Evidence of Things Seen is a fantastic follow up to Unspeakable Acts, Sarah Weinman's prior collected anthology of true crime reporting and cultural criticism. The essays included in both volumes offer the type of thoughtful true crime-adjacent stories that I prefer over the genre's standard breathless recitation of horrific circumstances and grisly events. Instead, this collection focuses on systemic issues at play in both crime and our relationship to crime reporting. The included essays question who gets to be a victim (ie, who is given empathy and the benefit of the doubt), which types of crime are overlooked in the popular imagination, and who is left out of standard true crime narratives. Multiple essays offer thoughtful critiques of various failures of the justice system, illuminating the inherent biases which compromise police investigations and skew crime reporting to predispose the public against certain victims or types of crime, particularly in racial, socioeconomic, and gendered ways. I appreciate that this collection resists the urge to blindly uphold the system as it stands, instead humanizing those who are normally deemed unworthy of empathy.

I remain especially struck by the essay on a prison radio project. I am astounded by how transformational and meaningful the radio project is, particularly for inmates on death row. I found myself considering the inhumane structure of death row in a new way, via the essay's exploration of how transformational this radio program proves by offering an unexpected source of community in a system built to isolate. I found myself wondering about the utility of a new facet of our prison system, thoughts that also carried over from the essay on restorative justice models for victims of domestic violence. The best true crime writing, in my opinion, questions the status quo and challenges our preconceived notions about the workings of the systems of power that make up the criminal legal system. I will be thinking about this collection for some time.

I never really know how to review true crime books, but here it goes. Evidence of Things Seen is an anthology of essays by different people that span a variety of topics within the true crime genre. The one that stuck me the most was from a reporter who pestered a young man for an interview immediately after his entire family had been slaughtered. In the end, he had to lend her a pen, because she didn't have one. It was a reminder that while a lot of us see these crimes as a fascination, we get to walk away from them when we've had enough, but for victims and their families, there is no walking away from it.

I enjoyed a few of the articles, particularly the indian family and amanda knox ones. I think some of them did bring up interesting points such as the lack of white collar crime prosecution, however I don't think it was a very cohesive collection. It was choppy between each article in the section and I don't think we even needed the first section at all.

This book's subtitle is "True Crime in an Era of Reckoning" and Weinman is known for writing other books in this genre. What I really liked about the book is the framing around "who tells the story" determines what story gets told. She also writes that True Crime Media is a powerful advocacy tool. All of the essays in this book have been published in other publications but by sharing these in this book, she is helping us see that it is our responsibility to take what we see and do something with it. She covers the Atlanta Child Murders to women incarcerated who were abused to the surreal nature of an "Offshore Alert" conference and even skewers famous true crime reporter Edna Buchanan for her bias. I don't think I will consume true crime in the same way again -- I will now ask who is telling this story and around whom is it centered. I recommend this book for true crime lovers and those with an interest in social justice.
Thank you to Netgalley and Ecco for an ARC and I voluntarily left this review.

In its exploration of how true crime and social justice issues intersect, Sarah Weinman's forthcoming anthology, EVIDENCE OF THINGS SEEN, provides a compelling and, dare I say, refreshing new take on a genre that many perceive as inherently problematic (because it often is).

A collection of true crime adjacent essays that tackle a lot of important concepts. These essays have been published in other places previously so if you read a lot of magazines, this may not be new to you. However, I learned a lot of stories I’d never heard of before!

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Received a copy for review

Interesting packaging for articles that have been on the world for awhile. I can see how it will interest some people but I was disappointed that it was not new information.

I received a free copy of, Evidence of Things Seen, by Sarah Weinman, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I mistakenly thought this was a novel, not just articles from newspapers and magazines. It was interesting though.

Sarah Weinman has edited an excellent true crime collection.Each author has written on an essay abut a crime seen from their perspective.Fans of true crime will be very engaged.#netgalley #eccobooks

I really enjoyed this true crime anthology, thought not as much as Sarah Weinman's first edited collection. I really appreciate the attention to detail and the ethical writing these writers brought to their stories.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free e-copy.

I am not providing a written review as this is a Harper Collins title and I stand with the Union that is fighting for fair wages