No comments about SMOKE, MIRRORS,AND MURDER AND OTHER TRUE CASES.

1 comments about Crime Scene: Inside the World of the Real CSIs.

1. A note to anyone that is a fan of Fletcher's books. This text is the same as another book: (published the same year in hardback version) "Every Contact Leaves a Trace: Crime Scene Experts Talk About Their Work From Discovery Through Verdict."

No comments about Whisper of Fear: The True Story of the Prosecutor Who Stalks the Stalkers.

5 comments about Die, Grandpa, Die (Pinnacle True Crime).

1. I have nothing but praise for this author, Dale Hudson. He chose a very
   difficult subject to write about, in that who really can say for sure
   if the effects of Zoloft had anything to do with the Pittman's murders.
   I appreciate the fact that he provided the reader both sides of the
   story so we could examine and weigh the facts, as well. A lot of true
   crime books, especially by those written by Ann Rule, have already
   chosen a side and, like it or lump it, we're stuck with that one
   opinion. This is the fourth book I have read by Hudson and I've found
   him to be fair and impartial in every one of them. In this book, DGD,
   I do believe Christopher was fully aware of what he was doing when he
   shot and killed his grandparents. There were just too many variables
   against him that didn't stack up, like the well planned fire that he
   said would give him lead time. I guess I really made my mind up that
   Christopher meant to kill his granparents when he cut the picture out
   of the newspaper and held it against the window in his jail cell for
   his friends to see. He laughed and pointed at the picture as if it was
   a joke! What he did was no joke and I just bet he's not laughing now
   that he has been transferred to the adult prison. Such a shame, this
   kid will spend 30 years in prison and doesn't stand a chance on the
   outside when he is released! Sorry, Christopher, it didn't have to be
   that way. You killed the two people who loved you the most.



2. I agree with other reviewers in that the author went to great length to research and report all the details, and I mean ALL the details. It is indeed a tragic story, but very difficult reading at times. Mr. Hudson's use of all the initials (SSRI, SLED, DJJ) got rather frustrating at times, because maybe I couldn't remember 100 pages and two days later what SSRI stood for, and to go back and try and find the explanation was a bit too much to ask. I have not yet finished the book - Christopher has just spent his first night free - so I'm still not sure how it ends. I don't really remember the case - maybe because I was on Zoloft and couldn't function right. Sarcasm? You betcha! I do understand that everyone reacts differently, but Zoloft was a life-saver for me and thousands of others as well. The other thing I noticed - and this was Pinnacle, not Mr. Hudson, was all the typographical errors. Unbelievable.



3. Dale Hudson, Die, Grandpa, Die (Pinnacle, 2006)
   
   I caught the title of this one in a press release in 2006 and knew that I would eventually have to read it. It's such a gloriously awful title that, really, how could the book be any good? It wasn't a terrible surprise to find out that my suspicions were correct.
   
   Die, Grandpa, Die reads less like a true crime book than it does a badly-written and entirely unedited first draft of a courtroom-drama novel, the kind of thing that borders on Law and Order fan fiction. Worse, it seems as if no one at Pinnacle had the time to do any copy-editing whatsoever; I've seen errors in releases from large presses, and they are getting more numerous all the time, but this is the first time I've ever seen a large-press book that contains more errors than I'm used to seeing in vanity press and self-published books. It's hard to find a page that does not contain some sort of easily-catchable spelling error (for instance, one witness talks about a dog's "oldactory" sense), and the first paragraph of almost every chapter contains some sort of outlandish sentence that's just painful to read. My favorite is at the beginning of Chapter 32: "Filling the courtroom were a lot of familiar faces, but there were also a lot of people who looked as if they were from drug companies and there in incognito [sic]." I'm certainly not a professional copy editor, but even I can see at least a dozen changes that could be made to that sentence to make it more readable; it'd be easier to just rewrite the silly thing altogether. In addition to this, the book's 383 pages could have easily been rendered in 150; excising the book's almost constant repetition would have made a great difference not only in length but in enjoyment for the hapless readers of this tome.
   
   For all that, I did not abandon the book, as I had almost decided to do earlier this week; I finished it. Why? Well, I'm not quite sure of that myself, but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the fact that this book, for all its repetition and error, has a kind of Da Vinci Code reading level about it. You don't keep turning the pages because you want to know what will happen, but because the writing is already so awful that you can't help but wonder what errors the next page will offer for you to laugh at.
   
   A thoroughly execrable book. (half)



4. I read what a few reviewers have written about this book and agree that the title is awful and there are some copy editing errors and mispelled words , however, it is not fair to fault the author for this. From what I understand, true crime authors do not choose their own titles nor do they have the final say so in the finished product, as all of this is
   ultimately the responsibility of the publishers. Outside of what has already been mentioned about the publisher, the author did a great job in researching and writing this story. I imagine a story about a 12-year-old kid who murdered his grandparents is not an easy one to write. Come on people, this is not great subject matter we're talking about here. This is not a novel, where you can manipulate the characters and story line to give it a happy ending. I cringe everytime I think of Christopher Pittman sneaking into his grandparents' bedroom and murdering them with a 12-guage shotgun. My heart ached for Joe and Joy Pittman as I read about this horrible act of murder. I believe Christopher was influenced by his medication the night of the murder and would not have done this had he been thinking clearly, yet it is still a horrible tragedy for this family. And what a nightmare for Christopher's father to face, knowing that your son was responsible for the murder of your parents. I think of my own son and how I would have felt had it happened to me. Die, Grandpa, Die is not an easy book to read, as it stirs up a lot of emotion, but it is a story that happens more and more each day. We now live in a world where parents fail to accept the responsibility of rearing their own children and, for whatever reason, grandparents are having to pick up the slack. It is difficult for grandparents to raise their grandchildren, as kids now-a-days live by a different code of conduct. I feel sorry for Christopher, but he took the lives of people and he now has to accept the punishment for the crime. May God have mercy on him for the next 30 years.



5. This book was so poorly written and edited that I was unable to get even halfway through it. Another reviewer has already gone into detail about this, but I feel compelled to chime in because I am flabbergasted by this book's 4-star average rating.
   True crime is not a genre known for its spectacularly written books, but most of the time the books are written well enough to keep the reader interested and to convey the story in a comprehensible manner.
   The sheer volume of grammatical and spelling errors, as well as the author's (or editor's? or both?) unfortunate fondness for the comma render this book unreadable.

No comments about Mass Murder in the United States (Prentice Hall's Contemporary Justice Series.).

1 comments about The Devil's Right-Hand Man: The True Story of Serial Killer Robert Charles Browne.

1. When will writers of true crime realize that most cops usually are not very interesting people to read about?
   I said it. It's the psycho, the crook, the killer, bank robber, who makes for interesting reading. Just the way
   it is.
   Cops in these books very often come across as incompetent and not very bright, or just plain disinterested in solving anything. Why? Jaded. Bored. Figure it wouldn't make much difference anyway, etc.
   
   To be fair, the cops (most of them retired) do give a damn and simply wish to solve the murders covered here (about half a dozen) in order to bring peace of mind to the loved ones left behind. Understandable. Commendable, even.
   
   Problem here is the killer, Browne, is miserly with his information and keeps the task force stringing along, stretching the thing out (just like the writers of this book) that before long, you just might be willing to give up on this tome in sheer frustration.
   
   The real, entire, and complete story of this killer is not told here (who, by the way, claims to have killed fifty or more). What the reader gets is what the cops got: enough info to solve three or four of the murders Browne
   committed--and he gave those up in exchange for a favor or two from said task force.
   
   Did Browne kill as many as he claimed? Who the hell knows? Bottom line: don't expect a serial killer to tell you the truth about anything.
   
   It seems to me, these guys (serial killing losers) have one thing in common (besides murder) a craving for infamy, attention--and then, for some inexplicable reason (some of them, like Browne, once incarcerated)
   clam up.
   
   You figure it out. Better yet, why bother?

5 comments about Evidence of Murder (Onyx).

1. Reading of crimes such as this, I cannot help but to wonder how many people get away with murders but disguising them as accidents. It is a chilling thought and this story was very well written.



2. I just finished reading this book and I have to say, that although I'm pretty sure he killed his wife, I don't think the state had much evidence. They kept referring to him drawing his wife's bathwater. What is so bizarre about that? My husband draws my bathwater for me more than I do! I hope to heck that if I ever fall and hurt myself in the bathtub, people don't blame my husband if he says he drew my bathwater! The only trouble I had with his innocence is the amount of bruising she suffered in the "fall". But otherwise, if it weren't for that, I would have to say I'm not sure he did it.



3. He did it, it's obvious. And as far as true crime goes, this isn't one of the best. Definately not a page turner.



4. I bought this book when I saw the case and its author featured on a cable TV show. I believe it was American Justice. Bill McClellan has given us a good true crime story here.

   What aggravated me was the fact that no one seemed to think there was anything wrong with Ed Post knocking his wife, Julie, around ("Putting a woman in her place????" PUH-leese - shame Julie didn't respond with a frying pan or a lamp!).

   The fact that Post skipped out of the funeral home and put the moves on another woman in front of his own daughter made me SO glad that he didn't get away with his crime.

   Then there was the victim's father, Hollis Thigpen, who apparently had nothing but contempt for Vietnam veterans, even as his own son displayed the emotional and psychological scars from that debacle. Like many people my age, I vehemently opposed that war but never have I disparaged the people who fought.

   Mr. Thigpen should try telling those who've lost brothers, husbands, sons, etc. in Vietnam that it was just a "scratch scrimmage"!

   All in all, a good read. I don't understand how a previous reviewer could have called it "tedious."




5. This book pretty much starts in the middle and stays there. Ed Post and his wife Julie are at a convention in St. Louis. He gets up at 6:25 AM to go jogging, wakes her up because he "knows" she will want to have breakfast with him, and runs her bath. When he comes back, she's dead in the tub.
   
   I have no doubt at all that he murdered her. Many reasons:
   
   The shower curtain was INSIDE the tub. No woman is going to leave a shower curtain inside a tub when she takes a bath, and any man who regularly (as Post claimed to do) runs a bath for his wife would have the common sense not to either. And as the book says, what woman wants to take a tub bath in a hotel - who's been sitting in that tub? She's going to take a shower. What woman wants to take a bath at 6:30 AM in a hotel anyway?
   
   Plus, he first said that the water was not hot enough for her when she first tried it, and he had to add more hot water. Later, he told another detective that she said the water was just perfect when she tried it the first time. He tells someone else that the temperature of the water was "tepid" like she always wanted it. Apparently he had no idea what tepid is, or maybe he realized that when they found her 30 minutes later, the water was already cold, which it wouldn't be if it had been HOT.
   
   Why would she grab the towel ring anyway? If she's getting into the tub full of water, she would be squatting down and if she fell, it would be on her behind into the water. Who is going to stand up in a tub full of water? You're going to let the water out, then stand up.
   
   The bruises found after her body had been disinterred. Water in the tub retarded bruising. Bruises were found on her eye, and the back of her neck (among numerous other places). Since these parts of the body are indented, not to mention on opposite sides, it's a little hard to claim she hit both sides in the tub or the floor. One Medical Examiner's claim that the bruising was from the removal of her bones shows how stupid he is. If your blood isn't cirulating, it isn't going to rush to the surface when it perceives an injury. Your body can't perceive an injury if you're dead. Ed Post beat her, then held her face down in the water to finish her off.
   
   Witnesses: He'd beaten her before. He'd beaten at least one of his daughters. He visited prositutes.
   
   Evidence: He owed a LOT of money. Wife was insured for $700,000 (recent addition of $300,000). Same day he borrowed $2,000. Also owed her parents $15,000. Many other debts. Not a guy who can afford this insurance.
   
   The author doesn't go much into the background of either Ed or Julie. Julie is portrayed as a horrible woman who criticized everyone she worked with, and was nicely put, "difficult" to work with. Ed was a big talker who liked to exaggerate his military service, show off how much money he could spend, brag about his "very important" marriage, and very well-respected insurance agent. One of the detectives claimed he knew Ed was guilty because of his extremely tiny feet - in his experience men with tiny feet were the perpatrators.
   
   The writing is rather vague at times. The author talks about a grand jury being convened, and questions they ask. Then mentions that the grand jury fell apart. No mention of a later grand jury...suddenly, Post is indicted - but there's no mention of an arrest or bail. He's just indicted and waiting for his trial. Speaking of the trial, what the heck was wrong with the prosecutor? He let all the witnesses get off without saying anything. It's a wonder the jury had the brains to convict this guy. And as for his first lawyer, Ralph Whalen (a former prosecutor), he knew full well his client was guilty. He should be ashamed.
   
   At least his daughters and his brother finally woke up and smelled the murderer.

3 comments about The Maul and the Pear Tree: The Ratcliffe Highway Murders, 1811.

1. Absolutely brilliant! At first, I wouldn't have believed so. I love true crime stories, but I thought it was a little bit presumptuous to try to solve a series of crime committed in the 1810's. But I read anyway, and it was a wonderful surprise.

   First, the local color. The authors portray beautifully (and gloomily...) the city of London and the life of its inhabitants. It's also very informative - one comes to know how the English police force was first arranged, and what existed prior to that.

   The characters, as we well know, are long dead, but through a series of educated guesses, psychological insight and factual information, the authors convey what was going through their minds.

   P. D. James doesn't give us a final answer to the question of whom killed all those people, but she points a suspect, and by detailing her suspicions the reader is able to form his idea. Her theory is very plausible, to say the least.

   In short, it's a book filled with suspense and humorous insights on the ideas and beliefs of the victorians. If you're interested in English history, famous true crime stories and whodunnits, do not miss this one.




2. The Ratcliffe Highway murders of 1811 were an incredible sensation in their time. The authors do a very good job of portraying a realistic look at life at the time of the killings. Whether or not the person who actually had the murders pinned on him was guilty is a question that can lead to long discussions with friends of like reading tastes. One thing I found surprising was how late people stayed up on the street in this era when street lighting was in its infancy.
   
   I read a first edition of this book so I don't know if it has been updated to reflect some of the newer information that law enforcement has about home invasion murders as well as sadistic killers. That is the only thing I would possibly add to this very interesting history.



3. A fan of P.D. James' mysteries, I was pleasantly surprised to discover this true crime book she had written with the historian T.A. Critchley. "The Maul and the Pear Tree" tells the tale of some sinister and disturbing murders that horrified and shocked the London docks in 1811. Through recreating the time period, studying testimony and accounts of the day, both author and historian have crafted an interesting read about not only murder but also about the restrictions of a rudimentary police system in trying to apprehend an otherwise unheard of serial killer.
   
   In December of 1811, seven people were brutally slain. The first victims were the Marr family; a husband, wife, their infant son, and the boy who worked in their shop. All were found beaten to death with their throats cut to the neckbone, including the newborn son. The second victims were the Williamsons, the proprietors of a pub, who were slain in almost exactly the same manner as the Marrs.
   
   The search that had begun with the Marr's murders, continued when the killer struck a second time. The clues were few, but included the murder weapon alluded to in the book's title. The testimony (both real and speculative) was plentiful, and the community was filled with terror and suspicion. The magistrates had an incredible task before them - to capture a killer before he, or they, since the evidence surely represented more than one killer, could strike again.
   
   In 1811, the different policing agencies did not work together, and very rarely shared the information they received with another branch. This combined with sketchy details, suspicious neighbors, and the number of superfluous informants who came forward with information made a virtual circus of the trial process. Arrested and jailed on circumstantial evidence, a man by the name of John Williams was assumed to be the ghastly murderer that everyone had been searching for. Yet before he could be convicted of any crime, he was found hanged in his jail cell, apparently a self-murder. Yet the evidence shows that more than one person was involved in the murders of these two families. James and Critchley lay the groundwork for who the accomplices, or even who the mastermind behind these murders, might be. The author and historian even call into question whether or not Williams was set up and murdered by the real killer in order to guarantee his own escape. The truth shall never be known about the killer's identity, but "The Maul and the Pear Tree" is a highly informative, entertaining speculation about the Radcliffe Highway Murders.

5 comments about The Zebra Murders: A Season of Killing, Racial Madness, and Civil Rights.

1. I bought this book with the hope of enhancing my limited knowledge on this critical time in the city of San Fransico that took place back in the 1970's. I did read Clark Howards book on the same subject about 25 years ago. After reading Mr Sanders version of the events I wonder if they were both writing about the same incident. Needless to say, Mr. Sanders book leaves one with the feeling that the real crime was the fact that the Mayor of S.F. and the police were using every means at there disposal to put a stop to these horrible crimes.
   One fact that seems to be at odds with Mr. Sanders is the fact that after months of frustration, the police were able to create a crack in the case within a week of finally taking drastic actions in regards to a dragnet in the area where most of the killings took place. This is in direct contrast to the point that Mr. Sanders makes throughout the book which is to say that the then S.F. police department was completely corrupt and unable to solve crimes because they were so at odds with most of the citizens of S.F. A point most everyone else disputes.
   I believe the fact that the crime was solved only after the police applied direct pressure speaks for itself in terms of whatit really took to put a stop to these killers.
   I would not recommend this book to anyone who is searching for a truthful, insighful and accurate telling of this tragic chapter in the city by the bay.



2. "Enjoy" is probably the wrong word for the subject matter. But I found it fascinating. Both my father and my uncle were in the force at the time and I heard stories about the case and the paranoia it caused. I was on offence about the racial controversies described in the book till I saw the discussions both on this site and elsewhere and saw the names of people (all retired SFPD cops) who were bashing the material. Now I think that maybe the authors are not exaggerating... Regardless, I found the book to be very interesting and informative. Good work.



3. Any long-time resident of the San Francisco Bay Area will recall the Zebra killer, whose racially motivated drive-by shootings terrorized the city in 1973-74, and how they were eventually solved by a team led by two black detectives. This story comes alive under the hand of the city's first Afro-American police chief, who was one of these detectives, and pro ides behind-the-scenes expose information about the reign of terror and its investigation. The underlying politics and discrimination within the SFPD comes to life, as does the time of social turmoil, in this riveting story of a crime spree thwarted. Any California collection must have it.
   
   Diane C. Donovan
   California Bookwatch



4. ZEBRA MURDERS: A Season of Killing, Racial Madness, and Civil Rights by Prentice Earl Sanders and Bennett Cohen is the true story of serial killings that took place in San Francisco in 1973 and 1974. The killings were racially motivated during a period when the United States was being forced to treat African Americans in a more equal manner. Although the Brown v. Board of Education decision had been made several years earlier, apartheid still existed. There were angry African Americans - some who were ready to step outside the law.
   
   The atmosphere surrounding the murders included the kidnapping of Patty Hearst, the birth of the Black Panther Party and continued segregation in the work place. Early in the police investigation, it was noted that all the victims were white and black men were seen running from the scene of the crime. Two police officers, Prentice Earl Sanders and Rotea Gilford, who were fighting their own racial discrimination battle with the San Francisco police department, were assigned to the case. All black men who were out after dark were stopped, searched and questioned. This behavior brought lawsuits to the city. In addition, the two black officers were concerned there was going to be a white backlash and so they pushed hard to solve the case, sometimes staying up for days on end. The killings were upsetting the entire city and Sanders and Gilford were afraid the 'racial profiling' was only serving to make matters worse.
   
   This is a well-written true story of American apartheid in the San Francisco police department and the ability of two black officers to overcome the obstacles and still solve the mystery. It moves along swiftly while interjecting the needed nuggets of history of segregation and discrimination in the United States. You can feel the frustration Sanders and Gilford felt as they fought the police department in a lawsuit and attempted to solve the mystery of black men randomly killing white people. Enough background was given so that the atmosphere surrounding San Francisco in 1973 was apparent. It is definitely a must read book.
   
   Reviewed by Alice Holman
   of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers



5. As usual book arrived in record time in great condition. Very interesting good read about a horrifying true subject!

4 comments about The Murder Of Lil Miss.

1. In 1988 when Lisa Kimmell disappeared I was 9 years old. I still remember the news coverage and donating money to her reward fund at Arby's. Finally, after years her murderer was found. When Mrs Kimmell announced that her book was finished I couldn't wait to read it. I recieved it and read the whole thing in one day. She has done an excellent job of conveying her feelings and outlining her and her families struggle for the 16 years it took to find the man who took her precious daughters life. She was able to expel many of the rumors that had be circulating and she showed the precerverance of the numerous law enforcement officers and others that helped her to get the justice she deserved. This is a book that anyone who has ever seen or heard anything about the disappearance of "Lil Miss" should read!!



2. Lisa and I were about the same age when she disappeared. I wasn't afraid to travel alone until her murder. In fact, I was planning a trip to visit friends that would have taken me through the same area she disappeared from. After her disappearance and death, I cancelled the trip and didn't travel alone for a few years. I never forgot her story and created a page for her on a memorial website last fall. Through that, her mother contacted me. We spoke on the phone, but didn't meet until last month at a book signing.
   
   I read the book within a day. It is very well written. Although I had a respect for the Kimmell family before I read it, having come to know more about them through this story, I really admire them for their courage in fighting for justice and for sharing their story.
   
   I have worked in law enforcement for 9 years and haven't seen much "jurisdictional" problems. I think that is partially a result of the Kimmells' efforts due to their experience.
   
   Now that I know more about the evil being who took Lisa's life , I honestly believe that Lisa's story might have saved my own life. Had her story not gained the publicity it did, I'd have been travelling alone a couple of months later in that same area where Eaton lived and hunted for victims. Lisa and I were the same age. I may have been one of his victims too had I not been frightened by her story.



3. I do not know the Kimmells and until I read the book was not familiar with the murder. I read the book in two days. As I was reading the book it seemed like Sheila Kimmell was sitting next to me telling the story. I have been in law enforcement for over 20 years and have investigated many cases to include homicides.
   
   Many of the situations confronting the investigators in this case are often experienced by investigators in other murder cases that are random in nature. Fortunately most murders are acquaintance murders or we would all be in constant fear. Unfortunately there are far to many that are not acquaintance.
   
   Lisa Marie's murder is frightening in that it was such a random crossing of paths with her killer. There are however more of these than people realize. I think this book does an excellent job of exploring how these paths may cross and will hopefully save lives if not open doors to finding the answer to more murders.
   
   I would suggest everyone read this book. I wouldn't encourage panic but it will help to make us a little more cautious.



4. This is a truly amazing story of a family whose lives were ripped apart when their 18-year-old daughter was killed, and their search for justice.
   
   From the moment "Lil Miss" Lisa Marie Kimmell disappears from their lives, through the endless search for her killer, until the time her murderer is sentenced 16 long years later, the author allows an inside look of what their lives were like. It is an incredibly moving story that touched my heart and left me in tears many times.
   
   Above all, the Kimmells send the message that "life goes on" and we each have to make the best of it. The entire Kimmell family, and particularly mom Sheila, displayed true courage throughout their ordeal. This book is heartwrenching as well as heartwarming, and reading it will leave you a changed person.