True Crime
The Red Parts
Selected as a Book of the Year 2017 in the Guardian
'Maggie Nelson’s short, singular books feel pretty light in the hand... But in the head and the heart, they seem unfathomably vast, their cleverness and odd beauty lingering on' Observer
In 1969, Jane Mixer, a first-year law student at the University of Michigan, posted a note on a student noticeboard to share a lift back to her hometown of Muskegon for spring break. She never made it: she was brutally murdered, her body found a few miles from campus the following day.
The Red Parts is Maggie Nelson’s singular account of her aunt Jane’s death, and the trial that took place some 35 years afterward. Officially unsolved for decades, the case was reopened in 2004 after a DNA match identified a new suspect, who would soon be arrested and tried. In 2005, Nelson found herself attending the trial, and reflecting with fresh urgency on our relentless obsession with violence, particularly against women.
Resurrecting her interior world during the trial – in all its horror, grief, obsession, recklessness, scepticism and downright confusion – Maggie Nelson has produced a work of profound integrity and, in its subtle indeterminacy, deadly moral precision.
The Rembrandt Heist
A true crime tale of unbelievable friendship, loyalty, criminal genius, and a staggeringly audacious plot to steal one of the world’s most valuable paintings—and return it.
On April 14, 1975, Myles Connor, already a known art thief, entered the Boston Museum of Fine Arts in disguise along with a cohort. The pair went directly the Dutch Gallery and proceeded to remove Portrait of Elsbeth van Rijn from its place on the wall. After a brief scuffle with the guards—with Myles deterring his partner from shooting a bystander—the pair was gone, leaving behind no traceable evidence amidst the mayhem.
Who was Myles Connor and what were his motivations? Most thieves are in it for the money, but Myles was far from most thieves. His motive was freedom. The summer before the heist, he was arrested by the FBI when he attempted to sell three highly valuable paintings by Andrew and N.C. Wyeth to an undercover agent. Incredibly, Myles did this while out on bail for possession of yet more stolen art. When he was arrested and placed in the back seat of a state police vehicle, the FBI agent said to him, “We’ve got you now. Let’s see you get out of this one.” Without batting an eye, Connor calmly replied, “Just you watch me.”
Again released on bail, Connor met with an old friend of his father’s, Massachusetts State Police Major John Regan. Regan worked for the District Attorney at the time, future Congressman William Delahunt. Connor asked Regan if there was any way out of the fix he was in, and the straightlaced cop told him bluntly, “It’s going to take a Rembrandt to get you out of this one.” With that, a master plan was hatched.
But there was a flip side to this story. One involving Connor’s best friend—Al Dotoli—who lived a life in the music industry, far from the world of art heists. Dotoli’s own masterpiece of a plan hinged on the Rembrandt’s return.
Filled with unforgettable personalities and non-stop action and intrigue, The Rembrandt Heist will lay out the anatomy of this notorious art theft while describing not just the criminal genius that is Myles Connor, but also the complexity of personal relationships between lifelong friends. All along, the reader will learn about a breathtaking painting by the world’s most famous artist and the incredible true story about how Portrait of Elsbeth van Rijn ended up on the wall at the MFA in the first place. Lees meer
This House of Grief
Dua Lipa's Book Club Pick for August 2025
One of the Guardian's 100 Best Books of the 21st Century
'A true-crime classic and literary masterpiece' ANNE ENRIGHT
'Bears comparison with In Cold Blood' KATE ATKINSON
'It grabbed me by the throat' GILLIAN ANDERSON
'Sharp and forensic' DUA LIPA
Father's Day, 2005. Just after nightfall, a discarded husband was driving his three young sons back to their mother's house.
On that dark country road, barely five minutes from home, the old white car swerved off the highway and plunged into a dam. The father freed himself and swam to the bank, but the car sank to the bottom, and all the children drowned.
The court case that followed became Helen Garner's obsession, one that would take over her life until its final verdict.
The resulting book, This House of Grief, is a true crime classic and literary masterpiece, which examines just what we are capable of and how fiercely we hide it from ourselves.
A W&N Essential with an introduction by Rachel Cooke
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True Crime - 50 gruwelijke misdaden
