Book Review: True Crime Stories You Won’t Believe

  • Publisher: Books Go Social
  • Publication Date: April 4, 2022
  • Author: Romeo Vitelli
  • Genre: True Crime
  • Page Count: 185

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Blurb

Here is a collection of true crime stories from different countries and time periods that defy simple description. They include:
• The strange tale of a psychotic geisha who severed her lover’s genitals to carry as a token of her love and who inspired a cult following
• How a small-town murderer helped inspire the movie Psycho and left his hometown with a reputation they never lived down
• A father who sacrificed his daughter to prove his faith in God and his followers who fully expected her to be raised on the third day (she wasn’t)
• A Sorbonne graduate student who killed and cannibalized the woman he loved and went on to become a bizarre media celebrity
• A 19th century serial killer who earned the title of “the worst women in the world” by killing a series of husbands for profit
• The assassination attempt on John F. Kennedy you never heard about but which very nearly succeeded.
• George Stinney, the fourteen-year-old child who died in the electric chair for a crime he didn’t commit.
• Joseph Vacher, the “French Ripper” whose crimes shocked France but tried to blame it all on the rabid dog that bit him.
• How mob boss Vincent Gigante earned himself the nickname of “the Oddfather”
• Leonarda Cianciulli, the Corregio “Soapmaker” who killed three women as a sacrifice to protect her own children.
These stories, and more, are all featured here making this book a must for any connoisseur of true crime and bizarre justice.


My Thoughts & Opinions

True Crime Stories You Won’t Believe is the first book in a series of planned short story collections. This book contains a collection of 32 short true crime stories dating back to the late 1800’s. Most of the stories are pretty obscure and the only one that was familiar to me was the story of Ed Gein.

While I enjoyed most of the stories in the book, I would have preferred more stories from modern times. But it still was an interesting read, nonetheless.

Some readers may find the stories disturbing. I didn’t think they were and I actually wanted more graphic details. In comparison to other true crime novels, True Crime Stories is not at all gruesome and in my opinion, very mild in grisly elements.

Overall, True Crime Stories is a noteworthy read for true crime aficionados. Four stars.

I received a digital copy of the book from Books Go Social. The review herein is completely my own and contains my honest thoughts and opinions.


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