Fact is never more strange than fiction than when it comes to crime, and the crimes described here are so bizarre it's inconceivable that they could have been made up. In this all-new collection of truly unusual crimes, a sequel to the bestselling Mammoth Book of Bizarre Crimes, Odell and Donnelley tell the extraordinary stories of criminal acts far stranger than any fiction, including the murder of Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace by spree-killer Andrew Cunanan and the killing of intern Chandra Ann Levy, who had had an affair with US Representative Gary Condit, though he was cleared of any involvement in her murder. They reveal how Danilo Restivo was eventually convicted of the murder of Heather Barnett in England after the ritualistic placing of hair connected him to another murder in Italy. They tell the terrible story of the inexplicably brutal murder, over a number of days, of 15-year-old Kristy Bamu by his sister and her lover because they believed him to be practising 'witchcraft'. They also give a chilling account of the thirty-one-year-old mother-of-two, Joanna Dennehy, who killed three men. 'I started killing,' she said, 'to see if I was as cold as I thought I was. Then it got moreish and I got a taste for it.'

You couldn't make it up: incredible real-life criminal cases A fascinating A-Z of murderous crimes which spans the globe and the centuries in uncovering the extremes of human criminality in all its strangeness. This collection of unusual, if not sensational, murder cases recalls strange crimes of the past and offers insights into particularly macabre and shocking modern murders. Many of the cases also shed light on advances in crime detection, law enforcement and forensic science. Cases include: Krystian Bala, the Polish writer who killed a rival, and then used the murder as the plot for a novel; Alexander Pichuskin, who was stopped one short of killing the 64 victims he needed to 'fill a chess board'; John Lee, 'the man they could not hang' who survived three attempts to execute him; and Adelaide Bartlett, who was accused of killing her husband with chloroform, but was acquitted because no one could work out how she had done it - and she wouldn't say.

This fascinating A–Z compilation of murderous crimes spans globe and centuries and uncovers the extremes of human criminality. More than 300 cases also shed light on advances in crime detection, law enforcement, and forensic science.

FREAKS OF NATURE, ODD CRIMES, SHOCKING DEATHS, DEVASTATING DISASTERS, BLOOD-CURDLING RITES, CRAZY CONSPIRACIES & MUCH, MUCH MORE -Gruesome Torture Devices -Mass Hysteria Outbreaks -Unbelievable Miniatures -Disturbingly Scary Clowns -Outer Space Mysteries -Astonishing Aphrodisiacs -Disgusting Ancient Jobs -Spooky Sports Curses -World-Famous Penises -Mail-Order-Bride Shockers -Brutal Pope Deaths -Outrageous Wedding Locales -Grossest Edible Animals -Appalling Religious Practices

The Assassination of JFK, 9/11, the Da Vinci Code, The Death of Diana, Men in Black, Pearl Harbor, The Illuminati, Protocols of Zion,Hess, The Bilderberg Group, New World Order, ElvisFluoridization, Martin Luther King's murder, Opus Dei, The Gemstone Files, John Paul I, Dead Sea Scrolls, Lockerbie bombing, Black helicopters... In other words everything 'they' never wanted you to know and were afraid you might ask! Jon E. Lewis explores the 100 most terrifying cover-ups of all time, from the invention of Jesus' divinity (pace the Da Vinci Code) to Bush's and Blair's real agenda in invading Iraq. Entertainingly written and closely documented, the book provides each cover-up with a plausibility rating. Uncover why the Titanic sank, ponder the sinister Vatican/Mafia network that plotted the assassination of liberal John Paul, find out why NASA 'lost' its files on Mars, read why no-one enters Area 51, and consider why medical supplies were already on site at Edgware Road before the 7/7 bombs detonated. Just because you are paranoid, it doesn't mean that they aren't out to conspire against you.

Mystery conundrums from crime's finest storytellers Presenting 30 impossible mysteries and bizarre crimes guaranteed to fascinate and intrigue. The delight in these stories is unravelling the puzzle and trying to work out what on earth happened. Stories include: • A man alone in an all-glass phone booth, visible on CCTV and with no one near him, is killed by an ice pick. • a man sitting alone in a room is shot by a bullet fired only once and that was over 200 years ago. • A man enters a cable-car carriage alone and is visible the entire journey but is found dead when he reaches the bottom. • A man vanishes at the top of the Indian rope trick and is found dead miles away. • a dead man continues to receive mail in response to letters apparently written by him after he'd died. The anthology includes several brand new stories never previously published, plus a range of extremely rare stories, many never reprinted since their first appearance in increasingly rare magazines.

The instant Sunday Times bestseller from the UK's number one true crime podcast, RedHanded! What is it about killers, cults, and cannibals that capture our imaginations even as they terrify and disturb us? How do we carefully consume these cases and what can they teach us about what makes victims and their murderers our collective responsibility? RedHanded rejects the outdated narrative of killers as monsters and that a victim 'was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.' Instead, it dissects the stories of killers in a way that challenges perceptions and asks the hard questions about society, gender, poverty, culture, and even our politics. With Bala and Maguire's trademark humour, research on real-life cases, and unflinching analysis of what makes a criminal, the authors take you through the societal, behavioural, and cultural drivers of the most extreme of human behaviour to find out once and for all: what makes a killer tick?

THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF MURDER: TRUE STORIES OF VIOLENT DEATH contains 200 gripping accounts of homicide, criminal investigation, forensic science, criminology, and courtroom drama by veteran true crime writer Jim Fisher. The collection features murder-for-hire, arson murder, historic and celebrated murders, junk science, strange cause and manner of death cases, women who kill, the drug addled and the insane, serial murder, and more!

An all-encompassing, chronological guide to football's World Cup, one of the world's few truly international events, in good time for the June 2018 kick-off in Russia. From its beginnings in 1930 to the modern all-singing, all-dancing self-styled 'greatest show on Earth', every tournament is covered with features on major stars and great games, as well as stories about some less celebrated names and quirky stats and intriguing essays. Holt's focus is very much on what takes place on the field, rather than how football is a mirror for economic corruption, or how a nation's style of play represents a profound statement about its people, or how a passion for football can lift underpaid, socially marginalised people out of poverty. From the best World Cups, in 1958 and 1970, to the worst, in 1962 and 2010, he looks behind the facts and the technical observations to the stories: the mysterious sins of omission; critical injuries to key players; and coaching U-turns. He explains how England's World Cup achievements under Sven-Göran Eriksson, far from being a national disgrace, were actually quite impressive, and looks at why Alf Ramsey didn't take Bobby Charlton off in 1970, but this is no parochial, jingoistic account. The book also asks why Brazil did not contribute in 1966, despite having won the previous two tournaments and going on to win the next one? Why the greatest players of their day did not always shine at the World Cup - George Best and Alfredo Di Stefano, for example, never even made it to the Finals. Why did Johann Cruyff not go to the 1978 World Cup? And why did one of Germany's greatest players never play in the World Cup? There are lots of tables, some filled with obvious, but necessary information, but others with more quirky observations. Alongside accounts of epic games, there are also brief biographies of all the great heroes of the World Cup.