Acquisitions ~ And WHAT ARE YOU READING? Anything goes ~ 2017

[Fishface]

Good plan!

[Fishface]

Just received mailed copies of End of Watch and Amityville: House of Lies. The latter is packed with crime-scene photos.

[Rita]

Fishface wrote: "Rita, when you're typing in a new post you'll notice at the upper R of the text box you're typing in that there's a green link that says "add book/author." Click on it and up pops a search box -- t..."

Thanks Fishface, I try it. Just hope I don't screw up.

[Fishface]

Rita wrote: "Thanks Fishface, I try it. Just hope I don't screw up. "

Even if you do, you can always click "EDIT" at the bottom R of the finished post and go in and try again.

[Rita]

Fishface wrote: "Rita wrote: "Thanks Fishface, I try it. Just hope I don't screw up. "

Even if you do, you can always click "EDIT" at the bottom R of the finished post and go in and try again."

Awww...your a pal, thanks Fishface.

[Fishface]

I'm still reading The Manson Women A "Family" Portrait and it's taken the author all the way until page 163 -- the book only has 244 pages! -- to stop blathering about the state of the world today and discussing the two Charleses -- Manson and Watson -- and is finally addressing the subject of Susan, Katie, Leslie, Squeaky and Mary. Typical psychiatrist, I tells ya.

[K.A.]

So I finished reading Magnuson's Scotland: The Story of a Nation and while looking up Sir Walter Scott, to whom Magnuson devoted an entire chapter, I discovered that Sir Walter Scott: Complete Works was on sale for .99, so I downloaded it.

It is 23,854 pages. Guess I won't be reading much else for the time being...

[Rita]

Started reading Poison Candy by Elizabeth Parker and Mark Ebner. I believe it was on 48 Hours or Dateline sometime
back.

[Rita]

K.A. wrote: "So I finished reading Magnuson's Scotland: The Story of a Nation and while looking up Sir Walter Scott, to whom Magnuson devoted an entire chapter, I discovered that [book:Sir Walter ..."

WOW...

[Bellezza, Gif Princesa]

Rita wrote: "Started reading Poison Candy: The Murderous Madam: Inside Dalia Dippolito’s Plot to Kill by Elizabeth Parker and Mark Ebner. I believe it was on 48 Hours or Dateline sometime
back."

[Rita]

Bellezza wrote: "Rita wrote: "Started reading Poison Candy: The Murderous Madam: Inside Dalia Dippolito’s Plot to Kill by Elizabeth Parker and Mark Ebner. I believe it was on 48 Hours or Dateline so..."

Thanks Bellezza, I just tried it now and it works!!!! Thanks Fishface...!

[Fishface]

Just started Water World by William Appel.

[Rita]

I started reading I've Been Watching You by Susan D. Mustafa, and Special Prosecutor Tony Clayton with Sue Isreal.

It's about the South Louisiana Serial Killer. The cover has a face with eyes on it and I feel like he is watching me. Yikes...

[Fishface]

Finished The Mammoth Book of Tasteless and Outrageous Lists by Karl Shaw. LOTS of crime stories in here.

[Hari]

Rita wrote: "I started reading I've Been Watching You by Susan D. Mustafa, and Special Prosecutor Tony Clayton with Sue Isreal.

It's about the South Louisiana Serial Killer. The cover has a face with eyes on i..."

I believe (I could be wrong) this serial killer, referred to only as DL (in an effort to make reporting about this type of crime more about the victims than about the perp) has been rather thoroughly documented on the podcast "Real Crime Profile" (which I highly recommend to all members of this book club) to a very effective degree. Check it out.
The presenters are rather full of themselves, but quite accomplished in their fields.

[Rita]

Hari wrote: "Rita wrote: "I started reading I've Been Watching You by Susan D. Mustafa, and Special Prosecutor Tony Clayton with Sue Isreal.

It's about the South Louisiana Serial Killer. The cover has a face w..."

The cover does has the face with eyes and its about the South Louisiana Serial Killer. That's interesting what you posted Hari and thanks for telling me.

[Fishface]

Please note that this guy -- DL, or as he would usually be known in the press, DTL, because all three names mean you're really bad news -- has 5 books written about him so far. He's a fine example of how profiling can epically fail, for one thing. A survivor of an assault by this guy also wrote a book about her experience and that is on the DTL shelf.

[Rita]

Started reading Conviction by Juan Martinez....I am hoping to learn more about this wicked woman.

[Lady ♥ Belleza, Gif Princesa]

Rita wrote: "I started reading I've Been Watching You: The South Louisiana Serial Killer by Susan D. Mustafa, and Special Prosecutor Tony Clayton with Sue Isreal.

It's about the South Louisiana Serial Killer. The cover has a face with eyes on i..."

[Lady ♥ Belleza, Gif Princesa]

Rita wrote: "Started reading Conviction: The Untold Story of Putting Jodi Arias Behind Bars by Juan Martinez....I am hoping to learn more about this wicked woman."

[Fishface]

Started Amityville: House of Lies, and I have to say it's totally ridiculous. For one thing, he takes it as gospel that the house was infested with demons. And the spelling and punctuation are in colorblind-gorilla territory. At times he spells the plural "Lutzes" correctly, but mostly he spells it Lutz's, as if it were a possessive, and his rendering of the plural possessive is a wonder to behold. Lutz'es' is his rendering, always with a curly apostrophe in the middle of the word and a straight one at the end, as if it were some sort of rule in his mind to do it that way.

Truly do many remarkable things come to pass in the post-copyeditor world.

Oh, the story? The lack of editing is so distracting I can hardly follow it, but he seems to be saying that there was indeed a second killer in the house working with Butch.

[K.A.]

Yikes. I'm picky about punctuation and grammatical errors. I find it takes me right out of the story. Of course, even well-edited print books have a few, but if it's more than a few, my rating of the book goes way down, commensurate with my enjoyment.

[Fishface]

I have to say, as distracting and infuriating as the scrambled punctuation is, the author is starting to move in the right direction when it comes to believing anything said by any surviving inhabitant of 112 Ocean Avenue, Amityville L.I.

[Rita]

I started reading Anne Perry and the Murder of the Century by Peter Graham. This takes place in New Zealand and is quite interesting.

[Rita]

Reading Anne Perry and the Murder of the Century by Peter Graham. I am almost finished it.

[Fishface]

Amityville: House of Lies finally ended up in the right place as far as the conclusions drawn, but ultimately the read was just not worth it.

Of Long Memory: Mississippi And The Murder Of Medgar Evers is a tiny bit dry, but more than worth it. The image of his children standing over him begging him not to leave them as he bleeds out on the family driveway will stay with me a long time.

[Terri]

Fishface wrote: "I have to say, as distracting and infuriating as the scrambled punctuation is, the author is starting to move in the right direction when it comes to believing anything said by any surviving inhabi..."

Didnt he try and blame his sister in the killings?

[Fishface]

Among several other people, yes.

[Rita]

I am starting this book about Barbara Baekeland but I am wondering if there is another book about this case. I have a feeling I've read about her but I can't remember what the title and author are.

[Fishface]

Rita wrote: "

I am starting this book about Barbara Baekeland but I am wondering if there is another book about this case. I have a feeling I've read about her but I can't remembe..."

I have not found another book about this case.

[Rita]

Fishface wrote: "Rita wrote: "

I am starting this book about Barbara Baekeland but I am wondering if there is another book about this case. I have a feeling I've read about her but I ..."

Oh I am so glad Fishface and thanks very much.

[Jay]

Hi. I'm new here although not new to true crime of course. I've been fascinated by true crime since I was 9 years old watching news reports.

Anyway. Right now I am reading Innocent Blood: A True Story of Obsession and Serial Murder.

It's about the obscure case of Charles Hatcher.
Not a favorite case of mine, but so far it's good.

I love details in my true crime and it states his drunken father was abusive but never gives any detail. I hope it does later on in the book at least.

I prefer books to have photos. The book has photos I can not find anywhere online. So that is a plus.

[Lady ♥ Belleza, Gif Princesa]

Jay wrote: "Hi. I'm new here although not new to true crime of course. I've been fascinated by true crime since I was 9 years old watching news reports.

Anyway. Right now I am reading Innocent Blood: A True Story of Obsession and Serial Murder..."

Reposting with link

[Rita]

I just started reading this book and so far no memories come back because I was sure I read all of this favourite author's books. We shall see. Dang and DOUBLE DANG!

[Fishface]

Rita, I can't believe you're unhappy that you found a book by a favorite author that you haven't read yet! For me that would be like Squidmas in March!

I got a start last night on Raw Deal: The Untold Story Of NYPD's "Cannibal Cop". After that 200-page eye chart I just read by London Knight (Amityville: House of Lies), this is a well-written, well-copyedited blessing of a book.

[Rita]

Fishface wrote: "Rita, I can't believe you're unhappy that you found a book by a favorite author that you haven't read yet! For me that would be like Squidmas in March!

I got a start last night on [book:Raw Deal: ..."

I'm certainly not unhappy with this gem Fishface I think the last book kind of got me down because it was such an interesting story but I just didn't like the way he set it up. Charles Bosworth, Jr. is one of my absolute Favourites for sure. It is single-spaced, dark small print and doesn't start in the first person. It is really, really good!!! Thanks for posting me Fishface....***slams closet door grinning***

[Fishface]

*hammers on closet door, trying to get out*

[Lady ♥ Belleza, Gif Princesa]

*uses crowbar to prise the closet door open*

[Rita]

Fishface wrote: "*hammers on closet door, trying to get out*"

***waiting quietly still grinning***

[Rita]

Lady♥Belleza★✰ wrote: "*uses crowbar to prise the closet door open*"

***BOLTS through shattered door...grinning***

[Fishface]

**emerges rather suddenly from closet with revving chainsaw and pig mask**

[Rita]

Fishface wrote: "**emerges rather suddenly from closet with revving chainsaw and pig mask**"

***behind main door hammer in each hand with lunatic grin***....

***Cackling***

[Slackyb]

Invisible Darkness
I just revisited this old favorite. It reminded that there are some true crime books that really are well-written and get close to fine literature. The author relates the details of all the aspects of the crime in the form of one continuously unfolding narrative. No details that aren't pertinent to the story are included; there's no padding. We start with Bernardo's first rape; move through the horribly ill-performed investigation; and end with Homolka's masterful plea bargaining scheme.

The author works from an obvious bias against Karla Homolka, arguing, with some effectiveness, that she committed all the murders. (Certainly it's no great jump that she was responsible for the killing of her younger sister.) More compelling is the argument that Homolka was a serious, enthusiastic sadist who was happy to have found in Bernardo a mate whose tastes matched her own.

The character development is exceptional. Homolka is portrayed as an intelligent, manipulative bs artist with a strong manic streak. Her love of self-medication is exceeded only by her love of sadism. Bernardo comes off as a somewhat flat sociopath -- perhaps a bit like Christian Bale in American Psycho (but with even less personality).

Although I guess it goes without saying, the content is strong and not for the weak of heart. Once it becomes clear that Homolka's astonishing plead bargain is going to stick, the reader may find himself (as I did) skimming through the trial passages. Still, this read will hold your attention. The combination of one of the oddest stories around with a really strong prose style is a boon for readers.

[Lady ♥ Belleza, Gif Princesa]

Rita's off her meds AGAIN. **throws sheet over Rita's head**

[Fishface]

I just got Famous Trials in the mail. It has more cases in it than I was led to expect. I started Becky: The Heartbreaking Story of Becky Watts by Her Father Darren Galsworthy last night and read 2 hours past bedtime, it was so good. It's an appalling story. And unlike the last one I read, Raw Deal: The Untold Story Of NYPD's "Cannibal Cop", it involves an actual crime!!!

[Fishface]

A friend turned me on to a used bookstore in Owosso, MI called Jellybeans. We went there and after a bit of a search I found the true crime section. Came home with:

The Strange Case Of James Earl Ray
Deadly Deception
Dead of Night: The True Story of a Serial Killer
Mean Justice
Cries in the Desert
Sleepers
The Serpent's Tooth
Murder and Madness: The Secret Life of Jack the Ripper
Runaway Father
A Perfect Gentleman
Special Delivery
Death in a Fish Pond: A Perfect Husband, a Perfect Marriage, a Perfect Murder?
Blood Echoes
Stalking Justice: The Dramatic True Story of the Detective Who First Used DNA Testing To...
Ballad of the Whiskey Robber: A True Story of Bank Heists, Ice Hockey, Transylvanian Pelt Smuggling, Moonlighting Detectives, and Broken Hearts
Caril
Deadly Weekend
Halfway Heaven: Diary of a Harvard Murder


...and this came in the mail the same day:
The Babyface Killer

[Lady ♥ Belleza, Gif Princesa]

Fishface wrote: "A friend turned me on to a used bookstore in Owosso, MI called Jellybeans. We went there and after a bit of a search I found the true crime section. Came home with:

[book:The Strange Case Of James..."

Nice haul. That should keep you busy for a day or two.

[K.A.]

Dang! that's a bunch!

[Fishface]

I mean, seriously, it includes a John Dillmann that I never heard of before in my life, and at least 3 whole serial killers who are new to me!

[Fishface]

Halfway into A Perfect Gentleman by Jaye Slade Fletcher, the author who brought you (she said, shuddering) Deadly Thrills: The True Story of Chicago's Most Shocking Killers. This one is an odd, echoey read. Supposedly this killer looked up to Ted Bundy as a role model but the lead detective on the first case in the book is named John Mowery, the same as one of John WAYNE Gacy's victims.


And the second murder happened on a street called WAYNE Way.