Manson Girl

In a series of prison interviews, a journalist probes the minds of the women who killed for Charles Manson in this “fascinating study of human behavior” (Kirkus). In the summer of 1969, Leslie Van Houten and Patricia Krenwinkel carried out horrific acts of butchery on the orders of the charismatic cult leader Charles Manson. But to anyone who knew them growing up, they were bright, promising girls, seemingly incapable of such an unfathomable crime. Award-winning journalist Nikki Meredith began visiting Van Houten and Krenwinkel in prison to discover how they had changed during their incarceration. The more Meredith got to know them, the more she was lured into a deeper dilemma: What compels “normal” people to do unspeakable things? The author's relationship with her subjects provides a chilling lens through which we gain insight into a particular kind of woman capable of a particular kind of brutality. Through their stories, Nikki Meredith takes readers on a dark journey into the very heart of evil.

THE INSTANT BESTSELLER • An indelible portrait of girls, the women they become, and that moment in life when everything can go horribly wrong ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, NPR, The Guardian, Entertainment Weekly, San Francisco Chronicle, Financial Times, Esquire, Newsweek, Vogue, Glamour, People, The Huffington Post, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Time Out, BookPage, Publishers Weekly, Slate Northern California, during the violent end of the 1960s. At the start of summer, a lonely and thoughtful teenager, Evie Boyd, sees a group of girls in the park, and is immediately caught by their freedom, their careless dress, their dangerous aura of abandon. Soon, Evie is in thrall to Suzanne, a mesmerizing older girl, and is drawn into the circle of a soon-to-be infamous cult and the man who is its charismatic leader. Hidden in the hills, their sprawling ranch is eerie and run down, but to Evie, it is exotic, thrilling, charged—a place where she feels desperate to be accepted. As she spends more time away from her mother and the rhythms of her daily life, and as her obsession with Suzanne intensifies, Evie does not realize she is coming closer and closer to unthinkable violence. Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize • Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle John Leonard Award • Shortlisted for The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize • The New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice • Emma Cline—One of Granta’s Best of Young American Novelists Praise for The Girls “Spellbinding . . . a seductive and arresting coming-of-age story.”—The New York Times Book Review “Extraordinary . . . Debut novels like this are rare, indeed.”—The Washington Post “Hypnotic.”—The Wall Street Journal “Gorgeous.”—Los Angeles Times “Savage.”—The Guardian “Astonishing.”—The Boston Globe “Superbly written.”—James Wood, The New Yorker “Intensely consuming.”—Richard Ford “A spectacular achievement.”—Lucy Atkins, The Times “Thrilling.”—Jennifer Egan “Compelling and startling.”—The Economist

Anna's life is miserable and rather than stay and face the mess, she steals a credit card and flies out of town to LA to crash with her sister. But soon Anna realises that Hollywood isn't the escape she needs. She is trapped in a town of lost souls and wannabes, with no friends, no cash, and no return ticket. When she's offered a job researching the murderous Manson girls for a dubious film she reluctantly accepts but soon things turn from strange, to dark, to dangerous ...

An account of one of the most notorious criminals in American history puts Manson in the context of his times, the turbulent end of the 1960s, revealing a rock star wannabe whose killings were directly related to his musical ambitions.

In this poignant and disturbing memoir of lost innocence, coercion, survival, and healing, Dianne Lake chronicles her years with Charles Manson, revealing for the first time how she became the youngest member of his Family and offering new insights into one of the twentieth century’s most notorious criminals and life as one of his "girls." At age fourteen Dianne Lake—with little more than a note in her pocket from her hippie parents granting her permission to leave them—became one of "Charlie’s girls," a devoted acolyte of cult leader Charles Manson. Over the course of two years, the impressionable teenager endured manipulation, psychological control, and physical abuse as the harsh realities and looming darkness of Charles Manson’s true nature revealed itself. From Spahn ranch and the group acid trips, to the Beatles’ White Album and Manson’s dangerous messiah-complex, Dianne tells the riveting story of the group’s descent into madness as she lived it. Though she never participated in any of the group’s gruesome crimes and was purposely insulated from them, Dianne was arrested with the rest of the Manson Family, and eventually learned enough to join the prosecution’s case against them. With the help of good Samaritans, including the cop who first arrested her and later adopted her, the courageous young woman eventually found redemption and grew up to lead an ordinary life. While much has been written about Charles Manson, this riveting account from an actual Family member is a chilling portrait that recreates in vivid detail one of the most horrifying and fascinating chapters in modern American history. Member of the Family includes 16 pages of photographs.

Manson, Sinatra and Me is a Hollywood party girl’s memoir that details her encounters with former Presidents, Senators, Congressmen, foreign dignitaries, celebrities, sports stars, businessmen - you name it - including the likes of Frank Sinatra and other members of the Rat Pack. The average man or woman may not have heard of Virginia Graham, but everybody in the know was aware of what her game was as a key player in the Hollywood Screw System. When Virginia found herself in trouble with the law, she ended up in jail. Yet somehow she continued to meet interesting people - like Susan Atkins, her cellmate, who confessed to Virginia about how she had butchered Sharon Tate and her unborn child. Atkins also told how she and her friends, all members of the Manson Family, were involved in what has become known as the Tate/LaBianca murders. Virginia reveals the true story behind Susan Atkins’ prison confession about the Manson Murders, what led to her becoming a key witness for District Attorney Vincent Bugliosi in the Helter Skelter case, and why she went into hiding after the trial ended. Virginia’s testimony helped save the lives of many Hollywood celebrities, and she received recognition from Elizabeth Taylor for doing so. Praise received for Manson, Sinatra and Me “Virginia Graham had a heck of a run in her life as a party girl, and has told of her rollicking story very well in this poignant and sometimes very funny memoir of hers. She also happened to be a star witness of mine in helping me bring the Manson Family killers to justice, something for which I will always be very grateful to her.” - Vincent Bugliosi, bestselling author of Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders “Virginia Graham’s personal tell-all as a party girl is a page-turner from beginning to end. Her writing, breezy, humorously and sometimes harrowingly candid, proves her to be an honest chronicler of her own life and times... and what times these were! Her landing in jail, which brings us to what was then the Crime of the Century, comes as a wallop. This book is a winner.” - Jack Engelhard, bestselling novelist of Indecent Proposal and The Bathsheba Deadline “A riveting read, with the best sex tales you’ve never heard about classic Hollywood celebrities like Frank Sinatra and notorious gangsters like Mickey Cohen. Virginia Graham’s fateful meeting with Susan Atkins turned her into a national hero for breaking the case against the Manson Family. This book is an important work of true crime and a thrilling peek into Hollywood behind closed doors.” - Dr. Gloria Brame, sex therapist, blogger and bestselling author of Different Loving and The Truth About Sex “Whether Virginia Graham writes of her time behind bars or of living the high life as a party girl, every word reads as the truth. I admire this writer because every word, every phase is an education in pushing through any difficulties in life. She is a survivor. This is a memoir that stays with the reader, and is by far one of the best memoirs I have read in a very long time.” - Jasmine Kinnear, author of Every Cat Has A Story

In this fascinating book, Peter Vronsky exposes and investigates the phenomenon of women who kill—and the political, economic, social and sexual implications buried with each victim. How many of us are even remotely prepared to imagine our mothers, daughters, sisters or grandmothers as fiendish killers? For centuries we have been conditioned to think of serial murderers and psychopathic predators as men—with women registering low on our paranoia radar. Perhaps that’s why so many trusting husbands, lovers, family friends, and children have fallen prey to “the female monster.” From history’s earliest recorded cases of homicidal females to Irma Grese, the Nazi Beast of Belsen, from Britain’s notorious child-slayer Myra Hindley to ‘Honeymoon Killer’ Martha Beck to the sensational cult of Aileen Wournos—the first female serial killer-as-celebrity—to cult killers, homicidal missionaries, and our pop-culture fascination with the sexy femme fatale, Vronsky not only challenges our ordinary standards of good and evil but also defies our basic accepted perceptions of gender role and identity. INCLUDES PHOTOGRAPHS

"Hunting Charles Manson the best true crime book you will ever read....Lock your doors, keep the night lights on, and read this book." - Linda Fairstein, New York Times bestselling crime novelist In the late summer of 1969, the nation was transfixed by a series of gruesome murders in the hills of Los Angeles. Newspapers and television programs detailed the brutal slayings of a beautiful actress--twenty six years old and eight months pregnant with her first child--as well as a hair stylist, an heiress, a businessman, and other victims. The City of Angels was plunged into a nightmare of fear and dread. In the weeks and months that followed, law enforcement faced intense pressure to solve crimes that seemed to have no connection. Finally, after months of dead-ends, false leads, and near-misses, Charles Manson and members of his "family" were arrested. The bewildering trials that followed once again captured the nation and forever secured Manson as a byword for the evil that men do. Drawing upon deep archival research and exclusive personal interviews--including unique access to Manson Family parole hearings--former federal prosecutor and Fox News legal analyst Lis Wiehl has written a propulsive, page-turning historical thriller of the crimes and manhunt that mesmerized the nation. And in the process, she reveals how the social and political context that gave rise to Manson is eerily similar to our own.