This Is True Crime

From the author of the bestselling, award-winning true crime book "Allegedly" and the acclaimed podcast Sirens.
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When violence shatters a life, it doesn't just leave behind a crime scene-it leaves behind families searching for answers, advocates fighting to be heard, and storytellers determined to make sure the victim is not forgotten.

This book is for all of them.

Whether you are a grieving mother staring down a twenty-year-old cold case, a survivor trying to reclaim your voice, or a podcaster, writer, or researcher called to tell these stories with care - this is your roadmap.

Raven Rollins has stood in all of those places. She is a survivor, a victim family member, and an advocate who has spent years pushing against silence and navigating the systems that so often feel unmovable. In these pages, she shares not only the tools to dig, such as how to request records and uncover what lies buried in files, but also the wisdom for doing this work ethically, honoring victims and their families along the way.

This book serves as a guide for navigating the true crime space for anyone who refuses to give up on cases when the system goes quiet. Inside, you will find clarity, compassion, and direction. You will learn how to take those first steps forward-whether you are carrying your own loved one's case or shining a light on someone else's. In these pages, Raven shares both the strategy and the soul of true crime advocacy: practical tools for requesting records and autopsy reports, pursuing DNA testing, crafting press releases that get attention, and working ethically with media, investigators, and the law. You'll learn how to uncover the truth when the system goes quiet -and do so with empathy, accuracy, and respect.

Above all, you will be reminded that you are not powerless. You are not alone, and your voice matters.

Featuring insights from leading voices united in ethical storytelling inside this book:

• Kathryn Miles, Author of Trailed;
• Kathryn Casey, Author of Deliver Us;
• Julie Murray, sister of Maura Murray, Media Pressure Podcast;
• Terra Newell, Survivor Squad, Terra's Baddy Club Podcasts;
• Jax Miller, Author of Hell in the Heartland;
• Tony Adame, Author of Chase the Devil;
• Robin Warder, The Trail Went Cold;
• Kenneth Bator, First and True Podcast, Podcast Magazine;
• Amanda Newland-Davis, Oklahoma Cold Cases;
• Chris Williamson, Vanished Podcast, Author of Take the Money & Run;
• Joe Johnston, Author of Necessary Evil;
• MaryAnne McCullough, Ph.D., Cold Case Kansas Podcast;
• J.D. Morrison, Shattered Justice: The Oklahoma Girl Scout Murders;
• Tiffany Murray, Curious Cousins Oklahoma Podcast;
• April Musser, Crime to Burn Podcast;
• Jill McCracken, Murder Shelf Book Club Podcast;
• Larry Frederick, The Sound of Sirens Podcast;
• Courtney Fenner, A Nefarious Nightmare;
• Danica Yates, Murder and Mimosas;
• Matthew Brockmeyer, Murder Coaster Podcast;
• Lauren Samples, Author of Through the Shadows, Paradise After Dark Podcast
• David & Kristen Mittelman, Othram Labs
• Gary L. Perkinson, Rt. OSBI Special Agent in Charge
• Family & Victim Advocates: Miracle Lea, Gale Whitson, Dr. Maggie Zingman, Amie Ray Davis, Jeana Schultz, Lorene Bible, Lisa Broderick, Tammy Woodall, Susan Sexton, and Bre Cannon.