If reading about real-life malfeasance and misconduct is your idea of a good time, then you need to join the True Crime Junkies.
Led by Ashley Mock, a reference librarian at Rodman Public Library, the new book discussion group plans to meet at 6:30 p.m. every third Tuesday of the month at the Main Library, beginning in October.
“The whole idea behind the group is to get people together that are interested in this popular genre,” said Mock. “I know there are many out there that would like to get together with others and talk about what they have read.”
The first selection the True Crime Junkies will discuss during its inaugural meeting on Oct. 19 is “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer” by Michelle McNamara.
Unfortunately, McNamara, who helped coin the moniker “Golden State Killer,” never got to see Joseph James DeAngelo identified as the killer in 2018. She died two years prior, but her book was released posthumously and became a bestseller.
“She was just obsessed with the case,” explained Mock. “It is interesting to see her perspective on specifics of the case and the amount of details that she put together.”
For the meeting on Nov. 16, Mock chose a book that hits a little closer to home with “Hope: A Memoir of Survival in Cleveland” by Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus with Mary Jordan and Kevin Sullivan. The book details how Berry and DeJesus were held captive at the hands of Ariel Castro as well as how the two women survived the ordeal and now love life.
“I did choose the book because of its connection to Cleveland,” said Mock. “It’s a story that everyone has heard about and it has that special intrigue to it.”
For its Dec. 21 meeting, the group will discuss Elizabeth Kendall’s “Phantom Prince: My Life with Ted Bundy.”
“There has been a lot of talk about Ted Bundy lately,” explained Mock. “There has been a movie, ‘The Ted Bundy Tapes,’ countless podcasts that talk about him. He’s a big name in true crime.”
Mock noted that the True Crime Junkies will not always focus on murder, but all sorts of crime.
“It won’t always be gruesome and we will maintain respect for the victims,” added Mock. “I think people can expect intelligent conversation and debate about the books we will be reading. I hope to discuss some unusual unsolved crimes as well so we can explore conspiracies and alternate theories and things like that. And it won’t always be about murder. We will throw in some other kinds of crime to lighten it up a bit.”
Registration is required by visiting rodmanlibrary.evanced.info/signup or by calling 330-821-2665, ext. 215, which you can also call for more information.
Copies of the books are available through the Rodman Library catalog, or digitally through the Ohio Digital Library.
Mock, who has been at Rodman Public Library for nearly three years, is a native of Liberty Center, Ohio, in Henry County. She graduated from the University of Mount Union in 2019 and recently completed her Masters in Library and Information Science at Kent State University.