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Archive > True Crime Read In 2018-19: Post Reviews Here!

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message 151: by Harlow (new)

Harlow (jinxicee) | 1 comments The Night Stalker The Life and Crimes of Richard Ramirez by Philip Carlo

Exceptionally well detailed & written. Split up perfectly and the format was much more engrossing than usual.


Diane in Australia | 640 comments The Sting The Undercover Operation That Caught Daniel Morcombe’s Killer by Kate Kyriacou
The Sting: The Undercover Operation That Caught Daniel Morcombe’s Killer
Author: Kate Kyriacou

3 Stars = I liked the book. I'm glad I read it.

Very good book about the how they caught Daniel's murderer. The author has a smooth style, and her words carry you along effortlessly. As they say, it's a real page-turner. This took place in Queensland, Australia.

Daniel was a shy, gentle boy who wanted to be a veterinarian. Photo of him below. So sad.

"On Sunday, 7 December 2003, 13-year-old Daniel Morcombe vanished from a bus stop on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. His disappearance sparked the largest police investigation in Queensland's history, and eight years later, on 13 August 2011, resulted in the arrest of pedophile Brett Cowan for abduction and murder. Cowen was eventually sentenced on 14 March 2014 to life in jail with a non-parole period of 20 years. This is the story of how the police set a trap to catch a child killer."




Diane in Australia | 640 comments Lullaby and Goodnight by Dean Hughes
Lullaby and Goodnight
Author: Dean Hughes

3 Stars = I liked the book. I'm glad I read it.

Very good book about a shocking crime that took place in Albuquerque, New Mexico USA. Darci Pierce, a 19-year-old, who had faked a pregnancy, kidnapped 8-month-pregnant, Cindy Ray, from a clinic on 23 July 1987, drove her to a remote location, and strangled her. Using a car key, Darci sliced Cindy's body open, and took the baby girl.

I felt the author did an excellent job. She used police documents, court records, and several interviews ... including the victim's husband, Sam Ray.

Interesting to note that in New Mexico the jury is presented with 3 choices ... guilty, guilty but mentally ill, and not guilty. But 'guilty' and 'guilty but mentally ill' will not result in any difference to the sentencing of the criminal. They go to prison, not a mental institution, and they do not receive any special 'mental' care in prison ... only the same as any other prisoner. Oddly enough, the court does not allow this to be explained to the jury! This was in 1987, no idea if things have changed since then.

Cindy's murder was used as the basis for another true crime book, Hush, Little Baby by Jim Carrier. It was a more sensationalized work, which the family panned.

Photos of Cindy Ray below. So tragic.



Diane in Australia | 640 comments A Sudden Shot The Phoenix Serial Shooter by Camille Kimball
A Sudden Shot: The Phoenix Serial Shooter
Author: Camille Kimball

4 Stars = It gave me much food for thought.

This book was rivetting. I felt the author did a superb job. It must have been a difficult decision as to how to bring this multifaceted story together into a coherent narrative. and, yes, you have to be on your toes, and follow her train of thought, but all in all, an excellent job.

This took place in/near Phoenix, Arizona USA in 2005-2006. Phoenix was held in a vise of total terror. The author lived there during this time, and experienced the fear for herself.

When it was all over the tally of victims looked like this:
Humans
8 murders
18 injured by gun
2 injured by knife
1 uninjured - shot missed

Horses
3 dead
2 injured (1 horse, 1 burro)

Dogs
5 dead
2 injured
1 uninjured (human victim intervened)

Property Damage
2 buildings burned
2 buildings shot at
1 car shot at

If you like true crime, I recommend this book.

In honour of the dead, here are their details:
Tony Mendez, 38 - 17 May 2005
Reginald Remillard, 57 - 24 May 2005
David Estrada, 20 -29 June 2005
Nathaniel Schoffner, 45 - 11 Nov 2005
Jose Ortis, 44 - 29 Dec 2005
Marco Carillo, 28 - 29 Dec 2005
Claudia Gutierrez Cruz, 20 - 2 May 2006
Robin Blasnek, 22 - 30 July 2006

Sara Moon - bay quarter horse - 29 June 2005
Whiskey - Akita dog - 20 July 2005
Little Man - mini-horse - 25 July 2005
Unnamed quarter horse - 25 July 2005
Shep - Anatolian shepherd dog - 11 Nov 2005
Cherokee - Australian shepherd dog - 29 Dec 2005
Peyton - Transylvanian hound dog - 29 Dec 2005
Peanut - shepherd mixed dog - 29 Dec 2005


message 155: by Fishface (last edited Nov 08, 2018 06:16AM) (new)

Fishface | 18964 comments The Eyes of Willie McGee: A Tragedy of Race, Sex, and Secrets in the Jim Crow South, Alex Heard
3 stars

This book was hard to finish, despite being interesting and important. The case was notorious and interesting in itself, but there were so many long detours into other subjects -- like the entire history of the Scottsboro case and the political entanglements of every single attorney and elected official who had anything to do with Willie McGee -- that I kept losing track of the case this book is supposed to be about. Ultimately, Willie, the defendant in the case; Willette, the victim; and merits of the case all got lost in the sauce.


Diane in Australia | 640 comments Fred & Rose The Full Story of Fred and Rose West and the Gloucester House of Horrors by Howard Sounes
Fred & Rose: The Full Story of Fred and Rose West and the Gloucester House of Horrors
Author: Howard Sounes

3 Stars = I liked the book. I'm glad I read it.

A very well researched book about the serial killers, Fred and Rose West. These murders took place in/near Gloucester, England. The author, a journalist, broke the first major story about the couple. He goes back to their childhoods, and continues on until the conclusion of the court case. I wanted to like this book more, as it came highly recommended, but somehow it just seems a bit 'flat' to me. Perhaps, being a serious journalist doesn't make it easy to switch to the more engrossing style needed in a true crime book. Ah, well. But if you want the facts, this book has that ... and several pages of photos.


Diane in Australia | 640 comments Lucky by Alice Sebold
Lucky
Author: Alice Sebold

5 Stars = It made a significant impact. I won't forget it.

An excellent book about Alice's brutal rape, and the distressing aftermath. It definitely touched my heart.


Diane in Australia | 640 comments Sex on the Moon by Ben Mezrich
Sex on the Moon
Author: Ben Mezrich

2 Stars = Blah. It didn't do anything for me.

I seem to be in the minority on this one. Such is life. I found this whole escapade to be so damn stupid. Just stupid. Stupid.

I will let Mara's review ... which is tremendous! ... speak for me. Please, have a read of it.
Mara's Review


Diane in Australia | 640 comments Kill the Morans by Bert Wrout
Kill the Morans
Author: Bert Wrout

2 Stars = Blah. It didn't do anything for me.

This book is about Melbourne, Australia's gangland war. Bert Wrout was the driver/confidant of Lewis Moran. Former crime journalist, Brett Quine, helps Bert set the record straight (according to him). "This is the gritty reality behind the gangland wars. An insider's account, stripped of the TV glamour: utterly compelling." Julian Burnside AO QC

If you're 'into' Australian crime families, you'll probably enjoy this book. I'm not, hence, my low rating.


Diane in Australia | 640 comments Orange Is the New Black My Year in a Women's Prison by Piper Kerman
Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison
Author: Piper Kerman

2 Stars = Blah. It didn't do anything for me.

I like memoirs. I like hearing the life stories that folks share. Unfortunately, after reading their stories, I don't always end up liking the person who wrote it. Such is the case with Piper Kerman. It all feels very self-congratulatory, self-serving, and arrogant. Sadly, I tend to agree with Joice on this one, here's her review: Joice's review


message 161: by Fishface (new)

Fishface | 18964 comments The Gates of Janus: Serial Killing and Its Analysis, Ian Brady
3 stars

This was an entertaining read, written by a serial killer, supposedly to help others catch offenders like himself. This book was nothing of the sort, though. Brady clearly thinks all serial killers are more or less like himself, which could hardly be less true. There were some genuinely thought-provoking moments in here, but mostly they gave me insight into Brady himself, for instance the moment I noticed that while all the other killers were being called by their last names, Carl Panzram was "Carl," as if there were a special relationship there, and this is in keeping with the whole book: his admiring feelings about the crimes color his retellings a lot. He clearly does not know how to tell psychosis from psychopathy and his discussions about the mental state of each killer is pretty scrambled, including diagnoses that nobody has used in 50 years and a few he appears to have made up himself. He also gets a lot of details wrong, like people's names. Most astoundingly, in 2 places he describes child rape by a sadistic serial killer to be an opportunity for the victim to "experience pleasure without guilt." That tells me more about the author than the rest of the chapters combined. Half of this book is other people talking about the contents, including Peter Soros who wrote an absolutely repellent book about one of Brady's own murders but who did an ace job of summing up Brady.


message 162: by Fishface (new)

Fishface | 18964 comments 45 Murderers: A Collection of True Crime Stories, Craig Rice

4 stars

This was a whole lot of cases crammed into a mass-market paperback. A few of them are super-famous, some very obscure and most somewhere in between. All written in Rice's signature hardboiled 40s noir style, even if the case happened in Victorian times. I am now eagerly researching each case to see if I can find whole books on them.


message 163: by Fishface (new)

Fishface | 18964 comments Green River Killer: A True Detective Story, Tom Jensen and Jonathan Case

4 stars

This was a great, unexpected read -- a graphic novel about the Green River murders, told from the point of view of the task-force detectives who were struggling to get their own answers to their many, many lingering questions about the case, and how they finally got some results. There was some slight fictionalizing in the form of changed names, but not enough to really bother me. Except it made me wonder whether whether there was really a rubber chicken in the office.


message 164: by Fishface (last edited Nov 26, 2018 12:38PM) (new)

Fishface | 18964 comments Byleveld: Dossier of a Serial Sleuth, Hanlie Retief
3 stars

This was a very interesting read about the exploits of South Africa's most famous detective, a specialist in serial murder. Maybe it was the translation from Afrikaans, but the narrative was a little flat and unemotional considering the subject matter -- the detective preferred camping out at some hideous crime scene to dealing with his disastrous marriage. Maybe the author was matching her writing to Byleveld's dry, "just the facts ma'am" manner of speaking. I was a little thrown that when the victim was a pretty white woman, we heard every detail of the crime, where if the victim was black we often wouldn't even get the name or the date of the offense. Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but...


message 165: by Koren (new)

Koren  (koren56) | 1604 comments The Job: True Tales from the Life of a New York City Cop by Steve Osborne
5 stars
The Job True Tales from the Life of a New York City Cop by Steve Osborne

NYC couldn't be more different than my hometown of 1,000 people in Minnesota. In my town most days, the cops most important job is probably catching a stray dog. The author tells some pretty interesting stories and he writes like a guy you are just kicking back and having a beer with and listening to his stories. If anyone thinks they want to be a cop from watching shows on TV, this book will set them straight, as he tells us quite a few times that real life is not like the shows on TV.


message 166: by Fishface (new)

Fishface | 18964 comments Dark Secret: The Complete Story: The True Account of What Happened to Little Alex Suleski, Nyssa Corbin
4 stars!

This book was rough going in some ways. It's a child's-eye-view memoir of what I can only call the torture murder of a little girl. The author did a great job of letting us see what was really going on just outside the wall of intimidation and incomprehension that blocked her from acknowledging what was going on in plain sight. I was very, very impressed with the way she turned the tables on her mom to finally get some justice for her little sister; it's safe to say most people her age couldn't possibly have done it. I'm also very impressed by the way she went ahead and made her own life bear zero resemblance to what she grew up with. This is an incredible story all the way around. With that said, this book really needed a final copyedit to clear out some confusing elements. For instance, is the first Mrs. Suleski's name Kim, Chong or Young? It kept changing without warning. And how does a person given life without the possibility of parole later somehow have a parole hearing on the calendar? I would have liked a few words of explanation to clear up points like that. None of this stopped me from finishing the book, even though I had to put it aside for a few days and take a breather as the narrative brought us closer to the events of October 26th...But the children in that house never got to take a breather, now did they? So I kept reading.


Diane in Australia | 640 comments Broken Lives by Estelle Blackburn
Broken Lives
Author: Estelle Blackburn

4 Stars = Outstanding. It definitely held my interest.

Very good true crime book about Eric Edgar Cooke's crimes, in Western Australia, between 1958 and 1963. It also covers the author's diligent endeavours to see that justice was done for John Button, and Darryl Beamish, who were wrongly accused, and sentenced to prison, for two of Cooke's crimes. Excellent writing which carries the reader along.


message 168: by Fishface (last edited Dec 31, 2018 09:01AM) (new)

Fishface | 18964 comments The Bayou Killer: Life of Serial Killer Ronald J. Dominique, Jack Smith
3 stars

This was a quick 'n' dirty treatment of a very long series of murders in Louisiana. It left me with a lot of questions although it was a good introduction to the case. The book screeches to a halt at the point where they identify the killer using DNA, and there's no hint of what happened afterward. Guilty plea? Extended court battle? Lynching by outraged neighbors? What happened? The murders themselves were skimmed over pretty lightly in some places. Smith says there were more than 20 murders but stops at the 20th case. How many were there? Who were the others? What became of all those devastated families? Tell me more!


message 169: by Lady ♥ Belleza, Gif Princesa (new)

Lady ♥ Belleza (bella_foxx) | 3712 comments Mod
Fishface wrote: "The Bayou Killer: Life of Serial Killer Ronald J. Dominique, Jack Smith
3 stars

This was a quick 'n' dirty treatment of a very long series if murders in Louisiana. It left me with ..."


Inquiring minds want to know!


message 170: by Fishface (new)

Fishface | 18964 comments Diane wrote: "Broken Lives by Estelle Blackburn
Broken Lives
Author: Estelle Blackburn

4 Stars = Outstanding. It definitely held my interest.

Very good true crime book about Eric ..."


Added this posthaste to the E.E. Cooke shelf!


Diane in Australia | 640 comments Line of Fire The Inside Story of the Controversial Shooting of Undercover Policeman Michael Drury by Darren Goodsir
Line of Fire: The Inside Story of the Controversial Shooting of Undercover Policeman Michael Drury
Author: Darren Goodsir

3 Stars = Okay. It was worth reading.

This may be more than a 3 Star book to someone who really enjoys reading about corruption, bribery, and various other unsavoury practices in a police force. Unfortunately, I am not in that target audience. I did find the book to be well written, and it seemed to flow in a logical manner. Michael Drury, and his family, went through hell. They definitely have my deepest sympathies.


message 172: by Fishface (new)

Fishface | 18964 comments To Sleep with the Angels: The Story of a Fire, David Cowan and John Kuenster
5 stars!!!

This book was absolutely absorbing, impossible to put down. I'm not kidding when I say I almost missed Christmas because I had to keep reading this one. Beautifully written story of a terrible disaster, the two unrelated people who admitted to causing it, and its complex aftermath. But I warn you, this one is not for the faint of heart.


message 173: by Diane in Australia (last edited Dec 26, 2018 03:21PM) (new)

Diane in Australia | 640 comments Blood Brother Justice at Last by Robin Bowles
Blood Brother: Justice at Last
Robin Bowles

3 Stars = Okay. It was worth reading.

I thought this was a fairly interesting case. Lots of twists, and turns. Unfortunately, plenty of police ineptitude, too. The author keeps the story rolling along, even during the trial, which is a plus.

Just so you know, there have been developments since this book went to print. So, after you've read the book, you can Google for the updates.


message 174: by Fishface (last edited Dec 26, 2018 04:42PM) (new)

Fishface | 18964 comments Torture Killers II, edited by Rose Mandelsberg
4 stars

Hideous, grisly, even nightmarish cases, back to back, one after another. Written in the familiar pull-no-punches style I've come to expect from True Detective compilations. All of the victims tore at my heart and some of the killers were unbelievably fiendish. I've been going through an extremely stressful time lately and for decades I've used gore and massacree to put my problems in perspective. I slept like a baby after reading this.


message 175: by Koren (new)

Koren  (koren56) | 1604 comments The Library Book by Susan Orlean
5 stars

Not sure where to put this review so I will put it here. It's not really a memoir, although maybe it could be considered a memoir of a library. The cover blurb says it is a mix of true crime, history, biography, and immersion journalism. I would say it is mostly the history of the Los Angeles library that was severely damaged by fire in 1986. Living in a small rural area it is hard for me to imagine 10's of thousands of books in just one area of the library and 2,000 people in the library at one time. The fire is suspected to be arson and this is where the true crime aspect comes in. It was fascinating to read the history of the library and the inner workings. I'm sure a lot of the details happen at big city libraries all over. The research is impeccable.


message 176: by Fishface (new)

Fishface | 18964 comments I've heard great things about that one!


message 177: by Fishface (new)

Fishface | 18964 comments Gosnell's Babies: Inside the Mind of America's Most Notorious Abortion Doctor, Steve Volk

4 stars!

This is a very short read, but it answers so many of the questions I had about Kermit Gosnell. Very thought-provoking and stands to give any reader more to chew on when it comes to the endlessly difficult, endlessly controversial questions around abortion, the people who seek them out and the providers who make them happen. Gosnell is such a radical outlier -- I hope! -- but his life throws an interesting light on the whole abortion question. As well it should. Well worth your time.


Diane in Australia | 640 comments The Boy in the Attic The Chilling, Real-Life Story of a Satanic Murder and the Truth that Haunts by David Malone
The Boy in the Attic: The Chilling, Real-Life Story of a Satanic Murder and the Truth that Haunts
Author: David Malone

4 Stars = Outstanding. It definitely held my interest.

Wow. This was a sad, sad tale. All the more so because it is true. It is about the murder of a child, by a seriously strange teenager ... but one most of us have never heard of. The author did a good job of tracking down info, and laying it out for us.


Diane in Australia | 640 comments The Only Living Witness by Stephen G. Michaud
The Only Living Witness
Author: Stephen G. Michaud

5 Stars = Exceptional. It made a significant impact.

Very good book. Stephan spent many hours talking with Ted. Ted refused to talk in the first-person about his crimes, but he was willing to talk about a supposedly fictitious 'someone' who did these things.

Stephan wrote, "After three days, the first and most important link between us had been forged. Ted was no longer dodging me; he now was going to lead me back along his path to serial murder. He was comfortable behind his veil of fiction. To him, what he'd said already and what he'd soon tell me was not a confession. It couldn't stand the test of admissibility in court, and thus it was outside his definition of guilt. In truth, he was telling me nothing concrete enough to implicate him directly in anything. Yet the narration was to be too seamless, the descriptions too detailed and consistent, for this to be anything but the truth. The hunchback had begun to emerge.

I was anything but comfortable. As the spring of 1980 wore on, Ted and I were locked together in that stuffy yellow room. He showed very little recognizable emotion and often paid little attention to me -- for which I was grateful."


Ted - "I think you could make a little more sense out of much of this if you take into account the effect of alcohol. It's important. It's very important as a trigger. When this person drank a good deal, his inhibitions were significantly diminished. He would find that his urge to engage in voyeuristic behavior, or trips to the bookstore, would become more prevalent, more urgent. It was as though the dominant personality was sedated. On every occasion he engaged in such behavior, he was intoxicated."

Ted - "What happened was this entity inside him was not capable of being controlled any longer," Ted went on, "at least not for any considerable period of time. It began to try to justify itself, to create rationalizations for what it was doing. One element that came into play was anger, hostility. But I don't think that was an overriding emotion when he would go out hunting. On most occasions, it was a high degree of anticipation, of excitement, or arousal. It was an adventuristic kind of thing.

The fantasy is always more stimulating than the aftermath of the crime itself. He should have recognized that what really fascinated him was the hunt, the adventure of searching out his victims. And, to a degree, possessing them physically, as one would possess a potted plant, a painting or a Porsche. Owning, as it were, this individual."



message 180: by Fishface (new)

Fishface | 18964 comments Good old Ted, talking about "trips to the bookstore" as if they were felonious behavior.


Diane in Australia | 640 comments Fishface wrote: "Good old Ted, talking about "trips to the bookstore" as if they were felonious behavior."

They were adult bookstores. But still not a felony. ;)


message 182: by Lucille (new)

Lucille (lucillet) Diane wrote: "The Only Living Witness by Stephen G. Michaud
The Only Living Witness
Author: Stephen G. Michaud

5 Stars = Exceptional. It made a significant impact.

Very good book. S..."


OH that Ted! what a yenta!


message 183: by Rita (new)

Rita (crimesleuthjunkie) | 1146 comments Wow, I wanted to post the link to this book but it didn't give me one. I decided to delve into a psychological suspense thriller and just finished The Step Mother by author Claire Seeber. It kept me on the edge of my seat and I couldn't put it down. We have heard of nasty things about step mothers but this story to my surprise had a very different twist. It covers a range of genre's such as family relationships, hate, abuse and jealousy. An explosive situation to say the least. I highly recommend it.
5+ Stars


message 184: by Fishface (new)

Fishface | 18964 comments Rita, you're back! Haven't seen you in ages!


message 185: by Lady ♥ Belleza, Gif Princesa (last edited Jan 04, 2019 07:50AM) (new)

Lady ♥ Belleza (bella_foxx) | 3712 comments Mod
Rita wrote: "Wow, I wanted to post the link to this book but it didn't give me one. I decided to delve into a psychological suspense thriller and just finished The Stepmother by author Claire Seeber. It kept m..."

Found it. Fiction book reviews should be posting in the other review thread. FYI


Diane in Australia | 640 comments A Woman Scorned The Shocking Real-Life Case of Billionairess Killer Susan Cummings by Lisa Pulitzer
A Woman Scorned: The Shocking Real-Life Case of Billionairess Killer Susan Cummings
Author: Lisa Pulitzer

3 Stars = Okay. It was worth reading.

This book was just 'okay', nothing memorable. It was a quick, easy read. I felt the writing didn't really engage the reader as I hoped it would. She does state at the beginning of the book that she based it on court files, and interviews, so, perhaps, she had lackluster material to work with.

It's really a 2.5 Stars book to me, but I bumped it up to 3 Stars because even if it was lackluster, I learned a few things about the case.


message 187: by Fishface (last edited Jan 05, 2019 03:34PM) (new)

Fishface | 18964 comments Am I ever glad I came across I, a Squealer: The Insider's Account of the "Pied Piper of Tucson" Murders, written by Richie Bruns, the guy who handed serial killer Charles Schmid to the police, practically destroying his own life in the process. John Gilmore knew Smitty before he wrote about him in Cold-Blooded: The Saga of Charles Schmid, the Notorious "Pied Piper of Tucson", but as Bruns points out, everyone in Tucson knew Smitty one way or another. Bruns was right in the middle of the mess and had much closer knowledge of how it all went down. He put a lot of information in here I haven't seen anywhere else. It's well-written and thought-provoking.

5 stars!


message 188: by Sadie (new)

Sadie (tarahogan) | 8 comments Rita wrote: "Evil Angels: The Shocking True Story of a Sensational Crime by John Byson
5 Stars

This is a story about a family in Australia camping out with other families as well setting it up and then settlin..."


Sounds interesting!


message 189: by Rita (new)

Rita (crimesleuthjunkie) | 1146 comments Fishface wrote: "Rita, you're back! Haven't seen you in ages!"

Yes, I am back and haven't been on here for sometime because my desktop computer crashed and I lost everything. Needless to say I panicked big time. It took ages to get this sorted out. Now I am on Windows 10 which is different from Windows 7. I hope you all here had a good Christmas and a Happy New Year Fishface and thanks for asking. I certainly miss everyone! ***hugs***


message 190: by Fishface (last edited Jan 06, 2019 07:58PM) (new)

Fishface | 18964 comments Sid Vicious: No One is Innocent, by Alan Parker
3 stars

This was a good read, in spite of my fear that there would be nothing new to see in Parker's book. He did a good job of catching the flavor of the times, the different points of view and motivations of most of the people involved. He also did a really nice job of capturing the way Sid has come to stand for the entire era -- always with Nancy by his side, for better or worse. I also felt I came away with a better understanding of what happened the night Nancy died, but I now feel less clear about the night we lost Sid.


message 191: by Koren (new)

Koren  (koren56) | 1604 comments Rita wrote: "Wow, I wanted to post the link to this book but it didn't give me one. I decided to delve into a psychological suspense thriller and just finished The Step Mother by author Claire Seeber. It kept m..."

Hi Rita! Good to see you.


message 192: by Koren (last edited Jan 17, 2019 09:35AM) (new)

Koren  (koren56) | 1604 comments Reckless: Millionaire Record Producer Phil Spector and the Violent Death of Lana Clarkson
3 stars
Reckless Millionaire Record Producer Phil Spector and the Violent Death of Lana Clarkson by Carlton Smith

Carlton Smith is a well-known True Crime author. This book is made to look like a True Crime book but it really is not. It does lead up to a crime- the shooting of Lana Clarkson in the home of legendary record producer Phil Spector. But the book is mostly a bio of Phil Spector. The guy is Bizarre with a capital B. He started out as a singer and songwriter. He had one hit- To Know Him Is To Love Him. He went on to work with and produce records with The Crystals (Da Do Ron Ron) and the Ronettes (Be My Baby) and married Ronnie from the group, George Harrison and John Lennon, the Righteous Brothers, the Ramones, among others. He spent money like crazy and even bought a castle. At the end of the book a woman is shot in the mouth in his home and at first he says he shot her but then changes his story to say that she committed suicide. The book is written in 2004 and the trial doesn't take place until 2007 so we are left to google how it ended.

It was interesting to read about his life and there is a lot of 60's and 70's music history here but if you want to know more about the murder trial you should look for a different book.


message 193: by Fishface (last edited Jan 17, 2019 10:12AM) (new)

Fishface | 18964 comments Is there any significant biography of the victim, Lana Clarkson, in there?




Diane in Australia | 640 comments House of Horrors by Nigel Cawthorne
House of Horrors
Author: Nigel Cawthorne

3 Stars = It was okay.

This was a difficult book to rate. The facts of the true life horror that happened to Elisabeth, her siblings, and her children, is worth 5 Stars. But this book was published so close on the heels of the gruesome discovery that it doesn't even include Josef's trial, and seems to be mostly a regurgitation of facts available elsewhere.

If you don't have any knowledge of this crime, you may find this book enlightening.


Diane in Australia | 640 comments Wolf Man The True Story of Francisco Arce Montes - The First Global Serial Killer by Wensley Clarkson
Wolf Man: The True Story of Francisco Arce Montes - The First Global Serial Killer
Author: Wensley Clarkson

4 Stars = Outstanding. It definitely held my interest.

Wow. This guy, Montes, is beyond weird. I can't even think of how to describe him. I'll say one thing, he must have nerves of steel, to do what he does. Most serial killers at least try to reduce the risk of being caught in the act.

If you like true crime, you have got to read this. It will blow your mind, and not just because of the murders ... all of it ... Christine Le Menes, the queen of bad decision making ... the French gendarmes ... and more. Wowsers.


message 196: by Fishface (new)

Fishface | 18964 comments I'm on it! Nothing ever gets a "wow" from you!!!


Diane in Australia | 640 comments Fishface wrote: "I'm on it! Nothing ever gets a "wow" from you!!!"

He is just ... well, you'll see.


message 198: by Koren (new)

Koren  (koren56) | 1604 comments Winter of Frozen Dreams by Karl Harter
3 stars

The murder takes place in 1977. The book was written in 1990. The murderer is Barbara Hoffman, a message parlor therapist who murders two of her clients. While the book is based on a true story, at times it reads like fiction and at times it seems more like erotica. There is a lot of detail to the story that seems embellished, such as thoughts of the murdered man and at times he will preface a sentence by saying 'they must have been thinking …. It was interesting to learn about the seamy side of the massage therapy business.


Diane in Australia | 640 comments Lambs to the Slaughter Inside the Depraved Mind of Child-Killer Derek Ernest Percy by Debi Marshall
Lambs to the Slaughter: Inside the Depraved Mind of Child-Killer Derek Ernest Percy
Author: Debi Marshall

4 Stars = Outstanding. It definitely held my interest.

Derek is another killer that totally fits the cliche of 'cold-blooded killer'. As the blurb says, he killed a 12 yr old girl, and did horrific things to her.

Detectives find his handwritten notes. ".... so utterly foul that the detectives need to take breaks from reading them every few minutes. .... The notes, secreted in his locker, detail abduction, torture, murder, mutilation. .... His fetishes for urine and faeces and for cross-dressing; of the cunning way he will entice his prey with promises and threats."

As to the other murders he is suspected of doing, it must be such torment to the many people who had a loved one murdered ... to know he's in custody ... keeping his secrets.


message 200: by Fishface (new)

Fishface | 18964 comments Murder Most Mysterious, H.L. Adam

3 solid stars

All the cases in this book were real head-scratchers and made for good reading. Most of them were new to me, too. The text errors and crazy typos -- for instance, someone inserted a capital H in place of almost every "li," as in " light" or "police" - - hardly slowed me down because the cases were so interesting. Is there a copy editor in the house?


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