Whitey Bulger once said "Christmas is for cops and kids" but it is also for the readers of the world. These are books that Santa shouldn't bring kids.

Winter is a great time to read. What else are you going to do?

Rhode Island author and retired police detective Joe Broadmeadow has a trilogy of interrelated books about organized crime in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Each book has a co-author who has sat down with Broadmeadow to tell their individual story. Two of the co-authors were criminals involved in organized crime, and one is a Rhode Island state police detective who spent his career chasing down and arresting members of organized crews. You can learn more about the recently published books here. Each book stands alone as a great story, but all three make a tremendous gift.

Maureen Boyle's book Shallow Graves is the definitive story of the still-unsolved murders by a serial killer operating in the Greater New Bedford area in the last years of the 1980s. Maureen started covering the story as a young crime reporter at the New Bedford Standard-Times; in fact, she wrote the first story about some missing girls who turned out to be some of the murder victims. She brings back to life the victims with her writing style and gives the reader a look at the drug and sex underworld that consumed them. You can learn more about the book here.

The stories of the Boston crime scene under the reign of James Whitey Bulger is told best in the books by veteran journalist Howie Carr. He was so effective at telling the stories of Bulger, Inc. in the pages of the Boston Herald that Whitey and his minions once planned on assassinating him. You can pick some or all of Howie Carr's true crime books here.

Books make great self-gifts too!

Chris McCarthy is the host of The Chris McCarthy Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon. Contact him at chris.mccarthy@townsquaremedia.com and follow him on Twitter @Chris_topher_Mc. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

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