Toward a Theory of True Crime Narratives

Toward a Theory of True Crime Narratives vivifies how nonfiction murder stories are told, what role they play in society, and in the form of true crime why they remain enduringly popular internationally on every platform. This book establishes for the first time the actual lineor dotted linebetween mainstream journalism and the multimedia phenomena of true crime. Presenting a stable definition of what isand what is nottrue crime will either challenge or justify Truman Capotes claims regarding the creation of a "new journalism" with In Cold Blood, and accordingly expose the reluctance of the promoters of NPRs Serial, HBOs The Jinx, and Netflixs Making a Murderer to refer to their products as such. This research codifies true crime texts of various types on multiple platformsradio, television, print, digital, and filmto reveal the defining characteristics of the genre.