The best books about serial killers have an allure that we can’t seem to shake. We keep wanting more because of the promise of suspense, danger, and adrenaline.
Additionally, this is partly due to the element of tension that entraps us like a net from which we can’t and won’t break free until the book is finished.
On the other hand, it holds the potential of a fantastic tale. Finding the finest serial killer books might be difficult with many alternatives.
We’ve compiled a list of the best books about serial killers that will satisfy your hunger for gore. And suspense because we know you don’t want to waste your time with a lousy story.
1. The Stranger Beside Me
By Anne Rule
This immensely stunning tale about Ann Rule’s contacts with serial murderer Ted Bundy is one of the best true-crime serial killer books ever written. Rule spent endless hours alone with the psychopathic killer after the two volunteered for a suicide hotline together.
Years later, Rule called the Seattle homicide detective hotline to report an anonymous tip that her long-time friend Ted Bundy fit the killer’s description in multiple unsolved Washington murders.
However, when Bundy was jailed, the two became pen pals in jail and collaborated on the writing of “The Stranger Beside Me.”
2. The Devil In The White City
By Erik Larson
The Devil in the white city is one of the best books about serial killers. H.H. Holmes is credited with being the first serial killer in the United States, and he certainly set the bar high.
Furthermore, he was particularly active at the World’s Fair in Chicago from 1888 to 1894, preying on young ladies who traveled to the city in search of new chances.
Holmes built a massive “Murder Castle” and frequently murdered hotel personnel, lovers, and visitors in horrifyingly brutal ways, employing the methods of only the most heinous Batman villains.
Additionally, the Devil in the White City weaves between construction tales and Holmes’ heinous deeds.
3. Gosnell
By Ann McElhinney
One of the best books about serial killers is at present is “Gosnell: The Untold Story of America’s Most Prolific Serial Killer.”
This book will terrify you to the core, not only because it tells the true story of a natural serial killer and his victims but also because no one anticipated a respectable member of society to commit such heinous deeds.
Additionally, Kermit Gosnell purported to be a proponent of women’s reproductive health his entire life. He even maintained a clinic that provided medical assistance to women in need.
However, as Gosnell utilized the facility to slaughter and kill infants and women, he wore the mask of a saint.
4. Helter Skelter
By Vincent Bugliosi
Since its publication, this true-crime story has sold over seven million copies. Vincent Bugliosi, the prosecuting attorney who developed the criminal case against legendary serial killer Charles Manson, wrote it.
The enthralling case is described as one of America’s most strange mass-murder instances. In addition, Bugliosi successfully obtained a death penalty verdict, and he is still convinced that Manson was evil and not mentally sick to this day.
5. Last Breath
By Robert Bryndza
This is the novel for you if you’re seeking something to keep you up at night. Erika Foster is a detective attempting to piece together and solve a case that has left a trail of tormented, murdered young women in its wake.
In addition, the killer is a clever individual who preys on young, attractive ladies under a false identity. However, to make matters worse, this isn’t Erika’s case. Therefore, she’s having trouble obtaining the information she requires.
Despite this, the detective is forced to confront the nasty and deadly serial killer while also attempting to save another girl from certain death.
6. Night Stalker
By Clifford L. Linedecker
Next on the best books about serial killers is the night stalker. Between 1984 and 1985, Richard Ramirez, sometimes known as “The Night Stalker,” murdered at least 13 women.
Furthermore, Ramirez’s trial was perhaps one of the most dramatic trials in history when he was apprehended (saying something, given how people were such fans of Ted Bundy).
Additionally, Author Philip Carlo methodically recounts the atrocities of this savage serial killer over three years in The Night Stalker, drawing on hundreds of hours of unique interview footage with Ramirez conducted while he was on Death Row.
7. How To Get Away With Murder in America
By Evan Alan Wright
Years of study, investigations, and reports have been compiled by Evan Wright to bring one of the most deadly conspiracies to life.
Furthermore, it tells the story of Enrique Prado, a brilliant CIA operative and a legendary Miami hitman. DESPITE BEING ACCUSED OF INVOLVEMENT IN AT LEAST SEVEN DEATHS, the CIA recruited Prado because of his significant expertise in training the Contras in Central America.
In addition, Prado was recruited into the spy service, and the CIA gave the serial killer command of a covert, secret assassin operations squad. It’s only after you’ve read it that you’ll believe it!
8. Killer Clown
By Terry Sullivan With Peter T. Maiken
The killer clown is also one of the best books about serial killers. John Wayne Gacy was the type of guy who would dress up as a clown to entertain children at charity events, parades, and parties.
He was also the kind of monster who raped and murdered 33 boys and young men, buried 26 of them beneath his house’s crawl space.
Furthermore, John Wayne Gacy is the stuff of nightmares, and he is most likely the reason everyone is frightened of clowns right now.
Killer Clown is also the kind of book that will terrify even the most devoted true crime fiction fans, so be forewarned.
9. A Mind For Murder
By Rochelle Staab
Ted Kaczynski, dubbed the “Unabomber,” startled the country when launched a statewide bombing campaign.
In this work, Alston Chase assembles the jigsaw by depicting the serial killer’s life narrative and the formation of the Unabomber’s deadly psyche.
In stark contrast to the media’s portrayal of a wild mountain man, the fact-based story chronicles the serial killer’s existence.
10. The Wilderness Of Ruin
By Roseanne Montillo
Next on our list of books about serial killers is the wilderness of Ruin. The life narrative of a psychopath branded an “inhuman scamp” by the Boston Globe is told in one of the most amazing serial killer books ever written.
Furthermore, this cruel sociopath was found tormenting and molesting younger children when he was just twelve years old, but he was sentenced to reform school.
He began killing young children nearly as soon as he was released from school. This serial killer lay the framework for what would later become the insanity defense of today. In “The Wilderness of Ruin,” Roseanne Montillo narrates his experience.
11. Deviant
By Harold Schecter
Ed Gein may not have killed as many people as most of the serial killers on this list, but he makes up for it by being the creepiest monster you can imagine.
Gein was the inspiration for Norman Bates from Psycho and Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and he had an obsession with dead bodies that led to murder.
Furthermore, when he was apprehended, his residence had been made into such a horror museum that not even Buffalo Bill from Silence of the Lambs would have been able to stomach it because of his penchant for tomb-robbing. The story of this horrific murderer is told in Deviant.
12. Jack the Ripper and Black Magic
By Spiro Dimolianis
We’ve all heard of Jack the Ripper; he’s one of the most well-known (and horrifying) serial killers in history. And also one of the best books about serial killers.
This enigmatic figure murdered five prostitutes in Whitechapel, London, at the close of the Victorian era. Although he was never apprehended, there are more hypotheses about his identity than stars in the sky.
But Jack the Ripper and Black Magic are unique in that it considers whether or not old Jack The Ripper was a magician. This book isn’t even joking – it’s deadly serious. If you believe in the paranormal in any way, this is the book you should read.
13. The St.Albans Poisoner
By Anthony Holden
Graham Young was a serial killer in England who loved to kill his victims using poison. He poisoned his family and up to 70 others, killing some.
Additionally, Young was so obsessed with being the world’s most famous poisoner that he kept a journal of his victims’ reactions.
He subsequently became the infamous British asylum of Broadmoor’s youngest inmate. The St. Albans Poisoner is a terrifying depiction of a psychopath that recounts the accurate tale behind this intriguing man.
14. The Misbegotten Son
By Jack Olsen
The misbegotten son is next on our list of best books about serial killers. Arthur Shawcross, a serial murderer who murdered two children in the 1970s but was later released, was sentenced to prison.
Additionally, he went on to kill at least eleven more women after his release, and he sometimes ate his victims.
Leading psychologists were so perplexed by this instance that he was formally diagnosed with an odd hereditary disease. Shawcross was genetically inclined to violent and illogical traits due to an extra Y chromosome.
However, to make one of the best actual crime serial killer books, Jack Olsen covers the perpetrator’s life, victim’s stories, and Shawcross’ testimony.
15. The Thames Torso Murders Of Victorian
By R. Michael Gordon
What is it about Victorian London that makes killers seem so frightening? Is there a more terrible name for a sequence of murders than “Torso Murders”?
A mysterious murderer left his victims as a mound of dismembered body parts during the years of 1887 and 1889 and a few occasions in 1902.
Additionally, the Torso Murders were sometimes overshadowed by the crimes of Jack the Ripper, but this book suggests that Jack and this murderer may have been the same. Although this isn’t canon, it’s still a fascinating concept.
