"Murder in Mississippi" by John Safran, true crime, 2013

I have followed John Safran's ballsy and brave documentaries since the mid 90's. His wry humour, as well as the ability to get himself into (and out of) explosive situations, make his films compulsive viewing.
In his series "Race Relations", Safran spends time with Richard Barrett, a white supremacist in the Deep South. In 2010 Barrett is brutally murdered by troubled black youth, Vincent McGee. Safran turns from filmmaker to investigator/author.
True crime books are not my bag, however I could not put this one down. Carefully constructed, witty and insightful. The characters Safran tracks down, the twists and turns, the secrets, the politics and culture of Mississippi, the honesty of the interviews are astounding. It's amazing how people just open up and tell Safran so much. It highlights the huge differences between Australians and Americans. John Safran (raised in a comfortable part of Melbourne, Australia) has an amazing knack of fitting into any situation, letting people tell their stories while he stands back, without making judgements.
There is a lovely little bit about one third of the way through where the author reflects about the impact parents can have, referencing his own experiences in his late teens.
Part history lesson, part crime story, part personal journey.

When you finish the book .... go on Vincent McGee's (use lowercase "g") Facebook page ...chilling.

"Murder in Mississippi : The true story of how I met a white supremacist, befriended his black killer and wrote this book" John Safran, author.
Highly recommended. Published by Penguin Books, 2013, 368 pages
U.S. edition title "God's Gonna Cut You Down"

PS A nice companion piece is HBO's moody and dark "True Detective" - Southern Gothic set in Louisiana.

This week's guilty pleasure: "Behind the Candelabra" Liberace biopic review

Released theatrically to the rest of the world, this HBO movie is fantastic. Michael Douglas is a revelation as the flamboyant but savvy showman, Matt Damon playing Liberace's lover (one of Steven Soderbergh's go-to actors) is always good and Rob Lowe, as the creepy plastic surgeon (who isn't a great advertisement for his own work), is worth the price of admission.
Clever casting - getting Debbie Reynolds as Li's mom, Frances. Nice to see Scott Bakula and Dan Aykroyd also.
Why the major studio's turned this one down is a puzzlement. Some steamy sex scenes, juicy dialogue, great 1970/80's Vegas decor and fancy keyboard work from Mr Douglas made it a diverting two hours. Let's hear it for HBO!

Is British TV Crime Drama Better than U.S. TV Crime Drama?

Probably.
Throw me any good U.S. show and I'll put up a better U.K. offering (or original). The  U.K. shows I am prattling on about are all free-to-air television (as opposed to HBO and other U.S. cable networks).
Those C.S.I. <insert interesting U.S. city here> series are running out of puff.
You get more bang for your buck with British crime shows, particularly featuring psychos. Take a recent episode of BBC's "Silent Witness" (it started a decade before C.S.I Crapola started). You had a serial killer that made Joe Carroll from "The Following" look like Mr Rogers. All in two (1 hour each) episodes.
Take ITV's "Broadchurch" for superb character development. "Wire in the Blood" for tormented, gifted profilers, long before Will Graham in "Hannibal". "Waking the Dead" also blitzes its U.S. counterparts.
Then you have three more ingredients to add more texture - the British class system, historical locations and eccentric (nutbags?) characters. Take "Midsommer Murders" (please, some wags would say).
Take the Brit's heritage of murder whodunits - Agatha Christie, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, G.K.Chesterton, Ruth Rendell). The Brits do 'gritty' as well as graphic. Take old episodes of "The Bill" - even minor characters were so well cast, the acting so polished. I remember the high quality of 1960's shows like "Z Cars" and "Softly, Softly".

Don't get me wrong, there are a few standout U.S. stars of the genre: I'm sure you can think of others...like "The Sopranos" and "The Wire" (both cable, though).
"Hannibal" is remarkably brave and multi-layered for free-to-air television. "Dexter" (HBO) was groundbreaking, hope the last season goes out with a bang.
Then to add confusion, we have U.K./U.S. co-productions like the delightful "Ripper Street".