Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs

Lisa Pulitzer

Elissa Wall

HarperCollins e-books

Jeff Ashton was part of the prosecution team in the Florida homicide trial of Casey Anthony, the single mother accused of murdering her little girl, Caylee. The most sensational courtroom drama since the infamous O.J. Simpson affair, the Casey Anthony trial had people coast-to-coast riveted. In his stunning true crime masterwork, Imperfect Justice, Ashton gives a fascinating and impassioned insider’s account of the investigation, the trial, and the acquittal that shocked the nation, and makes a powerful case as to why allowing Anthony to walk free was a devastating travesty of justice.

Imperfect Justice: Prosecuting Casey Anthony

Jeff Ashton

Reference

William Morrow

Jenna Miscavige Hill, niece of Church of Scientology leader David Miscavige, was raised as a Scientologist but left the controversial religion in 2005. In Beyond Belief, she shares her true story of life inside the upper ranks of the sect, details her experiences as a member Sea Org—the church's highest ministry, speaks of her "disconnection" from family outside of the organization, and tells the story of her ultimate escape. In this tell-all memoir, complete with family photographs from her time in the Church, Jenna Miscavige Hill, a prominent critic of Scientology who now helps others leave the organization, offers an insider's profile of the beliefs, rituals, and secrets of the religion that has captured the fascination of millions, including some of Hollywood's brightest stars such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta.

Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape

Biographies & Memoirs

Hill, Jenna Miscavige

Community & Culture

Jenna Miscavige Hill

HarperAudio

For more than twelve years, the city of Juárez, Mexico -- just across the Rio Grande from El Paso, Texas -- has been the center of a horrific crime wave against women and girls. Consisting of kidnappings, rape, mutilation, and murder, most of the atrocities have involved young, slender, and poor victims -- fueling the premise that the murders are not random. As for who is behind the crimes themselves, the answer remains unknown -- though many have speculated that the killers are American citizens, and others have argued that the killings have become a sort of blood sport due to the lawlessness of the city itself. And despite numerous arrests over the last ten years, the murders continue to occur, with the killers growing bolder, dumping bodies in the city itself rather than on the outskirts of town, as was initially the case, indicating a possible growing and most alarming alliance of silence and cover-up by Mexican politicians. Now, in The Daughters of Juárez, the authors provide the first eye-opening and authoritative nonfiction work of its kind, examining the brutal killings and drawing attention to these startling atrocities on the border. The end result will shock readers and become required reading on the subject for years to come.

The Daughters of Juarez: A True Story of Serial Murder South of the Border

Politics & Social Sciences

Teresa Rodriguez

Diana Montané

Social Sciences

Atria Books

Part memoir, part self-help, and completely inspirational, No Room for Vengeance is the true story of a teenage prank gone wrong, the woman whose life it nearly took, and what can happen when justice and forgiveness step ahead of the need for vengeance. November 2004. A snowy night. Two friends driving home from a family event. Teenagers on a joy ride, out for a night of mischief, and an incident that makes front page news in New York and beyond. The incident causes several lives to converge: Ryan Cushing, the teen who threw a frozen turkey out of the window of a moving car; and Victoria Ruvolo, the woman injured by the teen. Given little chance of survival, the critically injured Victoria not only survived , she now speaks to thousands of teens and community groups on the Power of Forgiveness. What does it take to leave vengeance behind in favor of forgiveness? What happens when we do? This inspirational story of a woman who decided to forgive, will warm your heart and change forever the way you look at vengeance, justice, and healing.

No Room for Vengeance: In Justice and Healing

Victoria Ruvolo

No Vengeance Pub

In this gritty exposé, a firsthand look inside U.S. undercover operations targeting the immigrant smuggling, counterfeiting, and drug rings of Mexico’s dangerous mafia. Living under an assumed identity and risking his life were all in a day’s work for U.S. Government Agent Hipolito Acosta. He worked regularly in high-stakes undercover operations infiltrating Mexico’s murderous immigrant smuggling rings and drug cartels. Acosta’s investigations are legendary, both inside law enforcement and the crime cartels he helped neutralize. He had himself smuggled from Mexico to Chicago with a truckload of poor immigrants; worked his way into the confidences of a gang of international counterfeiters; socialized with some of Mexico’s most vicious drug lords; arrested a female smuggler by luring her across the U.S. border for an amorous rendezvous; and was the target of multiple murder plots by the criminals he put in jail. For three decades, Hipolito Acosta’s work routinely made national headlines, and he quickly gained a reputation as a daring crime fighter who used his intelligence and audacity to stay one step ahead of those who would kill him if his cover were ever blown. Acosta’s stories read like chapters from a page-turning crime novel, but The Shadow Catcher is more than a front-seat ride through the criminal underworld along the U.S./Mexico border. This heartbreaking exposé goes beyond sensational headlines and medals of honor to divulge what an agent endures in order to ensure that U.S. law is enforced and to reveal the unseen human side of illegal immigration.

The Shadow Catcher: A U.S. Agent Infiltrates Mexico's Deadly Crime Cartels

Hipólito Acosta

Arts & Literature

[Read by Sandy Rustin]At once captivating and disturbing, Beyond Belief is an eye-opening exploration of the limits of religion and the lengths to which one woman went to break free. - - Jenna Miscavige Hill was raised to obey. As the niece of the Church of Scientology's leader David Miscavige, she grew up at the center of this highly controversial and powerful organization. But at twenty-one, Jenna made a daring break, risking everything she had ever known and loved to leave Scientology once and for all. Now she speaks out about her life, the church, and her dramatic escape, going deep inside a religion that, for decades, has been the subject of fierce debate and speculation worldwide. - - Piercing the veil of secrecy that has long shrouded the world of Scientology, this insider reveals unprecedented firsthand knowledge of the religion, its obscure rituals, and its mysterious leader - David Miscavige. From her prolonged separation from her parents as a small child to being indoctrinated to serve the greater good of the church, from her lack of personal freedoms to the organization's emphasis on celebrity recruitment, Jenna goes behind the scenes of Scientology's oppressive and alienating culture, detailing an environment rooted in control in which the most devoted followers often face the harshest punishments when they fall out of line. Addressing some of the church's most notorious practices in startling detail, she also describes a childhood of isolation and neglect - a childhood that, painful as it was, prepared her for a tough life in the church's most devoted order, the Sea Org. - - Despite this hardship, it is only when her family approaches dissolution and her world begins to unravel that she is finally able to see the patterns of stifling conformity and psychological control that have ruled her life. Faced with a heartbreaking choice, she mounts a courageous escape, but not before being put through the ultimate test of family, faith, and love.

Beyond Belief: My Secret Life inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape

Leaders & Notable People

HarperCollins Audio and Blackstone Audio

Juan Martinez, the fiery prosecutor who convicted notorious murderess Jodi Arias for the disturbing killing of Travis Alexander, speaks for the first time about the shocking investigation and sensational trial that captivated the nation. Through two trials, America watched with baited breath as Juan Martinez fought relentlessly to convict Jodi Arias of Murder One for viciously stabbing her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander to death. What emerged was a story wrought with sex, manipulation, and deceit that stunned the public at every turn. Arias, always playing the wronged and innocent woman, changed her story continually as her bizarre behavior surrounding the crime and its aftermath came to light. Unwavering, Arias and her defense team continued to play off the salacious details of the case, until she was finally found guilty and-controversially-sentenced to life behind bars. Now, speaking openly for the first time, prosecutor Juan Martinez will unearth new details from the investigation that were never revealed at trial, exploring key facts from the case and the pieces of evidence he chose to keep close to the vest. Throughout the trials, his bullish and unfaltering prosecution strategy was both commended and criticized, and in his book, Martinez will illuminate the unique tactics he utilized in this case and how they lead to a successful conviction, and-for the first time-discuss how he felt losing the death penalty sentence he'd pursued for years. Going beyond the news reports, Martinez will explore the truth behind the multiple facades of Jodi Arias. Sparring with her from across the stand, Martinez came to know Arias like no one else could, dissecting what it took for a seemingly normal girl to become a deluded, cunning, and unrepentant murderer. With new stories from behind the scenes of the trial and Martinez's own take on his defendant, the book takes you inside the mind of Jodi Arias like never before. This book is the definitive account of the case that shocked America.

Conviction: The Untold Story of Putting Jodi Arias behind Bars

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Juan Martinez

Psychology & Counseling

HarperCollins Publishers and Blackstone Audio

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Books by Lisa Pulitzer