3 comments about Dead Move: Kate Morgan and the Haunting Mystery of Coronado, Second Edition (Nonfiction).

1. Dead Move: Kate Morgan and the Haunting Mystery of Coronado, Second Edition (Nonfiction)Dead Move: Kate Morgan and the Haunting Mystery of Coronado
   
   Here's a ghost story and a mystery with a REAL twist. I've enjoyed many a ghostly tale and have a passion for mysteries, too, but rarely have I seen the two combined as well as this. It's not just speculative fiction; looks like John Cullen sorted through a lot of history and combined it with some reasonable speculation to spin this tale. I got caught up in it from page 1 and couldn't let go. Definitely a winner and a worthwhile read. I recommend it highly!



2. In a meticulously researched book, Cullen comes up with an intriguing solution to a 19th century mystery. This is a fascinating story with many twists and turns. Who was Kate Morgan? Did the mysterious visitor to San Diego kill herself? If so, why? Over the years, many people have tried to guess what really happened. This book may have the answers.



3. Finally an outstanding mix of reality and fiction. Cullen does a great job of building the theory of Kate Morgan and the other characters in this twisted plot of the 1890's. I was able to attend a presentation by John Cullen in Coronado at Bay books earlier this summer and I was thrilled by his knowledge and his theories about what happened at the Hotel Del Coronado. I will order more of his books. He is obviously a very talented local writer.

No comments about Police Misconduct: A Reader for the 21st Century.

5 comments about The Purple Gang: Organized Crime in Detroit 1910-1945 (Gangsters and Rum Runners).

1. As another reviewer pointed out, this is an important book because it is the only book on the Purple Gang. How this gang has escaped serious study is beyond me. Growing up in the Detroit area their name has popped up over the years many many times, as some oldtimer recollects or a house that once was a Purple Gang hideout is bulldozed, stuff like that. One time in the Detroit Public Library I went into the history room and they asked for my ID and I jokingly said, "what do you think I am in the Purple Gang or something?" The guy who asked laughed and said "funny you should say that. A writer has been trying to research the Purple Gang, and is having a hell of a time. It seems like most of the police files on them have somehow disappeared". I cannot vouch for that info, but I suppose that it was the author of this book that was doing the research and maybe that explains why there is so little info available. For that reason alone, despite the grammatical errors that others found annoying, I give it 5 stars. I found it a fascinating read.



2. This books really brings to light some very interesting characters of the underworld in the early-mid 1900's. Joey Bernstein the smallest of the brothers, but the most feared! There is also a quick intro to Capone, Murder Inc, and a few other gangs that predated the Purples. To think that the Purple Gang got its start in a school of all places - simply amazing.
   
   Consider a time where a gangster could kill anyone, including authority figures, namely: a policeman, or even a senator and ultimately get away with it. Most of the cases got thrown out simply for lack of evidence, witnesses were too frightened to testify, and other witnesses merely wound up dead. The Purples had connections in high places to match their ferocity. These men ran the prison system to the point where they could conduct business openly, and leave the jail for periods at a time. The sky was the limit!
   
   All of the stories unraveled in this book are the very essence of what the underworld was all about! Money, Power, Greed, Connections, Politics, Loyalty, Childhood Friendship, Backdoor Dealings, and let us not forget Murder, and Mayhem for the slightest Insult! The Purples were ultimately feared because they lived by no code. It didn't matter who you were, or what gang you belonged to - that was their edge against any competition who stood in their way! They were as blind as the justice system itself!
   
   Very well rounded book, and a quick read that dives right into 1900's Detroit! A world for better or worse, that we'll probably never see again... I read this book in one day and I'm going to jump into Kavieff's second volume: "The Violent Years"...



3. I agree with the other reviewers who were dismayed at the amount of spelling errors (especially with proper names), arbitrary capitalization, incorrect dates, etc. in the hardbound version. That said, the photo insert is excellent and well-reproduced. It's worth getting a used hardbound copy for the photos alone. My favorite is a group portrait of four of the Purples, with one sitting in a chair in front of the other three standing, looking more Hollywood-ethnic-gangster than Hollywood has ever been able to pull off. If a movie is ever made, Brad Garrett of Everybody Loves Raymond is the obvious choice to play Phil Keywell--a dead ringer.
   
   I wonder if Barricade fixed some of the errors when they put out the paperback in 2005.



4. No surprizes in this used book - got just what I expected. Great condition.
   Book itself was a compelling read. I would recommend it to any adult.



5. For some reason which I could never quite fathom, very little has been written over the years about the Purple Gang. While its members were quite violent and controlled racketeering in Detroit during and briefly following Prohibition, they have, for the most part, been widely neglected by most crime writers and historians. Paul R. Kavieff has come forth with a detailed, factual chronicle of the rise and fall of this motley crew. Well researched and supported by an impressive bibliography as well as court and police documents, the Purple Gang reveals the brutal tactics employed by a group of psychopaths in their quest to dominate local gangland activity. In the end it was their own greed and violent ways which ultimately brought about their downfall, but I won't go into that here. I did learn something which I found quite amusing. The spate of "true crime" movies which were released in the U.S. during the late Fifties and early Sixties often contained glaring errors and outright misinformation, either due to a screenwriter's imagination or fear of the libel laws. For example, in "The Bonnie Parker Story" starring Dorothy Provine, the real Clyde Barrow was transformed into "Guy Garrow." You get the idea. In any event, when "The Purple Gang" was released, the young Robert Blake appeared as gang leader "Honeyboy" Willard. I knew of the Bernsteins and the Fletchers and they Keywells, but it wan't until I read Mr. Kavieff's book that I learned there had been a real-life Purple gangster named Joe "Honey" Miller, obviously the individual upon whom Blake's character was based. But I'm getting off track here. The bottom line is, if you want to learn all there is to know about the Purple Gang, read this book.

5 comments about Three Boys Missing: The Tragedy That Exposed the Pedophilia Underworld.

1. Incredibly insightful, powerful, and personal look at a horrible crime from the detective that lived it. I was unable to put the book down from the moment I opened the cover. Dedicated Detective James Jack took it quit personally and was relentless in his pursuit to apprehend the person or persons responsible for these crimes.
   I would recommend this book to anyone who reads true crime stories. This book is an eye-opener from a point a view most of us will never experience. The pain, conviction, and dedication to capturing this killer is evident in every page. Information is power for those who keep childrens safety at the top of their list. This book is a must read- the suspense is undeniable.



2. Based off the experiences and 1st hand accounts of Detective Jim Jack this is an incredible yet sad story of 3 innocent children who lost their lives. The book puts you right in the middle of one of Chicago's greatest manhunts. I highly recommend this book to all.



3. James "Jimmy" Jack has laid out in vivid, chilling detail the trail real Chicago detectives followed to close the infamous cold case of one of the City's most horrendous crimes. In a city where crime never takes a holiday, Jack exposes the sickness that dwells in the heart and mind of one man hellbent on committing the unpardonable sins of pedophilia and murder. This crime story, which grabbed national headlines in 1955, is poised to seize the nation's attention again in the Chicago-style writing of Detective Jimmy Jack in "Three Boys Missing." Must read!



4. Set In a much more naiive time-the apple pie America of the fifties-One cannot imagine how horrifying these brutal murders must have seemed. James Jack is the ideal narrator, balancing insight with detail ; I hope we are lucky enough to read more stories written by this man



5. i had little knowledge of this crime before reading the book, the book is very informative and put together well, and it is also interesting to see it from the eyes of a detective that worked the case.

1 comments about Bad Blood: A Family Murder in Marin County.

1. I read an exerpt of this book in Playboy somewhere around 1982 and never forgot about it. I didn't got around to picking up the book until recently.

   The surprising factor here is that the girl who commited the murders (along with her boyfriend) did not come from Marin. She spent nearly her whole life living a priviledged existance in South America. With an over-accomodating father and an abolutely mental mother, it appears a violent conclusion would have been almost inevitable.

   I'm surprised Richard Levine hasn't written more books. His writing style, although sometimes over the top, is for the most part well paced and backs up his observations from exerpts in interviews and poetry written by the daughter.

   I'm only half way through the book, but being an easy read, I expect to be done with it within a week.

   If you were a teen ager in the SF Bay area in the 70's, you should be able to relate to this book.

5 comments about No Mercy.

1. Be advised that the first story will haunt you for days. It is very disturbing. John Walsh is a modern day hero who sets out to put lowlifes where they belong....behind bars!! God Bless Mr. Walsh, and long may he reign!



2. I grew up in Westfield, New Jersey where John List murdered his family. I remember clearly how these murders created fear in our town. He hid from authorities for nearly 20-years before America's Most Wanted aired a profile that led to his capture. This is just one of the stories in this book that would get 10-stars if ...(this website) gave out that many. John Walsh deserves a lot of credit for his great work, and this is a book everyone should read.



3. John Walsh got across his feelings and made the reader feel them as well. The book was almost impossible to put down. It never lost my attention once. I wished there was more when I reached the last summary. I thought this book was even better than his first. I cannot wait for the third.



4. Apart from the traditional American emotional hype that John Walsh brings to this book, it is a good read.
   it is good to see he used his anger in a positive way and he definately serves the community in a special way. We need more like him.



5. I thought this was a good book, and I do think John Walsh does great things for the missing. I prefer him in person, than reading his book. It was a little too intense for me.

3 comments about Poison Mind: The True Story of the Mensa Murderer-And the Policewoman Who Risked Her Life to Bring Him to Justice.

1. It was one of the best true crime books that I have ever read.



2. I could not put this book down; an unbelievable true crime tale that boggles the mind. to imagine a person would kill another person (by poison), because of something as petty as the music being too loud-it is absolutely frightening. It is to the detectives' credit who investigated this case that they were open enough in their investigation to go beyond the family members and look at other suspects, ultimately discovering the neighbor next door as the probable culprit. Susan Goreck was extremely courageous going undercover and she also reveals her humanity as she had feelings on various levels while trying to get this man to give his secrets to her; if they had not found the thallium in his old house, they would never have been able to prosecute him successfully.



3. The book unintentionally focuses more on the feelings of inadequacy abounding in the Polk County police department, leaving one to wonder whether the real issue wasn't so much that George Trepal was so clever but that the rest of the community so uncompromisingly dull. Much is made of the fact that George Trepal liked programming computers and was interested in science, as if these alone are sufficient to identify a murderer. We never really get to know him, and unfortunately, the more we do get to know the victims, the less sympathetic they become-- the opposite of most true crime books! There is good, solid sleuthing, but it is spoiled by the authors' eagerness in grasping at anything not straight-up down-home whitebread must be evidence of a murderous mind. A light summer read, and makes you wish for a better book about the case.

No comments about The Lex Street Massacre.

5 comments about Divorced from the Mob: My Journey from Organized Crime to Independent Woman.

1. I couldn't put this book down. I am a big fan of mob stories and this was a good one...I am just glad she got her life together and got her kids out of that mess. The author is a strong woman with incredible survivor skills. I wish her all the best!



2. I read this last week while lollygagging on South Padre Island beach where they have the 3rd largest Spring Break every year. This book is a definite page turner. Andy grew up poor and abused and got the attention and money from men that she craved and never received as a child. Unfortunately, she was abused as an adult as well and the money and power she acquired was not worth it in the end. I hope she and her children are still alive and well in PA. She is a tough cookie so I am sure she is doing fine. If you like true stories about the mob you will want to read this one.



3. I'm still waiting for the other part of the title to materialize. That is, when did she become an independent woman? She leeched from man to man and then to the Witness Protection Program. She even needed a man to help her write the book.
   
   She might talk the talk but she did not walk the walk. Even when her world is falling apart (again), she first thinks of who is going to care for her first before she thinks of putting food on the table for her kids. Me, me, me, me, me.
   
   One got the feeling she was only sorry she got caught. If she had never been caught, she'd still be mooching off the organized crime system.
   
   If she had to do it all over again, you know she'd do it again in a heartbeat.



4. I found this biography fascinating (in the vein of "The Glass Castle"), but there were too many typos - at least in the edition I read. These mistakes (often 1 or more to a page) were disconcerting and inexcusable, in my opinion, since the book was co-written. You'd figure one of the two writers would have found the other's errors. I have to give Andrea credit, though, given her childhood, she's truly a survivor. Her story makes me wonder what might have been had she experienced an ordinary or a privileged upbringing.



5. The book is well written. The story is familar in terms of mobster literature. Its a pretty good read. She leaves me cold. She divorced said mob and turned her life around when she had no other choices. Maybe that was the best she could do given the particulars of her life, but something is too off putting for me to be able to sympathise.
   And turned her life around to what? We arn't give any particulars of her new "independent" life. For safety's sake? Who knows" Ultimatly, who cares?

4 comments about Girl in the Cellar: The Natascha Kampusch Story.

1. There are a few tidbits in this book that offer more information than can be found in news articles, but mostly the book is speculative, exploitative, and short on real insight. The authors quote "experts" who never met the principles but only reviewed media reports, use psychobabble about long-debunked theories of psychopathology and human development, interview people peripheral to the events with lots of speculation and few verifiable facts, distort what facts they do gather to spin conspiracy theories, take a few generalizations in a psychic's otherwise totally erroneous prediction and seem to offer them as proof of something, imply the victims are at least partly to blame for the crimes, and generally practice really poor true-crime writing. Add to these many problems writing as awkward as "Long before Wolfgang the master pupated from Wolfgang the servant" and you have a really distasteful book. Don't waste your money or time.



2. I found this book compulsive reading. It presented a well written picture of a really complex crime, one which I think we have not heard the last of by a long way. The authors have pieced together a portrait of Natascha's dysfunctional family, reconstructing their links with Priklopil: They all drank in the same bar and the police never even knew! And their portrait of the failed police investigation to find her was both detailed and compelling. These guys packed a lot of detail in, if only other instant crime writing was as good. There were interviews with every one involved, including Natascha, her father, teachers, her doctors - and, oh yes, one of the cops who led the hunt for her who also found her mother flakey! A thoroughly good read I would heartily recommend.



3. I just finished this book. It is an amazing story containing photos of her tiny underground cell plus people and places of importance. It's the true story of a 10 year old girl who was kidnapped and escaped after 8 1/2 years. It makes my head reel just trying to imagine what that was like. She, however reveals little about her daily life. She says even less of her captor ( I remember she said he read to her). We are left with speculation. If she revealed more about her experiences this easily could have been a 5 star book.



4. This was an interesting and easy book to read. But the thing I liked best was the description of the strength of the victim, her personal ethics, and her refusal to share any details that she didn't want to share. The young woman is a good role model for other young survivors.