Trailed is one of the better true crime books I've picked up lately. It spends a LOT of time with the victims, learning about who they were, what madeTrailed is one of the better true crime books I've picked up lately. It spends a LOT of time with the victims, learning about who they were, what made them tick, making them real for the reader. So much of true crime is spent on the killer, who they were, what made them tick, etc and really, it's the victims we should be focusing on. Miles does a great job bringing Lollie and Julie to life and talking about what their deaths did to her and to the hiking community around the Appalachian Trail. Great audiobook....more
I have no idea why I waited so long to read this. It is compulsively readable. I found myself reluctant to put it down because I just wanted to know HI have no idea why I waited so long to read this. It is compulsively readable. I found myself reluctant to put it down because I just wanted to know HOW THIS COULD HAPPEN! and what other crazy shit Holmes or Balwani or [insert Therabro name here] would say or do. I feel so hard for all of those people who suffered because of Theranos' lies and incompetence and am so glad that there were people who were able to blow the whistle in spite of Theranos' extreme litigiousness. ...more
I know that what I was expecting from this isn't what I got. I was expecting a gritty true crime tome, an expose of a massive cover-up related to the I know that what I was expecting from this isn't what I got. I was expecting a gritty true crime tome, an expose of a massive cover-up related to the murder of a student. What I got was an insightful look into the field of true crime itself, a glimpse of the greasy wheels of investigative reporting, a dive into the culture of Harvard and how it is complicit in the silencing of women. And more. As I started I was skeptical about how much the author was inserting herself into the story, but as I progressed, I thought that the author's perspective was really the only one I could see. As Cooper explains, we'll never know what really happened to Jane Britton. We can make educated guesses, but only the people who were there really know and at least one of them is dead. I liked how Cooper looped in anthropology and archaeology itself, especially in regards to its subjectivity and how the players in Jane's life didn't want to examine the story and their role in it. Overall, this was an intriguing, windy, complex story and Becky Cooper did a stellar job twining all the threads together in a way that did justice to Jane Britton and hopefully gave the people in her life a measure of peace....more
This was very interesting. I often wonder about my fascination with true crime - why is it so interesting? Is reading about violent crime changing my This was very interesting. I often wonder about my fascination with true crime - why is it so interesting? Is reading about violent crime changing my views about it, desensitizing me? Monroe approaches these questions and more as she looks at four specific cases of women who have become obsessed with crime. I thought three of the four sections were very strong (and though the second section was interesting, it was a bit bogged down with facts and technical details). This reminded me of We Keep the Dead Close and the podcast Two Face - two instances of true crime that really bring home the point that we'll never truly understand what happened nor the trauma that these crimes inflicted on real people....more
The Golden State Killer committed over fifty sexual assaults and ten murders over ten years in Northern California. He was smart, leaving l(3.5 stars)
The Golden State Killer committed over fifty sexual assaults and ten murders over ten years in Northern California. He was smart, leaving little evidence and never striking in the same place multiple times. He eluded detection and capture, leaving behind only fear and trauma. Michelle McNamara, citizen detective and true crime blogger details her search for the killer's true identity, while laying out his crimes, methodology, and the investigation up to this point.
This is one of those books that leaves me with a heavy sadness upon finishing it. Michelle McNamara was a writing force to be reckoned with and one that was taken from us too soon. Her writing is smooth and intriguing, giving us an especial insight into the killer, the crimes, and most importantly the detectives and the victims of these horrific crimes. She effortlessly takes us back to 1980s Northern California, conveys the terror-stricken accounts of the victims placing us directly in the scene, afraid to take a breathe because he's there.....watching....waiting. It's a shame that this book wasn't more complete. As it is, pieced together from notes, drafts, old articles, and whatnot, it's a bit of an uneven mishmash, though a compelling one. For true crime fans, it's definitely an intriguing book - the unknown killer, the fantastic writing, the insider/outsider point of view (Michelle collaborated with a lot of detectives who give their insight, but Michelle's layman's view is the driving force). I recommend it, but am sad that there will be no more like it....more
This book is fantastically written and horrifying all at the same time. Grann dives deep into a series of murders that happen in Osage County in the eThis book is fantastically written and horrifying all at the same time. Grann dives deep into a series of murders that happen in Osage County in the early 20th century, uncovering a vast criminal conspiracy. Along the way he details the rise of the FBI as we know it and, most importantly, sheds light on the disgustingly inhuman way we've treated American Indians. I'm very excited to see Grann in GF during the UND Writer's Conference and hear about his process and impetus for writing this book. I definitely think that more people should read it - let's start a dialogue about our treatment of American Indians and how the oil industry traumatically changes people and regions....more
Cleveland is on high alert. Eliot Ness has been hired by the city to clean up the town, including the police. Meanwhile, two cops, Merylo and ZelewskiCleveland is on high alert. Eliot Ness has been hired by the city to clean up the town, including the police. Meanwhile, two cops, Merylo and Zelewski get stuck on the Torso Killer case. Two kids found a torso on the beach, no head, no hands, no feet, no way to identify the victim. More body parts show up in the city, all from different victims. The public goes haywire and city hall puts pressure on Ness to stop the killings at all costs.
This was interesting. I'd read about it in a nonfiction graphic novels not to miss post and since I'd read (or heard of) most of the rest, I thought I'd give this a go. Also true crime, hard to miss with that. The story is fascinating. Serial killers are the exception in violent crime, not the rule, and the time that this happened and the setting are wonderful. Bendis and Andreyko do well with the pacing of the story, but I had such a hard time with the panel layout and the super silhouetted black and white style that I was frustrated most of the time I was reading through. I did love the inclusion of real photographs and the informational section at the end of the book with pictures from the Cleveland police's archives. ...more
Kolker digs deep into the lives of the lost girls, five young women whose work as online escorts led them to a Long Island serial killer. He profiles Kolker digs deep into the lives of the lost girls, five young women whose work as online escorts led them to a Long Island serial killer. He profiles each girl, showing what circumstances resulted in their reliance on escorting and Craigslist to make a living. Some had loving families, others not so much. Interviews with families, associates, lovers, and husbands pepper the book, bringing to life these lost dead girls, trying to give their short lives some form of justice.
I thought this would be very different than it turned out to be. Lost Girls is much more of a profile of Craigslist escorting and the women who end up there than it is an investigation into the serial killer who murdered them. I went into this hoping for true crime, but was disappointed. Listening on audio was a mistake as well - there were too many names of girls and family members to keep straight and even at the end I was having problems remembering who was who. The whole book felt like a tease, leading up to what I thought would be investigation, revealed truths, hidden conspiracies, and ended up just a social profile. Meh. Big old meh....more
James Renner takes advantage of a gap in employment to delve deeply into the disappearance of college student Maura Murray. Murray crashed her car in James Renner takes advantage of a gap in employment to delve deeply into the disappearance of college student Maura Murray. Murray crashed her car in a mountain pass in New Hampshire. Butch Atkinson, a bus driver who lives off of Route 112, saw her and the car in the pass, asked her if she needed assistance, and when rebuffed, went into his house and called the police. By the time the police arrived, around seven minutes after Butch made the called, Maura Muray had disappeared. Renner uncovers more mysterious circumstances surrounding Murray's disappearance as he digs: wine stains on the ceiling of her car, a phone call from a sister that leaves her nearly comatose, friends and family members who refuse to talk to the media. The deeper Renner gets, the more half truths he finds and the more walls he runs into. True Crime Addict is a must read for true crime fans.
To be honest, this really reminded me of The Journalist and the Murderer in that it really was more about the journalistic process of investigating a true crime than about the actual true crime itself. The shift is subtle, as the crime is the star of the show. Renner's process of investigative journalism is fascinating and I loved to see how he went about uncovering what he did (I would have said the truth, but I suspect that we'll never really know what happened to Murray). I don't think that the subtitle of this book, nor the meagerly developed side plot of Renner's own unraveling, is necessary tot he book. I don't think he spent enough time developing it and it is sporadically included (so sporadically that when he opened a chapter with information about Casey I had to go back and look to remember who Casey even was). That being said, I really enjoyed this. It read like a hot pulpy mystery and I flew through it. ...more
Green River Killer is the story of Tom Jensen and Gary Ridgeway, a detective on the Green River KillerMy thirst for true crime will NEVER BE QUENCHED!
Green River Killer is the story of Tom Jensen and Gary Ridgeway, a detective on the Green River Killer task force and the Green River Killer respectively. The book was written by Jeff Jensen, Tom's son, which I didn't realize until I was nearly finished with the book. The story mainly focuses on Tom, flip flopping between his introduction to the case as a young burglary detective in the 80s and his role as a civilian contractor working directly with Gary to procure evidence for a plea deal. The plotting and pacing are fantastic. Jensen effortlessly reels us in with a stark and brutal prologue, then lets the truth slowly unfurl from there. The graphic novel format is perfect for this tale and Jonathan Case's black and white artwork provides a compelling companion, capturing the emotion and toil that went into this tale. Ugh. It's just so good. ...more
In 1990, two men dressed as police officers asked to be let into the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston to investigate a disturbance in the musIn 1990, two men dressed as police officers asked to be let into the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston to investigate a disturbance in the museum's courtyard. Upon entry, they handcuffed the guards and locked them in the basement and proceeded to steal some of the world's most precious artwork - two Rembrandts, Degas sketches, a Vermeer, the finial from the top of a Napoleonic flag and more. Despite the efforts of the Boston police department, the FBI, a world-renowned art insurance investigator, and an investigative reporter, the crime remains unsolved to this day.
I've been waiting to read this for a while. My friend, Kristine, brought it to a book club book exchange a year ago and we've been passing it around among the group. I love art heists and true crime and most unsolved mysteries so this was right up my alley*. I love the history of the Gardner and the description of the heist. Much like Renner's True Crime Addict, Boser talks about how he starts to lose himself in investigating this heist, to the point of obsession. It's extremely frustrating to me to read this and find that nothing is still known (and probably will never be known) about what happened to these paintings. There's key information that's been lost that will never be recovered and I have such an insatiable curiosity about things like this. I enjoyed this, though I think I would've liked it more if it had been a little more chronologically/narrative consistent. That being said, it's a fascinating mystery and a super quick read to boot.
*"Murder is an inherently frustrating subject because it keeps moving away, evading us. We want to ask the big questions; more than anything else, we want to get the answers to the big questions. Yet all we can get at, finally, are the details. That's why the enjoyment of murder [and true crime]...always consists of wallowing in the gory details. The details are all we can grasp." -Wendy Lesser. ...more
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