True Crime Soothes the Soul

She falls asleep to stories of mystery and true crime. She has a podcast for the commute, a docuseries for the weekend, and a theory about your new coworker she hasn't shared yet. And you-lying awake beside her, listening to that calm voice describing terrible things-have quietly wondered what, exactly, is going on.Here is the answer, from a forensic psychologist who is also a lifelong fan. The woman you love isn't morbid, and she's in no danger of becoming so. She's doing something ancient and ingenious: studying the worst the world can do so she'll be ready for it, taming her fear by giving it edges, and joining a sisterhood of women who have always had to pay closer attention than you ever did.True Crime Soothes the Soul explains what she's actually doing-the fear, the rehearsal, the community, the quiet civic good of the genre-and then teaches you to stop standing in the doorway and pull up a chair beside her. You don't have to love what she loves. You only have to understand it. By the last page, you will, and you'll know exactly what to do about it.