True Crime

The fascination of evil.

Why are we fascinated by violence and in particular by murder? How much is real and how much is fiction in the works presented under the label of ‘true crime’? In seeking the answer to these questions, Vicente Garrido offers us an extraordinary analysis of crime based on the characteristic true crime story: the criminal mind, the crime scene, the investigators, the victims, the trial and the conviction.

Drawing on numerous literary and audiovisual examples - from the novels of Truman Capote and Norman Mailer to the most famous Netflix and HBO series, as well as chronicles and essays by former police officers and investigative journalists - the author reveals how the study of true crime through the fundamental principles of criminology and other related sciences allows us to reflect on the nature of human violence.

Faced with the exponential increase of documentary or fictional series based on real crimes, as well as detective and crime novels, Vicente Garrido analyzes more than sixty cultural products - including books, films, series, podcasts, etc. - to illuminate for us not only the narrative of true crime, but also what this genre can teach us about evil.