Review: Killer Story - Claire St. Amant
Review: Killer Story - The Truth Behind True Crime Television - A Memoir - Claire St. Amant - February 2025
You might already know that alongside running this little corner of the internet, I write a true crime column over at Gothic Bite Magazine ( https://gothicbitemagazine.rip/ ) so when Killer Story landed on my radar, it felt less like a happy accident and more like fate. One of my reading goals for 2026 is to tackle at least one non-fiction book a month, and I'm thrilled to say I've been keeping that promise to myself. This memoir? Absolutely the right book at the right time.
Claire St. Amant spent nearly a decade working as a journalist and TV producer for heavyweights like 48 Hours and 60 Minutes, chasing the country's most gripping true crime stories. And what I adored about this book is that it pulls back the curtain on a world most of us only ever glimpse through our screens. We see the polished final product, the dramatic interviews, the tearful families, the courtroom tension but Killer Story takes you behind all of that, into the exhausting, ruthless, and frankly fascinating machinery that makes it happen.
One thing that genuinely delighted me was discovering cases I hadn't come across before. As someone who spends a fair bit of time in the true crime world, that's increasingly rare, and it gave the book an extra layer of excitement for me personally. Claire covers everything from the murder of American Sniper's Chris Kyle to the Parkland school shooting and serial killer Samuel Little, weaving her own professional journey through each case.
What sets this memoir apart is its honesty. Claire doesn't glamorise the job she writes candidly about competitor sabotage, the emotional weight of sitting across from dead-eyed murderers, and the unresolved cases that still haunt her. There's a chapter touching on a district attorney deciding journalists had committed a felony that had my jaw on the floor over my morning cuppa.
If you love true crime and have ever wondered what happens on the other side of the yellow tape, this is essential reading. Curl up with it, make yourself a hot drink, and prepare to be completely absorbed.
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