Lock Your Doors: A True Crime Book Club
 
Whether you're a long-time true crime reader, a devoted ID television channel watcher, or you just discovered the genre recently through podcasts, Lock Your Doors is the book club for you. Join us for a discussion of some fascinating and disturbing crimes in this new quarterly book club. 
 
Meetings are offered online via Zoom and registration is required, meeting time is 7-8 pm. 
Visit our events calendar to register.
You may also register by calling 309.590.6168 or by visiting us in person at the library.
 
New participants are welcome at any time!
To reserve a print copy of the next title to be discussed, contact the Adult Services Desk by phone at 309.590.6168 or by email to reference@bloomingtonlibrary.org. Digital copies of each title (eBook or eAudiobook) may also be available through the Libby or Hoopla Apps.

Monday, March 27, 2023
Murder in the Bayou : who killed the women known as the Jeff Davis 8?
by Ethan Brown

Chronicles the twisted, high-stakes investigation into the murder of eight women in a troubled Louisiana parish between 2005 and 2009, detailing the police work and media coverage that uncovered the community's brutal drug and sex trades.
Monday, June 26, 2023
Tinderbox : the untold story of the Up Stairs Lounge fire and the rise of gay liberation
by Robert W. Fieseler

A reconstruction of the 1973 fire that devastated New Orleans' subterranean gay community describes how the Up Stairs Lounge and dozens of innocent patrons were targeted in what became a catalyzing event in the gay liberation movement.
Monday, September 25, 2023

American predator : the hunt for the most meticulous serial killer of the 21st century
by Maureen Callahan

"Ted Bundy. John Wayne Gacy. Jeffrey Dahmer. The names of notorious serial killers are usually well-known; they echo in the news and in public consciousness. But most people have never heard of Israel Keyes, one of the most ambitious and terrifying serial killers in modern history. The FBI considered his behavior unprecedented. Described by a prosecutor as "a force of pure evil," Keyes was a predator who struck all over the United States. He buried "kill kits"--cash, weapons, and body-disposal tools--in remote locations across the country. Over the course of fourteen years, Keyes would fly to a city, rent a car, and drive thousands of miles in order to use his kits. He would break into a stranger's house, abduct his victims in broad daylight, and kill and dispose of them in mere hours. And then he would return home to Alaska, resuming life as a quiet, reliable construction worker devoted to his only daughter. When journalist Maureen Callahan first heard about Israel Keyes in 2012, she was captivated by how a killer of this magnitude could go undetected by law enforcement for over a decade. And so began a project that consumed her for the next several years--uncovering the true story behind how the FBI ultimately caught Israel Keyes, and trying to understand what it means for a killer like Keyes to exist. A killer who left a path of monstrous, randomly committed crimes in his wake--many of which remain unsolved to this day. American Predator is the ambitious culmination of years of interviews with key figures in law enforcement and in Keyes's life, and research uncovered from classified FBI files. Callahan takes us on a journey into the chilling, nightmarish mind of a relentless killer, and to the limitations of traditional law enfo"
Monday, December 11, 2023
Highway of tears : a true story of racism, indifference, and the pursuit of justice for missing and murdered indigenous women and girls
by Jessica McDiarmid

A journalist’s investigation into unsolved disappearances and murders of indigenous women along rural British Columbia’s Highway 16 exposes the racism, incompetence and indifference that have enabled more than 1,000 deaths. A first book. 40,000 first printing. Illustrations.

Join us for Book Ends on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, at 7pm

Calling all readers! You're invited to share some of your favorite books that you've read this year. It doesn't matter if you've read them for a book club, by recommendation or chance, or if they've been around for a while or newly published. Come and share them with other readers and get ideas for books to add to your reading list. Registration for this online event via Zoom is required and can be completed at https://www.bloomingtonlibrary.org/event/book-ends
 

Book Club Kits
The Bloomington Public Library has collected multiple copies of recent bestsellers and other popular titles and created Book Discussion Kits that may be checked out by book discussion groups.
Each kit has between six and 15 copies of a title and can be checked out for up to eight weeks at a time. You may check out up to two Book Discussion Kits at a time. Book Discussion Kits may not be renewed.
In our online catalog, search the phrase book club kit for a list of titles. This list can also can be found by clicking HERE.
 
 
 

Bloomington Public Library
205 E. Olive St.
Bloomington, Illinois 61701
309.828.6091
www.bloomingtonlibrary.org/