Nonfiction Thrillers

After more than a decade, when sisters Nikki, Sami, and Tori Knotek hear the word mom, it claws like an eagle’s talons, triggering memories that have been their secret since childhood. Until now. For years, behind the closed doors of their farmhouse in Raymond, Washington, their sadistic mother, Shelly, subjected her girls to unimaginable abuse, degradation, torture, and psychic terrors. Through it all, Nikki, Sami, and Tori developed a defiant bond that made them far less vulnerable than Shelly imagined.

The names of notorious serial killers are usually well-known; they echo in the news and in public consciousness. But most people have never heard of Israel Keyes, one of the most ambitious and terrifying serial killers in modern history American Predator is the ambitious culmination of years of interviews with key figures in law enforcement and in Keyes's life, and research uncovered from classified FBI files. Callahan takes us on a journey into the chilling, nightmarish mind of a relentless killer, and to the limitations of traditional law enforcement.

Two men, each handsome and unusually adept at his chosen work, embodied an element of the great dynamic that characterized America’s rush toward the twentieth century. The architect was Daniel Hudson Burnham, the fair’s brilliant director of works and the builder of many of the country’s most important structures, including the Flatiron Building in New York and Union Station in Washington, D.C. The murderer was Henry H. Holmes, a young doctor who, in a malign parody of the White City, built his “World’s Fair Hotel” just west of the fairgrounds.

Genovese, Gambino, Bonnano, Colombo, and Lucchese. For decades these Five Families ruled New York and built the American Mafia (or Cosa Nostra) into an underworld empire. Today, the Mafia is an endangered species, battered and beleaguered by aggressive investigators, incompetent leadership, betrayals, and generational changes that produced violent, unreliable leaders and recruits.

Serial killer Gary Heidnik's name will live on in infamy, and his home, 3520 North Marshall Street in Philadelphia, is a house tainted with the memory of unbelievable horrors. What police found there was an incredible nightmare made real. Four young women had been held captive - some for four months - half-naked and chained. They had been tortured, starved, and repeatedly raped. But more grotesque discoveries lay in the kitchen: human limbs frozen, a torso burned to cinders, an empty pot suspiciously scorched....

May 10, 1940. The Netherlands was swarming with Third Reich troops. In seven days it's entirely occupied by Nazi Germany. Joining a small resistance cell in the Dutch city of Haarlem were three teenage girls: Hannie Schaft, and sisters Truus and Freddie Oversteegen, who would soon band together to form a singular female underground squad.

One of Jane Austen’s most beloved works, Pride and Prejudice, is vividly brought to life by Academy Award nominee Rosamund Pike ( Gone Girl). In her bright and energetic performance of this British classic, she expertly captures Austen’s signature wit and tone. Her attention to detail, her literary background, and her performance in the 2005 feature film version of the novel provide the perfect foundation from which to convey the story of Elizabeth Bennet, her four sisters, and the inimitable Mr. Darcy.

Are you ready for a gripping true crime story that will keep you on the edge of your seat? Then look no further than "The Day Eva Dugan Died," by award-winning journalist and author, Rod Kackley. Eva Dugan is a woman with a past. Once a saloon singer and a prostitute in the wilds of the Yukon and the Klondike, she is now on the run, accused of murder. But did she really do it? That's what Jim McDonald, one of Arizona's last cowboy sheriffs, is determined to find out. With his voters demanding justice, McDonald sets out to capture Eva and prove her guilt. But as the story unfolds, it becomes...

In this riveting and relentless nonfiction thriller, award-winning investigative reporter William C. Rempel tells the harrowing story of former Cali cartel insider Jorge Salcedo, an ordinary man facing an extraordinary dilemma—a man forced to risk everything to escape the powerful and treacherous Cali crime syndicate.

It was to be the war to end all wars, and it began at 11:15 on the morning of June 28, 1914, in an outpost of the Austro-Hungarian Empire called Sarajevo. It would officially end nearly five years later. Unofficially, however, it has never ended: Many of the horrors we live with today are rooted in the First World War. The Great War left millions of civilians and soldiers maimed or dead. It also saw the creation of new technologies of destruction: tanks, planes, and submarines; machine guns and field artillery; poison gas and chemical warfare.

Of the 44 presidents who have led the United States, nine made mistakes that permanently scarred the nation. Which nine? Brion McClanahan, author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Founding Fathers and The Founding Fathers' Guide to the Constitution, will surprise listeners with his list, which he supports with exhaustive and entertaining evidence.

When Misty was six years old, her family started to live and dress like the Amish. Misty and her sister were kept as slaves on a mountain ranch where they were subjected to almost complete isolation, sexual abuse, and extreme physical violence. When Misty reached her teens, her parents feared she and her sister would escape and took them to an Amish community where they were adopted and became baptized members. Misty was devastated to once again find herself in a world of fear, animal cruelty, and sexual abuse.

The Tudor period conjures up images of queens and noblewomen in elaborate court dress, of palace intrigue and dramatic politics. But if you were a woman, it was also a time when death during childbirth was rife, when marriage was usually a legal contract, not a matter for love, and the education you could hope to receive was minimal at best. Yet the Tudor century was also dominated by powerful and dynamic women in a way that no era had been before.

"Winter Unleashes the Damned." Tom and Rachel Smith, along with their son Caleb and infant daughter Lily, move to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to build a cabin and embrace a quiet, self-sufficient life. But as winter deepens, unsettling signs emerge—distant howls, claw marks on the cabin, and Caleb’s vivid nightmares of a skeletal creature with antlers and glowing eyes. Seeking answers, Tom visits a nearby Ojibwe elder who warns him of the land’s dark past. Over a century and a half ago, a man named Thomas Bellamy was trapped in a brutal winter and driven to cannibalism. The act ...

"This isn’t a myth—it’s a predator." In the secluded woodlands of Northern Michigan, the Harwood family finds their peaceful life shattered when they encounter a creature of legend—the Dogman. Recently settled into their new home, the Harwoods are unprepared for the terror that stalks them under the cover of night. Annette Harwood, a determined mother and wildlife biologist, becomes obsessed with proving the creature’s existence as her husband, Michael, grapples with protecting their two children from a threat he cannot understand. The tension builds with each passing night, ...

The New York Times best-seller with more than one million copies sold worldwide. Inspired by the incredible true story of one Jewish family separated at the start of World War II, determined to survive - and to reunite - We Were the Lucky Ones is a tribute to the triumph of hope and love against all odds. It is the spring of 1939 and three generations of the Kurc family are doing their best to live normal lives, even as the shadow of war grows closer.

🔎 25 Chilling Cases of Innocent People Caught in the Crosshairs of Justice 🔎 Imagine being convicted of a crime you didn’t commit. The walls close in, the gavel slams, and the world believes you’re guilty. But what if the real killer is still out there? 📖 True Crimes: Falsely Accused delves into 25 shocking cases where the wrong person took the fall—sometimes due to corruption, false testimony, or sheer bad luck. From cold-blooded murders to high-profile scandals, these stories reveal how fragile justice can be and the horrifying consequences of wrongful convictions. 💀 ...

What begins as a rescue mission quickly turns into a harrowing fight for survival. When renowned cryptozoologist John Hadley disappears while investigating a series of caves deep in the Sierra Nevada mountains, his daughter, Emil*, is thrust into a desperate search to find him. Teaming up with Evan Morgan, a local deputy and former flame, Emily uncovers disturbing clues that suggest her father was onto something far more dangerous than she ever imagined. As they push deeper into the wilderness, they soon realize they are not alone. Something ancient and powerful lurks in the caves—...

Amoral, cunning, ruthless, and instructive, this piercing work distills 3,000 years of the history of power into 48 well-explicated laws. This bold volume outlines the laws of power in their unvarnished essence, synthesizing the philosophies of Machiavelli, Sun Tzu, Carl von Clausewitz, and other infamous strategists. The 48 Laws of Power will fascinate any listener interested in gaining, observing, or defending against ultimate control.

Based on a True Story. Imposter Nurse is riveting story of a woman named Angie. After moving with her family and getting settled into a quiet, little New England town, Angie feels the desire to go back to work. Her search concludes at the Main Street Nursing Home where she gets hired to work the evening shift. She soon meets fellow nurse Lorraine, and, right from the start, everything she encounters with this caretaker just doesn't seem right. Before long, Angie is at odds with Lorraine and from there the story takes on several twists and surprises. This is the second book from author ...