True Crime Books

One of the country's leading quantitative historians examines the patterns of homicide in NYC since the late 1700s. The story is a complex one, and the patterns are far from obvious. This sort of careful work on violence in early America contrasts sharply with popular, but largely false, history books on similar topics, such as Arming America by Michael Bellesiles. This is a serious work of quantitative history, not riveting to read, but well written nonetheless. The historical research is unmatched.

This book was so well done that I trouble putting it down. It's a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions, with the quotation from King Lear at the beginning being perfectly appropriate. The evil Joe's struggles against his father also reminded me of Richard and Henry II, and Mordred and Arthur, although less of the latter, because L.S. Shoen was not the hero that Arthur was. Shoen made some incredible mistakes: dividing up his company so that his children had control, and he had only 2% of the stock; incredible sensitivity and selfishness toward his children after his first wife died; spoiling Joe and Mark and refusing to let them suffer any consequences for bad or even horrible behavior (a classic formula for creating sociopaths); continual attempts to force his children to participate in the U-Haul company despite lack of interest or incompetence; and refusing to see that Joe and Mark had serious emotional and mental problems.

However, as the story goes on you begin to feel really sorry for the guy. He starts to see the tragedy he has helped created, and takes possibly even too much responsibility for it. On the other hand, you don't feel sorry for Joe and Mark for long after their mother dies - these appear to be some seriously despicable and sociopathic men who bully and threaten and lie their way to ultimate power. They both seem so insane that you can't figure out why it took so long for their father and other siblings to see it. The dialog from one shareholder meeting led by Joe seems to be have been produced verbatim and is almost comical at times; it reads like a mixture of the Mad Hatter's tea party and the conch meetings in the Lord of the Flies.

The book was so fascinating that I wish Watkins would write a follow-up; some of the Shoen's really do appear to be decent people, and not spoiled rich kids. I searched for information on what has happened since - L.S. Shoen's single-car crash that might or might not have been a suicide; Marquis' confession to Eva's murder; and the $461 million awarded to the outside group to be paid by U-Haul, but still one can't find the insight into the Shoen members' lives that Watkins provided. Watkins must be a brave man to have written this book! If Joe and Mark are as bad as portrayed, he was taking a substantial risk. I know I won't rent from U-Haul again.

_Birthright_ tells the story of U-Haul founder L.S. Shoen, who built one of America's great success stories, only to have it all taken away from him by one of his sons, in a bitter dispute that ended with the murder of Mr. Shoen's innocent daughter-in-law.

While _Birthright_ is non-fiction, it reads like a page-turning novel. Though Watkins' style occasionally leaves something to be desired, the story that comes through is a tragic family saga worthy of comparison to _The Godfather_.

Of course, truth is often stranger than fiction, and in this case, it is less pleasant. Few Hollywood villains are as flagrantly despicable as Edward J. "Joe" Shoen, the son who turned against his father and runs U-Haul to this day. You may have trouble believing that a human being could behave this way. But it's all here, and, unfortunately for the late L.S. Shoen and the late, murdered Eva Berg Shoen, it's all true.

Just read the book. Wonderful!. The U-haul brothers now running the company are pitiless creatures who will step over ANY family in order to save their own shameful faces. Thank you, Mr. Watkins for this insight into the closets of a family blessed with the inheritance of an American icon.
Mr. Watkins, I hope a follow-up on this family will inspire you to continue with another book!

Any book which I feel compelled to read a second time is definitely worth reading, as was the case with this book. It was a very interesting case of how an older, stronger, more intelligent brother manipulates his less-adept brother into killing his wife. However, I've read dozens of true crime cases and never before have I seen one which includes this rather strange editorializing by the author. She includes paragraphs, oftentimes in italics (but not always)which seem to be her attempt to make this writing more like a fictional story rather than a true crime case. Most of these include things that the author couldn't possibly know, such as thoughts the victim had on her wedding day; casual conversation between detectives that wasn't pertinent to the case; and what the murderer was thinking. I really don't think that she actually had a conversation with murderer regarding how he felt irritated that his mother hadn't put his clothes away after she laundered them, etc.

This is the true account of a man who married an innocent woman--who ends up dead not long afterwards--and the story of her failing marriage and the attempt to bring her killer to justice. One wonders how a woman could be so naive, but then love is blind. The book dwells more on Ted's sociopathic personality and the people he uses. It moves very fast-you wont get bored with a long pyschiatric profile and family history like many crime novels. Instead, it follows the frustrated attempts to bring this man to justice.

THE TITLE"The Preacher's Son" should have been The Preacher's SonS. Story was very predictable, so story was sort of boring.

I really could not get in to the book. I was ready to stop after the first chapter. Then I saw the entire story on American Justice and it was interesting watching it. There was so much more in the T.V story then the book I felt. After I saw the show I finally finished the book .It is an ok read.I just found it to flat and that made it boring.

This could have been a fascinating book. With a very likeable victim, a devious husband, family secrets and several unanticipated twists and turns, it was a story begging to be told. Unfortunately, a lot was left out of the book I felt. For one thing, I never really got a feel for any of the people involved. I wanted to know more -- a lot more. I also never really understood the motive. There was the insurance angle, but that petered out quickly and left ... what? Nothing. So did he do it for the insurance he thought was there? Did he just get tired of her? If he was after the insurance, what was his reaction upon not getting it? The book also mentioned that Ted dated several women after Patricia's death, but we heard absolutely nothing about that.

It was an okay story, but I felt it left a lot of the human interest stuff out. I've been reading true crime for over 20 years and I like to know what went wrong. What went wrong with that person, that family, that marriage? Did anyone foresee this kind of evil in this person at an early age? Were there any other indications? How long did it take the families to begin suspecting the truth or did they know right off the bat?

Both trials, the escape attempt and the sentencings were covered in a few pages!

Good story with a lot of potential, but I had too many unanswered questions when I was finished.

This great analysis of the internet market over eBAY has been passed through the art lovers in our family. Their response has been very interesting, indeed !

This "author" is a liar, a lawyer, and a snitch. If you think it couldn't get any worse it does: he thinks his writing is clever. Wait for his victim (Fetterman)'s book.

Someone had recommended this book to me as a "good read". really didn't even know why I bought the book as I thought reading about ebay would be totally boring. Well I was wrong. The book sat on a shelf at my home for 3 months before I even opened the cover. Couldn't sleep one night and picked the book and started to read. I honestly couldn't put it down until I had finished from cover to cover. It is a great story and well written by the author. Whether you don't care about art or even Ebay this is an interesting story written in such a way that you find yourself totally emersed in the deceptions of an art forger who gets caught and the story line of getting caught and punished in a court of law. This is a good read.

My son picked "Fake" for our mother/son book club. The boys are sixteen; the mothers work in a variety of professional fields. No one was bored. Everyone finished the book, which is unusual. Discussion was lively and wide-ranging, even with the author present. I asked and he came!

Part of the charm of the book, the story and the man derives from our inherent hope that people can grow by surviving adversity, even self-made, or perhaps, especially self-made. Walton gives readers an engaging look at the California art scene and ebay, while allowing us to watch him decide what he will do next.

If he writes another book, I'll definitely read it.

I am a high end art collector at major auctions and have looked at ebay items up for sell. So many are obviously fakes that I have written to a couple of power sellers. They immediately threatened to sue me.

However, that is not why I am writing this review. This is a story of someone who knew nothing about art but was slowly engulfed in a new world where profit opportunity was high and old rules no longer applied. The individual involved acted like a major corporation in slowly bending the rules until they no longer believed the old rules or thought they could not possible be caught.

I think the story should be read by every corporate executive in America. It shows how easy it is to justify going 65 in a 55 zone and then occasionally speeding up to 85 when you think no one cares that you are going over the speed limit.

It is also an inspirational tale. I am very impressed with the author and how he changed his life around.

I would also recommend this book to anyone buying or selling on ebay. It is unbelievable how some of the items are marketed there. Ebay is not incented to police it to the degree they should. Buyer beware. At least for sure, I can tell you the art is not what you think it is!

This is a fast read .. get it.

"I'm going to do whatever I can to see justice is done in the courtroom. If the town burns down because of it, so be it." Those words were spoken by Roy Black, the author, who shares with readers his passion for defending the criminally accused. In this book, he tells the story of four trials. In one, he represented Luis Alvarez, a young cop who shot a black man which caused a large riot in Miami. Another case involved a bartender who faced death for murdering his girlfriend. In that case, Black dissects the botched police investigation and shows how to take apart a prosecution's case built on circumstantial evidence.

Throughout the book, there are many insightful practice tips for defense attorneys. For example, Black instructs for cross-examination that "although jurors needed to understand that the detectives had failed to do many things, I didn't wnat to transmit the impression that 'my client's guilty, but the cops blew the investigation and so they didn't prove it."

All four cases in the book read like great mysteries. Whether you are a defense attorney or not, you are sure to thoroughly enjoy this book.

Roy Black once said, "The kind of cases I handle are the ones people can't afford to lose." On the eve of yet another notorious public figure facing penitentiary chances, Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis made the call, "Get me Roy Black." And why not? Mr. Black has attained legendary status as one of the top legal minds in the country. From his days battling in the PD's office in Miami to his rise as Miami's `super lawyer' , Black's deft handling of the media makes for a formidable one-two punch when you combine his PR skills with his presence in the courtroom. Francis knows he's in for the fight of his life. The government has tattooed crosshairs on his back for the last ten years, and he knows he's facing the end of his rope. Who wouldn't hire Black?

This book encapsulates all that is Roy Black. Delivering gut-wrenching stories of trench warfare, he said, "My cases are World War III to me. I don't take prisoners when I go to trial." Attorneys make their living through words. And this book is a testament to that. Written for the everyday man, the style of writing is brief, easy to read, and compelling. It's as if Black is masterfully telling his stories to a jury. And once again, he wins them over. Highly recommended.

Do you sometimes wonder why anyone could possibly want to defend the scum, the losers, the obviusly-guilty-because-the newspapers-said-so? Well, if you think that way you will find a very good answer in this book. Roy Black describes four different cases which seemed impossible to defend, yet he did and did it well. He lets you in on what it's like to be on the defense side of the aisle. His writing style is smooth and flowing and each of the cases was so interesting I found it hard to put the book down. For me this was one of those books you can't help but read fast because it's fascinating, yet want to read slow so it lasts longer. For any True Crime genre fan, this is a MUST read.

I really enjoyed "Black's Law." He tells four different seemingly story-like narratives about four different cases. He discusses in detail every aspect of trying a case from research to voire dire. If you are interested in either legal strategy or just in a good story, you should read this book.

A great book. Written by a expert in communication. Each case brought you into the defense, you believe in the actions brought forward to give not only a legal defense by our constitution but to see a inocent person never is incarcerated,if that ever comes to pass. I would hope Mr. Black will write more, he is able to take a very complicated subject and break it down to a laymans understanding.

Published in 1998, "Death in Paradise" is a sort of prehistoric attempt at the popularization of gore that has become a craze thanks to "CSI" and similar schlock-shock efforts.

To call it superficial would be kind. It is so thin that it is kind of, well, film-y.

The early history of L.A. slaughter and retribution has some interest, since most retellings of L.A. murder start much later -- with the bombing of the Times offices, or later. After that, it's a retelling of well-known cases (like the world needs a few more paragraphs about O.J.) combined with what appear to be rewritten press releases from the coroner's office.

There was a story to be told, and it peeks out of "Death in Paradise" here and there.

The authors are semi-literate.

Nothing in this book would be inappropriate for a 6-year-old to see. All the pictures were in black and white and NONE of them were gory. This book is just recycled stories we've all heard about dead celebs with a portrait of them included. It should be called "My First Mystery Book". Very disappointing.

Los Angeles County Department of Coroner: 19000 cases a year, 10 percent of these cases homicides. 20 autopsies per day. 180 embloyees. The second largest department of coroner in the USA and the only one world wide with a gift shop (aptly named Skeletons in the Closet).

This book introduces you to the tasks, history and famous cases of LA department of coroner. DEATH IN PARADISE opens with an overview of the coroner's tasks and a brief history of the department, which both were interesting for me. The next chapter concerns early coroner cases from the days, when the west was wild (You think today's crime rates are extremely high? Well, you'll be surprised to read that in 1850, when California joined the union, Los Angeles with its population of about 4000, had one homicide per day!!!)
The early coroner cases chapter is followed by the most interesting part of the whole book, a lengthy account of coroner's cases involving the rich and famous, from suicides of now long forgotten movie stars of the silent film era to celebrity death of today. Did you know that in 1932 successful actress Peg ENTWISTLE jumped to her death from the big "H" in the famous HOLLYWOOD sign (which read HOLLYWOODLAND by then)? Lots and lots of celebrity deaths are covered: the shooting of mobster Bugsy SIEGEL. The assassination of presidential candidate Robert KENNEDY in 1968. An escalating domestic violence incident, which cost the live of movie star Lana TURNER`s lover Johnny STOMPANATO, when TURNER`s teenage daughter stabbed him. The demise of folk legend Janis JOPLIN due to an overdose. Marilyn MONROE's suicide. The terrifying slaughter of the "black dahlia", later the subject of a bestselling novel (this part of the book is especially gruesome). The death of journalist Ruben SALAZAR, who died during a 1970 riot when a police man accidentially fired a tear gas projectile in his face. And many, many more...
It goes without saying that book features the horrifying deaths of Sharon TATE and Nicole BROWN SIMPSON - would a LA true crime book be complete without these infamous cases?
There are many enlightning black and white photos in the book, which nicely accompany the interesting text. Believe me, this book is very compelling reading and will appeal to every true crime buff, Los Angeles citizen or fan of the QUINCY TV series. It is a real page turner.
My main complaint is that the book is really short. It has about 190 pages, but please consider that the authors use double spacing, so you likely finish the book in one evening or two. I was also sometimes disappointed, because I had prefered to be informed about some celebrity deaths in greater detail (most cases are told in two or three pages).
P.S.: Do NOT believe the promotional blurb on the back cover (a quote from HUSTLER magazine publisher Larry FLYNT: "Blanche and Schreiber have finally done the impossible - that even I could not achieve - publish a book with photographs that should be censored.") There are not that many horrifying pictures in the book. If you want to see really shocking true crime photos better buy SHOTS IN THE DARK or the even more disturbing DEATH SCENES.

This book takes readers behind the scenes with the L.A. County Coroner's Office, revealing the details of some of the most notorious deaths of the twentieth century.
Beginning with Wild West-era lynchings and turn-of-the-century mass-homicides in Chinatown, the authors demonstrate how the coroner's job has evolved into a state-of-the-art, multi-million-dollar operation responsible for cleaning up the 200 deaths that occur in L.A. every day. In addition to the science of death, Death in Paradise also examines the cultural and political atmospheres surrounding L.A.'s most infamous murders, suicides, and overdoses: from Barbara La Marr to Bugsy Siegel, the Black Dahlia to Marilyn Monroe, Janis Joplin to Bobby Kennedy.
Interesting book but not enough decent picures.

Granted, the history of LA crime may be about the nice overwritten subject out there! Still, this is a fine, right to the point,breezy (even on such a gruesome subject) book, though it does have a few gruesome photos, most notably the 12 year old girl abducted from school in 1927, and dismembered. The early history of the big city is also fine, including some shootouts I was not aware of. If you want to learn about the struggling actress who jumped off the "Hollywood" Sign, a woman who survived being thrown off a bridge at three, and is still living in the area, the Thelma Todd suicide (?),and the Black Dahlia case, here's where to look. Not to mention other better known examples of the coroner at work.

I tried to get into this book and the life of this beautiful woman but every step of the way I felt I was being fed pablum from a writer who did not dare to truly enter the fray of murder and killing and the real reasons/motives why someone drives or is driven to this kind of sublime madness -- To me I could have read a timeline of the murder and gleaned more than what this writer gave me -- He should quit writing and go back to being a psychologist or whatever he did before -- It was a total misrepresentation of the PASSIONS involved in a life out of control and -- to this day -- the way he portrayed "Beth" -- trying to show how nice and lace and flowers and sweetness her life exemplified FAILED as miserably as I try to state it. It just plain BORED me. How could someone's life, like Beth's, take on such tedious, boring presentation as this writer put forth -- Go get a DAY JOB and stop the nonsense of trying to portray the human heart -- both killers and victims -- with no INSIGHT or UNDERSTANDING of what makes a human being tick -- You, sir, have no insight into writing OR, for that matter, probably psychology. You remind me of someone who thinks GREAT ART is discovering a way to paint "by numbers -- the way retirees of olden days thought they were creating "art." Your agent should fire you.

This book was wonderful in outlining Beth's life; however it was extremely lacking details about the "psycho" relationship between Beth and Toolan. Not enough details or pictures. The book describes many important pictures of Beth's accomplishments--but no photo is presented in the book. Thought it was written prematurely too.

The life story of Beth Lochtenfield (I know that I misspelled) was just about ideal and even perfect except she wanted to settle down, marry and have children like her siblings. Sadly, it never happened. The man in her life, Toolan, killed her brutally in lovely Nantucket, Massachusetts which she considered to be her sanctuary from the cruel world of men. I can relate to her desperation and the mistakes and signs that she missed along the way about Toolan. Beth was smart about a lot of things but not about men. When she realized it was too late, it was too late for her life. Beth's short life was filled with lots of things but the right man and Toolan was deeply troubled from the moment he met her only she was equally desperate to settle down and marry. Sadly, she could not have picked a worst choice than Toolan. This book could be useful to a lot of women out there including myself that finding the right man is not always the end all and be all of life. Beth's tragic and senseless murder was just that a tragedy. She was successful in business, with a loving family of siblings, nieces, and nephews, and parents, and she had lots of friends. My favorite photo in the book is one with her at a friend's wedding. I thought that it could have been her wedding. Beth's life was ideal but incomplete without that special someone to share it with her. Maybe he was really just around the corner or not there at all, somebody once said that you have to be complete first before finding a mate. This book sends the message that finding a mate may end in tragedy after all. The pressure for single women like myself and my sister and others to find a husband is almost painful to explain anymore to anybody else. Beth was one of those people who just wanted that right man and it's a myth because happiness and true love is almost impossible to find in our world and even in Beth's world where status, money, wealth, and prominence in society mattered so much more to Toolan. The book came out too soon in my opinion because the trial or the sentence hasn't begun.

Brian McDonald, in his true crime book SAFE HARBOR, writes about the murder of Beth Lochtefeld by her recent boyfriend, Thomas Toolan. The beginning chapters, in which McDonald describes the events leading up to the crime are fast paced and well done, but the book declines rapidly thereafter.

Toolan, self-aggrandizing, narcissistic, a liar, and a raging alcoholic, has the potential to be an interesting study. But there is really very little information provided about him. There are a few sections, probably less than a quarter of the book, in which his behavior is presented anecdotally and which serve to show that he was a dangerously out of control guy. But there is no in-depth analysis or research to show why and how he became what he became.

Similarly with Beth, while her life is dealt with extensively, the narrative is almost totally anecdotal. We learn a lot about what she was like, but nothing about why or how her personality developed. As reported in SAFE HARBOR, Beth was a highly intelligent, courageously adventurous, and driven person who had made a lot of money by her 40s. She is also presented as a kind, considerate, caring and beautiful (although in my opinion, based on the numerous pictures of Beth, she is average looking at best) woman. There is no depth to McDonald's writing about Beth so that what the reader is left with, as with Toolan, is superficial.
There is no end to the lionization of Beth in this book, and easily three quarters of the book is devoted to stories provided by her friends -particularly anecdotes taken from a website devoted to her after her death - a technique which by dint of it's endlessness becomes tedious, increasingly meaningless, and ultimately cliched.
For example, we learn that "Beth's apple pies and artichoke Parmesan dip 'could cure all the woes in the world'. Beth always remembered her employees' birthdays, and would bring a homemade pie or dessert for the celebrant. Each employee's anniversary at the firm was celebrated by a lunch at the restaurant of their choice. Beth took time to give one employee, Yee Yip, driving lessons for an upcoming driver's test. Every Christmas Beth took the whole staff out for lunch at a German restaurant called Rolf's. Beth thought eating under the decorations in the restaurant was like 'sitting in a Christmas tree'. On each employee's plate Beth placed a present and an envelope with a bonus. The meal was sumptuous: veal, potato pancakes, schnitzel and apple sauce." Well, my God. Is that all?
I have no reason to doubt Beth's fine qualities, but try reading this kind of thing over and over and over for hundreds of pages. It becomes hyperbolic filler and more than a little annoying, and after a while I began to wonder, given the apparently unending rounds of drinking, eating, and convivial good fellowship at Beth's company, how any actual work got done.

But though McDonald would never say so, based on his narrative Beth seems to have had some less than desirable traits as well. She may or may not have been an alcoholic, but throughout the book she is continually presented as drinking. She also appears to have been neurotically unable to just relax and enjoy her good, and hard earned, fortune. And she seems to have been in some ways annoyingly self-absorbed. For example, when she finally sold her company and had decided to move from Manhattan to her beloved Nantucket Island - with which she was intimately familiar having begun going there as a child - she first traveled to Guam as, in her words, "Five weeks in Guam was to be a physical and spiritual retreat in preparation for breaking my bonds with Manhattan." Guam! I am surprised, as sensitive and fragile as this statement shows her to have been, that she didn't feel the need to ramp up for Guam by spending, say, three weeks in Portugal.

And, as a final failure of this book, it was written before Tom Toolan went on trial. Not only does this lend an incompleteness to any true crime book, but it is clearly indicative of the fact that Toolan, the killer, is not really that important to the book, his role being little more than a vehicle to provide a platform on which to shower Beth with accolades.

McDonald's writing, as distinct from what he has written, is good. He is clearly a professional who knows his craft. But what he has written here is, rather than an in depth look at the players in what could have been a fascinating book, little more than a literary shrine to Beth Lochtefeld. Based on the other reviews of this book, my opinion is clearly in the minority, but I wouldn't recommend SAFE HARBOR to anyone.

As a history teacher and lover of true crime novels, I found Safe Harbor to be a difficult and frustrating book to read. While the facts of the story were quite interesting, I had trouble following the author's chronology and felt that there was way too much extraneous information.
I found myself reading only the topic sentences in much of the book in order to get to details of the story.
In addition, with twenty-five years in education, I found too many grammatical errors and incoherent sentences for such a popular novel.