Acquisitions ~ And WHAT ARE YOU READING? 2018-19

[Rita]

I just started reading (yikes, another novel) Don't Scream by Wendy Corsi Staub. It's a suspense one and it seems to live up to the title. So far so good.

[Erin]

I'm reading Gerald's Game by Stephen King. I'm not all that interested in it but I promised a friend I'd read it with her.

[Darrel]

I’m reading Murder Machine by Gene Mustain and Jerry Capeci. It’s true crime about the Dameo gang, most deadly hit men for hire. Very captivating so far

[Ashleigh]

Erin, I didn't really care for Gerald's Game. I only read it because I'm a King fan and I hope to one day be able to say that I've read all of his work. Lol

[Erin]

I have a feeling I'm going to dislike it too Ashleigh.

[Fishface]

Just started Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo". The life story of an 86-year-old man brought to the USA in the very last trip of the very last slave ship, who lived to be freed and helped raise his great-grandchildren.

[Lady ♥ Belleza, Gif Princesa]

Rita wrote: "I just started reading (yikes, another novel) Don't Scream by Wendy Corsi Staub. It's a suspense one and it seems to live up to the title. So far so good."

Erin wrote: "I'm reading Gerald's Game by Stephen King. I'm not all that interested in it but I promised a friend I'd read it with her. "

Darrel wrote: "I’m reading Murder Machine by Gene Mustain and Jerry Capeci. It’s true crime about the Dameo gang, most deadly hit men for hire. Very captivating so far"


Reposting to add links.

[Fishface]

Just started You Think You Know Me: The True Story of Herb Baumeister and the Horror at Fox Hollow Farm and Hunt the Witch Down!: Twelve Real Life Stories of Witches and Witchcraft.

[Fishface]

I finished Hunt the Witch Down!: Twelve Real Life Stories of Witches and Witchcraft and gave it 3 stars. It really takes you back to the days when you could be tortured and then burned alive just because the mean girls from middle school wanted to mess up your life.

I'm really wondering where the author of You Think You Know Me: The True Story of Herb Baumeister and the Horror at Fox Hollow Farm is getting his information. He spends a great deal of time telling you about the innermost thoughts of a man who committed suicide well before he would have started writing this book. Either he's making it up or he somehow has access to a lot of sealed medical and employment records or he's interviewed many ppl from Herb's life without crediting any of them so far...

[Ashleigh]

Fishface wrote: "I finished Hunt the Witch Down!: Twelve Real Life Stories of Witches and Witchcraft and gave it 3 stars. It really takes you back to the dats when you could be tortured and then burn..."

I had the feeling the author fictionalized Baumeister's thoughts and intentions. It just read fixtionalized to me, if that makes any sense.

[Fishface]

It makes perfect sense to me. He's describing the innermost thoughts and the every sensation of two people in a situation -- a sex murder -- who are both dead now, the victim and the killer. How does he know what Herb said to Jeff Jones in the pool house? How does he know what Jeff thought of what Herb said?

[Hari]

I really agree with both of you on the points about authors writing as if they are inside the minds of dead people. If authors cite sources that can be checked, whether one actually does, one can give the story more credence. This is a (not so petty) pet peeve of mine.

[Ashleigh]

I actually really enjoyed reading that book, but I don't feel it should be classified as true crime necessarily.

[Erin]

Hi, I am currently reading I'll be gone in the dark. Okay, Well I started it, I am trying to read it. I really need to continue, I just keep putting the book to the side. Need to read it. Anyone reading this, Do I crack it open or keep pushing it aside?

[Fishface]

Erin Small wrote: "Hi, I am currently reading I'll be gone in the dark. Okay, Well I started it, I am trying to read it. I really need to continue, I just keep putting the book to the side. Need to read it. Anyone re..."

Keep reading!!! It's wonderful.

[Fishface]

Just got a brand-new copy of Notorious 92: Indiana's Most Heinous Murders in All 92 Counties in the mail. Been meaning to read this one for a while.

[Rita]

While They Slept: An Inquiry Into the Murder of a Family

At last, now I just started reading this intriguing case. I don't know how I missed it.

[Fishface]

Rita wrote: "While They Slept: An Inquiry Into the Murder of a Family

At last, now I just started reading this intrigu..."
I'm glad you posted that. I was just about to send you my copy. Would have been a waste of postage!

[Fishface]

Drowning Towers, George Turner
3 solid stars

This one didn't draw me in at once, but at some point I got into the groove and from there I had to know where the story was going. It's a dense, complex tale of a family going through the apocalypse in an overcrowded world with the water rising around them as the icecaps melt. There is no hard sci-fi in this one; it's all about relationships, the meaning of right and wrong and personal growth. Well worth your time unless you're looking for light reading.

[Rita]

Fishface wrote: "Rita wrote: "While They Slept: An Inquiry Into the Murder of a Family

At last, now I just started reading..."

Why thank you Fishface!!! I am finally reading a true crime story.

[Fishface]

Traded in 4 bags of books, including lots of TC I'm unlikely to re-read, and got these:

Toma: The Compassionate Cop
Policewoman One
Secret Lessons
Crime Through Time
Deadly Intentions
The Best American Crime Reporting 2010
The Best American Crime Writing 2006
Blood Will Out: The True Story of a Murder, a Mystery, and a Masquerade

...and one called BREAKING AND ENTERING that I can't even find on Google. I wonder if that means it's rare, or if the title's so common that I broke the internet asking about it?

EDIT: Found it: Breaking and Entering

The cashier really threw me by telling me that I have credit for 1400 general-interest books I've brought to trade in over the years. I want to point out that's separate from TC, which is almost all I ever bring in. Someone must have added an extra zero.

[Kristin]

I just finished Love in the Time of Global Warming by Francesca Lia Block. Based on the reviews, I am one of the few people who loved it.

[Koren]

A new-to-me M. William Phelps. Did anyone catch his show on ID network Dark Minds? I dont have that channel anymore so I dont know if they are still showing it but if you saw it you would know there was a real-life serial killer that was an advisor to him and they only showed him in shadow. His identity was concealed. In this book his identity is revealed and Phelps talks about his relationship with him. That's about all I know because I have only read the introduction so far. It might be a spoiler if I tell you who the killer is even though you find out pretty quickly in the book...so if you want to know scroll down.... (I'll bet you've heard of him)

Dangerous Ground: My Friendship with a Serial Killer



It is Keith Jesperson, the Happy Face Killer.

[Erin]

I'm halfway through You by Caroline Kepnes and I just started The Alienist by Caleb Carr.

[Fishface]

Did I ever love The Alienist! You know the author's dad is a famous murderer, I assume?

[Erin]

Yeah, didn't he use the "Gay Panic" defense?
I've seen the movie Kill Your Darlings.

[Fishface]

Yeah, he had to because stalking wasn't illegal yet...

[Rita]

I just started reading The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand. It is very interesting to read about Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. Two places I always wanted to see and explore. Fascinating!

[Fishface]

Because I can't read Hunting Humans: The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers, Vol. 2 without compulsively adding every DOD to my Book of the Dead -- which is MUCH too heavy to lug around in my bookbag -- I am now also reading the light, portable Mortal Remains: A True Story of Ritual Murder. Not only is the really wonderfully written, it's also the latest addition to the "Spoiler-Free TC" shelf. There are no spoilers on the jacket blurb and no spoilers in the photo section.

[Lady ♥ Belleza, Gif Princesa]

Rita wrote: "I just started reading The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand. It is very interesting to read about Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard. Two places I always wanted to see and explore. Fascinating!"

[Fishface]

Started Girl in the Grave and Other True Crime Stories, in spite of all the other books I have open, because I couldn't wait. I was right to do so; it's an excellent read.

[Marian]

Is there anybody here who has heard of the Kathleen Peterson case?I was wondering if there is a book out on it..maybe called Death on the Staircase,or something similar to that title.I actually don't know what the title of the book is persay..just know that she died at the bottom of the stairs in her own house.Thank you.

[Marian]

Erin wrote: "I'm halfway through You by Caroline Kepnes and I just started The Alienist by Caleb Carr."

Very good book!

[Rita]

I started reading a book I've had for decades buried in the basement. It is Doll's Eyes by Bari Wood. It is like I am reading one of Stephen King's on the edge of your seat books. It's really good.

[Nancy]

There is an excellent documentary on Netflix regarding this case and it is better than any book On the case I think. It made me really question whether or not he did it. At this point I really don’t know. I am tempted to say he did not. There are things that did not come up during the trial. It’s an excellent documentary. You should watch it on Netflix.

[Hari]

Marian wrote: "Is there anybody here who has heard of the Kathleen Peterson case?I was wondering if there is a book out on it..maybe called Death on the Staircase,or something similar to that title.I actually don..."

Marian,
This may be a duplicate post, but here goes.
I recently finished reading a book about this case titled "Written In Blood" by Diane Fanning.
Fairly well written altho not perfect, it is interesting and important, nonetheless.

[Marian]

Hari wrote: "Marian wrote: "Is there anybody here who has heard of the Kathleen Peterson case?I was wondering if there is a book out on it..maybe called Death on the Staircase,or something similar to that title..."

Ohhhhhh,thank you thank you Hari!!I just heard that there is a Netflix show about this,called The Staircase?Im off to see if I can find this book.

[Fishface]

Marian wrote: "Is there anybody here who has heard of the Kathleen Peterson case?I was wondering if there is a book out on it..maybe called Death on the Staircase,or something similar to that title.I actually don..."

I'm pretty sure you mean:
The Staircase: The Murder of Kathleen Peterson

[Koren]

Scored at a book sale today:

3096 Tage dont know why the goodreads editions are not in english
The Last Time We Saw Her
Kiss and Kill
Shattered Innocence, Shattered Dreams
Sins of the Father
Every Mother's Nightmare
A Wife's Revenge
Sleeping with the Devil
The Richest Girl in the World: The Extravagant Life and Fast Times of Doris Duke
The Blooding

[Marian]

Fishface wrote: "Marian wrote: "Is there anybody here who has heard of the Kathleen Peterson case?I was wondering if there is a book out on it..maybe called Death on the Staircase,or something similar to that title..."

Thank you so much! that book is brand new and not even here in Canada yet,and comes out on the 15th!

[Koren]

I finished Against Her Will: The Senseless Murder of Kelly Ann Tinyes by Ronald Watkins about the murder of a 13 year old girl by her next door neighbor, Robert Golub. It was a bit of a disappointment as their wasn't much background information and seems to be mostly taken from reports and transcripts. One thing I found amazing was how the people in the neighborhood harassed the family and in turn they harassed them back. How sad that neighbors couldn't help and support each other. I wish there would have been more interviews to try to understand why this happened. I was disappointed that not one person was interviewed for this book.

[Fishface]

I was surprised when my brother mailed me Mrs. Sherlock Holmes. I didn't know he knew I wanted it!

[Lady ♥ Belleza, Gif Princesa]

Fishface wrote: "I was surprised when my brother mailed me Mrs. Sherlock Holmes. I didn't know he knew I wanted it!"

Oh I want to read that one.

[Lady ♥ Belleza, Gif Princesa]

I am halfway through O.J. Simpson & Glen Rogers: The Juice, Road Dog, & Murder on Bundy Drive and the only mention of OJ is the California prosecutors telling Rogers "This won't be another OJ." Maybe I'll learn more when they get to the California trial. Right now they are still in Florida. It's still an interesting book, trial portion is a little slow and heavy.

[Marian]

Reading The Monster of Florence

and..


Small Sacrifices: A True Story of Passion and Murder

[Fishface]

Gripped by Ian Brady: The untold story of the Moors Murders. I am starting to get a feel for the guy's pathology. He's not a Ted Bundy type at all. And, thank Scrod, nothing like the last SK I read about, Jerry Schaeffer.

[Koren]

Everything Trump Touches Dies: A Republican Strategist Gets Real About the Worst President Ever by Rick Wilson
3 stars

Well, the title pretty much says it all. This book does not say a whole lot that we dont already know. There is a lot of name calling and bad language. He repeatedly calls the president and his minions stupid and more, which didn't bother me. Got this from the library but I dont think I would want to spend hard-earned money on a book that pretty much tells me what I already know.

One thing I wondered...if Trump runs for president again, who will the anti-Trump Republicans vote for? I cant imagine they will vote Democrat.

[Fishface]

There may be another enormous field of GOP candidates, like the 18 or so we started with this time around. "In the end there can be only one."

[Erin]

I think Trump will be reelected. I don't see why anyone who voted for him in '16, wouldn't vote for him in'20.

Also everyone in politics is terrified of him.

[Fishface]

Well, it was a razor-thin decision. And he's LOSING support according to the polls. If Democratic voters actually put their faces in the place on voting day he could easily lose. I agree with the theory that abstainers gave him the edge he needed.