5 comments about Bodies We've Buried: Inside the National Forensic Academy, the World's Top CSI TrainingSchool.

1. The College Of Carnage. The Harvard Of Hellish Violence. The National Forensic Academy has earned many nicknames from its students. In this book, you'll find out why.
   
   'Bodies We've Buried' takes us from day one of classes at this esteemed institution through all ten intensive weeks (two and a half months) of the program. From how to properly use a camera through an extremely detailed description of an actual autopsy (put on a glove and come feel this), the steps of a CSI investigator are outlined chapter by chapter.
   
   Down On The Farm, Diggin Up Bones, It's A Rigorous Job But Someone's Got To Do It, Vinyl Resting Place, Heart Strings, and Spatter Up! are the best chapters in the book, gruesome and filled with extremely grisly details. These are the chapters that focus on dead bodies, blood splatter, bones, and "human effluence" of crime scenes.
   
   There are also chapters on arson and bombings. (Did you know that there are five degrees of burns and not just three? The last two occur after death) The leading chapters tend to be the most boring, like the authors were warming up to a subject. Stick through the details of photography and fingerprinting to get to the "meat" of the subject. The authors themselves tend to become more relaxed as the subjects get gorier. There's lots of pictures, though very few are of the gruesome nature (but look out, some of them are!).
   
   The details of this book show the tremendous impact that a good CSI can have on a crime scene, and the problems that an untrained CSI can inadvertently cause. I can hardly imagine spending two and a half months in the intensive training program that these dedicated people go through. Though close to being a technical novel, I ate this book up in a single day - it's that interesting.
   
   There's a detailed Glossary of terms, a "Who's Who In Forensic Investigation" giving specific titles of who handles what evidence, a Resources bibliography, Acknowledgements, and an extensive Index. If your truly into the field of dead bodies, then this book is worth the hardcover price, otherwise wait for the paperback. Also, check out 'Stiff: The Curious Lives Of Human Cadavers' by Mary Roach. Enjoy!



2. The creators of the NFA in Tennessee did police departments in this country and the world a great service. Opened my eyes to the innovation and genius of the pioneers in this field.
   
   For any CSI show fans this book tells you the real story about forensic science. The world of a CSI is not as glamorous as the TV networks want you to believe. And with an upcoming shortage in forensic experts this book is a wakeup call that we need to encourage more people to go into this line of work if we want to continue to catch criminals.



3. I received this book as a Christmas gift. I'm an armchair forensic anthropologist who worked as a medical editor in a burn hospital for several years. This book is so rife with grammatical/editing errors and incorrect facts that I simply could not finish reading it. I'm sure it has many valuable and accurate facts, but how can you trust what they have written when, in the chapter on Fire and Burns, they describe the burn severity scale completely wrong? That's basic science, and these folks didn't do their research. I also found the chapters dealing with the famous Body Farm and corpses in general to be sensationalistic and juvenile: "This was the grossest thing we'd ever seen at the Body Farm... It smelled like the nastiest blue cheese ever. We don't eat blue cheese any more."
   
   An untrustworthy, poorly written, layman's take on what can be the fascinating field of forensics. Stick with the greats of the field: Bill Bass, Arpad Vass, Doug Ubelaker, William Maples, Stan Rhine.



4. Most of this book kept me absorbed. I liked the colorfully written details about death and even learned a few things that I never knew. I did have to skip through the first few chapters, though, because I found them to be incredibly dull.



5. I found this book to be very informative about the procedures a CSI must know to perform their job effectively. I learned a lot of new information. Very interesting read!

5 comments about Who Killed My Daughter?.

1. Who Killed My Daughter? is one of the best books I have ever read. The title itself just caught my eye one day and I immediatley knew that I had to read this book. It is so powerful. I can't imagine the horror and frustration Lois Duncan went through while searching for her daughter's killer. It was even harder for her when the police refused to follow up on important information. She then received help from psychics and a journalist. It was an incredible journey for her filled with sadness, anger, tears, suspense, and shock. I recommend this book to all young adults and adults. Everyone must read this. Knowing that this is actually a true story adds to the horror and suspense. It gives us an insight on the life of Lois Duncan, her daughter, and the rest of her family, as well as important information. This is a must-read book.



2. This is one of the best non fiction books I have ever read. It is a real tear jerker. I would definately recommend it if you love a good mystery book. Also,I definately disagree with the well written but meaningless review comment. It is not meaningless and the facts are real. I am 13 and I would definately allow my child to read it if I were older. It is a good book.



3. After reading the book and as a retired P.I. of 30 years I've come to my own conclusions pertaining to this murder. Based on ONLY the evidences and personal experiences in this matter, following are the possibilities:
   1. She was pregnant with the child of her Vietnamese boyfriend or gang-raped by the Vietnamese gang. Lois Duncan or her husband's own prejudice simply cannot allow the child to be born. So either one or both of them planned the demise of their daughter.
   2. She had an affair with a police officer(possibily during one of the frat parties). How many parents know everything of their son or daugher's personal life? How many of you told your parents everything in your personal life? That officer wanted her to leave her boyfriend, but she refused. Officer was mostly likely a white male between age of 23 and 35. The fact that she ultimately chose a Vietnamese over him is too much to handle.
   3. She was prostituting herself on the highway, and it was simply a business transaction gone wrong.
   
   Above are my personal opinions reguarding cases like this. Since I did not personally interview any of the parties involved, I can only reach these general conclusions.



4. I feel bad for the mother and the story itself is very interesting, but its dependence on ham-handed psychic readings was a pretty big turn off. I admire the mother's chutzpah but her investigative techniques are far cry from those displayed in Graysmith's far superior Zodiac.



5. After reading Gallows Hill by Lois Duncan I decided to buy all of her supsense novels just because it was so good. Well...I hadn't read any of them but for some reason I was like I'll buy Who Killed My Daughter? and I just have to say WOW!!...I'm a Christian so some of the things in this book really made me think; and I really feel like contacting this author because she also explained her faith a tad bit in the book also. This book is heart-breaking but also very inspirational. I also looked forward to reading this because my sister's friend died in a car accident three years ago and her mother has also written a novel, filled with interviews of her daughter's friends (my sister is in the book). However, I do not know what the title of this book, the last name of the author, or when this book is due to release but it is in the publication process. Overall, read this book.

5 comments about Entering Hades: The Double Life of a Serial Killer.

1. Congratualations to John Leake on this outstanding work! Having been directly involved with Unterweger's extradition to Austria, I can report that women lawyers, law enforcement officers, and diplomats were instrumental in every aspect of this fugitive's return to Austria to answer for his hideous crimes against women. This gives new meaning to the words "poetic justice."



2. I bought this book based on the glowing reviews. I love true crime stories and was excited when this arrived. I tore into it, and it was off to a pretty good start. Then it started to drag...and drag....There were so many little details and names and places that I was bored stiff. I found myself daydreaming and having to reread passages on numerous occasions. I ended up skimming the final few chapters and then picking up at the end. I could not relate at all to the main character, Jack, and I had zero sympathy or empathy for him. He was purely evil and narcissistic and unlikeable, which, according to the author was the opposite of how many people in Vienna's society would have described him. I just didn't get it. Maybe the timing was wrong for me and this really was as great a book as the other reviewers claim. For me it was a borderline painful reading experience.



3. As good as anything Ann Rule ever wrote--and maybe even better.
   
   About the only complaint: author could have delved deeper into Unterweger's mother's life, as well as what exactly the killer's life was like as a young child, as he was raised by a grandfather who evidently was a mean drunk, etc.
   
   Other than that, a fine job of writing as well as research.
   Author John Leake definitely has a career in this field.



4. John Leake's Entering Hades: The Double Life of a Serial Killer is a very well researched and written book. Like others, I concur that the aspects of Jack Unterweger's double life and the ultimately deadly Austrian liberal perspective with respect to the ability of criminals to be rehabilitated were very well done. Less well developed were an explication of the reasons behind the protaganist's murderous behavior--his childhood (and his misrepresentation of certain aspects of his mother's and father's history)--and his sexual inclinations and their relationship to his murderous behavior. The fact that the story spans the Atlantic with key portions in two key Austrian locations--Vienna and Graz (where the American author's German language and translation skills shine)--as well as Los Angeles and, to a lesser degree, Miami, also adds interest to the book.
   
   In short, a very good true crime book about a most disturbing protaganist, particularly considering that this is the author's first book. I look forward to future books from this author.



5. John Leake researched for four years in Vienna and Los Angeles to write this book. He literally spoke to hundreths of people and the result is one of the fines written and researched true crime books I have read recently. What I really applaud the author for, is his genuine lack of vanity. He never judges and never comments on Austria's most gruesome serial killers of the 20th century. After Jack Unterweger got released from prison (for viciously killing a young girl in Germany) he was already a well know literate. In jail, he wrote a book and many of Austria's intellectual elite voted for his early release. He soon became a star of the café society in Vienna. He had numerous affairs with women of all ages, classes and backgrounds. He could have made it. But then the killings started. Eleven women were killed in the time between his release and his escape to Miami, where eventually he was apprehended. Three of them in Los Angeles. John Leake depicts the picture of a sociopath with obvious considerable charms who could function in society as long as nobody questioned him and his stories. He was a cold blooded killer, a narcissist, a liar and a very mediocre writer. I congratulate John Leake to this book and I hope to read more of his books in the future to come.

5 comments about Journey Toward Justice.

1. It is unfortunately true that many innocent people are convicted, sometimes by prosecutors who bend the law (often by hiding evidence) to gain those convictions.
   
   There is significant documentation of such improper convictions, in a series by the Chicago Tribune, in a study by Columbia Law School, in the book "In Spite of Innocence," and in the marvelous work of Barry Scheck and his colleagues in the Innocence Project, and in "Journey to Justice" by Dennis Fritz.
   
   It is a serious blemish on the American criminal justice system that too many prosecutors abuse their power, and get away with it.
   
   My second novel, A Good Conviction, tells the story of a young man wrongfully convicted in a high profile Central Park murder, brought about by a prosecutor who knew the defendant was actually innocent and hid the exculpatory evidence that would have led to a not guilty verdict.
   
   Several prosecutors and appeals attorneys helped me with the legal aspects of a Brady appeal in New York State, and all of them agreed that what I portrayed was both realistic and all too possible.
   
   Readers have found it to be fast paced, exciting, and heartbreaking.
   
   I'd be curious as to readers' opinion of whether a novel based on truth can be effective in drawing attention to the terrible wrongs done to so many people by prosecutors who abuse their power.
   
   LEW WEINSTEIN



2. This book is interesting and won't let you put it down. Following An Innocent Man, this tells Dennis Fritz's story. It's so sad, and one must think, how many innocent men are now serving time in Oklahoma's prisons?



3. Dennis Fritz's book is very insightful. He deserves much credit for not letting the prosecutor ruin his life. One character in his book is named Dennis Smith. He worked for the OSBI and contributed to the wrongful conviction of Williamson and Fritz. In the book, Dennis Smith, the corrupt cop, could just as likely be the DA of Custer County, Oklahoma. Is Dennis Smith really dead?
   The prosecutor's name is Bill Peterson, which reminds people of Mike Nifong of Duke Lacrosse fame. You too Bill?



4. Journey Toward Justice, by Dennis Fritz.
   
   
   Having previously read An Innocent Man by John Grisham and being a longtime supporter of The Innocence Project I started out reading Journey Toward Justice with interest, eager to hear Mr. Fritz's account of the case. I soon found myself reading this compelling piece of work on trains, buses, even elevators...it was nearly impossible to stop! Dennis tells his story with clarity of mind and awareness of purpose: he simply wants the world to share his experience of the nightmare it must be to be 100% innocent, wrongly convicted and sent off to rot in jail. This book is an American Classic that deserves to be read by millions. Oprah, are you listening?
   
   Kevin McKiernan, Norway



5. This man's account of this part of his life is chilling. Well written. I felt as though I was suffering along with him and rejoiced with him on his release.

5 comments about Metal Men: How Marc Rich Defrauded the Country, Evaded the Law, and Became the World's Most Sought-After Corporate Criminal.

1. Mr. Copetas has written a highly readable and informative book. No doubt much of the information is true; however, the author appears to rely heavily on government documents for the prosecution of Mr. Rich when it come to writing about Marc Rich himself. Without Mr. Rich's input much of the book is open to speculation. The U.S. "justice" system is notorious for magically changing allegations into facts and hearsay and second-hand information into evidence.

   I also noticed the copyright dates and found it interesting that the same political party was in office both times and that members of both of these administrations, privately, have a vested interest in the oil business. Which prompts me to ask: Is Marc Rich a corporate criminal, did he defraud the country and evade the law, or is it a case of sour grapes with a private vendetta being carried out in a public forum? I question, too, the fact that Mr. Rich was indicted while Oliver North ran for public office after committing virtually the same "crime".

   It's mentioned that greed was a huge motivator and this I don't agree with. Profit is simply the by-product. Currently, I'm paper trading and honing my skills. Last December I placed a June DJIA put option costing me 2,100; in March, when the Dow fell I liquidated my option for 263,000. The excitement that's felt while everyone else is wringing their hands is incredible and the money was plowed right back into trading. Money is a marker, and trading is a test of skill and competition against yourself more than anything.

   Mr. Rich, in his business dealings, reminds me of J.P. Morgan when he started out; and I would willingly relocate to Switzerland and become a lehrling, so persuasive is Mr. Copetas' writings.




2. The brevity of Copetas' book allows it to be mercifully readable. On the other hand, Metal Men is so condensed that federal prosecution of Marc Rich (who managed to become a Spaniard in order to avoid extradition) and Pincus Green (who became a Bolivian for the same reason) is difficult to follow. The best sections of the book are the juicy nuggets that leave the reader whetted for more information. This is especially true when Marc Rich's relationship with Henry Kissinger and Kissinger Associates is discussed. Marc refers to the good doctor as "K", perhaps an allusion to Franz Kafka's narrator in the book Schloss. How appropriate. Clearly there was, and perhaps still is, much mutual benefit in the relationship between two master players who operate at the same level in their respective games. Copetas would not be faulted if he enlarged on this particular topic. One might wish for more background on the peculiar relationship the wholesome country of Switzerland has had with mobsters, white collar crime of a certain calibre, and kleptocratic despots over the past decades, if not centuries. The enchanting Canton of Zug emerges as an especially infested banana republic within a national governmental system that sees all money as created equal, and equally welcome into its banking system, regardless of provenance. This is a far cry from the Switzerland of alpine cheeses, pure air, teutonic ski bums, and clinics for the super rich. More the Gnome Switzerland of secrets and Croesus grade wealth and grey teflon coated bureaucrats. Then there hints at generally unreported connections, such as a strong, if not well known, presence Swedes in Thailand. Swedes in Thailand ? We would like to know more. Perhaps additional insight into the underworld of international arms trade, which figured in some of Rich's dealings, as with the Ayotallah Khomeni. Somewhere in here we expect to find the thread of Iran-Contra, but that subject, too, is left to mere suggestion. Considering what Mr. Copetas appears to know, but has edited out for the sake of brevity or marketability, there is a much larger and more enlightening book waiting to be composed from his files. One doubts that such a work would be welcomed with open arms by much of the political establishment, but by golly it would make eye opening tome.



3. The book was absolutely intrigueing and compelling just to learn about the inside workings of the metals and oil business. Needless to say, I worked at this company for a short period of time... I did not see any of the implied pimping of secretaries or traders prostituting themselves for a deal. The author has gathered much information on the sequence of events, but found that he was presenting this story, not as a reporter, but a snotty bitter little man. Marc, did not have shifty eyes, and to say at 6ft, his presence was that of a tall and looming personality, makes me believe that this author is of short stature. There are many good and charitable things this man and his company have catered to, but not once did i see anything listed in this book. The people I worked for and with at this company, were a group of the nicest and most professional people I have worked for. I have since to find a company that performed in such a refined and distinguished manner. They werent the whores Copetas has implied them to be. My being a secretary there, I took quite offense to the pimping of the staff for info. This is business, but just someone working by a different set of rules. Broke some, now cant come to the country whose rules he broke. Unless, the Pardon sticks. And wouldnt that be something to really irk this author a little more than he already seems to be. His being a "journalist", I was surprised by his unprofessionalism in giving the facts. All the facts, and not his opinions.



4. The book was absolutely intrigueing and compelling just to learn about the inside workings of the metals and oil business. Needless to say, I worked at this company for a short period of time before the ____ hit the fan. I did not see any of the implied [prostituting] of secretaries or traders prostituting themselves for a deal. The author has gathered much information on the sequence of events, but found that he was presenting this story, not as a reporter, but a snotty bitter little man. Marc, did not have shifty eyes, and to say at 6ft, his presence was that of a tall and looming personality, makes me believe that this author is of short stature. There are many good and charitable things this man and his company have catered to, but not once did i see anything listed in this book. The people I worked for and with at this company, were a group of the nicest and most professional people I have worked for. I have since to find a company that performed in such a refined and distinguished manner. They werent the [type of people] Copetas has implied them to be. My being a secretary there, I took quite offense to the [prostituting] of the staff for info. This is business, but just someone working by a different set of rules. Broke some, now cant come to the country whose rules he broke. Unless, the Pardon sticks. And wouldnt that be something to really irk this author a little more than he already seems to be. His being a "journalist", I was surprised by his unprofessionalism in giving the facts. All the facts, and not his opinions.



5. A. Craig Copetas' book gives us a rare insight in the well curtained offices of big metal traders. His story centres on Marc Rich and his companion Pincus Green, who left in disgust their employer Philipp Brothers, at that moment a unit of Engelhard MC, because of the 'meagre' bonuses they received at the end of the year. These bonuses were in fact only a fraction of the revenues the two traders generated for the company.
   The new company they created attacked immediately and head-on the core businesses of their former employer.
   Craig Copetas shows us how Marc Rich's commodity trading business was based on 'deep' contacts (Henry Kissinger), market cornering, tax evasion, and profiting most of all by circumventing a US oil embargo against Iran.
   Attacked in court for unlawful trading and tax evasion Marc Rich's companies pleaded guilty to 38 counts to the tune of ninety million dollars, still a small portion of the amassed fortune. Fines of $50,000 a day were disbursed without the slightest difficulty.
   When he was finally condemned, Marc Rich had already settled down in Zug (Switzerland) with a Spanish identity card.
   He was ultimately pardoned (he risked a potential jail term of over three hundred years!) by President Bill Clinton (for generously supporting the Democratic Party?).
   This book is a keen look behind the curtain of a highly speculative and risky business, where the best informed traders corner the least informed ones. Options should limit the risks.
   For interested readers and traders alike.

3 comments about The Killer Book of True Crime: Incredible Stories, Facts and Trivia from the World of Murder and Mayhem.

1. The introduction to Tom and Michael Philbin's The Killer Book of True Crime: Incredible Stories, Facts and Trivia from the World of Murder to Mayhem states that the book's objective is to serve up a potpourri of delectable information about crime in a way that is entertaining.
   Perhaps the term "delectable" is not quite appropriate and a bit much in view of some of the gory details exposed in a few chapters, however, I have to admit that the book is quite fascinating and makes for a good read in providing readers with an insight into the seamy world of crime.
   
   Divided into nineteen chapters the authors serve us short bites of information pertaining to an assortment of crimes from robbery, organized crimes and gangs, prostitution, serial murder, mass murder, criminal investigation, rape, sexual perversions to terrorism, auto theft, death row, prisons, stalking, female killers, arson, celebrities and crime, kids who kill, and gory crimes.
   
   Each chapter includes a question and answer section containing some attention-grabbing data. For example, did you know that arson is the most expensive crime in America; costing more than two billion dollars a year in property loss and only sixteen percent of arson offenses ever lead to arrest. Who has spent the most time in jail and is still behind bars? The answer is William Heirens who has served over sixty-one years for the crime of killing a little girl and two women in 1946-a case that shocked the world. What percentage of pedophiles recover from their interest? None. It is generally believed that once a pedophile is afflicted, he will never change. Did you know that Brazil has the highest murder rate with almost forty-five thousand a year!
   
   Also incorporated in the tome is the unique jargon spoken by various criminals such as robbers, prostitutes, and inmates in prison as well as those individuals who investigate the crimes. And For those of you who enjoy reading about the comings and goings of celebrities, there is an entire chapter devoted to the crimes committed by such famous people as Ryan O'Neal, Pete Rose, David Crosby, Sean Penn, O.Henry, Kelsey Grammar, Sophia Loren, Denny McLain, Robert Mitchum and Stacy Keach. The chapter even contains a match game where you have to match the circumstances of the murder with a murdered celebrity.
   
   Some of the gory chapters include crimes of mass murder where we learn about Ronald ("Butch") DeFeo Jr. who in 1974 horrendously murdered his entire family consisting of his parents and his four siblings. Another one delves into the circumstances of the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson where the authors reproduce the harrowing details of the autopsy report. We are spared, however, the murder scene photos that were too gruesome go show.
   
   Other features of The Killer Book of Crime contain quotes from people involved in crime in one way or another, match games where we test our skills in matching the correct mafia nicknames to the right gangster, who am I, and brain teasers. However, it should be pointed out as the authors have mentioned in their introduction, not all of the entries have a serious side. And included are also some of the funny and humorous conversations New York cops have encountered with criminals.
   
   Call it what you want, even morbid curiosity, however I have to confess that I did find myself wanting to know more about some of these appalling criminals and the horrendous crimes they committed. Moreover, in many instances the authors left no stone unturned in divulging all of the facts of a particular case. All of which add up to a very compelling read that will no doubt satisfy the appetites of lovers of crime and mystery stories.
   
   Norm Goldman, Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures



2. Title: The Killer Book of True Crime: Incredible Stories, Facts and Trivia from the World of Murder and Mayhem
   
   Authors: Tom Philbin, Michael Philbin
   
   Review: Many folks are interested, at least on some level, in crime. It is the car wreck mentality. Humans are fascinated by the illegal, the dangerous, but want to keep a safe distance from it at the same time.
   
   The Killer Book of True Crime will let you indulge your fascination with the underbelly of society, while sitting in the comfort of your living room. You can read stories on notorious serial killers, arsonists, and mobsters. Sprinkled within the stories are blurbs that detail slang terms used in the specific type of crime being discussed. There are even trivia questions, where you match the criminal with their crime.
   
   This book gives you a healthy dose of various crimes and criminals, from organized crime, to prostitution, to mass murder. And throughout the book, there are stories from police, coroners who deal with crime every day. The Killer Book of True Crime allows you a unique glimpse into the shadowy criminal underworld.



3. Perfect book for people with short attention spans. Chapters are short and to the point. Not the book to read if you want any in depth information, but a good read if you want to waste a bit of time that doesn't require much deep thought.

No comments about To Have and To Kill: Nurse Melanie McGuire, an Illicit Affair, and the Gruesome Murder of Her Husband.

5 comments about One Deadly Night (St. Martin's True Crime Library).

1. This is a great true crime book. John Glatt is an excellent author. He did a lot of research to make such a great read!



2. This is the first John Glatt book I read. I could get into the book and it was hard to put down at times, however, his style isn't what I am used too. Since I have always read Ann Rule I was just slightly disappointed with John's writing technique. The book was so straight forward that I think he missed the important crime investigation and court room information. It seemed to me that he doesn't get a whole lot of feedback from family, friends and investigators, as most crime authors do.
   The book is good and I've read one other John Glatt book, I just think he misses crucial information towards the stories when he writes these books. It makes the reader want to ask questions.



3. John Glatt is already writing about the McGuire Case in New Jersey. I read a previous book of his entitled Cries in the Desert. This book portrays David Camm, who was a policeman or state trooper in Indiana in a negative light. Camm had affairs with women that he pulled off the road, he stalked a few, and had blatant affairs unknown to his faithful, devoted wife, Kim, and the mother of his two children, Bradley and Jill. One Deadly Night, Camm is alleged to have killed his wife and two kids in the garage with a shotgun. The portrait painted here of Camm and his family life was not all roses. He is a self-centered, egotistical, self-obsessed human being. I would not be surprised that he is guilty of the crimes so that he would avoid a disastrous divorce with Kim and the kids and the allegations of child sexual abuse against Jill. It's a family tragedy only duplicated by the fact that it was not a stranger but a father and husband who made matters worse. I would find it hard to believe he didn't do it.



4. The auther of the book failed to do one important thing, talk to and get to know David Camm. I am not a family member or long time friend. I became friends with Dave after his conviction because I am from this community and know that justice was not served. Authers of these "true crime" books should label there work fiction.



5. I could not put this down. It is unnerving the twists and turns of this real case in Indiana and on some level, it looks like the suspect/husband (of course) has an almost perfect alibis. But who else could have done it? Who else would have wanted to do it?
   
   What this case really shows is how much depends on the justice system. I mean, how much depends on who the prosecutors were, how well they handled the case which was tricky to begin with. I'll try to avoid spoilers, but the case is still (2008) in appeal mode primarily on procedural issues.
   
   To me, a very interesting question is to what degree should the husband be considered the suspect when there just are not any reasons for anyone else to have committed the crime. Obviously, that's not the whole issue in this very complex case which seems so unlikely that you think it's a script for a movie.
   
   A great page turner and you will probably find yourself taking sides as the story progresses. One of the things that we've seen in Chicago, which I think casts a lot of light on this Indiana case, is how much evidence or things that would cause problems for the husband/defendant can get completely swept under the rug when the suspect is himself a longtime cop. Things are not what they seem...especially when a man in blue is accused of murdering his wife. Very troubling as well as intriguing.

5 comments about Murder, Inc.: The Story Of The Syndicate.

1. Very interesting in that the style of writing reminds one of gangster movies of the period. Definitely a classic of the genre that has stood the test of time.



2. Glad that I did not live in that era!!A good account of men's cruelty.



3. Burton Turkus (1903-1982) was assistant district attorney for Kings County, New York (Brooklyn) in the early 1940's, and successfully prosecuted a number of members of Murder,Inc., sending seven of them to the electric chair. This is the chronicle of his efforts to try to bring down this organization of professional killers. I would have liked this book even more if a section of photos of the main characters had been included, but there aren't any. This is an interesting story, well told and, as the expression goes, it has the added advantage of being true. Readers need to bear in mind that the book was written in 1951 and some of the figures, like Anastasia, were still alive at the time. Later scholarship has disproven some of Turkus' theories about the mob organizations, but that still doesn't detract from the entertainment value of this book.



4. Turkus did a ton in uncovering this layer of the inner workings of the mob. The Syndicate was a real threat that, when organized, was dangerous for anyone involved, which was anyone they wanted to involve themselves with. Introducing the Brownsville gang was a great backdrop to laying the foundation to the National Syndicate.
   
   Interesting, though, is that Turkus uncovered so much, and yet when Valachi sang more than a decade later it turned out that Turkus had missed a completely different organized crime with much more secrecy involved around it. This makes sense, in a way, since most of the men testifying and being put away were unable to be "made" men and thus not privy to the inner workings of the real mafia that held the power.
   
   Otherwise a great telling of the Syndication and the 7 executions that resulted from the Canary that couldn't fly. Seeing Lepke go down was amazing, and you can truly see the power of an Anastasia at work when Reles mysteriously jumped/fell out a sixth story window.
   
   A little curious though. Turkus made a big deal about Anastasia's role in Marinzano's death, that he had an Ace of Diamonds in his hand, and yet the cover of the books has a dead man with an Ace of Spades. Is this Maranzano or another death? And if so why the striking similarities? I would have liked to have had these questions answered.
   
   All in all, I would recommend. Read before or in conjunction with The Valachi Papers.
   
   5 stars.



5. This book is not just a history of the mob but is part of that history, as Tukus was a prosecutor of the first big cases against the mob. As a prosecutor of the criminals Tukus is hardly objective in his views of them, their lives and so forth. Their horrific deeds speak for themselves but he feels the need to condemn them often, as if preaching to the jury. The stlye is overwhelmed by the 50s journalistic background of the co-author, and I like others find it annoying in its excess of adjectives.
   Nevertheless, if you want to know the subject, this is a must read. And with all its flaws, it is still really fun.

4 comments about Crime Beat: A Decade of Covering Cops and Killers.

1. Michael Connelly has a well-deserved reputation as one of the best mystery writers in the business today. But before he became a novelist, he was a reporter, handling crime writing both in the South Florida Sun Sentinel and the Los Angeles Times. Crime Beat is a collection of some of the articles he wrote for both papers.
   
   Covering an eight year span between 1984 and 1992 (around the time his fiction career really took off), Crime Beat follows a number of different cases, sometimes focusing on the cops, other times on the criminals. Since this is real-life stuff, resolutions are not always present, although some articles end with notes about what happened after the original story came out.
   
   The Call, the opening story, is Connelly's description about the workings of a homicide department. Right off the bat, he captures our interest with his true tale of the frustrations in solving murder cases. Not all stories, however, favorably present the police: in particular, we get a series of articles about L.A.'s Special Investigation Section, which was accused of the ambush and killing of several robbery suspects and would culminate in a series of lawsuits.
   
   On the other side, we see the criminals: people like Christopher Bernard Wilder who had a cross-country killing spree and David Miller whose bigamy and shady financial dealings would eventually drive him to kill. There is also the gang of wannabe mercenary killers who tried to be cool and professional but were anything but; although successful in a couple murders, they also botched a number of attempts and didn't really cover their tracks well.
   
   The stories are interesting, but the main insight that Crime Beat offers is a look into the formative years of Connelly and what made him the great novelist he is. And while the writing is good, you might be disappointed if you expect it to meet the caliber of his fiction: after all, Connelly was still developing his trade, he was under much tighter editorial supervision, and his creativity was constrained by the facts. Nonetheless, this is a nice set of short, true-crime stories.



2. Meh. I was hoping for more in a book of true crime by a well-reviewed mystery author, but this is just an uneditted collection of Connelly's crime-related newspaper stories from his journalist days of the 1980s and early 1990s. The stories are almost all straight newspaper stories, with all the negatives that implies--little nuance, straight facts, lots of repetitions over a series of stories about the same crime. I was hoping for something more like Ann Rule's "Crime Files" books--yes, reprints, but with some perspective and rewriting. A few of the stories were more interesting, in particular "The Gang that Couldn't Shoot Straight", which is a longer article telling the story of an almost comically inept gang of hitman-wannabes, who unfortunately succeeded in killing a couple of their targets. This story must have been a Sunday feature or magazine article because it had more development and room to breathe without all the repetition of background details.
   
   Okay, but I expected more from someone with Connelly's reputation.



3. Crime Beat has not been welcomed warmly by Amazon reviewers. Essentially a collection of newspaper articles by Connelly the crime reporter, it lacks the attractions of his novels and, indeed, of true crime writing. True crime writing, of course, draws on the strengths and strategies of fictional narrative, while newspaper articles are basically accounts of something that has happened, what people are saying about it and what individuals are doing about it. Succeeding articles offer updated information, but, again, lack the overarching narrative, Aristotelian plot, narrative 'world', detailed aspects of setting, rounded characters and other aspects found in novels and true crime writing.
   
   Hence, Connelly's Crime Beat offers a nice instructional opportunity for those wishing to draw clear lines of distinction between journalistic writing--with its palpable limits--and larger narratives. In Connelly's case, one can also look at stories that began as real events and later served as the basis for those larger narratives. And that is about it. I am not surprised that some readers have admitted to abandoning the book after reading fifty or sixty pages. This is something different and, ultimately, not as interesting, compelling or engaging as one of Michael Connelly's novels. It does have its uses, but those will not be of interest or utility to most readers.



4. Wow.
   
   If you enjoy reading old, uninteresting newspaper articles, then you will love Michael Connally's Crime Beat. Not only will you get to read these short, concise, horrendously boring prose, but you will also get to read them over and over, as each follow-up recounts the ones you previously read. Doesn't that sound stimulating? Why read today's $.50 newspaper about crime in the now and in your neighborhood when you can pay full price for outdated, sleep inducing passages from the nineties? Whoopee!
   
   I opened this little gem up and was deceived by author's introduction, which seemed fresh and original. I couldn't wait to get this book home and read all about `real crime,' and behind the scenes details of crime that only detectives and exclusive reporters got to see. Yeah, you want behind the scenes? Find your nutty neighbor who saves yellowed newspapers and dig through his garage for a while, because that's all what this book is--rehashed, repetitive newspaper articles.
   
   I think the only way I would have enjoyed this more is if it was in German or another foreign language, so that I wouldn't have wasted my time reading the three chapters I did. Blegh.