In many circumstances, we also identify with the offender. We can relate to either the victim or the detective. Everything hinges on the author's decision for the story's narrator. If the story is told from the perspective of the criminal and we can understand and empathize with the events and traumas in the person's life that have led to the atrocities, we may find ourselves sympathizing with the criminal as a victim of circumstance. Crime fiction and psychological thrillers are currently the most widely read and watched genres in the world. Like the NYT Bestsellers list, a sizable amount of TV and film content on Netflix and Amazon falls under the crime and thriller genre. While reading
True Crime Stories With a Twist, we unavoidably and irrevocably take a position on one side.