A Better Tomorrow: Life Lessons in Hope and Strength by Mina Smallman review
Generation Kill author Evan Wright dies aged 59
June 2024
Observer TV reviews
The week in TV: House of the Dragon; Euro 2024; The Stormtrooper Scandal; Under the Bridge – review
‘They’re a mystery’: inside the deadly world of serial killer truckers
March 2024
Books interview
Helen Garner: ‘People would give me death stares in the street’
The novelist and nonfiction writer on her love of courtroom drama, the trials of cancel culture and why she wouldn’t have been a good psychoanalyst
October 2023
‘I just wasn’t being honest’: a true crime author confronts the NT justice system and himself
When journalist Dan Box began looking into a murder case, his goal was to win a Walkley. But a friendship and a tragedy put him at the centre of the story
August 2023
Chasing Shadows by Miles Johnson review – criminal world
A thriller-like tale of global drugs and terrorism that may be too complex for its own good
July 2023
Book of the day
A Thread of Violence by Mark O’Connell review – evil in a bow tie
My specialty is true crime, but even I’m puzzled: why are we so addicted to the dark side of humanity?
Martin Brunt
‘Righteous anger was a part of it’: the shocking story of New York’s gay bar killer
Why do women love true crime so much? I have a theory
Nancy Jo Sales
June 2023
Book of the day
Penance by Eliza Clark review – art or porn?
Set in a northern seaside town, this show-stopping second novel is a bravura deconstruction of our voyeuristic love for true crime
Why I quit
I found comfort in grisly true crime stories. Giving them up brought me peace
Mollie Goodfellow
It’s hard to admit, but I was using others’ tragedies as a way of protecting myself. Then an ad snapped me out of it, says writer Mollie Goodfellow
Top 10s
Top 10 books about missing persons
These interrupted stories, in fiction and real life, are powerfully moving and key into a universal anxiety
May 2023
True crime can be an unedifying business, so why am I drawn to writing about it?
Francisco Garcia
When I started reporting on an infamous serial killer, I had to navigate my way through the genre’s ethical minefields, says author Francisco Garcia
January 2023
Writing wrongs: how true crime authors can fall victim to tragedy
Ever since Truman Capote, writers have struggled to both honour the victims and protect themselves. Novelist Janice Hallett investigates
November 2022
The Other Side of Prospect review: murder and injustice in New Haven
Hunting Ghislaine by John Sweeney review – compelling study of the notorious socialite
July 2022
Observer New Review Q&A
James Ellroy: ‘I’m trying to have a strong third act. I’m in competition with Philip Roth’
The author of LA Confidential and Black Dahlia on falling in love with a murder victim, not owning a computer and his new true-crime podcast series
May 2022
In brief: Hell’s Half Acre; The House With the Golden Door; Great Circle – review
A grim study of a family of 19th-century US serial killers; a thrilling drama set in ancient Rome; and a vivid drama about a female aviator and the actress who wants to play her
