A Thread of Violence: A Story of Truth, Invention, and Murder

“O’Connell is charting the unfolding of the murders and their origins, trying to trace where they came from, what the motive was, and what shaped this man. But the reader also turns the pages to find out about the relationship between the writer and the murderer. The drama arises partly from the crime story but also from the encounter between these two men. How will it end? What forms of betrayal, regret or intimacy will emerge from it?” Read more...

The Best Historical Nonfiction Books

Kate Summerscale, Journalist