Books: True Crime For Your Mind

[starri]

There are a lot of great books in the genre out there, from In Cold Blood on forward.  I'm always going to give that its props, but for me, the best one remains Dave Cullen's Columbine.  It's by no means a short book, but I read the whole thing in one sitting because I was so engrossed in it.

[NewDigs]

There's also a TrueCrimeBooks thread in the books forum.

[azshadowwalker]

I am going to put this here, because there's a lot of links to media on it. I also don't want to create a new thread, when it might be the only post. I guess online resources fit here better than anywhere else. 

I was poking around Facebook yesterday, and ran into a page set up for cold cases. Today, there was a link to astory about an arrest in a 1989 murder of an 18yo girl in Kansas City, KS. I was 18 that year, so it really struck me how much she and her family missed out on. 

https://www.facebook.com/unsolvedcoldcases/

[AZChristian]

I'm reading Sharon Rocha's book about her daughter, Laci Peterson.  What a scumbag Scott Peterson was . . . and probably still is, as he's sitting on Death Row at San Quentin.

[starri]

Michelle McNamara's posthumous I'll Be Gone in the Dark about the Golden State Killer is now available for pre-order with a February 28th release date.  I'm really glad Patton decided to have her researcher and her friend finish the book, she deserved to have it finished even if she didn't live to see it through.

I think she knew who he was.

[RainbowBrite]

On ‎9‎/‎19‎/‎2017 at 6:23 PM, starri said:

Michelle McNamara's posthumous I'll Be Gone in the Dark about the Golden State Killer is now available for pre-order with a February 28th release date.  I'm really glad Patton decided to have her researcher and her friend finish the book, she deserved to have it finished even if she didn't live to see it through.

I think she knew who he was.

That's so fascinating! Do you know if she reveals the identity in the book?

[Singingflutist]

I just finished reading The Good Nurse by Charles Graeber about possibly the most prolific serial killer in America Charlie Cullen. He confessed to killing patients but the real number is possible upwards of 400. Good book.

[starri]

I've been reading I'll Be Gone in the Dark, but slowly.  Sprinkled throughout the actual True Crime portions are bits about Michelle's life and how she got into true crime, and I find those parts kind of achingly sad.

[MargeGunderson]

I binge-read it last weekend. I found it very interesting, and agree that the parts about Michelle’s life are bittersweet. @starri, are you listening to the podcast? I’m not a fan.

[biakbiak]

On 3/19/2018 at 5:29 PM, MargeGunderson said:

are you listening to the podcast? I’m not a fan

Its because its one of the new wave of podcasts that are strictly promotional and so isn't that interesting because the whole point is only for people ro buy the book.

[spankydoll]

On ‎3‎/‎19‎/‎2018 at 10:06 AM, starri said:

I've been reading I'll Be Gone in the Dark, but slowly.  Sprinkled throughout the actual True Crime portions are bits about Michelle's life and how she got into true crime, and I find those parts kind of achingly sad.

That book is excellent. I have been listening to the audiobook in the car and I am very happy that I am not curled up in bed reading it. Some of the passages are chilling. Goosebump inducing. I had to keep reminding myself that back when those first crimes were taking place alarm systems were only for the wealthy and not readily available for your average homeowner. 

[EllieH]

I finished I'll Be Gone in the Dark yesterday and enjoyed it.  It did break my heart a bit every time there was a section that started with a comment about it being compiled from Michelle's notes/ old articles/ etc.

I hope the book generates the right interest in the case to finally get it solved.

[RainbowBrite]

On ‎4‎/‎21‎/‎2018 at 8:24 PM, EllieH said:

I finished I'll Be Gone in the Dark yesterday and enjoyed it.  It did break my heart a bit every time there was a section that started with a comment about it being compiled from Michelle's notes/ old articles/ etc.

I hope the book generates the right interest in the case to finally get it solved.

There will be a press conference at noon today (PST) announcing something related to the EARONS case; gossip online is that a former police officer has been arrested, with 100% DNA match!

[starri]

I’m kind of tearing up. I have no idea what level of involvement she did or didn’t have with this, but I’m still going to give her the credit. She did it. 

[GaT]

Has anyone read The Foundling : The True Story of a Kidnapping, a Family Secret, and My search for the Real Me? I've got it on my possibles list, but I'm waiting for the paperback. I just wondered if someone had already read it & what they thought of it.

[Lovecat]

On 4/25/2018 at 2:36 PM, GaT said:

Has anyone read The Foundling : The True Story of a Kidnapping, a Family Secret, and My search for the Real Me? I've got it on my possibles list, but I'm waiting for the paperback. I just wondered if someone had already read it & what they thought of it.

I haven't, but ironically my eyes just skimmed over the title on my own "to-read" list when I was adding Michelle McNamara's book!  If you don't know anything about the case, 20/20 has been following it for years (the original story was presented by Barbara Walters, and I believe there have been updates as well); some or all of the segments are on YouTube.

[GaT]

4 hours ago, Lovecat said:

I haven't, but ironically my eyes just skimmed over the title on my own "to-read" list when I was adding Michelle McNamara's book!  If you don't know anything about the case, 20/20 has been following it for years (the original story was presented by Barbara Walters, and I believe there have been updates as well); some or all of the segments are on YouTube.

I might have originally heard about it there or on Dateline. The whole thing is pretty whacked.