing posts that are informative and entertaining and hope that you enjoy getting better acquainted with Fondulac District Library.