: When I was a kid, I always felt like the adults were keeping all the interesting, juicy stuff a secret from me. The first true-crime book I ever read was like graduating into the world of adults, where suddenly I was finding out how horrible everything really was. I loved it.: Morbid curiosity and acute anxiety.: I think the key is a strong beginning that hooks you in so you have to know what happens next. I like clean, simple writing that tells a human story without being too clinical or too pious. I just read an advanced copy of American Predator by Maureen Callahan about the serial killer Israel Keyes, and it was exactly like that. I finished it in three days. It was just perfect.: I love when you can tell the author is the kind of person who can’t stop talking to their friends and family about the crime they’re obsessed with, to a point where those friends and family, who aren’t as into true crime, have asked them to stop sharing the details with them and just write a book already. The Poisoner’s Handbook by Deborah Blum and I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara are great examples of this.