The Menendezes seek parole, and a family seeks a fugitive
Plus chips off the old blockhead, as NYC mayor Eric Adams's administration continues to defy belief. Keep reading here, or subscribe to read ad-free!...
Why you should watch The Twisted Tale Of Amanda Knox
Watching The Twisted Tale Of Amanda Knox — the first two episodes of which drop on Hulu today — I was reminded of the episode of Seinfeld entitled "The Face...
Amanda Knox and death fraud
Hey, all! Welcome to a dog-days refresh for Best Evidence. We thought we'd try getting back to blog basics for a while, like in the old S*bst*ck days – we'll...
1999 Edgars flashback: Death Sentence
Yes, at least a couple dozen true-crime tomes bear that title, but today Susan Howard is reviewing Jerry Bledsoe's book on poisoner Velma Barfield. Should...
1999 Edgars flashback: Tough Jews
Rich Cohen looked back at the romanticized gangsters of his father's youth; Susan Howard tells you whether to add this generational crimoir to your TBR....
Mr. & Mrs. Murder: This is not grief
Is Hulu's latest story of two couples, two decades, and a mysterious disappearance worth your time? Depends on if you know the case already! SDB’s review is...
1999 Edgars flashback: One of Us
Richard Serrano takes readers through the Oklahoma City bombing and its aftermath. Is this earlier take on Timothy McVeigh's crimes worth a look? Susan...
Read-Handed: Berlinger and Berkowitz
Don’t call him true-crime guy (he’s been here for years), plus cults, vanishings, and the tabloids. David “Son of Sam” Berkowitz, latest main subject of Joe...
July 2025 Bonus: One Year In A Life Of Crime
The first installment in what became a three-part, multi-decade project. (HBO) To read SDB’s review, subscribe now! Subscribe now The crimeThe crime/s in the...
1999 Edgars flashback: To The Last Breath
Susan Howard is back on the Best Fact Crime flashback beat. Should YOU take a time machine back to 1999's most decorated true-crime books? Susan’s review of...
Should you join a Billionaire Boys Club?
Yes, "a" – you have a bunch of "membership options" when it comes to the murderous Ponzi case of Joe Hunt. Is any of them worth your time? Judd Nelson has...
The bra biz is scandalous padding for The Rise and Fall of Michelle Mone
The Crime: Scottish entrepreneur and Baroness Michelle Mone engineered £200m of contracts during COVID-19 for PPE supplies to the British National Health...
Read-Handed: Dallas diamonds and New Jersey Nazis
Plus Maris Kreizman, Martha Stewart, "Fatal Vision," and maggot science in our recent-reads round-up. More from SDB’s TBR is here — or get the full article...
How to catch up on Australia's mushroom murder case
The Crime: Erin Patterson prepared a lunch of beef Wellington for her estranged husband’s relatives, including his parents, at her house in the small...
June 2025 Bonus Review: The Prosecutors and "Aunt Diane"
So sorry for the delay (a weird travel week was had by all!). To read my review of The Prosecutors podcast’s Diane Schuler episode, subscribe now! Subscribe now
Finding fault in Trainwreck: The Astroworld Tragedy
Not finding fault WITH Netflix's doc on the 2021 concert gone terribly wrong; the doc is solid. But the sub-sub-genre has further potential. The rest of...
You've watched Romcon: Who the F*** is Jason Porter?. What's next?
Prime Video's new love-fraud docuseries is pretty good; we've got your next rom-scam watches, reads, and listens. (Prime Video) Get SDB’s list here — or read...
The Mortician: That's not a person anymore
HBO's take on the Lamb/Sconce funeral-home "scandal" thinks about a crime story's "body" in a different way. Should you give it a look? SDB’s review will...
Read-Handed: Crimoirs and car cons
Plus murder mags, midcentury classics, ancient forgeries, and more of what we’re reading and researching. Get SDB’s full list here — or to read the whole...
May 2025 Bonus Review: Unknown Serial Killers Of America
Oxygen is onto something, subject-wise. Is the finished product anything? The crime"Lesser-known" than the over-covered likes of Ted Bundy and Jack the...
You've watched Untold: The Fall Of Favre. What's next?
Is Netflix's Brett Favre doc worth your time? And what related docs and books might you like too/instead? Get SDB’s review and recs here…or get ‘em sans ads...
Ask Not: Girls, interrupted (by the Kennedys)
Maureen Callahan's 2024 book takes on the "destructive force" of an American royal family. Is it worth your time? SDB’s review is here — or, to get full...
Kate Summerscale's The Peepshow takes a new view on an old case
The author of The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher re-centers the 10 Rillington Place murders. Should you add it to your TBR? Margaret Howie has more; read her full...
The Bakersfield 3: "It's better if you don't know"
Three mothers come together to try to prove their kids' cases are related. Is the ID series on the intertwined mysteries trying to prove something too? Read...
Whack Job: Is the pen mightier than the axe?
Rachel McCarthy James's "history of axe murder" isn't exactly that; should you give it a read anyway? SDB’s review… …or to get the whole thing straight to...
Coben, Combs, and clowns: 5 true-crime stories to watch
Plus axe murders, hip-hop lyrics, and the true-crime/mystery-novel pipeline. Subscribe now
Dark Side of the Ring's latest is a crushing combo of drugs and delusion
If you've never heard of Dark Side of the Ring, you're not alone. The docuseries is from Vice Studios Canada, the northern arm of the once-important, now...
April 2025 Bonus Review: Killer Performance
Yeah, SDB's eye bounced off Reelz's 2024 post-hoc profiling series too. Were those instincts right, or does the show have something to offer? Subscribe now
True Crime Story: Look Into My Eyes looks for justice in grief
The AMC docuseries about a literally hypnotic high-school principal and the deaths of three students is onto something, but may take too long. Subscribe now
Is Unseamly: The Investigation of Peter Nygård still worth watching?
Discovery's look at fashion mogul Nygård's life of crime dropped four years ago. Has it held up? Subscribe now
2025 Edgar Awards round-up: predictions and objections
Susan Howard wraps up her 2025 Best Fact Crime overview with some predictions…and some nitpicks about the nominees. Subscribe now
How much true crime is on Sidney Lumet's c.v.?
The Best Evidence True-Crime Résumé Percentage tackles its first director, plus confronting the definition of “major case” (and a bad Vin Diesel hairpiece).
2025 Edgars round-up: The Bishop and the Butterfly
Susan Howard wraps this year's Best Fact Crime overview with a look at a Tammany Hall story that may have overreached. Subscribe now
Read-Handed: Doggie dupes and dead du Ponts
Plus fake Pitts, phone flim-flams, Dominick Dunne, and Marcia Clark in our latest reading round-up.
2025 Edgar Awards round-up: Hell Put to Shame
Susan Howard’s Edgars coverage continues with Earl Swift’s book on a peonage massacre; read the full review here, or subscribe at the paid level to get all...
Gone Girls and the rule of three(-part streaming doc)s
Read SDB’s full review here. Want full reviews in your inbox? Grab a paid sub! Subscribe now
Edgar Awards round-up: The Amish Wife
Prolific genre author Gregg Olsen returns to the subject of his FIRST book: the murder of Ida Stutzman. Is it a case worth revisiting? Susan Howard gets into...
March 2025 bonus review: Eaten Alive!
A South Texas Bluebeard meets the Texas Chainsaw Massacre creative team; it may not go exactly the way you think it does. Mars Productions Corp. Subscribe now
Horror story: The Killing Fields of East New York
Stacy Horn's recent book chronicles the corruption that turned a neighborhood into a cautionary, all-too-true tale. Is it worth your time? Read Mark...
2025 Edgar Awards round-up: A Devil Went Down To Georgia
Deb Miller Landau covered Lita McClinton's murder for Atlanta Magazine; 20 years later, she returned to the case. Is the book worth your time? Read the rest...
Happy Face: "Please don't produce me"
SDB’s full review is here. Want these sent in full to your inbox? Mash that button… Subscribe now
Last Take: "How you get justice from an accident"
The making of Rust turned into a Möbius of trauma for everyone involved, not least Halyna Hutchins. Is a documentary about it worth making – or watching?...
2025 Edgar Awards round-up: The Infernal Machine
Read Susan Howard’s take on a tale of anarchist bombings and the birth of the surveillance state right here… …or up your support of Best Evidence and get...
Read-Handed: Gypsy-Rose, Michael Stewart, and sisters of mercy
Plus a Lawrence Wright longread, the passing of a genre giant, and the perils of branded crimoir. More from SDB’s reading list here, or grab a full sub and...
2025 Edgar Awards round-up: Long Haul
Once again this year, Best Evidence is tackling the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Award nominees for Best Fact Crime book. Read Susan Howard’s first...
The Man Nobody Killed: art, community, and the grief left behind
Mark Blankenship’s review of Elon Green’s latest is here — or, to get full reviews straight to your inbox, Subscribe now
Sin City Gigolo: A Murder in Las Vegas is true crime comfort food
I should lead by confessing that prior to watching new Paramount+ true crime series Sin City Gigolo: A Murder in Las Vegas, almost everything I knew about...
February 2025 Bonus Review: The Annals of Manhattan Crime
6 takeaways from a rare '80s magazine issue…including how to read it for free A Pottstown, PA publication contemplates the Crater case. Subscribe now
How true-crimey was Gene Hackman’s c.v.?
The late great Hoosiers star has a long IMDb résumé, including a handful of classics. But is he a GENRE legend? find out with SDB’s Hackman BET-CRP or read...
6 better uses of your time than Matthew Perry: A Hollywood Tragedy
Peacock had its reasons for making the hourlong doc; I can't really come up with any for watching it. SDB’s alternative read/watch list is here, or grab a...