14 must-read true crime books like Columbine by Dave Cullen

Cover of Columbine by Dave Cullen

Columbine

By: Dave Cullen

4.29

Format: 417 pages, Hardcover

"The tragedies keep coming. As we reel from the latest horror . . . " So begins a new epilogue, ill…

"The final portrait is often furthest from the truth."

-Dave Cullen, Columbine

"The final portrait is often furthest from the truth."

-Dave Cullen, Columbine

"What good were special talents when there was no one to share them with?"

-Dave Cullen, Columbine

"What good were special talents when there was no one to share them with?"

-Dave Cullen, Columbine

If you liked the true crime plot in Columbine by Dave Cullen , here is a list of 14 books like this:

Cover of Why Kids Kill: Inside the Minds of School Shooters by Peter Langman

1. Why Kids Kill: Inside the Minds of School Shooters

By: Peter Langman

3.83

Format: 193 pages, Hardcover

Ten years after the school massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado, school shootings are a ne… read more

Similar categories in Peter Langman's Why Kids Kill: Inside the Minds of School Shooters book and Dave Cullen's Columbine

  • history
  • true crime
  • psychology
  • nonfiction
  • crime
  • sociology
  • audiobook
Cover of A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy by Sue Klebold

2. A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy

By: Sue Klebold

4.14

Format: 336 pages, ebook

On April 20, 1999, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold walked into Columbine High School in Littleton, Co… read more

Similar categories in Sue Klebold's A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy book and Dave Cullen's Columbine

  • biography
  • true crime
  • psychology
  • nonfiction
  • crime
  • audiobook
"A faraway look—I have heard suicidologist Thomas Joiner refer to it as “the thousand-yard stare"

-Sue Klebold, A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy

"Asking 'why' only makes us feel hopeless. Asking 'how' points the way forward, and shows us what we must do"

-Sue Klebold, A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy

"Indeed, I would not achieve the integration I sought until I found two nutrients essential to so many survivors. First, I found community and then I found a way to contribute."

-Sue Klebold, A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy

"People refer to the fog of war, and I am sure something similar applies to my situation. If I hadn't kept a running record of the days, weeks, and years, the fog would have swallowed too much of the …"

-Sue Klebold, A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy

Cover of Newtown: An American Tragedy by Matthew Lysiak

3. Newtown: An American Tragedy

By: Matthew Lysiak

3.77

Format: 341 pages, ebook

A journalist for The Daily News (New York) offers a "meticulous account of the Newtown massacre and… read more

Similar categories in Matthew Lysiak's Newtown: An American Tragedy book and Dave Cullen's Columbine

  • history
  • true crime
  • nonfiction
  • crime
  • sociology
  • audiobook
Cover of Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi, Curt Gentry

4. Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders

By: Vincent Bugliosi , Curt Gentry

4.06

Format: 687 pages, Paperback

Prosecuting attorney in the Manson trial, Vincent Bugliosi held a unique insider's position in one … read more

Similar categories in Vincent Bugliosi's Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders book and Dave Cullen's Columbine

  • biography
  • history
  • true crime
  • psychology
  • nonfiction
  • crime
  • audiobook
"Deciding that his own life expectancy was directly proportional to his usefulness to Manson, Crockett made himself very useful, volunteering his truck to haul in supplies, and so forth."

-Vincent Bugliosi, Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders

"Noting that it would be a long trial, with many witnesses, I recall the old Chinese proverb, "The palest ink is better than the best memory," urging the jury to take detailed notes to aid them in the…"

-Vincent Bugliosi, Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders

"For a lawyer to do less than his utmost is, I strongly feel, a betrayal of his client. Though in criminal trials one tends to focus on the defense attorney and his client the accused, the prosecutor …"

-Vincent Bugliosi, Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders

"One day Manson tried with me. I stared right back, holding his gaze until his hands started shaking. During the recess, I slid my chair over next to his and asked, "What are you trembling about, Char…"

-Vincent Bugliosi, Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders

Cover of Columbine by Dave Cullen

5. Columbine

By: Dave Cullen

4.29

Format: 417 pages, Hardcover

"The tragedies keep coming. As we reel from the latest horror . . . " So begins a new epilogue, ill… read more

Similar categories in Dave Cullen's Columbine book and Dave Cullen's Columbine

  • biography
  • history
  • true crime
  • adult
  • psychology
  • nonfiction
  • journalism
  • crime
  • sociology
  • audiobook
"The final portrait is often furthest from the truth."

-Dave Cullen, Columbine

"What good were special talents when there was no one to share them with?"

-Dave Cullen, Columbine

"The goal with hostages is to gradually lower expectations; in nonhostage crises, it's to lower emotions."

-Dave Cullen, Columbine

"You can't really teach a kid anything: you can only show him the way and motivate him to learn it himself."

-Dave Cullen, Columbine

Cover of Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town by Jon Krakauer

6. Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town

By: Jon Krakauer

3.89

Format: 197 pages, Hardcover

Missoula, Montana is a typical college town, home to a highly regarded state university whose belov… read more

Similar categories in Jon Krakauer's Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town book and Dave Cullen's Columbine

  • history
  • true crime
  • nonfiction
  • crime
  • audiobook

7. The Stranger Beside Me: Ted Bundy The Shocking Inside Story

By: Ann Rule

4.67

Format: 360 pages, Paperback

Ann Rule was a writer working on the biggest story of her life, tracking down a brutal mass-murdere… read more

Similar categories in Ann Rule's The Stranger Beside Me: Ted Bundy The Shocking Inside Story book and Dave Cullen's Columbine

8. Devil's Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three

By: Mara Leveritt

3.79

Format: 368 pages,

In 2011, one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in American legal history was set right when D… read more

Similar categories in Mara Leveritt's Devil's Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three book and Dave Cullen's Columbine

9. Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit

By: None , Mark Olshaker

3.36

Format: None pages, Paperback

He has hunted some of the most notorious and sadistic criminals of our time: The Trailside Killer i… read more

Similar categories in None's Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit book and Dave Cullen's Columbine

10. Columbine: A True Crime Story

By: Jeff Kass

3.87

Format: 252 pages, Paperback

Literary Nonfiction. United States Studies. With a foreword by Douglas Brinkley and cover illustrat… read more

Similar categories in Jeff Kass's Columbine: A True Crime Story book and Dave Cullen's Columbine

11. Green River, Running Red: The Real Story of the Green River Killer--America's Deadliest Serial Murderer

By: Ann Rule

4.34

Format: 640 pages, Paperback

In her most personal and provocative book to date, the #1 bestselling master of true crime presents… read more

Similar categories in Ann Rule's Green River, Running Red: The Real Story of the Green River Killer--America's Deadliest Serial Murderer book and Dave Cullen's Columbine

12. No Easy Answers: The Truth Behind Death at Columbine

By: Brooks Brown , None

3.84

Format: 32 pages, Paperback

On April 20, 1999, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, two seniors at Columbine High School in Littleton… read more

Similar categories in Brooks Brown's No Easy Answers: The Truth Behind Death at Columbine book and Dave Cullen's Columbine

Cover of I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara

13. I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer

By: Michelle McNamara

4.12

Format: 352 pages, ebook

A masterful true crime account of the Golden State Killer—the elusive serial rapist turned murderer… read more

Similar categories in Michelle McNamara's I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer book and Dave Cullen's Columbine

  • history
  • true crime
  • adult
  • nonfiction
  • crime
  • audiobook
"Every obsession needs a room of its own."

-Michelle McNamara, I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer

"He loses his power when we know his face."

-Michelle McNamara, I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer

"Twenty-five years is a long time in cop years."

-Michelle McNamara, I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer

"I need to see his face. He loses his power when we know his face."

-Michelle McNamara, I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer

Cover of American Predator: The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century by Maureen Callahan

14. American Predator: The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century

By: Maureen Callahan

4.09

Format: 285 pages, Hardcover

Ted Bundy. John Wayne Gacy. Jeffrey Dahmer. The names of notorious serial killers are usually well-… read more

Similar categories in Maureen Callahan's American Predator: The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century book and Dave Cullen's Columbine

  • biography
  • history
  • true crime
  • adult
  • nonfiction
  • crime
  • audiobook
"I've got lots more stories to tell."

-Maureen Callahan, American Predator: The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century

Cover of Sandy Hook by Elizabeth  Williamson

15. Sandy Hook

By: Elizabeth Williamson

4.29

Format: 482 pages, Hardcover

Based on hundreds of hours of research, interviews, and access to exclusive sources and materials, … read more

Similar categories in Elizabeth Williamson's Sandy Hook book and Dave Cullen's Columbine

  • history
  • true crime
  • psychology
  • nonfiction
  • journalism
  • crime
  • sociology
  • audiobook
Cover of Evidence Ignored: What You May Not Know About Columbine by Rita Gleason

16. Evidence Ignored: What You May Not Know About Columbine

By: Rita Gleason

3.80

Format: 350 pages, Kindle Edition

Evidence Ignored presents an unfiltered account of the events that led to the tragedy at Columbine … read more

Similar categories in Rita Gleason's Evidence Ignored: What You May Not Know About Columbine book and Dave Cullen's Columbine

  • crime
  • nonfiction
  • true crime
Cover of The Journals of Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris: Columbine Killers Diaries by Murder Journals

17. The Journals of Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris: Columbine Killers Diaries

By: Murder Journals

4.05

Format: 210 pages, Paperback

This 210 paged book contains both journals written by Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris along with a si… read more

Similar categories in Murder Journals's The Journals of Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris: Columbine Killers Diaries book and Dave Cullen's Columbine

  • history
  • biography
  • true crime
  • psychology
  • nonfiction
Cover of Jak złodziej przyszła. Reportaże i rozmowy o starości by Elżbieta Strzałkowska

18. Jak złodziej przyszła. Reportaże i rozmowy o starości

By: Elżbieta Strzałkowska

3.47

Format: 240 pages, Hardcover

Według prognoz w przeciągu najbliższych dekad staniemy się najstarszym społeczeństwem Unii Europejs… read more

Similar categories in Elżbieta Strzałkowska's Jak złodziej przyszła. Reportaże i rozmowy o starości book and Dave Cullen's Columbine

  • nonfiction
  • audiobook
Cover of The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple by Jeff Guinn

19. The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple

By: Jeff Guinn

4.16

Format: 454 pages, Kindle Edition

By the New York Times bestselling author of Manson, the comprehensive, authoritative, and tragic st… read more

Similar categories in Jeff Guinn's The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple book and Dave Cullen's Columbine

  • biography
  • history
  • true crime
  • psychology
  • nonfiction
  • crime
  • audiobook
"No one listening [to Jones' sermons], even those who were the most devoted to him, could take it all in. But at some point each follower heard something that reaffirmed his or her personal reason for…"

-Jeff Guinn, The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple

Cover of A Dark Night in Aurora: Inside James Holmes and the Colorado Mass Shootings by William H. Reid

20. A Dark Night in Aurora: Inside James Holmes and the Colorado Mass Shootings

By: William H. Reid

3.89

Format: 296 pages, Hardcover

James Holmes killed or wounded seventy people in a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. Only one man … read more

Similar categories in William H. Reid's A Dark Night in Aurora: Inside James Holmes and the Colorado Mass Shootings book and Dave Cullen's Columbine

  • true crime
  • psychology
  • nonfiction
  • crime
  • sociology
  • audiobook
Cover of Fall and Rise: The Story of 9/11 by Mitchell Zuckoff

21. Fall and Rise: The Story of 9/11

By: Mitchell Zuckoff

4.67

Format: 625 pages, Kindle Edition

Years in the making, this spellbinding, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting narrative is an unf… read more

Similar categories in Mitchell Zuckoff's Fall and Rise: The Story of 9/11 book and Dave Cullen's Columbine

  • nonfiction
  • history
  • true crime
  • audiobook

13 Best audiobook books like Columbine by Dave Cullen

Transform Your Habits

Why Kids Kill: Inside the Minds of School Shooters

Peter Langman

3.83

Transform Your Habits

A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy

Sue Klebold

4.14

Transform Your Habits

Newtown: An American Tragedy

Matthew Lysiak

3.77

Transform Your Habits

Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders

Vincent Bugliosi , Curt Gentry

4.06

View all the books

19 must-read audiobook books like Sandy Hook by Elizabeth Williamson

Transform Your Habits

Why Kids Kill: Inside the Minds of School Shooters

Peter Langman

3.83

Transform Your Habits

A Mother's Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy

Sue Klebold

4.14

Transform Your Habits

Newtown: An American Tragedy

Matthew Lysiak

3.77

Transform Your Habits

Columbine

Dave Cullen

4.29

View all the books

Never miss a story from us, get weekly updates in your inbox.