Unspeakable Acts

An Anthony award–winning anthology of modern true-crime stories from authors like Pamela Colloff, Michelle Dean, Jason Fagone, Alice Bolin, and more.

An NPR Best Book of the Year

A New York Times New & Noteworthy Book

A People Best New Book of the Week

"This spine-tingling true crime anthology . . . [looks] beyond killers and victims and at systemic and institutionalized depravity." —Shelf Awareness (starred review)

Sarah Weinman, acclaimed author of The Real Lolita, brings together an exemplary collection of recent true-crime tales by over a dozen of the most refreshing and exciting journalists and chroniclers of crime working today. Michelle Dean's "Dee Dee Wanted Her Daughter to Be Sick, Gypsy Wanted Her Mom Murdered" went viral when it was first published and is the basis for the television show The Act, while Pamela Colloff's "The Reckoning" is the gold standard for investigative crime journalism. With an introduction by Patrick Radden Keefe, this collection showcases true-crime writing across the broadest possible spectrum and reflects on why crime stories are so transfixing and irresistible to the modern reader.

"An excellent anthology. . . . Weinman has done more than create entertainment . . . she challenges the reader to use true crime as a lens to explore the world around us." —BookPage

"Thoughtful and wide-ranging. . . . The superior quality of these essays begs for future volumes." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"With nuance and sensitivity, Weinman curates essays that consider the explosion of interest in true crime, stories from the perspectives of victims, and tales that present new information about notorious killers. . . . This enthralling volume insists that there can and should be humanity within true crime." —Library Journal (starred review)