True Crime - The Modern Genre

The Modern Genre

Many works in this genre recount high-profile, sensational crimes such as the JonBenét Ramsey killing, the O. J. Simpson murder case, and the Pamela Smart murder, while others are devoted to more obscure slayings. Prominent true crime accounts include Helter Skelter by lead Manson family prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry; Ann Rule's The Stranger Beside Me, about Ted Bundy; and Joe McGinniss' Fatal Vision.

The modern genre, which most often focuses on murders, is frequently marked by biographical treatment of the criminals and victims, attempts to explain criminal psychology, and descriptions of police investigations and trial procedures. An example of such a modern true crime book is Mark Coakley's Tip and Trade: How Two Lawyers Made Millions from Insider Trading.

Although true crime books often center on sensational, shocking, or strange events, a secondary part of their appeal is social realism, which describes events too mundane, risqué, or deviant for other non-fiction media, including descriptions of the lifestyles of working-class or socially marginal people.

After the success of the movie, The Silence of the Lambs, a subgenre of true crime has focused on methods of "profiling" of unidentified criminals, especially serial killers.

In the early 1990s, a boom of true crime films began in Hong Kong. These films ranged from graphic Category III-rated films such as The Untold Story and Dr. Lamb (based on serial killers Wong Chi Hang and Lam Kor-wan respectively) to more general audience fare such as the film Crime Story (based on the kidnapping of businessman Teddy Wang Tei-huei) which featured action star Jackie Chan.