Book List/Display Idea #1 - True Crime focused on victims, survivors, and their families.

 True crime has soared in popularity thanks to podcasts and documentaries on streaming services. It is possible to highlight the parts of your collection that would appeal to fans of the genre while also being conscious of the victims, survivors, and their families. I'm not including a list of titles about the more famous serial killers because those are easy to find and likely get a lot of circulation in your library. 

I'll link to the Goodreads reviews for the books so you can see what other readers thought since I've not read all of the titles below. Remember to include lists/signs/QR codes for your digital collections if you make a book display inside your library. 

Setting up a book display or a book list is not a test; don't stress out over how close a read alike is. Every reader comes at a book from a different place. Also, Use popular titles to draw in readers to the other books on your display. You won't have every lower profile or smaller press/imprint book that you uncover online. 

The first book that comes to mind for a lot of people is I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara. Written before the identity of the Golden State Killer was know, the book is well-written, never sensationalist or salacious. and takes care with the stories of those affected by the crimes. She shows empathy to the victims of the crimes and the communities where the crimes happened. There is also an HBO documentary based upon the book. 

Hachette Group's Novel Suspects, a blog promoting mysteries and thrillers, suggests these titles as read-alikes: 

We Keep the Dead Close by Becky Cooper - An investigation of an older cold case, similar to that of the Golden State Killer. In this book, the murder of a Harvard student, Jane Britton, and a possible coverup by Harvard University. The book details the misogyny and sexist treatment of women in academia at that time.

The Grim Sleeper by Christine Pelisek - The story of a killer who attacked women in a South Central Los Angeles neighborhood for decades. Part of the books delves into how the poverty and violence in the neighborhood contributed to the killer getting away with murdering so many marginalized women for so long. The author is a reporter who followed the story for more than a decade.

The Fact of a Body by Alexandria Marzano-Lesnevich - A memoir about how the childhood trauma of the author and their research into a murder while working at a law firm defending those accused of murder. The book is both about the author attempting to come to terms with their own past as well as the case of Ricky Langley, a convicted pedophile. 

Other lists with readalikes:

The Lineup-13 Riveting True Crime Books for Fans of I'll Be Gone In the Dark
Book Riot - 7 of the Best Books for Mindhunter Fans (This list contains many true crime classics that you may own at your library)
Book Riot- 18 of the Best International True Crime Books You've Never Heard Of 

More titles you may own are:

The Devil's Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three by Mara Leveritt
Boys Enter the House: The Victims of John Wayne Gacy and the Lives They Left Behind by David B. Nelson
Last Call by Elon Green
The Babysitter by Liza Rodman and Jennifer Jordan
Trailed: One Woman's Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders by Kathryn Miles - also reviewed here
Hell's Half Acre: The Untold Story of the Benders, America's First Serial Killer Family by Susan Jonusas
Deer Creek Drive : A Reckoning of Memory and Murder in the Mississippi Delta by Beverly Lowry
Savage Appetites:Four True Stories of Women, Crime, and Obsession by Rachel Monroe
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe
The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold

Because including only one part of your collection in your displays and lists is never something I suggest, here are some fiction suggestions -

Crime Scene and Into the Forest and All the Way Through by Cynthia Pelayo 
Where They Found Her by Kimberly McCreight
The Witch Elm, The Trespasser both by Tana French
Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke
You’re Invited by Amanda Jayatissa
Shutter by Ramona Emerson

Oprah Daily - Crime Fiction Goes Global and Diverse, as These 20 Books by Women Writers Show (PIck and choose from this list to add to the display if books are checked out but you can't replace the display yet.)

If you or one of your fellow staff members are a true crime podcast fan, you can include suggestions for patrons. One podcast that is focused on the victims and their story is True Crime Bullsh*t by Josh Hallmark. While covering the crimes of serial killer Israel Keyes, Hallmark is careful to humanize and include the story of his victims and suspected victims. 

Podcasts as inspiration - True Crime Bulls**t

The popularity of true crime podcasts makes them a great source of inspiration for your book displays. Pick a few or more and pair them with books or movies with similar themes, subjects, or tones. Because book displays are passive readers advisory, we don't have the conversations with patrons that we would normally have to learn what they loved about the podcasts. By broadly interpreting what a read alike is, there is a better chance of catching what it is they love. 

I'll pick one podcast to use as an example. True Crime Bullshit  is hosted by Josh Hallmark on the Our Americana Network. TCBS is a serialized investigation into the life and crimes of serial killer Israel Keyes. (Of it's four seasons, three have focused on Keyes. The third season told the story of another serial killer.) Hallmark is a compelling narrator who focuses on telling a story about people: Keyes, his victims, and his friends and family. The story can seem intimate and personal at times. The listener feels as if they are following Hallmark on his journey and joining him in obsession about the case, possible, victims, and new clues. 

To get a sense of the podcast, as well as a similar one about a missing college student, Maura Murray, check out "Serial killers, brutal murder and the rise of the podcast detectives" by Clémence Michallon, The Independent,  12.13.20

Similar titles I would put on a book display:
I'll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara.
The late author takes her readers on her search for a then-unknown murderer and rapist who terrorised Californians for ten years. It's a mix of memoir and reporting that mirrors TCBS in a lot of ways. Both authors take pains to remember the victims lost, telling their stories, while still bringing their audience along as they dive deeper and deeper into a case. 
More: "Michelle McNamara hunted, and was haunted by, the Golden State Killer" by Alexandra Alter, The New York Times,  2.15.18

In Cold Blood by Truman Capote is the classic of the genre. His story switches between the victims, their friends and neighbors, and the murderers. Capote is an additional character in his story. 

More: "In Cold Blood, half a century on" by Ed Pilkington, The Guardian, 11.15.2009

My Dark Places: an L.A. Crime Memoir by James Ellroy is the novelist's telling of his own mother's unsolved murder, how it impacted his life, as well as his consuming search for her killer. While he investigates the case with a retired detective, Ellroy learns more about his secretive mother and her life. 
More: "Murder close to the heart" by Evan Roth, The Washington Post, 5.23.1995

A different sort of book with a similar deep dive into one case with a compelling narrative, and a sense of the very human tragedy in a murder would be Say Nothing: a True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe. This book uses the abduction and murder of a single mother to tell the tragedy of the conflict in Northern Ireland. The stories of individual members of the IRA including Gerry Adams and the murdered woman, Jean McConville, and her family drive a compelling tale of political murder and those left behind. 

More: "How Conflicts End—And Who Can End Them" by David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 3.3.2019

The most recent book written about Israel Keyes specifically is American Predator: The Hunt for the Most Meticulous Serial Killer of the 21st Century by Maureen Callahan. Fans of TCBS have been critical of the book but your patrons could be interested. 

You can fill in the display with titles about serial killers like Ted Bundy as well as novels with a similar theme and tone to the books listed above. While I don't know your collection, some ideas can be found in these lists: 

100 MUST READ BOOKS ABOUT SERIAL KILLERS/Book Riot

Sarah Nicolas, May 25, 2017

TOP TEN SERIAL KILLER NOVELS/The Strand Magazine
Elizabeth Heiter, January 4, 2016

The Best True Crime Books About Serial Killers/Novel Suspects
Greta Shull