True crime books which have been adapted for the small and big screen

We often discover many real-life mysteries through TV series and movies, but many of those works are based on excellently-researched and well-written books. Here are a couple of true crime books which have gone on to be adapted for the small and big screen.

Black Klansman

The 2018 movie adaptation of Ron Stallworth’s books won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, which should make the book itself a must-read. Black Klansman tells the real-life story of Colorado detective Ron Stallworth who starts out investigating the activities of the Ku Klux Klan by posing as an interested potential and ends up going undercover in the notorious white supremacist group.

In the book, Stallworth details how he and a fellow detective gathered information about the Klan by attending meetings and speaking to members on the phone and subsequently sabotaged many of their activities.

At times, it paints a bleak picture of a divided America, but also details the extraordinary efforts of Stallworth and his colleagues to confront the hate.

Dirty John (and Other True Stories of Outlaws and Outsiders) by Christopher Goffard

The book is a collection of writings by LA Times journalist Christopher Goffard, who began writing about the underbelly of LA life a decade or so ago. One of the stories he uncovered was that of the conman who terrorizes a family in California and which formed the basis of the 2017 podcast Dirty John. From that sprang the Netflix series starring Connie Britton and Eric Bana, which is a fictionalized account of the Dirty John. In this book, readers can discover the origin of that story, as well as many other, told in Goffard’s unique and compelling writing style.

For more nonfiction mysteries to uncover check out the books at www.medialaze.com.

Cracking the case: Why a murder mystery weekend may be for you

If you are the sort of person who loves reading mystery novels and often has it all figured before you reach the end, then you might also be the type to revel in a murder mystery weekend. It is a fun and challenging pursuit for fans of mystery fiction and invites those taking part to crack the case, while enjoying a break in a country house or other grand setting.

In England, many period properties are the settings for murder mystery weekends or dinners and have the advantage of evoking the works of Agatha Christie, with costumes and setting seeming to have leapt straight of the pages of her best known books.

The US also has a well-established tradition of murder mystery breaks, with historic houses, rural settings or indeed more central locations playing host to ‘whodunits’.

What happens at a murder mystery weekend?

Guests much work together in teams to solve a murder. Actors in costumes will often play out a scene and the guests themselves can be suspects. Different clues are given at it is up to the ‘investigators’ to pick up on them and use them to crack the case.

Murder mystery weekends not only promote teamwork, they also encourage critical thinking and are a great workout for the ‘little grey cells’ as Hercule Poirot would call them.

They are also a great way for friends to bond over a common interest while providing a stimulating exercise for a weekend away and the prevalence of this type of entertainment means they are often high-quality productions.

For more murder mystery stories, check out www.medialaze.com.