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2."The Master of Disguise: My Secret Life in the CIA"
by Antonio J. Mendez
Honored by the CIA on its 50th anniversary as being one of the agency's 50 "Trailblazers," the now-retired Antonio Mendez spins a fast-paced tale of intriguing characters partaking in skullduggery in exotic locales. In an almost offhand manner, he writes about seeing and doing things that would wilt the flower of courage in almost any reader. "Was I proud to be enlisting," he rhetorically ponders at one point, "on our side in the Cold War? You bet." Originally drafted by the CIA as a "technical artist" to provide cover for agents behind enemy lines, Mendez worked his way up the ladder and progressed to a full-fledged agent in the field, sneaking diplomats past enemy guards and spiriting informants into the night, eluding capture and torture at every turn-- and using his artist's eye for detail to paint vivid word pictures of his predicaments. Mendez possesses a remarkably keen sense of the mechanics of a good cloak-and-dagger story, and fortunately pours it on in abundance in this quite hefty--and surprisingly lively--book. Read more

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3. "In the Blink of an Eye: The FBI Investigation of TWA Flight 800"
by Pat Milton
In the wake of the terrifying explosion of TWA Flight 800 on July 17, 1996, which killed 230 passengers and crew, speculation ran rampant as to the cause of the tragedy. Was it a bomb? A terrorist's missile? Did "friendly fire" from the U.S. government play a role? Rumors spread like brush fire while investigators laboriously fished the pieces of the huge 747 out of the waters off Long Island and began putting the plane back together, piece by piece, to find out the truth. Pat Milton takes us into the world of the FBI agents responsible for investigating Flight 800's horrific last flight. Read more

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4. "The Last Victim: A True-Life Journey into the Mind of the Serial Killer"
by Jason Moss
Jason Moss was a very strange boy: an overachiever, always looking for some challenge, some new way to excel. In his studies, in sports, and, for some reason that he can never explain comprehensibly, seducing serial killers into telling him their secrets. His first "project" was John Wayne Gacy, who fell head over heels for Moss. But somehow this victory wasn't sufficient, so he extended his efforts to include other jailed killers. Although he experienced some success, amassing a disturbing collection of documents--including detailed sexual prose from Jeffrey Dahmer, disjointed ramblings from Charles Manson, and awkward, violent illustrations from "Night Stalker" Richard Ramirez--his closest relationship was always with Gacy, whom he eventually visited in prison, where even the unflappable Moss learned fear. Read more

Our Price: $16.80 | You Save: $7.20 (30%)   

5. "Why They Kill: The Discoveries of a Maverick Criminologist"
by Richard Rhodes
In "Why They Kill," Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Rhodes traces the life and work of criminologist Lonnie Athens, a man who took his own sad and squalid life and turned it on its head to make a groundbreaking career. Athens grew up in a violent, angry world. Rather than absorbing the sickness and violence around him, though, he studied it, and eventually he developed a theory about how violent criminals are created. Rhodes's critical examination of Athens's work forces readers to consider how violent our society really is, how it became that way, and what might be done to change it. Read more

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6. "...And Never Let Her Go"
by Ann Rule
Thomas Capano was a powerful man in Delaware. The golden child of a respected immigrant family, he had everything most people could ever hope for: money, a family he adored, widespread respect and admiration. His former lover Anne Marie Fahey was never that lucky. Somehow, though, she managed to get through it all--her mother's death, abuse from her alcoholic father, devastating poverty--and, at 30, she finally seemed able to put her past behind her. But Thomas Capano did not want to be put behind.... Read more

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The murder of Anne Marie Fahey is also the subject of George Anastasia's "The Summer Wind."

7. "Cries Unheard: Why Children Kill: The Story of Mary Bell"
by Gitta Sereny
In 1968, cases like that of Mary Bell were almost unheard of. Two little boys were dead, and the two accused killers, Mary Bell and Norma Bell (no relation), were 11 and 13. Norma was acquitted, but Mary was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. Almost 30 years after her conviction, Bell was able to tell her story, from her troubled childhood to her eventual release from prison as an institutionalized young woman and her awkward attempts to build a life for herself in a hostile world. Read more

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8. "Perfect Murder, Perfect Town"
by Lawrence Schiller
The murder of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey on Christmas night in 1996 inspired sensational headlines throughout the nation--and plunged idyllic Boulder, Colorado's justice system into an ongoing nightmare. In "Perfect Murder, Perfect Town," bestselling author Lawrence Schiller explores both the child's mysterious death and the exhaustive, yet often mishandled, investigation that has, in the two years since the crime, failed to produce either a plausible scenario or a killer. Meanwhile, conflicting agendas and personalities within the Boulder police department, the district attorney's office, and the sheriff's office escalated a war that has all but eroded the picture-postcard image of liberal, laid-back Boulder. Read more

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9. "Deliberate Intent: A Lawyer Tells the True Story of Murder by the Book"
by Rod Smolla
"Hit Man: A Technical Manual for Independent Contractors" was precisely what it claimed to be: a step-by-step DIY guide to freelance assassination. Few people read the book; even fewer took it seriously. Ex-con James Perry did both, and when Lawrence Horn hired the felonious entrepreneur to do a little job for him, Perry followed the book's instructions to the letter, executing his client's ex-wife and brain-damaged son along with the boy's nurse. After the murderous co-conspirators were convicted and sent to prison, the families of the victims filed a wrongful-death suit against the book's publisher for aiding and abetting triple homicide. Read more

Our Price: $16.10 | You Save: $6.90 (30%)   

10. "Blind Eye: How the Medical Establishment Let a Doctor Get Away with Murder"
by James B. Stewart
From the moment he entered medical school in the late 1970s, people around Michael Swango thought he was a little odd. But even though he expounded upon his obsessions with violent death and serial killings to anybody within earshot, almost nobody connected him to the string of deaths among patients under his care. The truly frightening aspect of "Blind Eye" is not the relentless deaths but the ease with which Swango was able to repeatedly slip through the cracks in the medical system. James B. Stewart methodically traces every step of Swango's career, laying out a straightforward narrative with all the suspense of a well-crafted thriller. Read more

Our Price: $12.50 | You Save: $12.50 (50%)   

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