True Crime Books

I saw Susan Polk son, and Susan Polk from prison on the Montel show and found this story to be very interesting so I ordered the book and it has not let me down, great writting and a weird but interesting case. I loves it.

Very interesting story. Catherine Crier did a good job in her research & background information. Reads alot like an Ann Rule book.

I found this book mesmerising from start to finish. The inevitability of it all was so sad. Recommended read for true crime buffs.

Similar to Keith Ablow (who wrote the forward), Crier adds her own opinion about the psychology of both the victim and the perpetrator. Her facts should stand by themselves without her weaving in tidbits similar to "this relationship was a perfect storm of neuroses and it was inevitable that Susan would kill her husband, thinking she was actually getting back at her father, who abused her...."

I wonder who proofread this book. Sloppy editing abounds - from small things such as spelling Goodwill (the store) as Good Will and Sony PlayStation as Play Station. There's also a 16-year-old who commits murder and two weeks later, "celebrates his 18th birthday." What happened to his 17th year? Did he lose one for committing murder?

I tried reading this one, but after reading Carol Pogash's book about the same trial, I just couldnt finish this dull imitation.

This is an excellent piece of qualitative research and I use it as an example in my research class. As other writers have noted this book is entertaining and fun. Also, it demonstrates how a researcher uses snowball sampling to find individuals who may otherwise be reluctant to admit to others that they are engaging in some kind of behavior which society considers immoral or which is outright illegal. Research does not have to be dull and good qualitative research reads as well as the best fiction.

All I can say is... wow. I consider myself incredibly fortunate to currently be a student of Richard Wright's, studying Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Missouri - St. Louis. While this ethnography is extremely insightful and intriguing, it doesn't even begin to capture the sheer brilliance that IS Richard Wright. He is truly a one of a kind researcher, and many of his ideas have been groundbreaking in the field of Criminology -- especially since the studies for this book were done in the '80s, a much more conservative period as far as criminological research is concerned. This book would be interesting and even entertaining for anyone, but especially for those with a background in Criminology or Sociology. I would also recommend Richard Wright's other piece about this research project, BURGLARS ON THE JOB.

Sounds good. A bit too verbose. The book's name is better than the conclusion. Nothing you would not expect if you watched enough violence movies.

This is first rate ethnography that is well-written, insightful, and entertaining. Yes, I said entertaining, as in a good read. Fascinating book that will really make you think about what lies behind criminal decision-making . . . highly recommend it.

I spent three years being bored to points beyond death in law school, but this book was something all together different. The fact that it was written at all is impressive. You read about the inner city in the papers, but this book takes you there, and not just into the slum, but into the heads of the dregs of society. The logic expressed by the subjects of this book is so radically foreign to those of us in textbook America. Take a chance and look into the underclass. Oops, I used the class-word. I know we don't have those in this country, but this book may make you think. I only wish Pat Buchanan could meet some of these guys.

Although I am an Ann Rule fan and she is one of the top true crime writers, this book is not one of my favorites by this author. Perhaps it the mix of five stories covering events from 1923 through 1998 or the apparent lack of in-depth coverage of each case. Whatever the cause, the result is a conglomeration of disjointed partial stories that appeared to be used as "fillers" to create a single book. In my opinion this book is not worthy of Rule's talent.

Ann Rule at her best is undoubtedly one of the outstanding true crime writers of her generation. This book, by comparison, verges on the tedious.

The five stories are all written in her usual workmanlike style but somehow lack the spark of some of her earlier books. The cases she presents deal with the murderous conclusion of relationship breaddowns, and all reflect her deep empathy with victims and their families, but overall they lack those twists of circumstance, fate and analysis that we have come to expect from an Ann Rule book.

The first and longest story, 'Worth More Dead', deals with a man who slips almost inexplicably from youthful Romeo to aging wife killer, always able to keep his distance from his crimes by manipulating others to carry out his dirty work. Rule herself says about him at the beginning 'I don't even know where to start explaining this killer'; and at the end of her story we have much the same problem.

Of the remaining cases, one deals with the ability of two teenage girls to survive a murderous attack and the way police were able to use the information they provided to capture an otherwise fairly ordinary killer. The next story, 'Old Man's Darling' describes a gripping situation in which an attractive woman murders her sugar daddy, a man twice her age, when he tries to leave her, but as with most of the other stories leaves the reader feeling that the story needed fleshing out. 'All For Nothing', the story of an otherwise reputable man who viciously kills the woman he loves and her suspected lover, and the last, 'A Desperate Housewife', also address the themes of jealousy, possessiveness and revenge.

As Rule notes, the trauma that can flow from relationship breakdowns, even where they do not end in murder, is common to many lives and for that reason if for no other this book has a grim appeal.

This is volume ten in the series of true crime cases. It contains five stories, the first and longest gave the title to this book. Ann Rule has written 23 books that were `NY Times' bestsellers. Rule lives near Seattle and her stories document crimes in that area. Rule has testified before the US Senate Judiciary Sub-committee and advised the US Justice Dept. on a program to track and trap serial killers.

"Worth More Dead" refers to a series of cases that were linked by the involvement of one person. If someone with life insurance is killed they are "worth more dead" to someone. But insurance companies will investigate suspicious deaths. [Read "Double Indemnity" by James M. Cain.] Did Roland arrange the murder of a husband to please the wife? Did he arrange the murder of his wife for the insurance money? Did he plan to murder his daughter? Read how his careful plans miscarried and lead to his conviction. Can the conversation on a remote phone be overheard by a neighbor (p.191)? The development of DNA evidence led to a break in the unsolved murder of Roland's first wife.

"It's Really Weird Looking at My Own Grave" tells of a serial rapist who killed his victims so they couldn't identify him. One quick thinking teenage girl escaped with her life. Detectives searched their files to find a possible match. They did, and the victims identified him.

"Old Man's Darling" is a story about a young woman who sought an older rich married man after unsuccessful marriages. Beauty alone does not make up for an ugly personality. The older man's decision to end the affair angered the younger woman. She shot and killed the older man, and the police shot and killed her. A pocket tape recorder revealed the drama of their last conversation.

"All for Nothing" is the story of Larry Sturholm, a TV reporter on humorous subjects. He wrote a book about "the last great train robbery" in Oregon. His charmed life ended with two murders and an attempted suicide. Larry's secret girlfriend had an insanely jealous former boyfriend. Was the killer legally insane at the time?

"A Desperate Housewife" tells about a couple who were married for years with children. But a mismatch in personalities developed over a dozen years. After the wife decided to ask for a divorce she disappeared after leaving for work, her husband said. None of her personal belongings were gone. A police search of the house found signs of foul play. You know the rest of this story.

Ann Rule is fabulous. This book is no different then her others, it captures you in the beggining and keeps you turning the pages amazed at what goes on in the world around you.

I am a big fan of Ann Rule. I buy every book she writes, just because her name is on it. And I've never been disappointed until now. I thought her main crime story, "Worth More Dead", was lacking in the usual excitement and juicy details she always weaves her stories with. Ms. Rule has seemed to stop writing at length about the police officers' lives, and that is a big plus. I've noticed it in her last few books. It seems like "Worth More Dead" is a long story that doesn't have enough oomph for the main case story. This might have been better off used as one of her other, shorter case files in this or another book. The other, briefer cases she writes of in this book are excellent. Good old Ann Rule tightness, page-turning excitement with incredible cases - hard to put down. Rule fans should not overlook this book.

I read Juanita Brooke's Mountain Meadow Massacre several years ago and decided to follow up with this book to see what if anything was different. This book actually compliments the work of Ms. Brooke's. It includes much more detail and as the author indicated does give many new insights not previously available.

It is certainly a disturbing chapter in Mormon history and certainly made me think. I highly recommend this book to any person looking for honest information regarding this incident.

This takes up where Juanita Brooks leaves off. Covers much of the same ground but adds materially to understanding the Mountain Meadows Massacre. An excellent read, well written and documented.

I was hopeful of getting a straight story of what happened at Mountain Meadows when I read this book. My ancestor is involved. Bagley warned that if the reader came to read about the "Saints" this and the "Saints" that, then the reader would be disappointed. I was excited about reading a balanced and unbiased story. I checked it out of the public library. I did not see the biased word "Saints" but I did read a very biased book.


I am not a big conspiracy person. However, Bagley's conspiracy goes like this:

1. The much beloved Parley P. Pratt is murdered.
2. Two Mormon men see the "Arkansas" party leave.
3. They notify the Utah Mormons that the wagon train is on the way.
4. The Mormons want to take revenge for Parley P. Pratt's murder
5. The apostle Charles C. Rich (my ancestor) kicks them out of Salt Lake. He sets in motion the conspiracy and tells them not to take the route that the Donner Party took but rather to go to Mountain Meadows.
6. There Brigham Young has devised a plan to murder all in the wagon train.
7. (By all accounts) About 50 Mormon men (remember no Indians) are led by Lee, a somewhat less of a leader. These 50 men (remember no Indians) keep tough wagon train men with guns pinned down for several days. (That would be tough. I've been there. There were more trees back then.)
8. No attempt is made to cover up the crime site. (The bodies were just left)
9. A very weak story is contrived to explain how everyone in the wagon train was murdered.
10. It doesn't take long for the real story to come out.
11. Still the crime site is not cleaned up. The US Army does that later.

I am not a conspiracy person. I feel Oswald acted alone when he killed Kennedy.
I do not think there was a conspiracy to kill everyone in the wagon train. It is silly, nonsensical, and intellectually offensive to say that Brigham Young ordered the massacre. Such people put themselves in the same class as the Kennedy conspiracy theorists.

What made Bagley write this?

1. I think he has issues with his Mormon past. He hints of it in his writing.
2. He "does not like Brigham Young". It is probably not a good idea to write a book if you feel that way. The best Hitler books are balanced. Bagley's book is not balanced. He all but admits it.

Conclusion: Bagley blew it. He wrote an implausible book based on an unlikely conspiracy. He started out with the goal of pinning it on Brigham Young. This reveals a bias..

The conspiracy that is the foundation of his book is not supported by other unbiased historians.
A recent book, The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy by Vincent Bugliosi, put to rest the Kennedy conspiracy. The upcoming book by Turley will hopefully put to rest the Bagley conspiracy.

Will Bagley has done this subject a great service. While Jaunita Brooks broke ground with her book decades ago, Will Bagley has taken the research much farther and has provided the world with the definitive study. The Mountain Meadows Massacre was the result of many situations developing to a tragic end, for which the Mormon Church was directly responsible. For those with an interest in this part of history, I cannot recommend this book enough.

The book, _Blood of the Prophets_ was unfortunately written by a 'for hire' author with an a priori conclusion that, in Will Bagley's words, would "pin it on Brigham Young". When you pour your research into an anti-Mormon polemic, it tends to be wasted taint and that's what we've gotten here.

This was a fast read for me because of the subject. I was transfixed as each story was told. I only wish she'd recorded even more experiences. These tales will stay with me forever and I highly recommend this book.

This woman is quite adorable. I found myself surprised at how, even though I picked the book up because I like crime nonfiction, I found it wasn't really a story about crime work at all. Some of the stories were very amusing but the deeper understanding I carried away was what a funny life it is. I greatly enjoyed the story of her parent's reaction to her crime stories and them not wanting to visit her work. I enjoyed the stories about her getting quite a rude introduction to being a crime worker who isn't a police officer and I loved the story of her sneaking home to take care of her dogs and accidentally pressing the panic button that allowed the whole department to hear her dog cooing. If you are looking for a hardcore crime solving book then this might be a little soft for you. If you're looking for a story of how ridiculous the actuality of crime is through the eyes of a quirky young mom then this is probably right up your alley.

Dana Kollman is hilarious, and very to the point. True forensics is nothing like it is on TV. Please read this if you are considering! Stories can be somewhat nauseating, don't read during dinner like I did.

I LOVED every part of this book. It's fantastically written and incredibly entertaining from start to finish. She has a way with words and is an excellent story teller! She was also my Forensics Professor at Towson University, so I may be a bit biased but I still think that this is probably one of the most entertaining books I've read in a long time.

Irreverent (only because we attach such hushed tones to death) and extremely informative for those of us who have only learned about death's aftermath from CSI, Ms. Kollman's book resonates with the writer's personality. It is to be hoped that the relatives and friends of the deceaseds mentioned in the book do not take umbrage with the light-hearted style of Never Suck A Dead Man's Hand. Once or twice I thought the humor was carefully cultured. This is a really useful handbook for writers, beginner CSI operatives or even those who simply like learning about the technical difficulties of collecting evidence from the dead.

Nate Blakeslee's "Tulia" tells the story of dozens of people, mostly black, who were arrested in 1999 for selling cocaine in Tulia, Texas. There was insufficient evidence that the defendants were guilty, and the undercover narcotics investigator who brought the charges had a checkered background, but the defendants were wrongfully convicted and given sentences that were grossly draconian. Fortunately, a few years later, the convictions were overturned.

The book also discusses more than just the legal case--it takes an in-depth look at Tulia, presenting a brief history of the town, and showing how rural America has suffered economically in recent decades as jobs and opportunity have fled.

I don't usually read this kind of stuff but picked this up after talking with one of the characters in this book. Very readable and balanced. I'd never have intentionally read a book where lawyers and the ACLU were the good guys ...... but this was an excellent read.

I am still reading this book, which requires the reader to really digest what is being said. Take about a miscarriage of justice, and the time it took to get it right. Every chapter I have read, I have said to myself "unbelievable." I suggest that everyone that wants to see a twentieth century miscarriage of justice in Texas needs to read this book. My cousin turned me on to this book, and now I wish the readers of this review take time to read this book. It is definitely a MUST READ!!!

Coming from a small South Arkansas town, I had mixed emotions reading this book. As a licensed attorney, the obvious abuses of criminal and constitutional law are indeed disturbing. I am not without empathy however for the jury members and town folks of Tulia, whose town and way of life have been irrevocably damaged by the drug trade and the small town hoodlums who participate in it.

Despite the authors best efforts, the vast majority (if not all) of the defendants in the Tulia sting are certainly not "innocent". They may have been "not guilty" of the particular charges concocted by the crooked narc, but when your defense is "I sold him crack, not powdered cocaine", it's a little hard to gin up sympathy. When the author tries to paint one of the defendants as a sympathetic character, he does so by noting that "they only found a single rock of crack in their search."

Bottom line, however, is that regardless of the guilt or innocence of the defendants, frontier justice and judicial abuse can never be countenanced. Drugs have destroyed many small towns across the South and especially those communities harboring large, destitute minority populations. Hopelessness coupled with lack of opportunity and topped off with low moral character is a witches brew for just the sort of thing evidenced by Tulia and all the characters in this real life drama.

Finally, it should be kept in mind that the author telling this story is an admitted member of the "left leaning media" (his own words). While many of the facts contained in the book are not in dispute, I have no doubt that they are presented in a biased fashion. Just as hearing one side of the story rarely gives a true picture, I imagine the same story told by members of law enforcement might sound somewhat different. The defendants might not be viewed quite so sympathetically. The residents of Tulia might not be painted to be the drooling, racist morons that the author many times paints them to be. The ravages of the drug culture might paint efforts of the local legal authorities in a better light.

This is an excellent book. As the definitive treatment of the notorious cocaine stings in Tulia, Texas, it shocks our conscience by revealing how racism still plagues our society and how the unequal application of justice made famous in such books as To Kill a Mockingbird is still with us so many decades later. Add to that that it is superbly written and flows almost like a thriller, and you have an almost perfect book.

The immediate subject of Tulia is the arrest of over 40 residents of that small Texas town, almost all of them black, in a 1999 drug sting, and their subsequent treatment by the west Texas judicial system. After the arrests, the book follows two main paths. One covers the trials and convictions--despite many obvious and glaring flaws in the state's cases-- most notably, all of the arrests are made on the word of a single manifestly unreliable undercover cop with a deeply checkered past-- the defendants are railroaded into staggeringly long prison terms, often many decades for one or two alleged sales of small amounts of cocaine. The trials are at best perfunctory-- the local judge and prosecutor both lean hard to obtain convictions, and most of the state-appointed defense lawyers are incompetent or indifferent. Harper Lee never wrote anything as outrageous.

The second storyline is that of the people who take it upon themselves to free the defendants. Starting with a few brave local individuals, the effort eventually involves a determined young lawyer from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund as well as pro bono lawyers from some of the nation's top law firms. The resulting court maneuvers make for riveting and almost inspiring reading.

All of this is deftly woven together by author Nate Blakeslee, who modestly downplays his own involvement in the case--as a writer for the Texas Observer, he writes an investigative story about the Tulia cases that is later used to attract national attention. Beyond simply describing the arrests and the court cases, Blakeslee takes us into the history and culture of rural west Texas and gives us a more complicated view of the people than the basic story would suggest.

This book is highly recommended particularly for those who are interested in race relations in American history, or those who enjoy books on legal cases (such as A Civil Action), or indeed everyone who likes to read, and probably most people who don't.

Readers know from the beginning that John Orr, ace arson investigator, and the mysterious serial arsonist he investigates are one and the same. We also know that such cases are, alas, not so unusual: fire bugs are often firemen. Even so, Wambaugh's writing skill maintains the suspense of this story to the bitter end. Will justice be done for Matt, the little boy who never got that chocolate mint ice cream cone?

BOOK lovers will be struck by the central role of the perp's autobiographical novel in the case. Can the jury really believe that there is a reasonable doubt that the little boy in the book was named Matt by coincidence?

Nobody does non-fiction crime reporting like Joe Wambaugh. Like The Onion Field and The Blooding, this is a non-stop read. Wambaugh's insight into human behavior and motivations is fascinating. Joe Wambaugh is an american treasure.

Too much information. The story line gets bogged down and lost in Wambaugh's microscopic details. Too bad. Could've been an interesting read.

I thought that Ken Howard's reading added to the drama of this story about an arson investigator who set and then videotaped his own fires. The author paid appropriate homage to those whose tenacity finally brought John Orr to trial. The trial (transcript) was pretty much verbatim, but that is a plus because the attorneys were so eloquent.

Even though you know how the true story ends it is a page turner. The arsonist's mind is beyond comprehension. Wambaugh does a great job with this account.

A different reviewer of this book said it was dull and boring. Personally, I find the book to be a great read. If you know nothing, or very little about the FBI and are interested in possibly becoming a SA then this book is the book for you. It's very informative. If however, you know a lot already about the FBI then I can see how the book would be boring.

This is the fourth book I have read which is intended to prepare the reader for, and generally teach about, the FBI special agent hiring and training processes. Of those that I have read, this is the only one that doesn't feel like it copied 99% of its contents straight out of an FBI manual.

Unlike other nonfiction FBI books like both Ronald Kessler exposés or Christopher Whitcomb's "Cold Zero", this book lays out bare facts about the FBI. It takes you through the process of applying to become an FBI agent, what you'll encounter as a trainee at the Quantico Academy and what areas of the FBI deal with what criminal challenges.

This book reminded me of a college textbook. It has great information and lots of detailed pictures with good explanations. But you just can't read this book for long periods of time without getting bored.

i will like to ricieve a copy of this book.

Very informative. Great details. It goes over everything that a person should know.

Response by Marilyn T. Miller. I am compelled to respond to an earlier review. This book was a cooperative work of all three authors but was done under the direct guidance and care of Henry Lee. Crime scene investigation has been one of Dr. Lee's lifetime concerns. This book is the result of that dedication. The other authors owe a hugh amount of graditute to him for their participation in the effort.

I read this book as a required text for a Masters program in Forensic Science. Having read the previous reviews on the book, I was not expecting a particularly good textbook, but I do not believe that the other reviews do justice to how totally worthless this book is. I feel obliged to write a review of my own to balance the scales, as it were.

First off, the comment regarding the numerous typographical and grammatical errors in the book is grossly understated. I cannot believe that this book ever saw an editor's desk. I have randomly opened the book to several pages, and quickly found the following sentences, which I believe should illustrate my point:

- Most importantly [sic] by keeping the suspect away from the scene, any physical evidence found at the scene that originated from the suspect will link the suspect to the scene only at the time of the crime and not from the suspect having been returned to the scene for identification by victims or witnesses. p.53 (grammatical error, poorly written and confusing)

- Access [sic] the type of scene, the boundary of the scene, and the personnel and equipment needed. p 58. (should read, 'assess')

There are others, as well - alas, I have forgotten the sentence I came across while reading for class that contained a minimum of 5 errors. Yes. One sentence.

My most significant complaint, however, is that the book is simply not thorough. This is primarily due to the fact that it appears to have been written for idiots - all the major areas are touched upon, but there appears to be a fear that tackling them in detail would confuse people. So, instead, each technique is mentioned only in passing, leaving the reader with only a very vague overview of what goes on at a crime scene. Any person actually practicing in the field of forensic science is bound to be disappointed by its lack of depth, detail, and 'new' material. This likely also applies to anyone who has read any other books on the subject, whether they are active in the field or not.

For those who are interested in the subject and looking for a much better primer, I would suggest Fisher's 'Techniques of Crime Scene Investigation,' instead. While he does not have the friendly or chatty writing style that Lee has (the only thing going for Lee's book, incidentally), he is significantly more thorough. The book is also more well-regarded in the field, based on everything I have heard. This is not to say that Lee does not have a prominent name in forensics - quite the contrary. But, I would hate to think that anyone would purchase this book on his name alone. He should stick to spoken lectures, at which he is quite excellent.

This book was an exceptional take-home package of crime scene processing information in an easy-to-read format. However, the chosen title for this work is egotistical and arrogant. There are a large number of typographical errors, but the book is actually quite useful. I must say, please wait for the second edition before purchasing this book.

This book shows through the eyes of the author that nothing has really changed about the violence we do to each other and ourselves except maybe the methods. This was an exceptionally accurate glimpse into a time gone by and the unchanging human condition. The photos were excellently restored.

This Book is not for the faint of heart! I knew Sean Tejaratchi when he was a teen at his mother's house in Walker Basin so I just had to have a copy. Well Sean you still are marching to a different drummer! Best wishes.

I did not buy this book, but morbid curiosity DID get the better of me and so I stood in the aisle and paged through quite a bit of it. I wish I had not done that. When I decided I'd had all I could take, I could not get the book out of my hands fast enough. I even went to the magazine section of the bookstore to leaf through those cheesy celebrity rags, just to see pictures of smiling, beautiful, healthy people who were impeccably groomed and dressed. The contrast to what I had just seen was startling, and made Death Scenes all the more depressing. I stayed a bit depressed, and thought about the graphic images many times in the days that followed. Bottom line: If you want to see pictures that will make you think that the "good old days" were the most horrific, sickening, pathetic days in history, this is the book for you. I'll give the book two stars because it certainly does what it intends, but I just can't give it any more than that....I am STILL having trouble eating!!!

Well, I must say that this book is a gruesome one. I have a friend that is a doctor and gets to see stuff similar to the pictures in this book first hand. His background didn't help him much when flipping through the "kid" section in this book. The text rambles and really doesn't provide anything but page filler. This book would not make an acceptable coffee table read, but will cool you to the core if you're all alone and have an overactive imagination. Good luck with this one if you are even slightly a wuss.

This book is profoundly disturbing and not for the faint of heart or stomach. After first viewing some of these photos over 10 years ago, I lost the desire to eat food of any kind for almost a full 24 hours afterwards. Some of the most heinous murders pictured here were real headliners in their time - some cursory research on the internet reveals front-page coverage in the L.A. Times, particularly of the Virginia Lee Griffin murder, in which case the killer was executed in San Quentin a mere 4 months after sentencing. Makes you realize how no-nonsense the justice system was back in the 1940's. As the sub-title of the book succinctly states - "There were no 'good ol' days'". This book proves that nostalgia is largely a lie and, as Jesus Christ said, "The past is best forgotten."