Best of 2023: True Crime Longreads
What true crime longread from 2023 engrossed you the most?
the true crime that's worth your time
Your true loves at Best Evidence (and beyond) have a great timekiller for the third day of our end-of-year wrapup. Sing it with me, folks: “a list of terrific longreads.” This is the longform journalism that stuck with us and our panel of experts this year. You’ve probably read some, but probably not all. I’ve added in gift links, when available — otherwise, a lot of these pubs are offering extremely affordable initial subscriptions to bump their annual numbers (I seriously just got the Boston Globe for the next six months for a single dollar). Settle in! — EB
A young mother disappeared 13 years ago. What did it mean? [Washington Post gift link]
By Monica Hesse
One of my favorite columnists for my local newspaper, Hesse looks back at her years-old reporting on the case of Unique Harris – a Washington, D.C. woman who disappeared from her home in 2010. This longread provides not just a resolution of the case, but a thoughtful examination of how the writer’s perspective on the circumstances and realities of the common dangers Unique faced changed over the years. — Best Evidence contributor Susan Howard
Three abandoned children, two missing parents and a 40-year mystery [Guardian]
By Giles Tremlett
For various reasons* the UK doesn't have the same degree of investment in long read journalism, but The Guardian's regular series has has some great stories this year. The one I've re-read several times is “Three Abandoned Children, Two Missing Parents,” a layered, fascinating, heartbreaking story of the three children who as adults found different routes into undoing the mystery of their childhood, interrupted when they were left at a Barcelona train station. There are answers to their questions- not merely that old cliche, "an interrogation of human memory" but there is also a bit of that, too. — Margaret Howie is a marketing drone by day, co-founder of spacefruitpress.com by night.
*Rupert Murdoch isn't the only reason but sure ain't a helpful factor.
The Case of the Fake Sherlock [New York]
By David Gauvey Herbert
I wish Twitter hadn't self-immolated (and now my account's basically gone/inaccessible, ha) because it was my way of keeping track of longreads in particular. But I still think the most about David Gauvey Herbert's scalpel-precise expose of Richard Walter, fraudulent profiler. It's a piece I had long wanted to read and it delivered beyond my wildest expectations. — Author Sarah Weinman, aka The Crime Lady
Bob Lee’s Murder Shook San Francisco. What Really Happened? [Rolling Stone]
By Albert Samha
You know, I should probably just let all y’all think San Francisco is a Mad Max meets Escape From New York style nightmare. Rent would go down, parking would be easier, and fewer ding dongs from the suburbs would get restaurant reservations I clearly deserve. And yet, I continue to rail against the windmill that is anti-California, anti-SF “doom loop” coverage, because so much of it is just plain wrong. A great example of this was the narrative pushed — nay, EMBRACED — by outlets near and far that one of San Francisco’s vast number roving and unpredictable criminals had killed a visiting tech entrepreneur.
Meanwhile, local officials and police were intriguingly silent right after the slaying, the first sign to those in the know that something else was up. As it turns out, a fellow tech entrepreneur has been accused in the case, which seems to relate to an interpersonal matter. I’m not a fan of the backlash coverage that seemingly blamed the allegedly partying victim, but I am pleased that smart journalists like Albert are taking a closer look at the monied ecosystem that might have enabled this death. Lee’s death isn’t the only one that local broadcast, then reddish tabloids, got offensively wrong, but it’s the one that certain subsequent reporting has gotten the most right. — Best Evidence co-author Eve Batey
The Delphi murders were a local tragedy. Then they became “true crime.” [Vox]
By Aja Romano
Certainly the longread I’ve cited the most has been Aja Romano’s “The Delphi Murders were a local tragedy. Then they became ‘true crime.’” Romano’s rigor in understanding the distinction between journalism and “true crime” texts has been incredibly helpful and provocative for me as I begin to think through the ways true crime might be more of a mode than a genre? My thoughts are very provisional, but Romano has been a touchstone for me this year. — True Crime Fiction author Tracy Bealer
What Happens to a School Shooter’s Sister? [New Yorker]
By Jennifer Gonnerman
It feels like I spent more time with archival longreads this year, but that NYer piece on Kip Kinkel's sister really knocked me out. — Best Evidence co-author Sarah D. Bunting
Beyond Borders: Adam Shatz on Adolfo Kaminsky [London Review of Books]
By Adam Shatz
I kept on thinking I knew where this piece on a teenager who flooded Nazi-occupied France with forged identity papers was going, but I kept on being wrong. After the war, Adolfo Kaminsky retired from forgery, until he was approached by Algerian rebels, who used his documents to travel throughout Western Europe. Kaminsky lived long enough to be interviewed by the author of the piece; following his journey forging documents over the better part of a century makes for a fascinating read. — Professor and Best Evidence contrib Dan Cassino
Thursday on Best Evidence: The best true-crime documentaries of 2023!
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