3 comments about Appointment for Murder.

1. This is a story about a very manipulative dentist that tried to control everyone that he knew. His specialty, of course, was using women as a major part of his schemes to get rich. If it wasn't for his ex wife, this story probably would never have been told and Engleman would still be killing innocent people. I feel that this was a very good book and that the author should be praised for being able to write in such detail about this very sick and twisted man.



2. This book is a detailed story of a dentist who lived out his violent fantasies, leading him to murder innocent men. Dr. Engleman's sex life, family life, and religious beliefs are described in a way so that the reader can form an understanding of why he commited his crimes. Bacos does not give much analysis; therefore, it is more like reading a fiction novel than a nonfictious story. The dialogue from the ATF's tapes allows the reader into the mind of a power hungry Mama's boy.



3. I have been reading true crime for at least 17 years now and really, it takes heck of a lot to disappoint me. But this had to be the worse book I've ever read. I finished it only because it was part of my "book club" and other readers were counting on me to finish it. Besides that I really don't like to "quit" anything, so I forced myself as painfully enduring as it was. The book club members weren't happy with it either, in fact we didn't even want to discuss it, which is the point of a book club, and that is pretty bad.

   The story itself had the potential of being a great story, unfortunately it was just so incredibly boring. I'm Sorry, I can't recommend it. I bought it because it looked good and the readers reviews were pretty positive, I wonder if we all read the same book? I gave 1 star because it wouldn't let me choose no stars. I only hope my book club will allow me to choose another book.

No comments about Legends from the Frosty Sons of Thunder.

1 comments about A Sentimental Murder: Love and Madness in the Eighteenth Century.

1. This much is sure: James Hackman, a young clergyman, on 7 April 1779, outside of Covent Garden Theater in London, shot and killed Martha Ray, the mistress of the Earl of Sandwich, and then shot himself but failed to end his own life. What had gone on between the three figures before the murder was not clearly known, but this didn't stop speculations in the press at the time, and hacks, journalists, novelists, and historians have been having a go at the incident ever since. As John Brewer writes in _A Sentimental Murder: Love and Madness in the Eighteenth Century_ (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux), the unknown represented an empty space, and "Into the empty space rushed all sorts of speculation." Writers could wonder if the lovers were meeting secretly, were they having an affair, did they want to get married, was Ray willing or Hackman forceful, were they working together against Sandwich? Brewer's detailed and intriguing book does not answer the questions, but examines the answers that different writers and different societies have come up with to suit their own tastes and times. The murder of Martha Ray was legally an open and shut case, but its unknowns have kept it open to interpretation and to eager interpreters.
   
   The British press at the time made much of the murder, because of Sandwich's involvement. Remarkably, all three figures were written about with sympathy. Sandwich was depicted as a loving all-but-husband who had made a protected household for his mistress and the children she bore him. Ray may have been a mistress, but there was admiration for a woman who could have risen from low origins and become not a prostitute or even a courtesan, but a respectable companion and mother who was able to fill the household functions of a lady. Even the murderer emerged as a romantic hero. It was the age when sentiment and sensibility were highly prized. Hackman had a bad case of "love's madness," an out-of-control passion with which readers could sympathize rather than condemn outright.
   
   The first attempt to turn the case into a novel was not classed as a novel at all. _Love and Madness_ was published in 1780, and purported to be the actual letters between Ray and Hackman. It was written by Herbert Croft, a hack writer and would-be lexicographer who dedicated it to Samuel Johnson. Johnson told Boswell he did not like the book, as an example of a disagreeable mixture of fact and fiction, so he was not fooled by its claim to authenticity. Croft clumsily showed his hand by having Hackman lengthily discuss other literary forgeries that were current controversies, but he did amplify the view of Hackman as progressively maddened by his doomed love. Subsequent generations took up the tale, and "Victorian commentators worried over the story like a dog over a bone." In "Lyrical Ballads", William Wordsworth incorporated Martha Ray's name into the poem "The Thorn," its utterance symbolizing ambiguity. Physician Erasmus Darwin (grandfather of Charles) diagnosed "love's madness." The Victorians insisted that their Georgian ancestors were moral barbarians, and frowned on all three parties involved. Victorians had graduated from such depravity, and congratulated themselves upon how far all ranks of England had come since the corrupt days of George III. In the 1920's, the libertine Georgians were celebrated by the "fast set and bright young things" who admired the more open sexuality of the eighteenth century. In the 1930s, the story was retold by a novelist who gave it a racist connotation; the real villain was a guest at Sandwich's manor, Omai from Tahiti, a real figure who had played only minor roles in previous versions. The real story of the murder is not the real story of the murder, in Brewer's persuasive book, but the real stories that different generations have made of it. This is a book to examine the ripples the incident caused, and is a fascinating history for observing how writing history is itself part of history.

No comments about Marrying The Hangman - A True Story of Privilege, Marriage and Murder.

No comments about Sex, Sin & Mayhem: Notorious Trials of the '90s.

5 comments about Dead Lucky: Lord Lucan: The Final Truth.

1. The book is very well written, looks very professional and puts forward a convincing argument for the hypothesis that Lord Lucan adopted the name Barry Halpin in Goa. Unfortunately the whole theory fell apart shortly before the book was published when it was discovered that Barry Halpin really was Barry Halpin, a hippy banjo player from Yorkshire who travelled around the world and settled in India. Enough friends and relatives came forward to identify the man in the photograph as Halpin. But I can understand the author; if I had spent years writing a book and then I discovered that it was fundamentally flawed just before publication, I would be reluctant to accept the truth.



2. The news that Lord Lucan's disappearance had been solved reached the States. I arrived in London the day after the story broke, determined to buy the book and read for myself the fate of Lucan. I was first assaulted with Fleet Street headlines, boldly claiming that the story wasn't true. Being a critical thinker, I wondered why "The Guardian" was claiming that Barry Halpin was a banjo player from St. Helens, but as the author of the book was quoted in the article, "Where is the photographic proof?" "The Guardian" used the author's photos for their story disclaiming the author's story. The only Fleet Street paper that had photographs that day was, "The Sun," and any critically thinking person could tell those pictures were computer generated! All these counter-claims did nothing to dissuade me from purchasing the book that day. I wanted to decide for myself if the discovery made by this former, decorated Scotland Yard detective was a plausible explanation for the whereabouts of Lord Lucan after that fateful night in November 1974.

   MacLaughlin gives us much detail concerning the life of Lucan, his foibles and dark nature developing with his love of gambling. His marriage to social climber Veronica Duncan began well enough, but the erratic behaviour of Lady Lucan coupled with the spiral of Lord Lucan's fortunes at the gaming tables brought misfortune to their home as well. The final days brought a bitter custody dispute over their three children. Lord Lucan was initially granted temporary custody, but subsequently lost it when he overstepped the authority of the courts and took the children himself. He was left with a large legal bill, one he could not afford. And this is when it is believed he started making his plans.

   Lord Lucan was well placed aristocracy, which was to the detriment of the murdered nanny, Sandra Rivet. Something that is obvious in this book is the concern the author has for the victim, and her son who was left motherless. Scotland Yard treated Lord Lucan with kid gloves in the hours and days after the murder. This enabled Lucan to make his getaway, using his network of close-mouthed, arrogant (by reason of wealth and class) friends to aid in his escape from the law. Lord Lucan's friends surrounded and protected him in his trouble, and helped him not only leave England, but brought him money and shared their friendship with him while Lucan was hiding in Goa, India.

   MacLaughlin provides us compelling evidence that Lord Lucan made his way down to Goa, India, to live out his life in a drunken stupor. His witness list includes Indians who worked and lived on the shores of this once renegade spot on the map. Lord Lucan as Barry Halpin had many similarities, including backgammon gambling, alcohol, and a love for music.

   After death by cirrhosis, the end of Lucan came in a pyrotechnic display. His body was doused in his favourite drink, feni, and burned on a pyre. The ashes were spread at the bottom of a waterfall, and it was his fait accompli. He had completely disappeared, and escaped the long arm of the law. But I wonder, with the life Lucan lived in Goa, if some hand of justice wasn't dealt him after all.




3. I'd like to start this review by stating I spent a fair amount of my time in Goa in the 80's and knew Barry Halpin well. He was a bearded drop out, who had turned to booze in a big way. He retained his Lancashire accent, but from memory, I never once saw him play backgammon. However, he wasn't the only long haired, long bearded Englishman who had 'escaped' to Goa. I can think of one or two others who settled there and who now that the suggestion has been put in my mind, could have been Lord 'Lucky' Lucan.

   Like Winch, I recall an articulate and clearly well read Englishman who received "out of place" visitors from the UK. He did play backgammon and from memory was very reserved. The man depicted in the top photo opposite page 48, is in my opinion, Halpin. The man featured on the front cover and elsewhere in the book, is not. He is the articulate, quiet, backgammon playing Englishman I describe.

   When all is said and done, this book has rekindled the saga and will leave the reader scratching their head, asking, "Is it, or isn't it him?" I knew both men. The mystery has in my opinion been solved.




4. Having no concept of who Lord Lucan was, I was intrigued by the back cover synopsis and picked up the book as a light read. I was pleasantly surprised. The book is engrossing and both explained the background of the Earl and the crime and delve into the international pursuit of Lucan. Just as interesting is the treatment of the elite in the eyes of the law and the fact that the interest in this character continued for so many years after his escape.
   
   Instead of light reading, I was simply unable to put this book down. While there has been subsequent press claiming that the findings of this investigation have been flawed and that Lord Lucan has still not been found, I came away feeling that if this was in fact the Earl, his self-imposed exile and the life that he created in Goa must surely have been worse than the punishment that he would have received (considering his status and powerful friends) had he stayed and faced the music.
   
   A must read for anyone interested in the case and a recommended read for anyone interested in true crime.



5. The basic hypothesis of this book (that Lucan made his way to India and lived as a recluse under the name of Barry Halpin) was shown to be incorrect soon after its publication. But for a number of reasons this book is still well worth reading.
   
   It provides a well-written account of the crime and its aftermath and the effect which Lucan's status had on the investigation. It gives a fascinating and contrasting view into the life of people on the fringes of society in Goa in the 1970s, harmless, inconsequential souls aside from their unwitting participation in this case of mistaken identity. And it serves as an interesting example of how a substantial body of evidence, gathered in earnest, can still yield a totally wrong conclusion. Might have rated 5 stars if the theory was right.

No comments about Justice Denied: The Trial of Erik Rasmussen.

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4 comments about Trunk Murderess Winnie Ruth Judd.

1. THE TRUNK MURDERESS: WINNIE RUTH JUDD,by Jana Bommersbach. Winnie Ruth Judd never stood a chance in Phoenix, Arizona for justice. I read this book and now everytime I drive by the State Mental Hospital on Van Buren Street in Phoenix, I think of all the years that Winnie Ruth Judd spent there. This author's brilliant and time consuming research, plus she actually visited and slept at Winnie Ruth Judd's apartment and got the "true" story of all that happened from Winnie Ruth Judd, herself. The story took place in 1931, long before Phoenix became a major city, and is one of the most bizarre stories I have ever read. This is a fascinating story, and I could not put the book down until I had read from the front page to the last page.



2. Back before the Manson Family or OJ, there was Winnie Ruth Judd...the famous murderess who is still a household name for anyone over the age of 90 (just ask my grandmother!). This is a wonderful chronicle of the fascinating true crime case...vivid and immensely readable!



3. the first book on the Judd case "Winnie Ruth Judd: The Trunk Murderess", is a better read than this one, probably because it's authors were screenwriters. But Ms Bomersbach's book has far more information, much of it new and some culled from personal interviews with Winnie Ruth Judd herself! The author is a top notch researcher to be sure, but not a great storyteller. This book works best as a supplement to its predecessor; I think of them as a set, and with Amazon's used book section, they will both be available for years to come for only a couple of dollars each. Note: Get the Sanctuary paperback reprint of this book--updated after Winnie's death, it has more pictures than the hardcover and an expanded text.



4. Being a native of Phoenix Arizona, I found this book very interesting and it tells what makes the most sense. The frightning story and distasteful jokes of Winnie Ruth Judd has been told and re-told for years. "The small beautiful trunk murderess who killed two people..chopped them up..loaded them both into trunks...and took them to LA on a train......alone!!" This never did make sense to me. Except for a few secrets Winnie kept until her death...this book explains what happened.

No comments about Open Secrets - A True Story Of Love, Jealousy And Murder.