"There has been a handful of gorgeous, sun soaked spring days recently. What better time to go off on a true and fictional crime jag and wallow in depravity and cynicism?"
--Journalist James Varney, New Orleans Times-Picayune
Welcome to the annual true crime book club link-a-thon! I am dusting off my blog again to share the plethora of links my faithful correspondents have sent me and that I've selfishly hoarded hitherto. If you like stories of history, journalism, law, and murder, in other words the true crime genre, easily the best invention to come out of the sixteenth century [sic - for the Truman Capote zealots], below are stories and books in the theme. If you have any links, books, or reviews to share, please do!
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You're not the only one drawn to antique crime photos.... A trove is unearthed in California in True crime: images from the LAPD archives (including image above).
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You're also not the only otherwise sane person to admit to liking true crime books. Governor Susana Martinez recently plugged the genre for schoolchildren.
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The Wall Street Journal offers nice coverage of our favorite literary genre. In its pages true crime gets its due. Lately it's offered some good links in the theme. Author Daniel Stashower (whose book got a nice nod from the N.Y. Times) got hooked on true crime at thirteen. The WSJ also liked Midnight in Peking by Paul French.
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Over the last few months I've followed a civil suit in Washington state. Author Ann Rule took the local newspaper, the Seattle Weekly, to task with a libel suit that I for one thought appeared to be well founded. Though I don't know the niceties of that state's laws, I've handled a few libel cases; she looked to me to have a case. Surprisingly, her case got thrown out. More. And more. Even more. So the queen of the genre is moving on -- here's an Ann Rule interview about her next book on Russel Douglas.
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On the bookshelf:
Choking in Fear by Mike McCarty
Hauptmann's Ladder by Richard T. Cahill. There are a lot of books on this case, but this is being very well received....
In the Wake of the Butcher: Cleveland's Torso Murders by James Jessen Badal
Practice to Deceive by Ann Rule (10/13)
Michigan’s Strychnine Saint: The Curious Case of Mrs. Mary McKnight by Tobin Buhk (Review)
Pilgrim's Wilderness by Tom Kizzia (Review)
Oh, Laura, I LOVE you!!! So glad you are blogging again. Really, cannot say how happy I am!!! Thank you for your awesome site!!!!
Posted by: Ellen G | May 10, 2014 at 01:14 PM
Glad you're back, looking forward to your blog posts.
Posted by: KathM | May 12, 2014 at 07:27 PM
I've missed you! Happily surprised with your latest posts.
Thank you!
Posted by: pam | May 19, 2014 at 02:57 AM