Mitzi Szereto’s The Best New True Crime Stories: Small Towns was given a great review by The Crime Review, read the review here.
A collection of non-fiction accounts by international writers and experts on small town true crime shows readers that the real monsters aren’t hiding in the woods, they’re inside our towns. Small towns aren’t always what they seem. We’ve been told nothing bad happens in small towns. You can leave your doors unlocked, and your windows wide open. We picture peaceful hamlets with a strong sense of community, and everyone knows each other. But what if this wholesome idyllic image doesn’t always square with reality? Small towns might look and feel safe, but statistics show this isn’t really true.
Tiny town, big crime. Whether in Truman Capote’s detailed murder of the Clutter family or Ted Bundy’s small-town charm, criminals have always roamed rural America and towns worldwide. Featuring murder stories, criminal case studies, and more, The Best New True Crime Stories: Small Towns contains all-new accounts from writers of true crime, crime journalism, and crime fiction. And these entries are not based on a true story―they are true stories. Edited by acclaimed author and anthologist Mitzi Szereto, the stories in this volume span the globe. Discover how unsolved murders, kidnapping, shooting sprees, violent robbery, and other bad things can and do happen in small towns all over the world.
THE BEST NEW TRUE CRIME STORIES: SMALL TOWNS is a new anthology of short true crime stories, written by various authors and collected by Mitzi Szereto.
This is the second of Szereto’s anthologies of true crime stories. The first centred around serial killers (THE BEST NEW TRUE CRIME STORIES: SERIAL KILLERS), while this one has a bit of a unique thematic topic: demonstrating that major crimes do happen in idyllic small towns.
The best descriptor for this particular collection is the word ‘variety’. Each author has their own particular approach and writing style, and takes a slightly different approach to the piece they are covering. Some choose to focus on a simple recitation of facts, while others delve into atmosphere and sentiment more than the actual facts of the crime. The tellings are generally fairly unvarnished and straightforward, and also fairly short; usually you have all of the details you need, but occasionally you want to learn more.
The variety also extends to the selection of stories, which span 150 years, and at least 3 continents. The crimes described also show a huge variety: a vigilante mob, a spree killing, single domestic murders, unsolved cases and more all feature in this collection.
If you are a hardcore true crime fan and looking to learn about a selection of cases you likely have not encountered, this collection is definitely includes some interesting stories!