What exactly is it about murder that claims such a powerful hold on the American imagination? In this book, Sara L. Knox examines postwar America's preoccupation with this act of violence. Demonstrating how American culture both consumes and produces tales of murder, Knox examines numerous relevant narratives - news stories, psychiatric testimony, legal transcripts, fictional accounts, and examples from the thriving literary genre of true crime.

In her approach to the telling of this cultural phenomenon, Knox draws on historical analysis and original research. She discusses such subjects as the continuing existence of capital punishment, "sensational" American murder cases such as the Honeymoon Killers, and the connection between true crime books and romance narratives.