5 comments about Are You There Alone?: The Unspeakable Crime of Andrea Yates.

1. The recent Court decision to over-turn the conviction of Andrea Yates was based in part on the evidence presented in this well-researched book on the "unspeakable" crime. Ms. O'Malley caught a number of mistakes in the way Yates was treated and the way her case was presented, but uncovering the erroneous testimony of the prosecution's expert witness, Dr. Park Dietz, was the central factor in discrediting the state's case against Andrea Yates. By virtue of her careful reporting and analysis, Ms. O'Malley managed, not simply to observe the trial process, but to become one of the most powerful participants in it. It becomes clear in this book that the psychiatric treatment of Yates is one of trial and error, if not downright neglect. Even reading the transcript of the Dietz interview is enough to convince one that Ms. Yates, whatever she may have known about right from wrong under the McNaughton doctrine, was not in control. She never doubted her actions were illegal, and she seemed convinced that they morally wrong; yet, at the same time, and in a way that makes her case for insanity that much more provocative -- she seemed convinced that she would be judged morally wrong for not drowning them, or otherwise ending their lives. She had talked herself into a tragic corner -- herself inevitably damned, she opted to save her children from the certain damnation that awaited them if, in her warped view, she did not act. No one denies that Ms. Yates suffered from mental illness prior to and at the time of her act. But the depth seemed to elude a number of people. The endless attempts to get Andrea to specify her thoughts at specific points in time for the purpose of the trial record would be risible but for the fact they were real. When Dr. Dietz asked her, "What were you wearing at the time of the drownings?" She responded, "clothes." She was so hopelessly operating at a cognitive level that simply didn't fulfill the requirements of an advarsarial system -- and yet she was there, having been declared sufficiently sane to stand trial. The decision allowing her to so stand was, in effect, the second tragedy.



2. I am almost finished with the book but it's taking me time to read it as it's not the kind of book you can read quickly. I'm anxious to see how it ends. I would rather have reviewed it after I finish it. I think the book is probably going to get better closer to the end then I am.



3. Having read St. Martin's rush-to-press book, "Breaking Point," as soon as it hit the stands, I was disappointed with O'Malley's long-awaited book about the Andrea Yates tragedy. Whereas Spencer interviewed relatives, friends, and acquaintances, O'Malley relied heavily on court transcripts and seemed to take a point of view from a telescope.
   The book about Andrea Yates that I want to read has yet to be written. For example, I want to know where she stored her pots and pans while she was home-schooling three children in a bus and ironing her husband's shirts so he'd look normal while working at NASA. I want to know why she didn't lose her mind earlier.
   As for Texas justice....We're talking about a state that found Andrea Yates to be as sane as the woman who hacked her ex-lover's wife to death with an axe in the 1980s. Only difference is, the axe muderess was found not guilty.



4. I read this book because it was a list of good reads. I felt it was. The topic is horrofic. How can a mother do this to her children? You get a sense that the author tries to be objective as possible with the reason. The author I also felt does a good job of pointing out the inconsisties with the time line with the attornies as a well as when Andrea Yates was on medication. She also does a fair job of looking at the story after the verdict. Overall I felt it was a fair balanced book contray to what others think. She presents the facts and details as objectively as she can and lets the readers make up their mind.



5. To be honest, I was very hesitant to even read this book. Like most people, when Andrea Yates killed her five children by drowning them in the family's bathtub, the only information I knew was what I heard from the media. I almost immediately formed my own opinion -- Andrea Yates was evil. So it took me awhile to open my mind to the fact that there could be more to the story.
   
   Once I started reading ARE YOU THERE ALONE? I absolutely could not read fast enough. This book is fascinating in delving into the issue of mental illness, and what it truly means. I learned about psychosis, about postpartum depression, about bipolar disorder, and much, much more.
   
   Although there are things I still don't understand (how Rusty Yates, Andrea's husband, could have left her alone with their children when he knew she was seriously mentally ill, for example), I have to say that I have a greater understanding of why Ms. Yates did what she did.
   
   Hers was a horrific crime, and one for which she deserved to be punished. But she also deserved to get help for the problems that had plagued her for many years. For that, Suzanne O'Malley and the doctors, nurses, and many others involved in the case are to be commended.

5 comments about Through the Window: The Terrifying True Story of Cross-Country Killer Tommy Lynn Sells.

1. Diane has managed to do it again. A well written book that takes you into the demented mind of Tommy Lynn Sells. I can only imagine the research that went into this book. Cross-Country killers are especially hard to write about because their crimes are so widespread.



2. Diane Fanning's THROUGH THE WINDOW is the story of Tommy Lynn Sells, an itinerant thief, con man, and murderer and possibly the most appalling and cowardly serial killer you will ever hear about. The first quarter of the book, which presents the crime for which Sells was finally apprehended, the murder of Katy Harris, is thorough and well researched. Likewise, Fanning provides well reseached and necessary information on Sells' childhood. The last portion of the book consists of a letter, which I found interesting, from Sells to Fanning in which Sells places the blame on everyone and everything he can think of rather than take any personal responsibility for his brutal murders. Finally it is apparent that Fanning has devoted an honest effort to make THROUGH THE WINDOW a comprehensive study. This is not one of the cynical rush jobs too often found in true crime writing.
   
   Unfortunately, for me at least, the negatives outweigh the positives.
   While the description of Sells' murderous odyessy is well done, the subject soon becomes repetitive. Sells wanders endlessly by car or train around the country killing and raping, and as the accounts of the crimes are necessarily short because there are so many of them, it becomes difficult to keep them straight. While I understand Fanning's desire to acknowledge as many of Sells' victims as she can, this does not always translate well to a coherent narrative.
   It is however considerably more compelling than Fanning's presentation of Sells' trial. In my opinion a good true crime writer will, unless a trial is the high point of the story, seriously condense the trial segment of the narrative to contain only that portion which provides information which is truly necessary for the reader's understanding of the story. Otherwise the narrative will generally grind to a crawl, which is what happens in THROUGH THE WINDOW. Fanning includes verbatim way too much of the trial transcript: is it really necessary, for example, to provide the reader with as much of the almost always boring forensics as she does? In my experience this is a technique used by lesser writers and/or those who need padding to complete a minimum number of pages.
   
   But the worst part of THROUGH THE WINDOW is the writing. The best true crime is professionally and reportorially written. The genre is at its best as TRUE crime. Fanning's writing, however, is often enough dramatic, sometimes to the point of becoming ridiculous, that her book enters the realm of dramatized, rather than true, crime.
   On page 29, describing the scene of a kidnapping and murder, Fanning writes "The trilling songs of birds and the rustle of leaves caressed by a breeze provided a harmonic backdrop to the screams of a tormented young woman." Really?? On page 72, we get, "The warmth of the mellow sun competed with the warmth in Nora's heart." Though it may be considered a spoiler, I will tell those who are interested that Fanning does not reveal which source in this warmth competition was victorious. Perhaps it was a tie.
   
   Then there are the silly similies. On page 33, describing a future victim's acquiescience to Sells' manipulation, she writes, "Like a leaf in a whirlpool, she was drawn into his world of uncontrollable violence." And on page 57, "Kent had bled to death - homeless and alone like a dog scavaging the city dump."
   
   On pages 82 and 86 are two irritating examples of semi-pro writing. "Carnival season started early every year in South Texas - 1998 was not an exception." And, "The flood was a traumatic experience for the whole community. This family was no exception." If neither of these occurences was an exception, why mention it? This seems sort of high-schoolish. What would be wrong with a simple period after "South Texas"?
   And finally, in a flourish combining the ludicrous soap-opera with plain bad writing Fanning gives us, "And in his hand was a knife from her kitchen. Her gullibility gleamed on its blade." That's just embarrassing, and as I was reading it, I felt my gullibility for having started this book reflecting dully off its pages.
   
   Ultimately, in my opinion, Fanning's style of writing leads to melodrama rather than drama and results in, rather than a true crime book, a work of what is often dramatic fiction based on a framework of fact - fictionalized, as opposed to true, crime. This style of writing would seem to be more appropriate for romance novels or soap operas, but it has come to be representative of much of the catalog of the publisher, St. Martin's Press.
   There are thousands of better true crime books available for devotees of the genre.



3. The information published in Through the Window by Diane Fanning regarding the abduction of Angie Houseman is incorrect. Angie Houseman was abducted from St. Ann, Missouri, not O,Fallon. There is a 20 mile difference in the locations of these two towns. This information should be verified for accuracy before being printed.
   
   I have not read the book. I came across the information about Angie Houseman while looking to see if there was any new information regarding her case on the internet. Sadly her murder remains unsolved 14 years later.



4. Fanning wanted to tell a story and wanted to tell it fast. To do that she had to cooperate with the killer to get his version. Tommy Lynn Sells is a con man and he conned this writer. The book is entirely too sympathetic to Sells and has next to nothing about most of his victims and little about the police and prosecutors who worked to put him away.
   
   How distorted is the book? Well, Fanning worries that poor Mr. Sells and his "wife" (he married her while still married to another woman) were cruelly forced apart by the legal system. That is, a judge threatened to to give custody of her children to their father if she maintained contact with Sells. To Fanning this is persecution. To most people it is in the best interest of the children. What kind of parent pines after a serial killer who murdered children?
   
   Fanning even includes a letter from Sells as an afterward to this book.
   
   For those who read this book, google "Tommy Lynn Sells" and see how much Fanning distorted her portrait.



5. This is the story of Tommy Lynn Sells who killed in multiple states and the testimony of a 10 year old girl that survived one of Sells' murderous attacks. It was her determined testimony that ended the slaughter.
   
   Diane Fanning chronicles Sells' childhood,numerous jail stays,and nationwide travels. He even worked on the road for a few carnivals.
   
   Some of his murders overlapped the area and time of the "Railroad Killer",Angel Rosendiz. That caused some confusion for law enforcement early on.
   
   Sells has no sadness or remorse. Even killing a freshly new-born baby in the bizarre murder of an entire family! He seemed to victimize mostly younger girls,although victims could be from any age group or gender.
   
   Another sad aspect of the Tommy Lynn Sells case is the probability that there are more unsolved murders across the country that he committed that won't be solved. He identifies some photos of victims and the place where the bodies are discovered but can't or won't elaborate details. This is in part due to his heavy alcohol and drug abuse during his murderous travels.
   
   Diane Fanning has done her research well and some of the information comes from Sells himself. A real page-turner until the trial part of the book.

5 comments about Trust No One: The Secret World of Sidney Reilly.

1. I bought this after watching the BBC miniseries on Sidney Reilly. Spence has produced a very scholarly book written in a friendly tone. While I still view the Ace of Spies (the series, not the man) with affection and admiration, this book demonstrates that Reilly's life was much more complex than the BBC series made out. While not wanting to give too much away, I'll just say, watch the series, then read the book.



2. It is obvious that Richard Spence is a diligent researcher and he did a great deal of homework for this book. The result is an exhaustive (and exhausting) compilation of Sidney Reilly's activities and associations over the course of his career. Unfortunately this wealth of information is not really drawn into any themes or any kind of coherent narrative. Some of the "Reilly myths" are convincingly de-bunked, but there's not much on offer here to replace them. This might be a helpful work for the history scholar looking for names, dates, and places associated with Sidney Reilly but it isn't much fun for the armchair history buff.



3. In the end, Sidney Reilly has the last laugh. He spent a lifetime covering his tracks, weaving a trail of deception and misinformation intended to obscure every aspect of his personal history and career. Spence takes on the noble task of trying to sift through the voluminous, vague, and usually contradictory material about this character. Unfortunately, almost nothing can be said with certainty about Reilly. We are unsure of his real name, place of birth, parentage, marriages...and those are just the biographical details. His work was obviously and carefully kept clouded. The author assembles as much data as one will probably ever find on this subject. He tries to be objective. However, the end result is a compilation of information mixed with supposition and conjecture. Yet, it is doubtful if anyone could have done more than Spence given the nature of the subject. In the end, we are not even sure if Reilly died as legend holds or if he lived on in mystery. No one will ever accurately chronicle the life of this remarkable enigma wrapped in a riddle...and that is exactly how Sidney Reilly wanted things to be.



4. Richard Spence's research is astounding in its depth. Although this is in some ways a very "scholarly" work and demands effort on the part of the reader, it's worth it. It's obvious that no easy or pat answers to the mystery of Sidney Reilly are possible....and any book that pretends otherwise is just another red herring being dangled before the gullible.



5. Oh dear. This guy has read about 27 too many Russian novels.
   
   The author sifted through a sea of jumbled information about one of the craftiest characters in the long history of espionage, and produced, well, another sea of jumbled information. After three paragraphs in any chapter, it's not clear what or whom he's talking about -- or even why.
   
   Less detail and more careful analysis and supposition would have been MOST helpful, thank you.
   
   I'm about to stop reading, give up, and stick with the TV series.

5 comments about A Fever In The Heart And Other True Cases: Ann Rule's Crime Files, Volume III.

1. Once again Ann Rule, a great storyteller and writer on the horrific detail, tells a story on a perfect murder. So perfect that any detective can agree with. Theres no such thing as a perfect crime that are in all fictional mysteries. An experienced homicide detective investigates an unexplained death with only blood,and no body. An incredible story that sheds light on a marriage that seemed happy, but lead to a betrayal. Also the author of the story made it so exciting for a reader to read, like adding a serial killer in the story. This story is like a murder waiting to happen.



2. I love Ann Rule's books, but the first time I tried it, I laid it down. Thankfully, I picked it back up, I was hooked. This is one of Ann's true crime files volumes. I really got swept up in the title story of a young man, his coach and mentor who got swept up in a love triangle involving the two men and the wife of the first man. It makes soap operas stink,(which I think they do anyway), The good guy takes poor coach into his home afer a divorce, and next thing you know, wifey leaves husband for coach. (No doubt for money and materials), then she wants hubby#1 back. Well, what follows is murder which benefits nobody but the wife, whom after one man is dead and the other in prison, proceeds to marry another poor fool. Ann sometimes tends to give too much credit to characters, (especially to looks), as she does in this case. This was an average woman who just knew how to play two men against each other, also involving others to make the murder happen. The other short stories are good, too, especially "The Highway Accident". If you are a Rule fan, of course, read it.



3. Ex-cop and serial killer expert Ann Rule isn't a profound writer. She tells the same story over and over again with new victims and grisly variations on the way a human being can die. I suppose there's nothing profound about me either, since I read her stories. But it's a relief to know that no matter how badly my life is behaving, I'm profoundly better off than the victims of Rule's psychopaths.
   
   The title story, "A Fever in the Heart" is 245 pages long, and the author admits she had a problem writing it, possibly because she was so close to one of the victims. My impression is that she also blames one of the other victims for causing the whole affair.
   
   Briefly, two high school coaches are in love with the same woman, who marries one then divorces him and marries the second coach, then returns to husband #1 who is promptly murdered. It seems like a fairly straightforward case, since only coach #2 had a motive to kill coach #1. Then the prime suspect is also murdered.
   
   "A Fever in the Heart" is an interesting mystery with good police-work, and sad, intricate relationships between the victims. However, I believe it is about 220 pages too long. Possibly because the author was so involved in the story, she tells it over and over again, each time in a slightly different way, but not different enough to hold my interest.
   
   The other five cases included in this volume are as follows:
   
   "The Highway Accident"--A man murders his wife and tries to make it look like an automobile accident.
   
   "Murder without a Body"--"Oregon's last murder conviction in which the body was never found was in 1904." Then a lovely, young teacher disappears, leaving behind lots of blood but no corpse. The prosecutor decides to go ahead with the case, anyway.
   
   "I'll Love You Forever"--Ann Rule found the murderer in this case so sinister that she changed her pen name so he wouldn't be able to find her. This is another sad story of a woman who marries a charming psychopath.
   
   "Black Leather"--A murderer who trolls for young men, then tortures them to death gets his just reward on his own killing ground.
   
   "Mirror Images"--Two convicts bond to the point where they take on the same alias. Both are sexual offenders who torture their victims, and both are on the loose way too long.



4. Ex-cop and serial killer expert Ann Rule isn't a profound writer. She tells the same story over and over again with new victims and grisly variations on the way a human being can die. I suppose there's nothing profound about me either, since I read her stories. But it's a relief to know that no matter how badly my life is behaving, I'm profoundly better off than the victims of Rule's psychopaths.
   
   The title story, "A Fever in the Heart" is 245 pages long, and the author admits she had a problem writing it, possibly because she was so close to one of the victims. My impression is that she also blames one of the other victims for causing the whole affair.
   
   Briefly, two high school coaches are in love with the same woman, who marries one then divorces him and marries the second coach, then returns to husband #1 who is promptly murdered. It seems like a fairly straightforward case, since only coach #2 had a motive to kill coach #1. Then the prime suspect is also murdered.
   
   "A Fever in the Heart" is an interesting mystery with good police-work, and sad, intricate relationships between the victims. However, I believe it is about 220 pages too long. Possibly because the author was so involved in the story, she tells it over and over again, each time in a slightly different way, but not different enough to hold my interest.
   
   The other five cases included in this volume are as follows:
   
   "The Highway Accident"--A man murders his wife and tries to make it look like an automobile accident.
   
   "Murder without a Body"--"Oregon's last murder conviction in which the body was never found was in 1904." Then a lovely, young teacher disappears, leaving behind lots of blood but no corpse. The prosecutor decides to go ahead with the case, anyway.
   
   "I'll Love You Forever"--Ann Rule found the murderer in this case so sinister that she changed her pen name so he wouldn't be able to find her. This is another sad story of a woman who marries a charming psychopath.
   
   "Black Leather"--A murderer who trolls for young men, then tortures them to death gets his just reward on his own killing ground.
   
   "Mirror Images"--Two convicts bond to the point where they take on the same alias. Both are sexual offenders who torture their victims, and both are on the loose way too long.



5. I'd just finished reading Truman Capote's In Cold Blood, (my first foray into true crime)and was so engaged in the story I thought I would give Ann Rule a try. I was very disappointed. The title story itself sounded intriguing, the love triangle turned deadly. Obsession and devotion leading to murder. The first 100 or so pages were okay, not Capote, but readable. But then the author just went on and on and on and on and on. I began skipping big chunks of the narrative,because it simply reiterated the same facts over and over again.We sat through a rehashing of every facet of the story, followed every excruciatingly dull bit of police/DA/Defense procedure. We sat through confessions, then sat through them again during the trial and through every incarnation of them given to cops, prosecutors, defense attorney's, etc. The entire judicial part of the story was five times longer than necessary. I nearly gave up. Stubbornness alone made me persevere and I finally slogged my way through the entire thing. I found the remaining stories more engaging, simply because they were more succinct. I've read that this isn't the best example of Rule's work, and may give her books another go. If you are new to Rule, I would recommend starting with something else.

5 comments about Sunk Without a Sound : The Tragic Colorado River Honeymoon of Glen and Bessie Hyde.

1. I think, at first, the cover scared me away, but once I started reading I was involved. I must applaud Brad Dimock's writing skill. He has written a book with the timbre and cadence of a Jon Krakauer about an episode of which we know very little. While Glen Hyde's life was well documented by his family, very little is known about Bessie Hyde or how the Hyde's marriage was holding up under the pressure of their Colorado River float. Despite this dearth of information, Dimock has succeeded in bringing Glen and Bessie to life. We care about these two people, who disappeared over 75 years ago, and we follow the scanty thread of facts that Dimock has been able to gather, hanging on to each clue in the hope of learning their fate even though we know from the beginning that the Hyde's were never found.

   Sunk Without a Sound can stand side-by-side with the best of Jon Krakauer and David Roberts.




2. The story of Glen and Bessie Hyde is the greatest Grand Canyon mystery. They are the honeymoon couple that disappeared without a trace in 1928. Many myths and legends have evolved in the intervening years (including a segement of "Unsolved Mysteries"). Brad Dimmock is a Colorado River guide (and a very good writer) who duplicated the couples ill fated journey down the Colorado. He has interwoven the historical material with his own modern attempt using a sweepboat similiar to the one the Hyde's used. I read this while visiting the canyon again. It was great sitting on the patio at the Lodge on the North Rim reading this fascinating account. If you love a great mystery or you love Canyon lore, you'll love this book.



3. Just returned from 7 day trip down the Colorado River/Glen Canyon. One of the favorite stories was of these "honeynooners". the book is a wonderful adventure and worth a read, particularly if you have the joy of rafting that water. Enjoy!



4. Although there are some points where the book jumps back and forth upon itself, overall this is an engaging read about an interesting couple and a man's struggle to understand their ordeal. Very easy and enjoyable read in which you become enrapt in what happens next and makes you wonder what the "real" story truly was.



5. I love this book Just this April, that my wife and I visited the Grand Canyon for the first time together. For me, it was the first time ever. We mostly hiked here and there on the South rim and a bit down into the canyon, but it was nothing big, though it was pleasant. However, I was intrigued with the tales of Glen and Bessie and I wanted to know more. I got another Grand Canyon book through Inter-Library loan and it mentioned that a fellow named Dimock was in the process of publishing a book about them.
   
   So I finally got this book and devoured it, once I got my hands on it. This guy not only heavily researched the Hydes, he also built a similar boat and took it through the Grand Canyon, albeit with a sweep boat as back up. Then he went by kayak to personally survey the area where the Hydes most likely died.
   
   I admit to being taken aback a bit by the book cover, which shows two people in modern garb and wearing life perservers in whitewater. However, who is better to show there than the author and his wife on the replica of the Hydes' "Rain in the Face" while barreling down what is presumably the Colorado River?
   
   I would even bet that this failed exploit provided the idea for Dana Lamb's book "Enchanted Vagabonds", in which he builds a boat and supposedly paddles it with his young wife all the way from California to Panama. However, Dana selected a route where cheating is possible.
   
   I want to thank Brad Dimock for answering what can be reasonably argued about Glen and Bessie.

5 comments about Die for Me: The Terrifying True Story of the Charles Ng & Leonard Lake Torture Murders.

1. "Die For Me" is a true story of gruesome torture, terror, sex, rape, cold murder and videotapes. To identify both Leonard Lake and Charles Ng (pronounced 'eeng') as ex-marines is blasphemy at its greatest. Similarly, and more critical, is the statement the author made contrasting both Lake and Ng with being God;
   
   "...They had witnessed two young women enduring a nightmare, and two men (Lake and Ng) playing God with their lives."
   
   More correct would have been contrasting them with the devil. The references of being an ex-marines or acting like God is a complete and total blasphemy. Both Leonard Lake and Charles Ng are not worthy of being recognized as ex-marines and worst yet, acting like God.
   
   "Die For Me" is the horrifying story of the "Miranda project" by Leonard Lake and Charles Ng. Before Leonard Lake befriended Ng, Lake had a plan to prepare for Armageddon (day of reckoning) by building a military survival bunker. However, the plan by Lake went further than that since a secret holding cell was going to be built within the bunker. The cell would satisfy Lake's misogyny by enslaving, terrorizing, torturing, raping, and killing women he lured to his torturing den. Women were not the only victims in Lake's and Ng's Miranda project (based on the book "The Collector" by John Fowles), but men, children and babies as well. Both Leonard Lake and Charles Ng grossly took the lives of at least sixteen human beings.
   
   The author, Don Lasseter did well in not describing the gruesome, gross, and churning details of what the victims went through before being killed and disposed of as worthless trash. The toned down descriptions are bad enough to churn the readers' stomach and raises the readers' displeasure to infinity.
   
   Granite inscription at the sight:
   
   In Wilseyville We Found You
   Ou Lost Ones
   Though Taken In Darkness
   You Will Forever Live In Light
   Rest In Peace
   
   Victims Of The 1984-85
   Wilseyville Mass Murder



2. I am a fan of material that is a bit more hardcore and gory. This had potential to remind me of scenes from Silence of the Lambs when the girl was in that hole in the ground...but yet it didn't deal with enough of the experience of the victims. It seems to zoom through the victims and once you get half way through, all of a sudden the rest of the book dealt with court proceedings (I assume, I stopped after a few chapters of that part).
   But on a positive note, these guys WERE hardcore and Leonard Lake had some serious issues. There was some interesting reading in the beginning
   and is worth the read if you consider yourself a true crime buff.
   
   If you are like me....then of course The Shrine of Jeffrey Dahmer is a great read, but also read about Albert Fish (Deranged). I just read about Armin Meitwes (a German cannibal) and two books about Eddie Gein. Of course, I've read a small stack about Manson and his family. I'd like to suggest a book titled Love & Death about the MURDER of Kurt Cobain. Skeptics are the ones who should read it the most!!!
   
   
   [...].



3. I remember reading about the Lake-Ng crimes which are still unspeakable, unforgivable, unconsciousable, brutal, merciless towards the men, women, and children who were completely innocent. Lake and Ng were two men of a kind who enjoyed sadistic pleasure in torturing people at their compound in Northern California. Fortunately, Ng is in prison on death row I believe and Lake committed suicide. The story behind their lives is equally fascinating to result in two of the most demented serial killers and sadists around. I read a lot of real crime books and these two men were monsters in human form who enjoyed the sadistic pleasures of torturing women to death and humiliating them. The story of Lake-Ng is only partially told because there are other unknown victims but even after 20 years since the initial discovery of the house of horrors, the Lake-Ng crimes still penetrate a nerve in the community there like ghosts who refuse to go away.



4. Fairly familiar with events. Grew up near there. Lots of information her I was not aware of. Overall highly recomend to anyone interested in the case.
   Jon



5. I really enjoyed this book. I couldn't have giving it 5 stars for one reason. The author did a tremendous job talking about the victims and giving the reader a background to the crimes but unfortunately (and i hope i am not coming off to sick) there are no actual descriptions of the crimes. I understand that Leonard Lake is dead and Charles Ng maintains his innocence therefore there is no way to acturately tell the entire story. Overall a very good book. I finished it in a couple of days.

5 comments about Murdered Innocents.

1. This book was very gripping and yet sad. It tells the story of 4 innocently wasted lives. Corey Mitchell is very good at holding my attention.



2. Corey Mitchell uses such imagery in this book like when he mentions the deleted scene from The Exorcist I actually got chills because I remember the scene vividly. It made what he was describing that much more intense.
   
   This is a great book and it did indeed leave me with lots of questions Mr. Corey so we shall be chatting soon :)



3. In MURDERED INNOCENTS, Corey Mitchell presents the story of the rape and murder in 1991 of 4 teenage girls in an Austin, TX, yogurt store. The store was then set on fire to cover up the crime. Amid the confusion at the shop - policemen, firemen, EMTs - the crime scene was not processed as well as it might have been. For the next 8 years the Austin PD haphazardly followed leads with no results. Then, again seemingly at random, they began an investigation of a suspect, Michael Scott, who eventually implicated himself and 3 of his friends. The book is written in linear time and in typical true crime fashion: crime description, investigation, trials, and sentencing.
   
   There are some praiseworthy aspects to MURDERED INNOCENTS. Mitchell, as I previously discovered when I read his DEAD AND BURIED, is an intelligent, literate writer. This book is honest - the product of a lot of hard work and research. There is no soap opera, no suggestion of how the reader should think, and no bias in Mitchell's presentation.
   I think the best and most thought-provoking sections of MURDERED INNOCENTS are the transcripts of the police interviews with two of the suspects, Robert Springsteen and Michael Scott. I find reading transcripts of generic police interviews boring, but these are anything but run of the mill. The lies, intimidation, threats, refusal to accept answers not fitting a predetermined scenario, all mixed with feigned friendship - your good cop, bad cop - perpetrated on the subjects by a police department, desperate after 8 years to solve an horrific case that had a massively traumatized the city, was nothing short of outrageous. Mitchell's narrative requires the reader to question how the use of these techniques renders it possible to actually determine anyone's guilt or innocence. I couldn't see how anyone would be able to convict the suspects in this case, though they may well have been guilty, based on the confessions elicited from them after long hours of questioning in a psychological environment that must have felt like trying to think in quicksand. And the confessions were the ONLY evidence there was.
   
   There are also facets of the book which I felt were less than successful.
   The trial section is boilerplate and too long. Some of it is necessary as it ties the case together, but it is really not that interesting.
   While just my personal preference, I would have liked a lot more back story on the boys who were accused of the crime. There is some - more than you'll find in a lot of true crime - but to me the more the better.
   Mitchell is totally capable of this and proved it in DEAD AND BURIED.
   
   Ultimately I just felt that except for the police interrogation scenes,
   MURDERED INNOCENTS is just not that interesting a read. It isn't a bad book, but neither is it very compelling, and toward the end I wanted to be finished reading it without actually having to read it.
   True crime readers can do a lot worse than this book, but I wouldn't put it at the top of my list.



4. This is a true crime story that was featured on two television shows, 48 Hours and America's Most Wanted. It is a story that rocked the city of Austin, Texas, as it involves the murders of four well-liked teenage girls who were killed in on December 6, 1991 in the yogurt store in which two of them worked. Bound and gagged, they had been sexually assaulted, and shot. The perpetrators then set fire to the store in hopes of masking their horrific deed.
   
   With no eyewitnesses and little physical evidence to tie the murders to anyone, the case languished for years, unsolved. It was not until eight years later that the police were able to solve the crime. I must confess, however, that I am not totally convinced of the the guilt of the defendants. It almost sounds as if the detectives assigned to the case fed them their so-called confessions, bit by suggestive bit. Quite frankly, I was appalled by the confessions, as they did seem totally constructed by the police. Moreover, with no physical evidence linking those arrested to the crime, I was more than a little skeptical of those spoon fed confessions. It also sounded as if the author of the book also had reservations.
   
   The book, which promises sixteen shocking photos and delivers nothing of the kind, is not an exceptional true crime book and, despite its sad story, did not hold my interest all that well. I did not find the writing particularly engaging, though it is clear that the author did a great deal of research in putting together this book. Still, true crime buffs will find it of interest.



5. This is a poorly written and very poorly developed narrative about a horrifying case. Mitchell left out (perhaps didn't have access to?) a lot of information that I think was crucial--such as why the police focused on these suspects, what convinced the parents of the murdered girls that they were guilty, and what if any forensic evidence the police did/do have. Too much of the book was wasted on court transcripts that didn't seem particularly interesting or relevant. I appreciate Mitchell's stated desire to let readers make up their own minds about the suspects' guilt, but there simply is not enough information here for that to be possible. For anyone interested in a thoughtful, well-written and -researched account of justice gone awry, I highly recommend Mara Leveritt's Devil's Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three.

5 comments about Debunked!: Conspiracy Theories, Urban Legends, and Evil Plots of the 21st Century.

1. Richard Roeper of Ebert & Roeper attempts to avoid the facts with his personal opinions & assumptions as if real life were just another movie for him to rate on a thumb scale. The first 6 chapters (which is as far as most people will read) is a total whitewash of the facts. The rest of the book attempts to blend this whitewash with tabloid trash. Two thumbs way down, Mr. Roeper. Any educated person can find immediate problems in the first few paragraphs of the book with his casual unsourcable rant about the "Debunked" physics of the WTC collapse on 9/11 in the 1st chapter entitled 'The Steel Didn't Have to Melt'. True Mr. Roeper, the steel wouldn't have to melt for parts of the building to collapse; but ALL THREE of them symmetrically into their own footprints at the speed of gravity? Impossible! And, yes the steel did have to melt, since molten metal was found in the ruins of ALL 3 BUILDINGS for more than 7 weeks after the collapse. One would only need to watch a speech by Architect Richard Gage or Professor Steven Jones on Google Video for a true professional analysis of the WTC collapses.
   
   I could spend all day rebuting the first 6 chapters of this disorganized regergitation, but his unsourced opinions aren't worth much time. If you would like to know about the Clinton's criminal background watch 'The Clinton Chronicles' or 'The Mena Connection' for free on Google Video. If you would like to know more about the JFK Jr. assassination watch 'The Assassination of JFK Jr.' for free on Google Video. For more on the media blackout watch 'Spin' by Brian Springer for free on Google Video. For more on the levees being purposely blown during Hurricane Katrina watch 'Katrina Levee Blown Up' on YouTube.
   
   His blending of the facts with the other tabloid trash stories in this book is a poor attempt at discrediting & dismissing expert investigators & field professionals as tinfoil wearing kooks. Now that's what I call black propaganda & it's not going to work on anyone who's already been exposed to the dreadful truth. Mr. Roeper needs to stick with his movie critiques & leave the physics & criminal investigations to those with an appropriate job title.



2. I completely agree with Demon Ted's review, especially regarding the 9/11 issue. Roeper's book adds no weight to the subjects he talks about. If he were a full-time lawyer, academic or a serious journalist and scoured more facts, I would've have given a better review. Of course the book would have been too technical, academic, and dense, but serious subjects like 9/11, JFK, Lady Di's death, deserve that level of scrutiny. The fact that Roeper dabbles on these matters and then tackles the subject of the Virgin Mary image on the cheese sandwich is....comical. 9/11 alone deserves volumes of research, what was Roeper thinking? The book in my opinion would have been better if he decided to stick to either the lighter or heavier issues, not mixing up the big-scale national events with the trivial ones like... miracle cheese sandwiches. Let the 20/20 professional John Stossel walk that "thin" line.
   To be fair, Roeper has always been a commentator on various news feeds so this is book form of that, so I suppose He needs to be givven some slack for now writing more "deeply".
   All Americans, especially journalists, should see the various 9/11 videos on YourTube that DT describes. Many of the videos are from professors and engineers from top universities. I am a firm believer now that all three modern all-steel buildings could not have fallen the way they did. They WERE "taken down", using professional demolition terminology. There is even footage from the owner of "Building #7", the third buiilding that "collapsed" where he states that he agreed that the building be taken down, even before 9/11 happened. There is more to the 9/11 story than what we were so conveniently "told".
   Mr. Roeper should stick to movie reviews but even then, I will no longer read them nor rely on them. Anyone remember Michael Medved, who was also once a well-known movie critic? He's now a right-wing nutcase weirdo my- morals-are-better-than-your-morals know-it-all, with his own web and radio show. Is there something about being a movie critic that makes one all of a sudden think they're an expert on just about everything in REAL life? At least Roeper has not yet become a full-blown right-wing-neocon whore like the Medved-O'Reilly-Rush-Hannity-Coulter crew.
   Ultimately though, I'm very glad though that Medved and Roeper have both come out with their own polical or social views. We see their true colors, so to speak, and that's good! They're entitled to them, like all individuals, public or private. But their particular slant or judgement on matters OTHER THAN MOVIES makes one question the viability, quality or reliability of their other judgements, INCLUDING movies. It's kinda like a friend, neighbor, co-worker, or gulp, a family member you thought you knew. You think they're a nice, fair, honest, compassionate person. And they are on the outset on most things. They have and feed their kids, pets, mow their lawn every week, volunteer at their church, etc., but then one day they talk about how they don't like the blacks they see now in the mall, or on another day they confide on how gays are "ruining marriage", or they believe that evolution is just a theory unlike intelligent design. Or that a woman or a black person would not be a good president at this time. You think twice about that person now, how his/her outlook on life is skewed a certain (scary?) way. That's kinda how I now view Mr. Roeper, though not as nearly as bad as the fictional examples above (in my real life though these people exist, sadly).
   I've never really liked Medved's movie reviews and was lukewarm toward's Roepers. Now I won't even bother. And I'm not always in-line with Roger Eberts reviews either. Geez, looks like I'm on my own regarding movie reviews. But wait, there is always a chance the O'Reilly-Rush-Hannity-Coulter camp will start doing movie reviews. Yay! I hope so cause I need a good laugh, because Roeper's book made me cry now that I have one less movie reviewer I can somewhat trust. Thumbs down on the book.
   To be honest though, I'd rather have a 100 Richard Roepers doing a gazillion movie reviews than a single Michael Medved doing one movie review. Unfair and unbalanced I know, but you need that to counter the fair and balanced news reporting so prevalent and reliable out there these days ;-)



3. This was a fun informative read. It makes you shake your head to think that so many people buy into the strangest theories about how something happened rather than going to the most practical and common place. I guess people don't want simple and common place. My only complaint about the book was that some of the theories got a lot of explanation...almost too much. I was surprised to find several urban legends and conspiracy theories that I had never heard of. I guess those believers would say I had my head in the sand. Recommended.



4. Richard Roeper again writes a book that is very enjoyable to read.I recommend every one to get yourself a copy to read.



5. Roeper had me hooked from his FOXNEWS interview about his book - though in the book he makes his distaste for FOXNEWS apparent.
   
   However I really was hoping for more - more on the JFK assassination hype, more on Roswell "cover-up," and other moronic conspiracy theories.
   
   His film reviews should also cover the "Parallax View" which is another far-fetched "evil government cover-up conspiracy" flick which is even worse than "Capricorn I" if that were possible.
   
   His point about the "9/11 truth"-squaders is well-taken - if there had been any conspiracy the same ruthless government would have had all of these morons buried in a mass grave under a toxic nuclear waste dump! ! !

5 comments about Love & Death: The Murder of Kurt Cobain.

1. Reading through this book and watching taped interviews of the authors and Tom Grant, it occurs to me that none of them could be familiar with how heroin addicts behave or the amount of heroin a seasoned addict can consume, nor do they understand the classic behavior pattern of a suicidal individual. Cobain's death was a standard scenario seen all over the world, every day. Shame on these 'writers' and Tom Grant the 'investigator' for exploiting and cashing in on the pain and suffering of others.



2. I have always believed Kurt Cobain was murdered. Always have. Always will. But I have come to a conclusion, after doing all this research and finding out all the accusations, even if Courtney could be convicted of Kurt Cobains murder, I honestly don't think he would want it to happen. He loved her, he loved Frances, he wouldn't have wanted her to grow up without a mom. I know this. Kurt was a caring and innocent soul. He will always be loved and missed.



3. Based on this I would have to say that there is enough in question to re-open the case.
   Very interesting reading to say the least.



4. I still have many questions after trying to sort throug everyone's conversations. I tend to think it was murder though. Why would Courtney Love not try and get the information/photo's that was being asked for by the PI? She was the one that had hired him and because she has something to hide! This case will never be investigated again by the SPD. They say once a junkie, always a junkie. The one thing that I can say after reading this book, Courtney Love is a white piece of trash and may her soul burn in hell!



5. I thought this would just be a throw-away book, a sensationalistic attempt to spin another angle on Cobain's 1994 "suicide." But the book seems well-researched and fairly well written. Its basic premise, which it attempts to document largely through interview data--along with some new forensic evidence and documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act--is that Cobain was planning to divorce Courtney Love just before her career really took off. When they married they had signed a pre-nup, which made him next to worthless to her alive and divorced. But AFTER they signed it, he made a meteoric rise to fame and fortune while she remained ambitious but not yet the rich grunge goddess that she was to become. With Kurt dead, she got her money and his. Courtney is portrayed as one of the hardest bitches anyone is likely to come across. Forget the fact that she was a junkie . . . she was one of those young women with a bad childhood, who decided to claw her way to the top without scruples or regrets. To hear the authors tell it, many people in this case are afraid of her and so have never really spoken out. And she did reach a point of some influence and wealth, right after his timely (for her) demise. So she hired a hit man, intimidated some and bought off others, allowing the hoax of his suicide to go forward. The authors hope their volume will reopen the case, to at last find justice and stem the tide of copycat suicides that followed. I ended the book convinced that this was a matter that should be looked into further.

5 comments about Red Horizons: The True Story of Nicolae and Elena Ceausescus' Crimes, Lifestyle, and Corruption.

1. Superficial and disjointed in many ways. Did give some insights into manchinations of Ceausescus' regime but due to presentation style no certainty as to how factual scenarios are. OK as to superficial look but would not recommend book.



2. I bought this book in order to know a little more about Ceausescu's time. I found in the pages of this book a lot of allusions to corruption of his wife Elena, the most hated woman in the Romanian History (somebody related during his execution she received more bullets than Nick; his son Nicu a modern Caligula and the rest of hight-ranked politicians and functionaries of Communist Administration.
   
   We found interesting connections between Ceausescu and international terrorism, Gadafi or Arafat even Carlos. And the deals with drug smuggling or selective murders abroad.
   
   You will find in this book how many American or European functionaries had been corrupted by Romanian money during this dark years. Also there are a few interesting portraits of politicians of this years like Willy Brand, Breznev, Santiago Carrillo, Aldo Moro, Evita Perón, Mr and Mrs Carter (Mrs Peanut for Elena).
   
   A good book. Actually, the best i read about Nicolae and Elena, but there's a lack of information about the daily life of Romanian people in this years.



3. This book should serve as a lesson to those who say "It can never happen here" My parents travelled to Romania many times in the Ceaucescu times and reported many of the same things described in this book. I read it first in 1997 in Dutch and it was fascinating. My step-mother who is Romanian lived this for most of her life!



4. To much credit on this monster and his wife, some (creatures) better let them be forgotten



5. 
   What eventually happened to the Ceausescu's should happen to all of those who support communism and the enslavement of the individual to the "Greater Good".
   
   This book shows the inner workings of the Ceausescu's and their ilk. The crimes perpetuated by the Communists knows no end. This book exposes the true face of communism/socialism. What sound good in theory is exposed for the true evil it is.
   
   Never forget and never again let this happen.