5 comments about Love, Lies & Murder.

1. "That's not writing, that's TYPING!"
   
   Mostly typed up police and court transcripts, that is...



2. The story was so very sad and was told in detail with so much suspense you could not put this book down. I do wonder the real reason the other poster bad rated it. Could be the murderer's new wife in Mexico who knows. As a long time true crime book reader this is one to get.



3. This book was just page after page of depositions and recorded phone calls, with a few chapters of narrative.
   This book is about Perry March, a man suspected and then convicted of killing his wife Janet.
   I picked it up at a local grocery store thinking that it would be good because I love true crime stories.
   Pfft.
   Most of the book is just straight transcribing.
   I flipped through most of it because it was boring and really added nothing to the book itself. A lot of it could just have been summed up.
   
   Pass on this.



4. I'm not sure a couple of the other commenters read the same book I did.
   
   I've read a couple of King's books and I think I like this one the best. Its obvious (at least to a lay person like myself) that King put a lot of research into this story. Between the descriptions of international law to the near-verbatim deposition, there is a ton of info in this story I doubt you could get from the TV versions alone.
   
   I, personally, thought the deposition chapters were fantastic. Well written and easy to follow. Not to mention fascinating. Talk about getting into the mind of the murderer?? I'm not sure any writer could have expressed the workings of Perry March's mind in a better way than to present his actual words. I was also fascinated by the way the attorney for Janet March's parents drilled Perry during this deposition. It was a chess match!!!
   
   I liked how King linked all the keys to the case together. Even though its fairly linear, I can't imagine its easy putting all that info together in a manner that is easy for the reader to follow and understand. Of course, it doesn't hurt that its a sad, tragic, but still amazing story. I am always amazed at what human beings are capable of doing to each other, especially toward those they supposedly love.
   
   I doubt the author was looking for a Pulitzer when he wrote this book, but it is certainly entertaining. If you like the true crime genre, it is definitely worth a look.



5. A couple people seemed to really enjoy this book but I finally had to put it down out of boredom and frustration. So much of the book is transcripts from depositions and testimony that it got very old very quick. A summary would have been a lot more interesting. As one reviewer noted..this is typing not writing. I wanted to read an account of the case not pages and pages of verbatim documents.
   UPDATE:
   *******************************************************************
   Since writing my review I found another book on the March case called An Unfinished Canvas. An unfinished Canvas is a vastly superior book in every way. All the pages of tedious verbatim transcripts in this book are handled in a few short paragraphs in Unfinished Canvas. You still get the same sense of a killer trapping himself in a web of lie after lie, and you still understand how the whole decade long search plays out but it is written in an engrossing way and was really hard tp put down. If you are interested in finding out more on the March case, skip Love Lies and Murder and go straight to An Unfinished Canvas...you will be glad you did.

5 comments about Operation Bullpen.

1. Operation Bullpen illustrates in riveting detail just how a bunch of average schmoes stepped onto the slippery slope of crime, got hooked hard, and were never able to get out of it until the FBI managed to push them out. The portrayal of the FBI operation is facinating in its depiction of the agents as just regular working guys with the liabilities and weaknesses that most of us are prone to. One of the great episode sequences in the book is when the FBI agents begin to meet and interact with the forgery ring members. It's better than watching a nature show -- you get a perspective of human nature at work in the contest between good vs. bad, or at least in society's struggle between doing the right thing and doing the wrong thing, and it makes for an highly engrossing study.



2. Operation Bullpen is the true story of the high-flying national crime ring that forged the autographs of sports stars and celebrities and ripped off American consumers for more than $100 million, before being busted by a dramatic three-year FBI undercover investigation. Nelson conducted exclusive interviews with forgers, counterfeit dealers, and the FBI to piece together both sides of the drama. This is an often unbelievable, sometimes funny, and always interesting book about autographs and forgery.
   
   I was particularly fascinated by the story of Greg Marino, master forger. In order to get into the signing zone he'd smoke pot and often sit in front of the TV to work. Marino would consult real exemplar autographs that he and his cohorts had collected and carefully cataloged in a series of binders.
   
   After many years and hundreds of thousands of autographs, I was amazed that Marino could forge any sig just by looking once at the exemplar. The stories of Marino sitting in a comfortable chair with his signing arm propped up on pillows, stoned to the bone, and polishing off 400 sigs while watching a Yankees game on TV made my draw drop.
   
   The inside account of the three year undercover FBI sting operation brought the book together, making it feel like a thriller. We experience the ups and downs of individual agents assigned to the case, learn about wiretaps and hidden recording devices, and sit at the edge of our seat as the busts come down. Every serious autograph collector and dealer needs to read and understand the story of how the biggest forgery scam in American history.



3. Operation Bullpen is a great book for anyone who is interested in the collectables field. As a former card dealer I was even familiar with a few of the people involved.
   
   The author understand the collecting world. He talks about cards and autographs as an expert which is refreshing. All too often people write about the hobby but make glaring errors showing they really dont understand what they are writing about. This book is right on! This guy knows the hobby and it's players.
   
   It's a book that I so enjoyed reading that I rationed myself 25 pages here and 50 pages there. I stopped only because I wanted the experience to last and not be over too soon.
   
   It's all about fake autograph conartists and how they were captured . It's a must read for anyone who has purchased autographed items or is planning to in the future. Know your seller and the "how" or "where" your item was aquired!



4. This is an excellent book and one of those that you can devour in a single sitting. The author uses a nice style - switching back and forth from the good guys to the bad guys - and does a great job of character development (not that these characters needed much development!). You're left feeling a bit sorry for the bad guys and a little frustrated with the federales (for making so many mistakes and taking so long) - a nice balance. The interesting thing about this book is that it's not perfectly written from a technical sense - there are a number of obvious errors (names of famous people misspelled or wrong, facts that are off), but given the amateur nature of the whole operation, in the end, it actually ADDS to the experience. The criminals are VERY imperfect people doing a perfect con job, and the FBI and law enforcement types are "supposed to be perfect" but are far from it... so the somewhat crude nature of the writing absolutely fits. I collect sports memorabilia, mostly baseball cards, and I'll be taking extra caution after reading this. And I'll NEVER buy a third-party autograph, "certified" or not! Here's one reader hoping there's a "Bullpen 2" that tells us what happened to these people 5 years out or so...



5. This is a terrific story, chockful of Big Money and colorful characters. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

5 comments about A Mother Gone Bad: The Hidden Confession of JonBenet's Killer.

1. This book paints one viewpoint and tries to make the puzzle pieces fit. Yes, Karr turned out to be a total nut but I still believe the Ramseys are 100% innocent..Let us bring up a few points the book neglects.
   
   The Ramseys were out of the house on the night of the murder for several hours..
   Is it possible the killer was waiting with a ransom note already and hid out??
   
   The Ramseys had a huge gathering out their house several DAYS prior to the murder. Many people were in and out of their house that night with posssible access to house keys, note pads etc. etc.
   
   DNA evidence was taken and NONE of it matched either Patsy or her husband...meaning ANOTHER party must have been involved
   So, I guess the parents are covering up for he/she too??
   
   Why are these obvious points never fully adressed
   Patsy Ramsey is innocent. Let her rest in peace...



2. I was very impressed with Andrew G. Hodges' book. I know many of you will consider it psychological "mumbo jumbo" but you might consider that Hodges is an expert in his field, with more than 25 years experience. I found the book fascinating. His line by line analysis of the ransom note intrigued me and the entire book read like a "who-dunit." None of us want to believe that parents could be capable of such a horrendous crime, but it happens; ask any social worker or experienced cop. Incidentally, consider this: The Ramseys sued Steve Thomas and several others, but they never touched Hodges. They did not even acknowledge the existence of this book!



3. Detailed analysis of the murder and psychological profiles for the mother and father. Analysis of letters, relationships, everything..He got it down pat. Engrossing, accurate, clever and believable explanations for almost every single incident that occured within this case. Different possibilites, outcomes, some things assumed but when you read it you know its dead on correct. This guy knows what hes talking about and is an expert at reading people and breaks down the likely motives for what actually occured. Realizing what people really mean when they write or say something and 'reading between the lines'.
   
   I read this book in one sitting, quite long, but i couldnt put it down. Every detail kept me interested due to the convincing and accurate truthfulness and frankness in the way he deals with the case and gives explanations for everything. Different possible scenarios, backgrounds of family, motives, lives , everything you can possibly want to know is in this book. Highly Recommended.



4. I found this book to be laughable. I believe that it's possible to decipher hidden meanings in what people say or write, but I don't believe this author has done so. As other reviewers have said, he gave no basis or back up for his methodology, and there was little to make me believe it was anything other than psychobabble. I even tried a few times to read the section of the ransom note first, then guess what he would say, and a few times I got it right. Whether she committed this crime or not, this book should not be seen as proof.



5. This book, written by a very learned and respected scholar and psychiatrist, is interesting and reaches a conclusion that has significant support - namely that Patsy Ramsey wrote the infamous 'ransom' note. However, it may not be the best introductory book on the Ramsey case since it is very lean on facts and very high in analysis that is (or was) fairly unorthodox. Students of the Ramsey case will inevitably come to read this book and will eventually enjoy it, but it isn't a primer on the case.

1 comments about The World's 20 Worst Crimes: True Stories of 20 Killers and Their 1000 Victims.

1. The title of the book is deceiving. It sounds very exciting. But the book just does not hold your attention. The writing isn't very good. I am sorry, the book IS readable, but I would not recommend this book to true crime buffs.

5 comments about Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, scams, frauds..

1. The author certainly knows a lot about the subject, however he fails to make the book readable. Run-away sentences filled with precise numbers, most probably taken out of the sky, results in totally unreadable text. The book reminded me of a really boring free newspaper, except the editor never learned to use a spell checker.
   Apart from really poor language skills, some "facts" are really doubtful. For example, on page 9, Les Henderson writes that "... it is impossible to recover anything to compensate their victims because most of their money has gone to purchase recreational drugs...". I have hard time to believe that criminals smart enough to come up with a working fraud scheme cannot come up with a better use of the money then drugs. Then again, what do I know...
   I also absolutely hated the way particular facts are mixed and equated with generalizations, such as the bulleted list on pages 33-34, which includes vitamins, promotional items and ... "small trinkets of minimal value compared to the payments made".
   In any case, I would not recommend to buy this book unless you are studying this particular subject and have no other sources of information on it.



2. Reading Les Henderson's Crimes of Persuasion is much like observing a series of 40-foot long steel containers being dropped from a dockside ocean freighter onto a flat-bed truck. The impact, over and over again is huge, as the trailer bounces and flexes, as its tires resist the extra weight of each drop. With each page you keep saying to yourself, "That's how they do it!" "That's how they organize!" "That's the come-on!" "So, that's the hook!" We learn all about the players in the game too: the "Fronter," the "Qualifier," the"No-Saler," the "Takeover" Man. We learn all about the mechanics of the games themselves--"clean sheeting," "blind pools," much more. ##### Sometimes it takes simple minds to understand complicated situations. Thank goodness. Because con games are usually very complex--thoroughly thought out, prepared, and worked by brilliant people--we "Marks" (simpletons--the victims), in this case have a chance. ##### With the aid of this book you are prepared for just about anything the con man might throw at you. It's beautifuly Contents-ed and Indexed. Want to know about sweepstakes scams? Right there. Just look it up. How about telemarketing frauds, home equity, elder abuse, home repair, identity theft, internet shenanigans, etc. On and on. On and on. On and on. It's all right here. You only have to look it up. It's a great defensive tool for everyone, in this day and age of get-rich-quick, follow the bouncing ball, smoke and mirrors trickery. ##### What's the underlying premise of con games? Gain your confidence. Pure and simple. Here's just one example: You get a call from a smooth-talking stock "Expert," who is pitching you because he knows you are an investor. He tells you to watch ABC co. stock; it's going up. A week later, after the stock of ABC co. has gone up, as he said it would, he calls you back and confides that the stock of XYZ co. is going down; keep tabs. When the stock drops, exactly as he said it would, you now have a level of confidence in him when he calls the third time. Right? That's the point. You are now "set-up," vulnerable to whatever kind of investment he may now say is desirable. How did he do it? How did he know ABC was going up and XYZ was going down? Easy. He started out with a list of 200 names from the phone book. He was right on 100 of them. He then called that 100 and was right again on 50. You were in that list of 50. Presto! ##### In all, this book is about the most encylopedic tome for consumer protection I've seen, covering the whole gauntlet of cons, scams, and frauds like the proverbial "blanket." The next time you are in Ceasar's Palace, note the small warning sign by the door, "Gambling can be addictive; if you think you have a gambling problem, call the number below to contact Gamblers Anonymous." Similarly, if you think you might have a Susceptibility-to-Con-Games problem, ownership of this book, Crimes of Persuasion: Schemes, Scams, Frauds is your "Gamblers Anonymous".



3. A must-read. The author describes in details many different types of scams through which people get defrauded. The book is also fun to read because it shows how the scammers use people's psychological traits (like greed, insecurity, or even loneliness) to get them to part with their money. It's very interesting and you can actually see analogous strategies being played out in TV commercials or even in your daily interactions with people who try to get things from you. I feel much more prepared to deal with life after reading this.



4. I bought this book after looking at the table of contents and seeing the plothera of cons that can be done to people and businesses. I wanted to use the book as a comparative to ethical marketing. Well guess what? You can argue that the con man and the businessman uses the same tatics!!!! Indeed, in this book there are some straight cons that are blankety illegal, but, others really aren't so cut and dry. Some methods that marketers use and "get away" with you can find on informocials past and present. Some of the biggest names and best selling products and services in history have been used by marketers using some of the methods in this book. I think the blur between whats legal and illegal can be a matter of what the government and law enforcement choose to do with a company.
   
   This book was an eye opener and I thought that there is no way I could be conned, but, I see as the author pointed out that anyone can be conned, including the author with all his knowledge.
   My only caveat is that a consumer can read this book and may think that everything is a con because the con man and legitimate companies are so much alike. The real difference is what is deemed as value by consumers, lawyers, gov't and all who choose to be involved.
   My only other complaint is that I was left wanting more details!! Things such as the economics of the con and cost analysis of hiring and building the company of each con and a whole lot of other specifics which probably would've catapult this book to 1000 pages!



5. This book gives a great over view of con artists and their work. It offers a much needed balance given the media's tendency to glorify con artists and the crimes they commit. The focus on the victims is a wonderful aspect of this work.
   
   Although they are psychopathic and antisocial, they are not loners. Con artists have many relationships and I have been most interested in their family relationships. I highly recommend this book to people who are the family members of convicted and suspected con artists. This book will help you come to grips with the real person behind the con and it is not pretty!
   
   The author (Henderson) does a great service as he points out that con artists cannot work without accomplices. Often people become unsuspecting accomplices when they endorse a con artist or his/her business.

5 comments about The Shankill Butchers.

1. This is a well written book that tells the story of loyalist murderers in the north of Ireland. Mr. Perry obviously has loyalist sympathies and can't seem to leave his biased opinions of Ireland's freedom fighters out of any of his book reviews. The IRA, INLA, etc. were protecting their communities from protestant invasion in the first place. The British army was sent in to protect Irish Catholic neighborhoods from being destroyed by protestants (of course that turned out to work against the Catholics too). How easily you forget to include the UVF, RHC, UDA, UFF, PAF, LVF and their intimidation and terror tactics (including beatings, burning houses, maiming, murders supported by selling cocaine and heroine). You criticise books because you say the authors demonise one side and support the other- well what do you think you are doing in your so called book reviews? You basically blame the IRA for the attrocities committed by the shankill butchers! Give me a break! You are just typical of any loyalist and have no way of comprehending the Irish Catholic experience in Ulster. In another one of your reviews you say that the Catholics aren't the only ones who have it hard in Ulster and you use the Shankill in West Belfast as your support. Well I agree that the prods in the Shankill aren't living in luxury, but you cannot say that the prods throughout Ulster have had suffered as much discrimination and abuse as the Catholics have. Try and prove that one. I have no problem with admitting my bias and I will not even try to hide it. Regardless, Ulster will be united with the other Irish provinces one day and things will be all good. 26 + 6 = 1 Do yourself a favour and check out the BBC Northern Ireland website on almost any day and you will see examples of how great your beloved loyalist gangsters and thugs are.
   People should read this book and see for themselves that the butchers were extreme examples of hate and not even the IRA is an excuse to slaughter innocent civilians. Well worth the read. Erin go bragh!



2. I enjoyed this book immensely. That out of the way, this book is very well written on a very interesting topic (gruesome, but still interesting.) The author clearly distinguishes between recorded facts and conclusions drawn. The evidences backing his conclusions are thorough and well researched.
   
   The author also gives only a cursory background into the "political" strife and tribulations of the area and the time. This helps one gain insight on the claimed reasons for the actions recorded in this book. Just enough info, not an overload of who did snubbed who in 1253 A.D. (I know, I know, this is just an exageration).
   
   Not politically or religiously driven, but focusing of the topic named on the cover, this book is an excellent read. The only problem is that you come away knowing what one human will do to another...



3. This is a great book that details the activitys of one of the sickest, and most sadistic terror gangs in the history of the war in Northern Ireland.
   
   The Shankill Butchers were an offshoot of the Loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), during the mid 1970's these evil killers, abducted and tortured to death, 19 innocent Catholics.
   The UVF and UDA (Ulster Defense Association) rarely targeted actual IRA members, since the IRA had a policy of killing two UDA or UVF men for every one IRA member killed. At this rate the Loyalist groups knew they wouldn't last long against the professional soldiers of the IRA. The Buthers knew this too, which as Sean Dillon points out "Is why they only targeted unarmed Catholic civillians".
   Eventually the Butchers were brought to justice, and imprisoned for their horrific crimes.
   In subsequesnt years, as the individual members of the Butchers were released, they were targeted for death by IRA hit teams.
   The leader of the Butchers Lenny Murphey, was shot dead in front of his home in the early 1980's by the IRA.
   
   The history of the Ulster Volunteer Force (of which the Shankill Buthers were members) is that of brutal but highly amateurish terror organization. from 1971 to 1996 thay managed to kill five hundred unarmed Catholic civillians with the explicit help of the British Army and Northern Ireland police (the RUC). By 1996 however, their leadership had been decimated by a ruthless IRA and INLA assassination campaign, which forced them into a ceasefire.
   
   By that time, most of the remaining Shankill Buthcers had been assassinated by the IRA, or killed by fellow UVF members who by that time, saw them as an embarrassment.
   
   This is a highly reccommended book by a good author, who exposes the Shankill Butchers for the cowardly terrorists they really were.



4. This is a deeply distressing book that succeeds in taking the reader into the heart of this particular horror. This was but one of many terrible outrages in Northern Ireland and is at times difficult to read, such is the author's ability to draw you in to the fear and atmosphere of the time.
   Reading the book left me with a feeling of utter sadness and despair which took a few days to lift. Very powerful writing with little light at the end of the tunnel.
   Dillon is the preeminent writer on 'The Troubles' and his 'Dirty War' is one I would also highly recommend. It's no exaggeration to say that he has helped me to clarify many of my thoughts on the subject. Growing up in Ireland during the storm of the Northern Ireland problem, it was difficult to find objective writings; consequently and regrettably it was common to be indoctrinated in tribal rhetoric. Writers like Dillon have given much to create a clearer understanding of what happened and who was responsible.
   Highly recommended but not for the faint-hearted.



5. Well written and well researched book on a Ulster Paramilitary Unit that basically goes nuts on bloodlust and murder. Taken from actual transcripts, news and army reports and testimony from both the killers, cops and victims that managed to get away from their attackers.
   
   I've personally never read much about the Protestant side of the Irish Troubles until this book, so this was an eye opener about their side of things and it shows what can happen when the violence becomes an important part of the culture all on its own.
   
   If you're looking for a true crime book that's a little out of the oridnary, you've found it.

5 comments about Fire Cops: On the Case with America's Arson Investigators.

1. I have been a firefighter for a year now. My girlfriend purchased this book for me for my birthday. While I don't have a lot of expierence in Arson Investigations this book vividly and correctly portrays the way a fire scene looks. Too many times people view firefighting and public safety as a "flashy" job. This book portrays the incident scene in a sober, but exciting way. A must have for anyone interested in the Fire Service and Law Enforcement!



2. I have been in the fire service for over 30 years and the past 23 as an arson investigator in a large metropolitan city. The authors have taken the time in most cases to listen to the people actually doing the work on a day-to-day basis. They are to be commended for this. For the person having questions what this job is all about, this book will spell it out in frank detail. This is a subject that is interesting but all too often overlooked by most writers.



3. The stories are great and do justice to the field of fire investigation. What surprised me was the quality of the writing! Usually technical subjects do not attract talented authors. This is an undiscovered gem in the realm of literature.



4. If you are already interested in fire fighting and arson investigation in particular, then you will find this book very interesting, with lots of real life stories. A novice however will find little excitement and too much in depth information to keep up interest.



5. If you are a rank amateur and just want to get some really interesting facts and information based on 'model' fires that occurred in real life, this book is a great book to start with.

   I purchased the book with an interest in just enough details to allow me to 'talk the language' in a book I am writing where an arson investigator is one of the characters.

   I think you'll find this book as fascinating as I did.

5 comments about Jerry Capeci's gang land.

1. Great book, I have not read the NY columns, great way to catch up on 15 years of the mob.



2. Another excellent take, by the unmatched name in the "business" -- one of the few authors dealing with the mob who consistently delivers good books.



3. Sometimes it is interesting but then gets boring. Not enough detail into cases.



4. Capeci just has too big an ego. there are plenty of great mob books out there, this isn't one of them.



5. This book is a quick read, thanks in part to the larger than average type. It has a gossipy tone, and at least half the book is about John Gotti and his son Junior. I agree with the earlier reviewer who complained about Capeci's ego. There's no question he's quite full of himself. If you do get this book, try to get it at a good price. You'll go through it in a weekend.

5 comments about The Beast of Chicago: An Account of the Life and Crimes of Herman W. Mudgett, Known to the World As H.H. Holmes, also know as : H. M. Howard, D. T. Pratt, ... of Victorian Murder (Graphic Novels)).

1. Sometime around 1998 I discovered a paragraph or two about the killer Herman Mudgett on some amateur websites, the kind of seat-of-the-pants efforts that consigned them to early webdeaths. They offered measly details about Mudgetts appearance and his castle, but the rousing story arc was there; A fiendish charlatan preying on travelers trekking to Chicago to see the 1893 Worlds Fair, followed by a chase and his "castle" in flames. The details were sparse but they had the intended effect; they were spine-tingling. A lack of photos kept the imagery just out of reach. It was tantalizing to wonder what the castle looked like. Was it something to compete with Chicago's contemporaneous Potter Palmer castle? How had Mudgett's castle escaped mention in all the Chicago architecture histories I'd read? How had Mudgett fallen from the collective memory of a city and a nation, while Lizzie Borden's parents made their bloody exit and she remains notorious to this day? It was like the kids in A Nightmare on Elm Street, growing up oblivious about Freddy Krueger, what he'd done, and what their parents had in turn done to him.
   
   The re-emergence of the Mudgett narrative in the last 5 years has been disappointing. None of these efforts have caught my imagination like those junky retellings where I first learned about him. I'd long ago accepted that Mudgetts "castle" was outwardly just an unremarkable 3-story corner store. The recent best seller, Devil in the White City (about the same topic), had narrative problems that continue here. Relievedly absent is that books excruciating A/B storyline structure, but just as D.I.T.W.C. foundered and got lost in insurance schemes, location shifts, and a rollcall of lesser figures, so does this.
   
   It's the first time the story is told with imagery. One would think that the real opportunity here was the chance to envision those things that we haven't seen till now, and what is really unique about the case. The material should benefit from diagrams and graphics. But it just didn't come to life for me. In other titles in the series Geary's fastidious research and factuality are what make them compelling, here the facts concern the least interesting aspects of the crime: ancillary pawns that Mudgett encountered, and documentation of what he confessed after the fact. There's still way too little about the house. If you wrote about Sarah Winchester, would you start with her very factual checkbook entries? The story requires streamlining. As I read, I became impatient; how much longer would these uninteresting cross-country switcharoos continue? When would the castle and bodies show up? I wished Geary had consigned more of the late victims and shadowy flunkies to anonymity. For me the story IS Mudgett's house, and the way it's design assisted in the dispatch of victims. He saves those details for quite late in the story and then presents them in unpeopled tableaux. There is no horror per se. Worst of all, nearly all the victims simply disappear between panels in the drawings. The tease just goes on too long. Insurance claims, swindles, and train rides aren't especially frightening when visualized.
   
   Unhelpful also is the delineation of "secret" rooms which are drawn exactly like the non-secret rooms you use all day. (How secret can they be..? the door's right there.) Likewise for callouts naming some of the castle's secrets which are not self-explanatory and never make it into the narrative. (The Maze, Five Door Room, Sealed Room, The Hanging Blind Room & Mysterious Closed Room...??!!)
   
   Mudgett is just one of several deviate serial killers associated with Chicago (along with John Wayne Gacy, Larry Eyler, Leopold & Loeb and Richard Speck. And Jeffrey Dahmer snared some of his victims at Carols Speakeasy on Halsted, another Chicago location erased from the collective memory) Makes you wonder if there's something in the water.
   
   This is my 4th title in the series. It is my 4th favorite.



2. Rick Geary, The Beast of Chicago (ComicsLit, 2003)
   
   Man, this is a brilliant idea: a graphic novel about H. H. Holmes, who after decades of obscurity has returned to prominence thanks to The Devil in the White City. (Put aside that Allan W. Eckert attempted to revive the Holmes mystique in the thrilling The Scarlet Mansion twenty years before, one of the formative books of my childhood and youth, and one that desperately needs to come back into print at this particular point in history.) Think of all the fun stuff you could do with a serial killer graphic novel! Oh, wait, you don't have to, you can read From Hell. (And you should.) But, let's face it, we know a lot more about H. H. Holmes, and we suspect even more, and all the great floor plans for that fantastic house are simply begging for graphic novel treatment.
   
   So why is Geary's attempt at the subject matter a paltry, albeit quite gorgeous and wonderfully packaged, eighty pages long? I've no idea. (As a side light, this is the first graphic novel I've read recently where the people who catalog this stuff at the library shouldn't be fired outright for putting it in the YA section, which is rather ironic given its subject matter.) He could have spent eighty pages just on drawings of various aspects of the house, with all its twisting passageways, secret rooms, laboratories, and the like. Instead, the Castle itself gets about a fifth of that, with Holmes' exploits both before and after taking up considerably more room.
   
   His is worth checking out, because it is quite beautifully drawn and does shed light on a much-neglected chapter of American history, but it seems more like a skeletal outline than a finished product. Hopefully, there will be a revised, expanded edition somewhere down the line that does Holmes-- and his victims-- the justice they deserve. ***



3. After reading Erik Larson's non fictional/fictional Devil in the White City book which received critical praise I decided to look at Rick Geary's pictoral novel. Recommended for children in 8th grade i feel this book fails to deliver alot of the back ground information into the 1893 World Fair nor H.H. Holmes. Instead this book gives anyone interested into learning more about both topics alot of holes in the story making it hard to completly understand H.H. Holmes and his murderous rage he left on Chicago. For those who have background knowledge on this subject thi book acts as a quick refresher. Those looking to know the real story of H.H. Holmes I recommend reading The Devil in the White CIty.



4. As always, Rick Geary's art is stupendous, yet as other reviewers have noted, much more could have been done with this graphic novel. The bizarre nooks, crannies, and asphyxiation rooms of H.H.Holmes' castle would have made for a visual feast, but unfortunately Geary focuses on these matters relatively briefly, choosing instead to spend time following Holmes step-by-step as he abandons one wife and child after another and murders his way through most of the children in the Pietzel family. Still, a competent introduction to one of the more horrifying figures of 19th century America.



5. Artist/storyteller Geary does what might be called documentary graphics novels of the macabre and sometimes gory variety. Here he's concerned with Herman Mudgett of New Hampshire, who, under the name "Dr. H. H. Holmes" (among many others), cut a bloody swath through the crowds of visitors to the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. He's often regarded as "America's first serial killer" -- or at least the first we know about. He was married to (at least) three women at one time and often put them up in hotels near each other, he built a "murder factory" in the suburb of Englewood with secret rooms, drop-shafts, and a basement crematory, and he was responsible for the deaths of at least three dozen men, women, and children who can be identified. (The total was probably more like a hundred victims and may have been nearly twice that.) In a day of casual identification, and relatively slow travel and communications, Holmes was able to disappear people without much trouble, and his apparently winning personality convinced others to accept his explanations. Geary has a very precise black-and-white drawing style perfectly suited to the Victorian world of which he writes and his books -- and the research behind them -- are always fascinating.

5 comments about Mob Over Miami.

1. I thought this was a great book. It had a lot of facts. It connected what was going on with Chris from the beginning to his arrest. You kind of get tired of the deviation from Chris' story of fame, fortune, and fatal faults. That is until Chris gets arrested than your glad because you know actually how the arrest for a crime from so long ago came about. Michele did her research and wrote a good book. It kind of reminded me of a mini mob series. Like the sopranos were tons of different events happen in a coincidental way to the detriment of one person (or a crew of persons in this case.) Great book, lots of information, and still sexy.



2. OLD NEWS: BUT WELL PACKAGED. IT'S AMAZING THE STUFF YOU CAN LEARN IF YOU KNOW WHERE TO LOOK.



3. "Mob Over Miami" details the rise and fall of one Chris Paciello, who, through a combination of luck, toughness, street-smarts, and charisma, became a major player in South Florida's nightclub scene after he left New York. I hesitate to divulge anything else, for this book is such a great read I wouldn't want to give anything away. I will state, however, that, in my opinion, the author, Michelle McPhee, is without a doubt one of the best writers around today. Once I picked up this book I found it difficult to put down. After you read this story, I think you'll agree.



4. Man, did this book suck!!!!! Nothing personal, but the author's writing style was like something out of US WEEKLY or PEOPLE magazine. Not to mention Chris Paciello's mob contact was very little once he left New York. I don't know, it just wasn't that great of a book. Imagine you just finished reading MURDER MACHINE or BLOOD AND HONOR, and then you pick this one up. BIG LETDOWN!!!!!



5. Chris Paciello's rise to stardom represents everything that is wrong with this country's blind celebrity worship. A shiftless thug with no legitimate accomplishments to his name bludgeons his way to nightclub fame in Miami, destroying lives along the way and exacting a huge toll on society.
   
   Paciello and his buddies were gangster Staten Island wannabes with none of the intelligence or style of any of the wise guys they emulated from several generations earlier. Mob Over Miami is rampant with tales of awkward shootings in broad daylight, conspicuous firebombing of competitor nightclubs, and fights that more often than not were the equivalent of sucker punching a deaf and blind man. What a fake Paciello was: his muscles were fake (he was a steroid abuser); his Italian name and heritage were fake (he's German); and, most flagrantly, his business acumen was fake and earned at the barrel of a gun. Still, those things didn't stop lowlifes like Madonna, Ingrid Casares, and Niki Taylor from their abject worship, even when Paciello's criminal past was impossible to ignore (e.g., he was part of a botched burglary attempt that left a housewife answering the door shot dead in her own home).
   
   The only good thing to come out of these graceless accounts of criminal ineptitude is when these worms tuned on one another or, better yet, rubbed one another out (e.g., Paulie Gulino). Unfortunately, Paciello sang quickly and loudly enough to authorities to evade punishment, and is allegedly in the Federal Witness Protection Program.
   
   Michelle McPhee did a fabulous job of making this story entertaining while somehow giving her subjects as much dignity as she could, given what she had to work with. Mob Over Miami is nowhere nearly as tabloid-ready as it probably deserves to be. It's easy to see that the author was passionate about her subject matter, and she wove a riveting tale that made you forget that Paciello is more Joey Buttafucco than John Gotti. She's a tough New Yorker, too, which lends the tale a healthy dose of credibility and flair.