A Woman’s Guide to True Crime
by Mary Thorson
COMING SOON! — March 15, 2026
Print ISBN: 979-8-9938836-5-6; eBook ISBN: 979-8-9938836-6-3
Pre-order on BOOKSHOP.ORG, or AMAZON
A startling mix of True Crime, literary fiction, and noir, A Woman's Guide to True Crime captures one of America's best under-sung writers directly at the start of their ascent.
A collection unlike any other, each story in A Woman's Guide to True Crime features shocking historical events examined through the eyes of victims, killers, or the women left behind.
With emotional precision, an uncanny eye for fragility, and an all too grounded sense of unease, the sixteen stories in this collection explore what happens when the blood is washed away, examining everything from the after-effects of matricide in Milwaukee, to two cold, empty graves in Chicago, to a Missouri town where everyone witnesses a murder but keeps their mouths shut, to a Californian Christmas torn apart by a tumbling Cessna, to a small barn outside Hinterkaifeck, Germany, where the dead ask if you, too, heard that sound from behind the walls.
Featuring several award winning stories, including “The Book of Ruth” and “Casadastraphobia”, both selections for the renowned The Best American Mystery and Suspense, A Woman's Guide to True Crime plunges readers into the lives of the women at the center of some of the most mysterious and well-known criminal cases in history, then dares them to ask if the present is really any different than the past.
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WHAT THEY’RE SAYING:
“Absorbing and inventive, Mary Thorson’s A Woman’s Guide to True Crime is a beautifully kaleidoscopic collection, presenting vivid portraits of violence, hope, and suffering that attend to the embodied lives of the women centered here. Compelling, dark, and a pleasure to read!”
—Katharine Beutner, author of Killingly
“Mary Thorson blends the raw interiority of her characters hopes and dreams with the unrelenting conflict of their lives in a witch’s brew of fantastic stories. Not to be missed”
—S.A. Cosby, author of All the Sinners Bleed and King of Ashes
“Mary Thorson's writing is razor-sharp, haunting, and deeply human, blending true crime with literary grace. A Woman’s Guide to True Crime is a stunning, fearless collection that brings to life the stories behind the violence. The emotional precision and unforgettable power in A Woman’s Guide to True Crime further cement Mary Thorson as one of the most vital voices writing today.”
—Steve Weddle, author of Country Hardball and The County Line
“In this dark, unsettling collection, Thorson imagines long-ago crimes, from brutal multiple murders to a deadly hotel blaze. Like Elizabeth Brundage and Joyce Carol Oates, Thorson maps the darkness where violence intersects with ordinary life. Her narrators are lovers, neighbors, children, criminals, and victims—and often something in-between. The stories move through space and time, spanning nearly a century, without breaking the spell of Thorson's understated, assured voice. Like the images in dreams, fragments of this uncanny story collection dwell hauntingly in my mind.”
—Kelsey Rae Dimberg, author of Girl in the Rearview Mirror and Snake Oil
“A lesser writer would have failed these characters, but Mary Thorson does the unimaginable here: she captures, with dignity and grace and tenderness, those who must live in the wake of tragedy and horror. A profoundly moving collection that seeks to illuminate our sheer will to go on in the face of what seems insurmountable.”
—Keith Rosson, author of Coffin Moon and Fever House
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
MARY THORSON lives and writes in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her short story, "Book of Ruth," was included in Best American Mystery & Suspense, '24, edited by Steph Cha and S.A. Cosby. Her short story, "Casadastraphobia," was included in Best American Mystery & Suspense, '25, edited by Steph Cha and Don Winslow. Her work has been nominated for Best American Short Stories, A Derringer, and a Pushcart Prize. She hangs out with her two feisty daughters, the best husband, and a dog named Pam when she isn’t teaching high school English, reading, or writing ghost stories. She is represented by Lori Galvin at Aevitas Creative Management. She is currently working on a novel.