8 Nonviolent True Crime Books That Read Like Thrillers

True crime is a genre synonymous with blood, but murder isn’t the only kind of crime. Nonviolent true crime books are a great introduction to the genre if you’re not interested in reading about serial killers, and they’re also good variety if bloody true crime reads are your usual fare. That’s why task #22 of the 2026 Read Harder Challenge is “Read a nonviolent true crime book.”Here are eight to get you started, including feather thieves, art forgers, book burglars, white-collar criminals, and more. Get 15% off annual All Access memberships for a limited time in celebration of Book Riot’s 15th anniversary! Savings amount to more than 3 months of free unlimited access to our entire content archive, plus features like Collections and the New Release Index. Claim your savings and start leveling up your reading life. Con/Artist: The Life and Crimes of the World’s Greatest Art Forger by Tony Tetro, with Giampiero AmbrosiArt forgery is one of those crimes it’s hard for me to be too mad about. After all, I’m never going to be in the position to buy a Rembrandt. Those who do probably got their filthy lucre through the exploitation of other’s labors, so I’ll be over here playing the world’s...