Obsessed with True Crime discussion

My husband has mixed feelings about the true crime genre, but is ok with it after he realized I was not interested in committing crimes myself. He has often picked up a book, and asked if he could read, but I have said no. I know he should not read anything involving kids, and I want to offer him something that is interesting at the same time. How do you introduce non-crime readers to the genre? What book titles do you recommend they start with? What has been your experience with new people reading these types of books?

Emmy, I hope it didn't take your husband too long to figure out that you weren't interested in committing crimes yourself! ;)

I haven't read very widely in the true crime genre so maybe I can't compare, but I think John Douglas's books are a good place to start. He doesn't get too into the graphic details, instead exploring the killers' psyches, which I find fascinating.

In Cold Blood and The Executioner's Song are both more about the mindset and the lives of the killers before and after. The Executioner's Song is so long and Vidal isn't for everyone so I would suggest In Cold Blood because it is well written (Truman Capote) and the Perry Ellis is a very sympathetic character while the other guy is quite the opposite. For a quick read that doesn't include alot of graphic violence I would suggest Ann Rule's book on Bundy because she knew him. It is an older book but a good one. Devil In the White City by Erik Larsen is a good starter book because there is other stuff going on and the murders are so bizarre, but it doesn't have much info on the murderer. Another book like that is Sympathy For the Devil: Murders at the Emmanuel Baptist Church, which is more about the time, context than it is about the murders. Whatever you decide, come back and tell us what he read and his thoughts. p.s. glad you don't want to commit true crime yourself. me too.