The Best New True Crime Stories: Well-Mannered Crooks, Rogues & Criminals

“If you are into true crime, especially bite-sized stories that are well-researched and well-written, this book is for you.” —Reading for Sanity Book Reviews

“Conjuring the spirits of Truman Capote and Damon Runyon (with the ghost of Patricia Highsmith looking on), the stories in The Best New True Crime Stories: Well-Mannered Crooks, Rogues & Criminals thrillingly depict real-life misdeeds throughout history. An Ecuadorian Robin Hood, an art scandal in Paris, new insights into the life and death of a Depression-era bootlegger—what’s not to love?”—Abbott Kahler, New York Times bestselling author (as Karen Abbott) of The Ghosts of Eden Park

“What a fantastic collection of spellbinding true crime stories from around the world! Each one is deeply researched, thoughtful, and fascinating. This anthology is simply good reading for any fan.”—Kate Winkler Dawson, author of American Sherlock: Murder, Forensics, and the Birth of American CSI

“Ever since E.W. Hornung—brother-in-law of Arthur Conan Doyle—introduced the public in 1898 to his character A.J. Raffles, a genteel, cricket-playing thief, the notion of the nonviolent criminal, from Robin Hood to Danny Ocean, has captured the public’s attention. No blood, no gore: just people trying to scrape a living off the earnings of others. In her latest compendium, Mitzi Szereto has brought together a terrifically readable collection of new and intriguing case histories, including John Dillinger’s bagman and Ching Shih, the nineteenth-century woman pirate of the South China Sea.”—J.P. Smith, author of If She Were Dead and The Summoning

“Mitzi Szereto and a stellar group of authors bring us The Best New True Crime Stories: Well-Mannered Crooks, Rogues & Criminals. Real-life Robin Hoods, smooth-talking charmers and gentlemen robbers, and an unforgettable cast of criminal characters. True crime storytelling at its very best!”—Dan Zupansky, author and host of True Murder

“Readers have always been fascinated by charismatic criminals, from A.J. Raffles to Tom Ripley, and this anthology examines the nefarious activities of a very diverse bunch of their real-life counterparts.”—Martin Edwards, The Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger award-winning author of Mortmain Hall and The Golden Age of Murder

“Mitzi has a diamond eye for a good story and assembles her anthologies like carefully crafted pieces of engineering, regardless of genre. An editor with the Midas touch.” —Maxim Jakubowski, author of The Book of Extraordinary Impossible Crimes and Puzzling Deaths

“Talk about being interesting, wow, the accounts are amazing! The research is outstanding, the descriptions will astound you, and the criminals might be next door.”—Donadee’s Corner

“What I truly appreciate about Mitzi Szereto’s collections is that they hit all the bases—you are wholly entertained by a wide variety of writers with strong and unique voices, there’s diversity in both style and substance, and you will learn a lot. In short, she really knows how to pick ‘em.”—Get on My Damn Level

“This anthology’s contributors approach their subjects with the nuanced understanding of a historian or sociologist; rather than simply examining motive and opportunity, they consider factors such as historical backdrops, personality types, public perceptions, self-deception, gender, class, and inequality. VERDICT: A thought-provoking volume, with accounts that span continents and circumstances, that will appeal even to true crime fans who have seen it all.”—Library Journal

“An enjoyable collection of strange but true tales of unconventional lawbreakers, from the ‘Gentleman Bandit’ who went to jail rather than see an innocent man imprisoned, the exploits of the Ecuadorian Robin Hood, and the tangled web surrounding a mysterious diamond robbery.”—Choice Magazine UK

“If you are into true crime, especially bite-sized stories that are well-researched and well-written, this book is for you.”—Reading for Sanity Book Reviews

Mitzi Szereto is an internationally acclaimed author and anthology editor of fiction and non-fiction spanning many genres. Her books include her true crime franchise The Best New True Crime Stories series; the horror novel Florida Gothic; The Thelonious T. Bear Chronicles cozy mystery series (co-written with Teddy Tedaloo); the sex parody Pride and Prejudice: Hidden Lusts; Getting Even: Revenge Stories; and many other popular titles. Her anthology Erotic Travel Tales 2 is the first anthology of erotica to feature a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.

Mitzi’s Web TV channel “Mitzi TV” has attracted an international audience. Segments have ranged from chatting about classic cars with Formula 1 race car driver/BBC TV presenter Tiff Needell and couture shoe designer Jimmy Choo, joining in a lively pub singalong, and covering a teddy bear festival with her ursine sidekick, Teddy Tedaloo. Other on-screen credits include portraying herself in the pseudo-documentary British film, “Lint: The Movie.” She maintains a blog of personal essays at Errant Ramblings: Mitzi Szereto’s Weblog.