18 arresting moments in Storm at the Capitol
I frequently reacted out loud while reading Mary Clare Jalonick's oral history of January 6th. Here's a (partial) list of reasons why. Get the full list...
The Idiot: Full of sound and fury, signifying…something
Serial/NYT's recent season from M. Gessen on unforgivable family is solidly constructed and reported. Is that enough? More from SDB’s review here, or grab a...
Read-Handed: Baseball in jail and a cold case in Jersey
Plus a Danish heist, a false prophet, a Lawn Guyland grifter, and much more in this longreads ten-pack. Minor-league ball at Old Joliet. (MLB.com) Read it at...
April 2026 Bonus Review: The Predator Of Seville
An otherwise conventional Netflix miniseries on a serial rapist is powered by a heartening fire. [Content warning for discussions of sexual assault.] The...
3 books on the Leongatha mushroom murders
Margaret Howie forages for the best reads on the most notorious poisoning case in recent history. Read Margaret’s compare/contrast here — or, if you’d rather...
Killing Grounds: The Gilgo Beach Murders has something to offer
But does Prime's new docuseries know its strengths? And do those strengths offset some conventional choices? SDB talks it through. (or get the full review,...
You've watched Untold: Jail Blazers. What's next?
If you wanted more from Untold's take on the turn-of-the-millennium Portland team, or more crime-adjacent basketball stories period, we're here to help....
2026 Edgar Awards: Best Fact Crime predictions
Plus some overlooked candidates, as Susan Howard wraps up her category coverage for this year. Read her prognostications (and objections) here. It always...
Love, Ted Bundy: right story, wrong network
There's nothing "wrong with" Oxygen's customary documentary structure, but it's a poor fit with Bundy's cousin's highly personal memories. Read the rest of...
2026 Edgar Awards round-up: Story of a Murder
The last Best Fact Crime nominee on Susan Howard's list aims to separate the myth of Dr. Crippen from the reality. Subscribe now Once again this year, Best...
The Truth and Tragedy of Moriah Wilson stays on track
Netflix's doc on the 2022 murder of star cyclist Mo Wilson meets the challenges of centering the victim. Mo Wilson’s mother, Karen, remembering her late...
2026 Edgar Awards round-up: Out of the Woods
Susan Howard on perennial Best Fact Crime nominee Gregg Olsen's "collaboration" with abduction survivor Shasta Groene. Subscribe now Once again this year,...
Read-Handed: Lyfts, grifts, and early GIFs
Plus prison break-ins in Tennessee, and bad reviews of bank heists gone Broadway. Other stuff SDB’s reading is here — or get the whole piece to your inbox...
March 2026 Bonus: The Investigation Of Lucy Letby
The recent Netflix doc on a notorious UK "angel of death" case misses most of its opportunities. (Netflix) The crimeFrom Rachel Aviv's account of the case...
2026 Edgar Awards round-up: Murderland
Caroline Fraser set out to examine the relationship between 20th-century serial killers and environmental toxins. Susan Howard gauges whether Fraser...
The Soprano Ten
Do actors who appeared on HBO's legendary Jersey-gangster drama have a higher rate of criminal-justice contact? Or is it just click-baiting by news desks?...
2026 Edgar Awards round-up: Blood and the Badge
Does Michael Cannell's look back at NYPD corruption and Gambino moles bring anything new to the LCN-subgenre table? Get Susan’s thoughts here, or grab a paid...
2026 Edgar Awards round-up: They Poisoned The World
Susan Howard's 2026 Best Fact Crime overview begins with forever chemicals in a New York village. Want all of Susan’s Edgars coverage — and anything else we...
February 2026 Bonus: The Hillside Strangler
MGM+’s four-parter on Bianchi and Buono’s late-seventies reign of west-coast terror is…very MGM+. The crimeThe serial murders of (at least) a dozen women in...
Essential Frederick Wiseman true crime
Titicut Follies is correctly revered as a classic, but that's not the only genre documentary on the legend's c.v. (Zipporah Films) SDB lists the others here...