Harrowing. --Wall Street Journal - Riveting. --Seattle Times

A groundbreaking work of narrative nonfiction that investigates Munchausen by Proxy from the host and creator of the award-winning true crime podcast Nobody Should Believe Me.

No bond is more sacred than that between a mother and child. And no one is more sympathetic than a mother whose child faces a life-threatening illness. But what if the mother is the cause of the illness? What if the sympathy is the point?

Munchausen by proxy (MBP) has fascinated and horrified both professionals and the general public since this disturbing form of child abuse was first identified. But even as the public has been captivated by these tales of abuse and deception, there remains widespread misinformation and confusion about MBP. Are these mothers unfeeling psychopaths, or sick women who need help? And more important, how can we protect the children whose lives are at stake?

The Mother Next Door offers a groundbreaking look at MBP from an unlikely duo: a Seattle novelist whose own family was torn apart by it, and the Texas detective who has worked on more medical child abuse cases than anyone in the nation. Readers ride along on three high-stakes MPB investigations; through riveting reporting and shocking stories from the family members, friends, and doctors caught in the blast zone of these unthinkable acts, a twisted portrait of motherhood and deceit is revealed.

With help from some of the top MBP experts in the world, Dunlop and Weber uncover the complex maze of psychological, systemic, and cultural issues that compound MBP and offer solutions for how we might find our way out.

ONE OF TIME's 100 MUST READ BOOKS OF 2024 - ONE OF PEOPLE'S BEST BOOKS THE MONTH -
A SPOTIFY AUDIOBOOK OF THE MONTH - ONE OF CRIMEREAD'S BEST NONFICTION CRIME BOOKS OF 2024
I did not expect to be shocked by There Is No Ethan. Online deception has become so ubiquitous that it's boring...But the twists and turns in Anna Akbari's book are outrageous. I read it in one sitting, then spent days recounting her story to anyone who would listen, unable to shake off my indignation on behalf of the author and her fellow victims.--New York Times

Just when you think you know what's going to happen, trust me, you don't.--Abby Jimenez, #1 New York Times bestselling author

Part memoir, part explosive window into the mind of a catfisher, a thrilling personal account of three women coming face-to-face with an internet predator and teaming up to expose them.

In 2011, three successful and highly educated women fell head over heels for the brilliant and charming Ethan Schuman. Unbeknownst to the others, each exchanged countless messages with Ethan, staying up late into the evenings to deepen their connections with this fascinating man. His detailed excuses about broken webcams and complicated international calling plans seemed believable, as did last minute trip cancellations. After all, why would he lie? Ethan wasn't after money -- he never convinced his marks to shell out thousands of dollars for some imagined crisis. Rather, he ensnared these women in a web of intense emotional intimacy. After the trio independently began to question inconsistencies in their new flame's stories, they managed to find one another and uncover a greater deception than they could've ever imagined. As Anna Akbari and the women untangled their catfish's web, they found other victims and realized that without a proper crime, there was no legal reason for Ethan to ever stop.

THERE IS NO ETHAN catalogues Akbari's experience as both victim and observer. By looking at the bigger picture of where these stories unfold -- a world where technology mediates our relationships; where words and images are easily manipulated; and where truth, reality, and identity have become slippery terms -- Akbari gives a page-turning and riveting examination of why stories like Ethan's matter for us all.

An astonishing true crime story about an eccentric grifter who blew up the lucrative black market for vintage bottles of the legendary drink of artistic renegades, absinthe . . .

Thought to be hallucinogenic and banned globally for a century, absinthe is once again legal and popular. Yet it is still associated with bohemian lifestyles, just as when it was the favorite drink of avant-gardists like Toulouse-Lautrec and Van Gogh and Baudelaire. And today, when vintage, pre-ban bottles are discovered, they can sell for exorbitant prices to private collectors. But such discoveries are increasingly rare.

Which is why the absinthe demimonde of rich collectors was electrified when a mysterious bon vivant claimed to be in possession of a collection of precious, pre-ban bottles.

Is his secret tranche of 100-year-old bottles real? And just who is the shadowy person selling them? And what about rumors of another secret cache, hidden away in an Italian palazzo?

Journalist Evan Rail sets out to discover the truth about the enigmatic dealer and the secret stashes. Along the way, he drinks with absintheurs frantically chasing down the pre-bans, visits modern distillers who have seen their status rise from criminal bootleggers to sought-after celebrities, and relates the legendary history of absinthe, from its birth in Switzerland through its coming of age in France, and on to its modern revival.

In this stranger than fiction story of the massive crime network that rigged the McDonald's monopoly game for decades, unlock new, exclusive interviews and stories that couldn't make it into the HBO docuseries, McMillion$. Perfect for readers of Argo, The Wizard of Lies, and Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room.

In March of 2001, Federal prosecutor Mark Devereaux cold-called Rob Holm, the head of security for McDonald's Corporation. Without explanation, Devereaux asked that Holm and several other McDonald's senior executives plan a visit to the Jacksonville, Florida, FBI, and tell no one about their intended destination. It wasn't up for discussion. Upon their arrival, Devereaux watched them closely, looking at body language, checking for tells. To him, they were all potential suspects.

Once they were seated in an unremarkable conference room, sealed away in the hyper-secure FBI building, Devereaux began to lay out a shocking conspiracy, one that ran deep into McDonald's most beloved promotions: the Monopoly game. This is where they began to discover from 1989 to 2001, almost every high-value prize winner was actually illegitimate. But how could this happen and who all was behind it? A rookie FBI agent and a brilliant undercover operation led them to one man who brilliantly crafted a near-infallible nationwide conspiracy for fraud.

Expanded from the wildly popular HBO docuseries with major new interviews, McMillion$ traces this massive crime, the intricate web of lies that bolstered it, and the tireless work of the FBI agents that unraveled it all. It is a story littered with tragedy: families torn apart, betrayals, financial ruin, and one suspicious car crash. Yet, there are bright spots in the hijinks of the FBI agents and their co-conspirators. Ultimately, it is a story of what happens when the American dream goes very wrong.

The jaw-dropping story of Instagram influencer and wellness scammer Belle Gibson, whose cancer diagnosis and cure was all a lie.

NOW A NETFLIX LIMITED SERIES STARRING KAITLYN DEVER

Entrepreneur. Inspiration. Guru. Australian wellness influencer Belle Gibson shot to fame after she convinced the world she had cured her terminal brain cancer with just a healthy diet. But there was one problem: she lied--she'd never had cancer.

Gibson, a high school dropout and teenage mother, built a global business in less than eighteen months that vaulted her to fame and fortune. She had 200,000 Instagram followers from Melbourne to Los Angeles to London, international book deals, and a best-selling smartphone app, having fooled both Penguin Books and Apple. She was a digital-age celebrity, a one-woman cult, a hero of the wellness world, and an inspiration to many.

Written by the two journalists who assiduously uncovered the details of Gibson's lies, The Woman Who Fooled the World unravels the mystery and motivation behind this deception. It follows the public reaction to the scandal, which included headlines in Time magazine and Gibson being named as a top-ten villain of the year by The Washington Post.

The Woman Who Fooled the World also explores the lure of alternative cancer treatments, the cottage industry flourishing behind the wellness movement, and the rise of social media. It documents not only Gibson's folly but the devastating impact this con had on hers fans and on people suffering from cancer.

Obtain an inside look at a real-life Ponzi scheme from the vantage point of one of its victims.

We've all heard of Ponzi schemes, but what happens when you're the victim of one?

After a 30-year career with the 3M Company, Pat Dougherty retired on December 1, 2022. Prior to retiring, he invested in a clean energy company called Rhino Onward International (ROI) that claimed to be seeking investors to fund a clean energy hydrogen plant in Arizona. Having friends in management positions with ROI, Dougherty considered it to be a secure investment, but that trust was soon to be shattered!

In the fall of 2023, ROI shut its doors, and it was revealed that the two founders had been skimming money from ROI to pay off other business ventures, other investments, and to fund their lavish lifestyles. And as more information came to light, it was revealed that their scam involved roughly 250 investors to the tune of close to $50M. Having personally lost a good chunk of his retirement savings, Dougherty decided to tell his story and expose these two for the Con Artists they are!

In Wolves in Sheep's Clothing, Dougherty chronicles his ordeal from the time of his initial investment to the revelation of the scam. Relating his experiences and utilizing his digital communication with the company's two founders, Dougherty exposes the depth of their lies and deception. Offering readers a unique look at the inner workings of a Ponzi scheme, Dougherty's firsthand account is a stark reminder that if an investment opportunity looks too good to be true, then it probably is.

Paroled felon. Rich doctor's wife. Famous clairvoyant. Cassie Chadwick, one of history's most successful con artists, was a master of reinvention. In the dusk of the Gilded Age, she swept from town to town, assuming fresh identities to swindle a fortune so large that it rivaled the robber barons of the time.

Then came arguably the greatest con in American history. Using forged documents and her peerless wits, Cassie convinced prominent men from Cleveland to New York City that she was the illegitimate daughter of the world's wealthiest man--Andrew Carnegie.

Businessmen loaned her hundreds of thousands of dollars at a time; the ensuing crash shattered banks and bankers alike. Her sensational trial made her a household name. The newspapers called her the Queen of Swindlers, the Duchess of Diamonds, the High Priestess of Fraudulent Finance.

Interspersing Cassie's crimes with stories of an unsuspecting Andrew Carnegie, author Annie Reed spins an enthralling, page-turning tale of true crime. Long before Anna Delvey captivated national attention, there was Cassie Chadwick--mother of the American con.

When Jussie Smollett took Bola Osundairo under his wing, grooming him for greater roles in Hollywood, the UNTHINKABLE happens...

Bola Osundairo couldn't believe his luck when actor, Jussie Smollett, took an interest in him. He barely knew the man when he was hired to be an extra on the hit show Empire. Within a short time, thanks to Jussie's assistance, Bola became a stand-in. His star was on the rise.

Ola Osundairo became an extra on Empire before Bola. Soon he was in a picture with the creator of the show that was posted on Instagram. His acting career was blasting off.

When Jussie asks for a favor, Bola is only too happy to help. At first, when he heard Jussie's plan, he thought it was a joke. Why would Jussie need someone to attack him? Jussie assured him this was normal in Hollywood. When Jussie asked if Bola knew of someone who could help, Bola knew his brother Ola would be perfect.

Soon Bola and Ola find themselves outcasts in Hollywood, dropped by a major casting agency, and their lives totally turned upside down.

Who are Ola and Bola Osundairo? They are so much more than the 'attackers' in Jussie's hoax. Get to know the American-Nigerian brothers. Their lives are an open book. Find out why Jussie knew Bola would agree to help him before he ever asked him to.

The truth of this hoax comes to light through text messages and emails. Never before seen evidence removes all doubt of what happened that night and explains why Bola and Ola agreed to take on this role. Was Jussie really trying to help the Osundairo brothers, or was he preparing them for the acting role that would prevent them from ever acting again?

Mystery. Manipulation. Murder. Cults are associated with all of these. But what really goes on inside them? More specifically, what goes on inside the minds of cult leaders and the people who join them? Based on the hit podcast Cults, this is essential reading for any true crime fan.

Cults prey on the very attributes that make us human: our desire to belong, to find a deeper meaning in life, to live everyday with divine purpose. Their existence creates a sense that any one of us, at any time, could step off the cliff's edge and fall into that daunting abyss of manipulation and unhinged dedication to a misplaced cause. Perhaps it's this mindset that keeps us so utterly obsessed and desperate to learn more, or it's that the stories are so bizarre and unsettling that we are simply in awe of the mechanics that make these infamous groups tick.

The premier storytelling podcast studio Parcast has been focusing on unearthing these mechanics--the cult leaders and followers, and the world and culture that gave birth to both. Parcast's work in analyzing dozens of case studies has revealed patterns: distinct ways that cult leaders from different generations resemble one another. What links the ten notorious figures profiled in Cults are as disturbing as they are stunning--from Manson to Applewhite, Koresh to Raël, the stories woven here are both spellbinding and disturbing.

Cults is more than just a compilation of grisly biographies, however. In these pages, Parcast's founder Max Cutler and national bestselling author Kevin Conley look closely at the lives of some of the most disreputable cult figures and tell the stories of their rise to power and fall from grace, sanity, and decency. Beyond that, it is a study of humanity, an unflinching look at what happens when the most vulnerable recesses of the mind are manipulated and how the things we hold most sacred can be twisted into the lowest form of malevolence.

One fateful winter night, a famous racehorse mysteriously broke his leg while alone in his stall. An investigation ensued, but the real story has never been told...until now.

It was a cool, quiet evening at Calumet Farm, where the most valuable racehorses-including the prolific stallion Alydar-had settled into their stalls for the evening. Alton Stone, filling in for the regular night watchman, completed his rounds at the barn. Although nothing seemed out of the ordinary, an inexplicable hunch led Stone to check on Alydar. What he found-a grievously injured horse with no discernible cause-jump-started one of the biggest mysteries to ever hit the horse racing world.

One part true-crime investigation, one part evocative history of the adrenaline-filled days of horse racing's golden age, Broken follows Alydar's rise to fame and then dives into the sordid details of the crime and trial that came to define his legacy. Told with the taut pacing of a legal thriller, Broken investigates Alydar's death, the $41.5 million insurance payout, and the stain it left on the sport of horse racing.

Throughout, animal rights attorney and author Fred M. Kray weaves together shocking testimony and key evidence from the trials, featuring dramatic photos taken the night of the incident. Drawing on interviews conducted with more than twenty-five key witnesses, Kray reveals insider-only details and, in order to discover the truth about the death of this magnificent horse, embarks on a major investigation-one that leads to an unexpected and startling conclusion.

The true stroy of the longest-distance hijacking in American history.

In an America torn apart by the Vietnam War and the demise of '60s idealism, airplane hijackings were astonishingly routine. Over a five-year period starting in 1968, the desperate and disillusioned seized commercial jets nearly once a week, using guns, bombs, and jars of acid. Some hijackers wished to escape to foreign lands; others aimed to swap hostages for sacks of cash. Their criminal exploits mesmerized the country, never more so than when shattered Army veteran Roger Holder and mischievous party girl Cathy Kerkow managred to comandeer Western Airlines Flight 701 and flee across an ocean with a half-million dollars in ransom--a heist that remains the longest-distance hijacking in American history.

More than just an enthralling story about a spectacular crime and its bittersweet, decades-long aftermath, The Skies Belong to Us is also a psychological portrait of America at its most turbulent and a testament to the madness that can grip a nation when politics fail.

One fateful winter night, a famous racehorse mysteriously broke his leg while alone in his stall. An investigation ensued, but the real story has never been told...until now.

It was a cool, quiet evening at Calumet Farm, where the most valuable racehorses-including the prolific stallion Alydar-had settled into their stalls for the evening. Alton Stone, filling in for the regular night watchman, completed his rounds at the barn. Although nothing seemed out of the ordinary, an inexplicable hunch led Stone to check on Alydar. What he found-a grievously injured horse with no discernible cause-jump-started one of the biggest mysteries to ever hit the horse racing world.

One part true-crime investigation, one part evocative history of the adrenaline-filled days of horse racing's golden age, Broken follows Alydar's rise to fame and then dives into the sordid details of the crime and trial that came to define his legacy. Told with the taut pacing of a legal thriller, Broken investigates Alydar's death, the $41.5 million insurance payout, and the stain it left on the sport of horse racing.

Throughout, animal rights attorney and author Fred M. Kray weaves together shocking testimony and key evidence from the trials, featuring dramatic photos taken the night of the incident. Drawing on interviews conducted with more than twenty-five key witnesses, Kray reveals insider-only details and, in order to discover the truth about the death of this magnificent horse, embarks on a major investigation-one that leads to an unexpected and startling conclusion.

Obtain an inside look at a real-life Ponzi scheme from the vantage point of one of its victims.

We've all heard of Ponzi schemes, but what happens when you're the victim of one?

After a 30-year career with the 3M Company, Pat Dougherty retired on December 1, 2022. Prior to retiring, he invested in a clean energy company called Rhino Onward International (ROI) that claimed to be seeking investors to fund a clean energy hydrogen plant in Arizona. Having friends in management positions with ROI, Dougherty considered it to be a secure investment, but that trust was soon to be shattered!

In the fall of 2023, ROI shut its doors, and it was revealed that the two founders had been skimming money from ROI to pay off other business ventures, other investments, and to fund their lavish lifestyles. And as more information came to light, it was revealed that their scam involved roughly 250 investors to the tune of close to $50M. Having personally lost a good chunk of his retirement savings, Dougherty decided to tell his story and expose these two for the Con Artists they are!

In Wolves in Sheep's Clothing, Dougherty chronicles his ordeal from the time of his initial investment to the revelation of the scam. Relating his experiences and utilizing his digital communication with the company's two founders, Dougherty exposes the depth of their lies and deception. Offering readers a unique look at the inner workings of a Ponzi scheme, Dougherty's firsthand account is a stark reminder that if an investment opportunity looks too good to be true, then it probably is.

A darkly comic foray into the world of men and women who fake their own deaths, the consultants who help them disappear, and the private investigators who'll stop at nothing to bring them back to life.

A delightful read for anyone tantalized by the prospect of disappearing without a trace. --Erik Larson, New York Times bestselling author of Dead Wake
Delivers all the lo-fi spy shenanigans and caught-red-handed schadenfreude you're hoping for. --NPR
A lively romp. --The Boston Globe
Grim fun. --The New York Times
Brilliant topic, absorbing book. --The Seattle Times
The most literally escapist summer read you could hope for. --The Paris Review

Is it still possible to fake your own death in the twenty-first century? With six figures of student loan debt, Elizabeth Greenwood was tempted to find out. So off she sets on a darkly comic foray into the world of death fraud, where for $30,000 a consultant can make you disappear--but your suspicious insurance company might hire a private detective to dig up your coffin...only to find it filled with rocks.

Greenwood tracks down a British man who staged a kayaking accident and then returned to live in his own house while all his neighbors thought he was dead. She takes a call from Michael Jackson (no, he's not dead--or so her new acquaintances would have her believe), stalks message boards for people contemplating pseudocide, and gathers intel on black market morgues in the Philippines, where she may or may not obtain some fraudulent goodies of her own. Along the way, she learns that love is a much less common motive than money, and that making your death look like a drowning virtually guarantees that you'll be caught. (Disappearing while hiking, however, is a way great to go.)

Playing Dead is a charmingly bizarre investigation in the vein of Jon Ronson and Mary Roach into our all-too-human desire to escape from the lives we lead, and the men and women desperate enough to give up their lives--and their families--to start again.

These are the 14 red flags to spot the scammer in your life before they con you--from a victim-turned-vigilante and host of the hit podcast Queen of the Con.

Some people play golf on the weekends, Johnathan Walton says. I hunt con artists.

Con artists are everywhere--your new boyfriend or girlfriend, your new neighbor or coworker, your new friend--and they don't outsmart you; they out-feel you to get their hands on your money. In Anatomy of a Con Artist, Walton lays out the tells based on hundreds of real-life cases he's investigated, including:

Red Flag #1--A Stranger Offering Help: Someone new and overly helpful insinuates themselves into your life.

Red Flag #3--Drama, Drama, Drama: Constant dramatic emergencies to pull you in.

Red Flag #8--Beak Wetting: Faux generosity--gifts, money, or favors to bring your guard down.

After being scammed out of nearly $100,000 by a devious con artist, Walton was turned away by police. Infuriated and armed with the investigative skills he'd gained from years as a TV reporter, Walton launched his own investigation and built a compelling criminal case authorities could not ignore. Walton got his con artist charged, prosecuted, and convicted, then devoted his life to helping other victims do the same. This book packs in all he has learned.

Some con artists scheme for money, some for attention, some just for the thrill of lying. And if you think it can't happen to you, then you are exactly the kind of mark a professional con artist is looking for. With this insightful guide in your hands, you are far less likely to get conned and far more likely to spot these nefarious manipulators from a mile away--and cross the street when you see them coming.

A perfect gift for the true crime buff in your life, this book contains more than 300 absorbing stories about true crime.

• Includes stories both familiar and obscure, some macabre, some amusing, some stranger than fiction.
• Read about art thefts, jewel heists, bank robberies, con artists, stupid criminals, counterfeits, murders, the mob, and more.
• Crimes in Hollywood, professional sports, and politics are covered, as are absurd local crimes.
• Read about art forgers such as John Myatt and Han van Meegeren.
• Famous outlaws and bank robbers such as Bonnie and Clyde, Ma Barker, John Dillinger, and the Stopwatch Gang.
• Notorious murder cases such as H.H. Holmes, Jeffrey Dahmer, and the Zodiac Killer.
• Hardcover, 632 pages.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER​
ONE OF TIME'S 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR

Sex and the City meets Bad Blood and Catch Me if You Can in the astonishing true story of Anna Delvey, a young con artist posing as an heiress in New York City--as told by the former Vanity Fair photo editor who got seduced by her friendship and then scammed out of more than $62,000.

Rachel DeLoache Williams's new friend Anna Delvey, a self-proclaimed German heiress, was worldly and ambitious. She was also generous--picking up the tab for lavish dinners at Le Coucou, infrared sauna sessions at HigherDOSE, drinks at the 11 Howard Library bar, and regular workout sessions with a celebrity personal trainer.

When Anna proposed an all-expenses-paid trip to Marrakech at the five-star La Mamounia hotel, Rachel jumped at the chance. But when Anna's credit cards mysteriously stopped working, the dream vacation quickly took a dark turn. Anna asked Rachel to begin fronting costs--first for flights, then meals and shopping, and, finally, for their $7,500-per-night private villa. Before Rachel knew it, more than $62,000 had been charged to her credit cards. Anna swore she would reimburse Rachel the moment they returned to New York.

Back in Manhattan, the repayment never materialized, and a shocking pattern of deception emerged. Rachel learned that Anna had left a trail of deceit--and unpaid bills--wherever she'd been. Mortified, Rachel contacted the district attorney, and in a stunning turn of events, found herself helping to bring down one of the city's most notorious con artists.

With breathless pacing and in-depth reporting from the person who experienced it firsthand, My Friend Anna is an unforgettable true story of glamour, greed, lust for power (The New York Times), and female friendship.

Over a span of 39 years, 25 aliases, 28 arrests in 20 cities, and nearly a dozen imprisonments, Robert Spears lived a con artist's life of unparalleled adventure and intrigue. But that is far from the end of his story.
Shortly before Thanksgiving Day in 1959, a plane exploded in mid-air, killing all forty-two passengers and crew and leaving scattered debris and bodies across the otherwise tranquil Gulf waters. Listed on the manifest was Dr. Robert Spears--once the highly regarded president of the Texas Naturopathic Association. Father of two small children with a lovely, society-minded wife and an elegant home in an exclusive neighborhood, it was a monumental tragedy for his family as it was for all the souls lost that day.Less than two months later, Robert Spears miraculously rose from the dead in Phoenix where he was promptly arrested. Headlining newspapers nationwide--Man Downs Airliner to Fake Death--Spears was discovered to have cleverly switched identities and persuaded a friend, Al Taylor, to fly with his plane ticket. Asking him to carry a package on board, Spears drove away in his buddy's car with his wallet and driver's license.
As the FBI began to investigate, they uncovered a stunning, mind-bending tale of murder, abortion rings, and false identities, as well as insurance scams and medical fraud that stretched over decades. Methodically and carefully researched through FBI records, Vanishing Act fully tells the complete and shocking story of con man Robert Spears for the first time.

Catch Me if You Can meets Coming to America in this epic tale of one of the greatest scammers of all time.-NPR

Shortlisted for the Mark Lynton History Prize * A New York Times Notable Book of the Year * A New Yorker, NPR, Newsweek, The Economist, TIME, Slate, and WIRED Best Book of the Year

The astounding, never-before-told story of how an audacious Ghanaian con artist pulled off one of the 20th century's longest-running and most spectacular frauds.

After winning independence in 1957, Ghana instantly became a target for home-grown opportunists and rapacious Western interests determined to snatch any assets that British colonialism hadn't already stripped. A CIA-funded military junta ousted the inspiring president, Kwame Nkrumah, then falsely accused him of hiding the country's gold overseas.

Into this big lie stepped one of history's most charismatic scammers, a con man to rival the trickster god Anansi. Born into poverty in Ghana and trained in the United States, John Ackah Blay-Miezah declared himself custodian of an alleged Nkrumah trust fund worth billions. You, too, could claim a piece--if only you would invest in Blay-Miezah's fictitious efforts to release the equally fictitious fund. Over the 1970s and '80s, he and his accomplices-including Ghanaian state officials and Nixon's former attorney general--scammed hundreds of millions of dollars out of thousands of believers around the world. American prosecutors called his scam one of the most fascinating--and lucrative--in modern history.

In Anansi's Gold, Yepoka Yeebo chases Blay-Miezah's wild trail and discovers, at long last, what really happened to Ghana's missing wealth. She unfolds a riveting account of Cold War entanglements, international finance, and postcolonial betrayal, revealing how what we call history writes itself into being, one lie at a time.

Winner of the Jhalak Prize * Winner of the Plutarch Award for Biography