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 The Blooding.

1. In 1983, a rapist and killer struck in Leicestershire, England, leaving a dead girl in a wooded pathway near an insane asylum. A year later, in another part of the same county, Dr. Alec Jeffreys uncovered something called a genetic fingerprint, of which no two are alike unless they belong to identical twins.
   
   With that, the biological leftovers of the killer's attack became evidence that could theoretically put him away, if he can first be persuaded to take a voluntary test.
   
   Joseph Wambaugh's 1989 true-crime story "The Blooding" is perhaps the author's most accomplished book, as he delves headlong into a strange netherworld where science and crime intersect, both in terms of genetic fingerprinting of which this case provided the first working model, and of the psychopathic mind of the killer, whom Wambaugh studies at length in the book's second half.
   
   "The Blooding" captures a small British community in a state of terror, and details a frustrating, often misguided investigation that gets its man only after much confusion. "As with many police investigations the secret ways of people often produced peripheral mysteries as baffling as the one in question," Wambaugh writes, and to his credit he follows at least a couple of them at such length you think you are about to discover the killer at last before hitting a dead end.
   
   Say this for Wambaugh: No one else makes police investigation seem so thrilling and comprehensible, and at the same time so worthy of respect. Here he is working far away from his California home base, but the differences in culture and police technique only seem to serve to sharpen his focus. He even manages to delineate a few of the key investigators, though here, unlike his more famous "The Onion Field", Wambaugh's interest remains firmly on the case at hand, however absorbingly he may portray certain indescribable emotions, like that of a father called upon to identify the body of his daughter, "the cruelest, most ravaging sight this world has to offer," he writes.
   
   As Wambaugh notes at another point, "murder annihilates privacy," and in this case this means not only the agony of a murder victim's parents but the ethical question of mass-collecting DNA samples for possible use against a suspect. For it is clear without this innovation of Dr. Jeffreys' and its employment by the Leicestershire constabulary, a killer would have gone free, perhaps while an innocent man was put away.
   
   Humane, electric, alive both to individual moments large and small as well as to the overall significance of the case, "The Blooding" is so good you may close it as I did feeling guilty you enjoyed a book so given the circumstances that produced it.



2. This 1989 true crime book tells of two murders in English Midlands villages that were solved by DNA testing of the local male population. It was the first in the world. This book lacks an index, a table of contents, and pictures. Wambaugh recreated events from reliable witnesses or independent corroboration. Two 15 year old girls were raped and strangled three years apart. Could an innocent suspect confess to murder? Can DNA testing be defeated? [This shows an England that is not in the tourist press. The writing shows Wambaugh's skill, it reads like a fast-paced novel.] Details of the crimes are accurately described.
   
   Chapter 1 describes the three small villages. Leicestershire is the site of Bosworth Field, Richard III the last Plantagenet. The half-nude body of a 15 year old was discovered one morning (Chapter 4). People were scared and alarmed by the murder (Chapter 6). The body was found near a mental hospital. People were terrified, they had no protection. The police followed every lead, anonymous or not. After months of investigation it was shut down. Chapter 9 tells of the discovery pf DNA analysis at nearby Leicester University. [What is a "donkey jacket" (p.75)?] Further investigation continued into DNA (Chapter 10). Everyone's DNA is different except for identical twins. The murder of a child creates additional problems for the family. A suspect was arrested for the second murder (Chapter 14). The suspect confessed after being questioned by the police (Chapter 15). The family of the victim also had problems (Chapter 16). In order to prove the suspect murdered the first girl they used DNA analysis (Chapter 17). The result: one man raped and murdered both girls, but it wasn't the suspect in custody! The television program "Crimewatch UK" showed a recreation of the murder and asked for clues (Chapter 18). The police continued to check all reports.
   
   The police tried a new tactic; they would test the blood of all male residents who were in an age group (Chapter 19). There were no identity cards in England then. Chapter 22 tells how one blood test was done. [If anyone tells you a hard-luck to gain your sympathy you should assume it's a confidence trick.] Chapter 23 describes the scientific precision of the testing. At one unguarded moment a man told of taking a blooding test for another. Someone repeated this to the police, who compared signatures and got a break. "He looks the way our man ought to look!" (Chapter 26). The confession showed neither remorse or emotion. Real life confessions are rarely tidy. One girl survived because she fought back (p.267). There was an ironic ending fro the chief investigator (Chapter 28). The psychosexual sociopath "looked almost human" (p.275). Chapter 30 tells how the media covered this.
   
   Joseph Wambaugh shows his bias in the term "gun-crazy country like the U.S." (P.243). The small villages in the US have high gun ownership with no such murders as in this book. It can't be a coincidence. Or is it the higher rate of church membership? Journalist Per Wahloo wrote novels that used Swedish society as the background. They documented their lives and housing. Wambaugh tells little about these villages, or what people do for a living. How do they compare to others?



3. I love Wambaugh because his books are so much like Giovanni Guareshi's "Don Camilo" series, where I cannot read two pages into the book before I am cracking up so loud that my wife becomes concerned about what the neighbors are going to say.
   
   This book is a page turner, very interesting, never boring. But it is a serious non-fiction work and there are no laughs.
   
   I have read now all of Wambaugh novels, (except "Echoes in the Darkness" which hasn't arrived yet) and the best and funniest of all, IMHO, is "Delta Star", which deserves not five, but six stars. Make it seven stars if you like German shepherds.



4. I love Wambaugh because his books are so much like Giovanni Guareshi's "Don Camilo" series, where I cannot read two pages into the book before I am cracking up so loud that my wife becomes concerned about what the neighbors are going to say.
   
   This book is a page turner, very interesting, never boring. But it is a serious non-fiction work and there are no laughs.
   
   I have read now all of Wambaugh novels, (except "Echoes in the Darkness" which hasn't arrived yet) and the best and funniest of all, IMHO, is "Delta Star", which deserves not five, but six stars. Make it seven stars if you like German shepherds.



5. This is a docudrama rather than a novel. It's a dramatization of the sleuthing behind the arrest of a serial killer in England, and it's chief point of interest is the first use of DNA evidence to solve a crime. Wambaugh does this sort of thing better than Truman Capote, because he's more of a storyteller; but unlike Capote, the less imagination required to tell the story, the better Wambaugh does. Here his writing is at its best, because he has little to concoct--just arrange the facts to tell the story. The story might be of more interest to students of crime than the rest of us, but it's an interesting tale and a good read. As usual, Wambaugh has trouble depicting women, less than usual, because so much is on the record and available to him. All in all, well written light reading that will consume no more than one afternoon. But the question that runs through all of his work remains: Why does he have no idea what women are like?

5 comments about Twisted A Famous Crime Writer, a Lesbian Love Affair, and the FBI Husband's Violent Revenge.

1. From cover to cover this book was hard to put down. It was presented in a wonderfully candid style with no-holds-barred and many unthinkable surprises. I am reading a lot of non-fiction at the present time and this book is at the top of my list. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED READING!!!!! Caitlin outdid herself with this one!
   
   Dalene Khan
   Tustin, California



2. Don't waste your money. I was looking forward to this book due to the intriguing triangle aspect. What a disappointment. So poorly written, no details, and confusing. They whip through the trial like nothing. The victim is not the most sympathetic, she did cheat on him. I know he went overboard and is evil. I don't understand why she didn't move after the first incident, and far away. I can't believe I wasted my money and time.



3. Twisted Triangle: A Famous Crime Writer, a Lesbian Love Affair, and the FBI Husband's Violent Revenge
   
   
   Caitlin Rother's Twisted Triangle has supplied a great read that appeals to readers who need to see what is going on in peoples minds, readers who need to see what is going on underneath the surface of everyday life; specifically marriage. Also, it is obvious that Caitlin was keen to be extremely emotionally sensitive to Margo's life story. Margo's life was so very intense.
   
   This book is a fascinating read as the obsessed, criminal, defrauding, lying, psycho husband Gene Bennett hacks through the forest of control surrounding himself with a silent chainsaw, delicately providing a stream of jaw-dropping calculated and manipulative lies. He plotted out his wife's execution with the precision of a very detailed professional hit man.
   
   Margo's husband Gene, in half-shadow, disguised the emptiness of his warped life embarked on a wanton dance of destruction in his place of employ (which just so happened to be the FBI, oh by the way) and his home life.
   
   
   Gene Bennett was having such a good time with the antics of his monsters and inner demons that one has to wonder how the FBI did not see what a huge RED FLAG he was. How did he get away with it all? He was a fabulous liar.
   
   What an extraordinarily courageous and brave woman Margo Bennett is to dig into her life and share it with us all thru this book. Thank you Margo. Your emotionally raw honest read was a tremendous help to me. Unless you have been involved with a manipulative sociopath, you could never imagine the psychological cleverness they have in getting into the essence of your psyche; being a puppet master pulling the strings of your mind. It was obvious that Gene Bennett was an extremely sadistic sociopath, and one can only hope that going forward Margo is given all of life's BEST blessings.
   
   
   It is a tale about a shady tale-telling FBI agent named Gene Bennett; a clever seductive sociopathic vampire drawn to suck the energy and life out of his beloved FBI agent wife Margo Bennett. Truth really is stranger than fiction. Because it's true, it is easily one of the most incredible and undeniably horrifying stories of our time.



4. I'm always pleased to see thoughtful True Crime in hardback and Caitlin Rother's previous effort, Poisoned Love, proved she can deliver the goods when it comes to the genre. Then there's the case at hand: the famous (infamous) "love triangle" between crime novelist Patricia Cornwell, FBI agent Margo Bennett and Margo's FBI agent husband Gene. Better true crime fodder can't be found.
   
   Except that there wasn't much of a "triangle". No, the real story here is the abusive marriage between Margo and Gene. Both were successful FBI agents but Gene's willingness (or need) to employ larceny to augment the family income hardly fit with the traditional G-Man image. Insurance scams, side businesses and padded expense reports were all business as usual for Gene. So was emotional abuse and, ultimately, physical abuse triggered by Margo's determination to free herself from a miserable marriage.
   
   This is Margo's story, told from her vantage point in terms of emotions and facts. The reader learns things about Gene as Margo learns them. We also see her relationship with Cornwell unfold through Margo's eyes. Even without sour grapes, Cornwell still comes across as a needy woman enchanted by her own sudden fame. Gene, however, remains something of a cipher. Aside from speculation that he became hooked on the high of undercover work, Rother doesn't do much to help the reader understand what makes Gene tick. He's a repellant character but what created him?
   
   We get to see the long term impact on the entire family of Gene's deceit and violence, along with his continued attempts to manipulate his children. It's hard not to agree with Margo Bennett that Gene will come after he once parolled. It's also hard not to revel a bit in the novelty of an abused spouse who's had the police training necessary to save herself. Her cool thinking clearly saved two lives.
   
   The exploitive sub-title is unfortunate because the book itself doesn't exploit the characters or the situation. All in all this is an enjoyable true crime story in which the victim not only survives but emerges empowered.



5. The book is ironically called "Twisted Triangle," and is supposedly about the famous "love triangle" between crime novelist Patricia Cornwell, FBI agent Margo Bennett and Margo's FBI agent husband Gene. Yet, just a few pages into the book, the author states that neither Gene Bennett or Patricia Cornwell wanted anything to do with the book, therefore leaving only ONE of the key players in the triangle to tell the story. And this is precisely why the book fails miserably.
   
   Anyone interested enough in the story to have followed the news when it happened and/or buy the book already knows the story simply by following the news. This book offers nothing new or profound for the reader. The writing is choppy and hard to follow. And, the actual love affair between Patricia Cornwell and Margo Bennett is mentioned at every possible opportunity and therefore bores the reader. The actual "sexy" lesbian love affair is such a small part of the book. This author emphasized it only because it involved a celebrity writer, Patricia Cornwell, and helps the author market the book. It is so obvious that the author's writing does not stand on its own.
   
   A triangle consists of 3 lines, or "sides" to a story. Yet, Margo's voice is the only one the reader hears. Twisted Triangle could more accurately be named "One-sided line."

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.

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.

5 comments about Breaking Blue.

1. One of my best recent reads. Part crime story, part historical and cultural biography, and part present-day human drama. All parts are addressed evenly. Great for anyone interested in the sometimes strange land of Eastern Washington and Spokane's Wild West past.



2. Mr. Egan has become my favorite non-fiction writer. I've reread The Good Rain several times, and read The Worst Hard Time as soon as it became available in paper back. I live in the Pacific Northwest and have come to appreciate the history that surrounds me. Mr. Egan's hero, Sheriff Bamonte, faced Herculean obstacles, and Mr. Egan presented it beautifully in Breaking Blue. After I finished reading Breaking Blue, I quickly mailed the book to my son who graduated from Gonzaga in 2005 and recommended that he read it since the story takes place in the Spokane area. The Spokane River which runs through downtown Spokane has a new meaning for me now!



3. This was a great story and a very interesting read, because it was a real case that a lawman solved.



4. I read this after "The Worst Hard Time". I liked this book much better. It's interesting on many levels. Tim paints a great picture of life in the 30's, and the life of the sherriff. I felt like I knew the characters. I have a theory that sometimes a book/author deserves an award, but the book gets passed up, so the next book gets the award. ;)



5. This book is a very well written and an easy read, I was born and graduated highschool, in Spokane,(then I moved on).
   I had spent time in all the areas mentioned in this book, but I still learned alot of good history about the Spokane area reading this book.
   The book perked my interest and even inspired me to look up family tree information, from the time frame of the book. I had an Uncle that hung out at Mothers Kitchen during those times. I wish he was alive now, I would ask him a lot of questions..... Very Interesting.

5 comments about Seduced by Madness.

1. Author Carol Pogash does something miraculous: she reinvents the true crime genre to such a degree that other authors will find it difficult to match her! From the first page to the last, you're riveted to this real life drama of a psychotic and dangerous woman--Susan Polk--who butchered her husband--and then tried to blame it on that favorite alibi of many female killers: the battered wife syndrome. We first find Susan Polk puttering around her kitchen while the body of her psychologist husband rests in a river of blood in the nearby pool house where she forced him to live. She waits for one of her sons, Gabe, to find the corpse and then shows no emotion when her son tells her the news. With this introduction, you're led through their lives in fascinating detail--from Susan's mentally disturbed childhood up to the reasons she finally decided to murder her husband. Pogash creates each of the leading characters in colorful detail--and you're taken through the various psychological fads--such as the satanic child abuse craze of the 70s and then through the repressed memory cycle. Susan threw herself into each of these crazes--first, convinced that somehow that one of her sons was abused in satanic rituals. Then she was convinced through repressed memory that her husband, Felix, had hynoptized her and used drugs to seduce her as a teenager aganst her will. She became convinced he was a Mossad agent of death and that he knew 9/11 was going to happen. Yet, she's shown as being aggressively involved in the seduction of Felix. Pogash then goes into an even more fascinating part of this saga by covering the murder trial of Susan Polk. You're introduced to the attorneys, the witnesses and the courtroom junkies. Susan ends up representing herself and her madness is now seen by the public and jurors. Her bizarre courtroom antics--laughing, crying and shrieking at the prosecutor and judge--turned her case into a circus sideshow. While she claims to have been severely abused as a wife, you realize that her poor husband was forced to live in the pool house and was terrified of this woman. Yet, until the end, Felix told people how much he still loved her-even after she warned him that she was returning from a vacation in Montana with a shotgun and that she was going to kill him. This is what is so mystifying about this man. Even after continual threats against his life by his wife, he refused to move out and proclaimed his great love for this woman who now hated him. During the trial, one son, Eli, never wavered in defending his killer Mother. Two other sons depicted her as evil, psychotic and a relentless trouble-maker both in their home and to the neighbors and school staffs. I dreaded coming to the end of this book because it was so brilliantly written. Bravo to the author for breathing new life into the true crime genre which, unfortuntately, consists of too many books that are badly written and consist of nothing more than a cut-and-paste job by hack writers.



2. Carol Pogash's SEDUCED BY MADNESS chronicles the relatively well known case of the murder of psychologist Felix Polk by his wife Susan. Pogash's book begins with the childhoods of Felix and Susan, the twisted beginning of their relationship, the births of their three sons, and the dysfunctional life of the family up to and including Felix's murder.
   The family breadwinner was an emotionally flawed Felix, who, while he appears to have been a good and loving father and husband, fatally poisoned the marriage, which took place when Susan was around 20 and Felix around 45, by initiating a sexual relationship with Susan when she was a teenager and his patient.
   Their three sons were the victims of an upbringing which consisted of basically Susan, who - for example - encouraged her children not to attend school as, in her own mind, no one was really competent to care for or teach her children except herself.
   And then there was Susan. Susan is shown to be a cultured, literate, and extremely intelligent woman who was also manipulative, vindictive, socially strange, in many ways unpleasant, and increasingly paranoid and delusional. If Felix provided the financial support - Susan never worked -Susan was, in an interesting role reversal, the family's psychological leader - the one who set the tone of the family's life - while Felix pretty much went along with whatever her agenda was at any given time and while the boys, whom Susan totally loved, were raised in an environment which was, like Susan, askew like a mildly distorting fun house mirror.
   
   The last half of the book recounts the most bizarre trial you will ever read about, pitting DA Paul Sequeira against Susan Polk who was not a lawyer but chose, since she was convinced no one was smarter than she was, to defend herself. I generally feel that, with occasional exceptions, trial segments of true crime books are among the most boring. However the trial is one of the major components in the Susan Polk saga. Many of the true crime writing mediocrity, the rush to printers, would write this section by, for all intents and purposes, copying the trial transcript. I am happy to report that Pogash does not do this. It is in this case mandatory to provide the reader with a detailed account of the trial while being a writer rather than a copier, and Pogash handles it beautifully.
   
   Carol Pogash clearly set out to write an outstanding book, and she has succeeded. The research is exhaustive and impeccable, the writing is crisp and intelligent, and the tone and feel of the book are adult and literate. There are no false steps, no insertion of the author's asides and comments (an increasingly unfortunate occurence among the hacks who litter the true crime landscape) and no filler.
   
   You won't find true crime better than SEDUCED BY MADNESS. I recommend it unreservedly.



3. This story illustrates the old axiom that truth is stranger than fiction. The fascinating tale has so many bizarre twists and turns that one cannot help but be transfixed. Susan Polk begins seeing her therapist at age 15, marries the much older man a few years later, and a quarter of a century later stabs him 27 times, leaving him in a pool of blood in the pool house of the family's luxurious estate.
   
   In between these bookends, journalist Carol Pogash tells the story of Susan Polk's deepening personal madness embedded in the cultural madness of the psychotherapy world of the 1960s and 1970s in Berkeley, where therapist-patient sex was tolerated, psychodrama and EST were treatments du jour, and cocaine use was rampant. The Polks even crusaded against mythical Satanic ritual abusers, claiming that their eldest son Adam had been kidnapped, raped, and made into a multiple personality. And if all that isn't enough, we've got exorcisms, psychics, and repressed memory claims.
   
   Pogash's rendition of the four-month trial is a riveting page-turner. Susan Polk fired attorney after attorney and ended up representing herself. On center stage, the intelligent but delusional defendant demonstrated a stunning ability to "take any set of facts and mold a story where she was both victim and hero." It is painful to read about her brutal cross-examination of two of her three sons. Pogash chronicles the Freudian slips that give glimpses into her pathology, as she called her dead husband her father and her favored middle son her husband.
   
   I am intrigued to ponder how Ms. Polk's trial outcome might have been different if it came after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling of June 19, 2008, in Illinois v. Edwards. Now, a mentally ill defendant may be barred from representing herself if she is delusional to the point that she is unable to effectively represent her best interests. (For my report on the Edwards case, type shurl.org/insane into your browser's address bar.) Perhaps that will be grounds for appeal of her second-degree murder conviction?
   
   From the point of view of a forensic psychologist, I especially appreciated the depictions of the expert testimony. We had the cagey forensic pathologist who disappeared in the middle of the trial when the judge insisted he produce his files, and the seasoned psychologist who testified for the defense, based mainly on what Ms. Polk had told her and without benefit of any formal psychological testing, that the defendant was a battered woman who suffered from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.
   
   I thought Pogash remained remarkably balanced and fair in her reporting, especially as compared to many pundits who flock to the true-crime genre. Being personally acquainted with upwards of a dozen of the participants whom she included in her account, I can say that by and large she portrayed them accurately and fairly.
   
   Seduced by Madness is a riveting page-turner, a fascinating history, and a balanced portrayal of a high-profile trial that shined a spotlight on one family's dark pathos. I recommend it.



4. Every so often in the true crime genre author and subject come together in an almost fated way to produce a book that illuminates not only the crime but the times that produced it. McGinniss's Blind Faith, Stumbo's Until the Twelfth of Never, Alexander's Very Much a Lady and Rule's The Stranger Beside Me are among the select few and now they are joined by Carol Pogash's Seduced by Madness. This is a fine, almost ridiculously readable book by any standard.
   
   The Polk murder case was true crime fodder even before the lead defense attorney's wife was murdered just before trial. Susan Polk was accused of murdering her husband, Felix, during a drawn out divorce and custody battle. Susan claimed she killed him in self-defense and revealed that Felix had been her therapist from the time she was 16. With those ingredients it's no wonder that everyone from Court TV to People were hot on this case. Then add the fact that Susan Polk clearly attended the Betty Broderick School of Tell Your Side of the Story to Any Journalist Who Will Listen. Susan is a stranger to both modesty and discretion - she's also undeniably brilliant and, sadly, delusional.
   
   And there lies the brilliance of Pogash's book: instead of simply recording the salacious details (and there are plenty), she digs deeper, delving into the many fads and nuances of therapy-happy California in the 1970s and 1980s. From Est to the Satanic Ritual Abuse hysteria and everything else along the way, the Polks seem to have been part of it all. Certainly Felix Polk's sense of therapeutic boundaries were a little lax, marriage to one former patient, long-term friendships with current patients. All this would be merely odd (and almost a parody of what an East Coaster thinks goes on in California) except for the fact that Susan Polk needed psychiatric help. Maybe Felix saw himself living out Fitzgerald's Tender Is the Night with him heroically saving his Nicole (Susan) by marrying her. Maybe Felix didn't realize how ill Susan really was. More often than not Felix either humored or fed Susan's minor delusions until the day Susan, inevitably, turned on him. Pogash does a fine job of showing the reader Susan Polk's charisma, we get glimpses that help us understand her incredible influence over her husband and children.
   
   The trial coverage here is nothing short of spectacular. These are the looniest court proceedings since a Florida serial killer sang to his journalist groupie girlfriend on the stand. That was 5 minutes, this went on for weeks. Expert witnesses who appear guiltier than the defendant, a defendant more concerned with being "right" than being found not guilty and the unbearable tragedy of a mother cross-examining her son who is testifying against her all add up to trial you'll never forget.
   
   This is a fantastic book. For the True Crime genre fan, this is pure ambrosia. For general readers this is an absorbing read. For all, this is a book that will deepen your understanding of the way we live now.



5. The Susan Polk has garnered a lot more attention simply because the defendant and convicted murderer, Susan Polk, is quite a complicated human being. She is definitely troubled and her relationship with a man who was first a father figure and later her lover turned husband and father of their three sons would be his victim. He was as obsessed and in love with Susan first as a patient and later as a wife. This book really explores their complicated relationship under the circumstances. Until now, I never thought much about the Polk case and as to why it got so much interest. Unfortunately, the great Dr. Felix Polk and his relationship with young Susan was doomed from the start. It was destined for failure. It was not that easy to end the relationship. Clearly, Susan is delusional and suffers from mental illness. Her behavior was never properly treated and she believed that everybody especially Felix was against her. What was the driving point might have been that Felix was supposedly taking over the dominant parental role in the family and pushing Susan aside. Of course, that was never the case but in Susan's delusional and obviously sick mind, she believed that Felix was setting the world against her especially by reaching to their sons. Unfortunately, the family has suffered a tragedy and this book is excellent in explaining in details about the case. While Carol Pogash is not a well-known true crime writer, she has done far more than the other author that I read about this case.

1 comments about In Heaven Everything is Fine: The Unsolved Life of Peter Ivers and the Lost History of New Wave Theatre.

1. Anyone who is into pop-culture trivia will find plenty to love about this book. It's a great introduction to Peter Ivers and the creative mark he made in movies, music, television, and theatre.

5 comments about The Bone Lady: Life as a Forensic Anthropologist.

1. I found this book quite tedious, since the author makes the fundamental mistake of thinking the subject of the book should be herself instead of her work. There is almost no information on forensic anthropology; her descriptions of cases are very short and center mainly on how she felt about them, rather than what the actual details were. From the cover and the blurbs I expected actual case histories; the book doesn't deliver. The book as written would really only be interesting to people who know the author personally.



2. Don't waste your time or money on this one as there are far better forensic books out there. This book was just a collection of short narratives reading more like a personal diary than any kind of scientific narrative laying out the facts of cases. I guess it lives up to its subtitle of "Life as a Forensic Anthropologist" in that she usually presents only HER part in each case with little presentation of the entire case. The forensic cases are not really the star of this book, the author is. I was frustrated with the lack of depth. Instead, read "The Body Farm" by Bill Bass. Excellent storytelling there! He gives you personal stories, but also provides all the fascinating forensic info to provide a complete picture for the cases he has investigated.



3. This is a wonderful book. It is fun to read about Mary Manheim's childhood and her career and the cases she has worked on. The short chapters focus on particular cases she has helped solve. It is sprinkled through out with stories of life in Louisiana.



4. After hearing Mary Manhein speak I was very interested in her book. In the book she did record many cases, and gave a pretty good overview of the field. The best part of the book was her retelling what brought her to become a forensic anthropologist. I was disappointed at the lack of real detail and depth in talking about the cases and the politics of the field.



5. Everyone who opens this book will not put it down until it's finished! I have spoken with Dr. Manheim regarding her forensic work. She is,undoubtedly,one of the most entertaining, knowledgable and caring teachers I have ever encountered. I look forward to her next book.

5 comments about Starvation Heights: A True Story of Murder and Malice in the Woods of the Pacific Northwest.

1. Dr. Linda Burfield Hazzard is a name one will never forget after reading this unique true crime story. Set in the early 1900's, the so called Dr. takes advantage of the sick and wealthy by providing a new "fasting treatment" that eventually leads to their deaths.
   
   However, through one woman's courageous battle for life and to avenge her sister's death because of the starvation cure, Dr. Hazzard is brought to justice.
   
   As an avid reader of true crime, I was amazed at this story. It is truly hard to imagine the likes of Linda Hazzard and the fact that something so sinister occurred at the turn of the century. Linda is a cold hearted woman who stops at nothing, not even murder, to attain notoriety, wealth and fame.
   
   Although Linda is found guilty of her crimes, it is ironic that she only serves a few years in the penitentiary and comes away with writing books about her cure and begins to practice her starvation cure once again.
   
   This is a book one cannot not put down as it is well written and researched, and the reader begins to empathize for those who lost their precious lives because true medicine had failed in the quest to become healthy.



2. I'm a bit of a historical true crime buff (even have my own blog on the subject), and this is leaps and bounds the best historical true crime book I have read. It is top notch in research and telling, and as other readers have mentioned-you will NOT forget this book and the horrors the sisters endured.
   
   As good as a good fiction novel, Starvation Heights is not to be missed.



3. Typically, I read true crime set 1980-present, but I am glad I stepped out of my comfort zone to check out this incredible book. "Starvation Heights" is a masterpiece, backed by a level of historical research most will find impressive. I believe the book was set sometime between 1910-1920 (back in the days when we didn't have very good forensic science), so Gregg Olsen needed to rely on interviews, news reports and conjecture.
   
   This made for fascinating reading! I was able to tackle this book in a single weekend and enjoyed every last moment. I work as a physician recruiter and could not believe "Dr. Hazzard" was allowed to do all the harm she did before someone finally shut her down. It's interesting how we trust our doctors more than common sense sometimes.
   
   Well, in conclusion, check out this creepy, twisted book and enjoy! You'll never believe how enjoyable historical TC can be.



4. I think that if I had just read the second part of the book, the part about the attempts to bring this woman to justice, I would have liked it a lot more. My problem was that I didn't get any sense of how the medical community was viewed by people in the era portrayed in the book. I found myself getting so angry at the people for not doing SOMETHING. I think that if the author had done a better job of putting the situation into context, I would have had an easier time of it. He did a wonderful job of transporting me to the era physically, but emotionally, not so much. I found myself getting irritated more than feeling sympathetic to the ladies' plight. I feel like he could have done a better job putting me in the mindset of the time when an "osteopath" was a primary care physician. Perhaps then I could have enjoyed the first half of the book more thoroughly.



5. I've been in grad school for the last eighteen months (my Kindle was a gift for graduation.) This was the first book I've read for pure enjoyment in quite a while and I simply couldn't put it down.
   
   Dr/Mrs. Hazzard is a fascinating character. Any reader of serial crime will find her and her husband to be quite interesting.
   
   Loved it.