Murder Books

A great 1st book by the author filled with suspense & humor. The story keeps you glued to the pages wanting to know what happens next. Can't wait for the next book from Kiki Curry!

There is never a dull moment in this fast-paced thriller. Mysteries are
my favorite genre, and I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Curry kept my
attention with several humorous subplots going on, woven into the death
of a girl in Marble Falls, Texas.
I don't believe in coincidences, like the story suggests and to follow
your intuition. Today, after reading Crows Calling, I found and bought
a piece of art named, "Yellow Bird Ascending." It has the Kachina gods
representing the animal totems. The bird representing the soul.
In this book, the story told of the Indian lore of the crow medicine
being the avenger of truth. It was interesting how the plot captured
the Native American ways of seeing nature as a way Spirit speaks to us
if we have the eyes to see and the ears to hear in a very believable
way.
Crows Calling would make an excellent movie because of the nonstop
action, and humor. I loved the characters and would like to see them
continued in her Curry's future books. By the way, if it is ever made
into a movie, I see David Leach as a character, or maybe Billy Bob
Thornton as one of the thugs.
I can't wait for her next novel to come out. I read her bio on her
website and noticed she was a standup comic. This really was apparent
reading this entertaining book!

As a screenwriter living in Texas, I found this book to be very interesting. Set in the Texas hill country, it is rich with local color. Kiki Curry gives us a new age spiritual woman's point of view of events concerning the death of a young woman in Marble Falls, Texas. The book contains lots of humor and suspense. Curry's narration is very visual and filled with Texan idioms and cultural references. In addition to a fun supspense story, it is an interesting cultural study.

Fun story that as a new Texan, I was able to recognize many landmarks! (Like Stephen King always made me feel about New England). The characters in the story were memorable and endearing. Quite a few sounded like people that would be fun to meet (if they exsisted of course!)
I would recommend this as a entertaining, easy read and I hope to see more from Kiki in the future!

I could not put this book down once I started to read it. Not only does Kiki keep you guessing she keep you thinking. The book was original, engrossing, and endlessly inventive; my only problem with the book was that it ended way too soon. To the Author - Please write a follow-up book very soon.

I was at a book store and recognized the name of the Author (a neighbor and friend). So I purchased the book and was mesmerized. As one who sided for the death penalty I went from for to ambivalent to against. Professor Diaz is a humble and brilliant man, gifted with humor and a perfect family. I never realized he had a book out (he never told me). I highly recommend it.

www.DrJosephDiaz.com
I wrote this book a few years ago, and was amazed at the response that followed. Within a year of its release readers from all over the world were contacting me to tell me that they were deeply affected by the book. I have to say that my intention wasn't to affect anyone, but to put down in words (to the best of my ability) what it looks, sounds, and feels like to sit inches away from a violent sociopathic killer as he is being executed. And, more importantly, what it feels like as a regular person off the street to watch a stranger being killed... and then share the horrible thoughts that come in the hours that follow. As a compassionate, Christian man, it was the most disturbing event in my life. It was, in so very many ways, unreal. I tried my best to capture that feeling and those thoughts in this book, and countless readers around the world have written to tell me that I succeeded.

This new edition of the book is updated in many, many ways. I noticed problems with the first book at once, but it had gained such a large audience that it was decided that we should leave it as it is. With this new edition, I've fixed the parts I didn't like, made needed corrections, changed the layout, and the cover to match the content of the book. You can find a description of the changes on the website WWW.DRJOSEPHDIAZ.COM

I'm very excited for this new book to be released, and again, I hope the book affects you in the same way that it did me to write it.

Joseph

I was the officer who arrested Mr. Castro in 1986 just after he murdered the man in Ocala. I was present during his interview when he described the murders he committed. I look forward to reading this book (ordered 9-10-07). Bobby Boatwright

This book is a cant put down type book. Things I hadn't known about various killers were in this book. This is a in debth acct of anything involving the killer, it breaks down everything for you, the different types of killers, ect. You may not read everything about a killer in the first part of the book but as you read on you are going to read more than enough on each one, even some you've never heard of, before I could finish the last couple of chapters I had gotten to the point that I couldn't read anymore about these people, the things they've done and everything was more than the human mind could absorb. I am a Christian and believe in the death penalty, as is the way God deals with this in the Old Testiment and for good reason, they can't pass on the horrible things they've done this way. After reading this book you understand no two killers are the same.

Edward Castro was a piece of work. He was a sociopathic serial killer who enjoyed his life of crime way too much. Professor Joseph Diaz is a Professor of Sociology who specializes in criminology and antisocial behavior, has a wife and kids, and is a very Christian man. Professor Diaz was also a person who used to be ambivalent about the death penalty. The Execution Of A Serial Killer is Professor Diaz' very personal story of how he came to watch Edward Castro executed by the State of Florida, and what effect this event had on his thinking. I was thoroughly involved with Diaz' physical and mental journey, and highly recommend this book, especially to those folks who are either ambivalent about the death penalty or pro-death penalty, but couldn't see themselves pushing the button personally.

A terrific read from start to finish. Loved these tales by Dennis Palumbo. Not only are the stories interesting puzzles to solve-- "Okay, Isaac, what do you think?" which allows the reader to participate fully in solving the crime given the clues presented--they are also great fun to read. The characters have unique voices and the stories are laced with a lot of humor. I can't imagine anyone not enjoying these short stories. Better yet, I challenge anyone to just read one of them and stop. I couldn't put this book down. It's that addicting. Bravo, Dennis! Loved your book.

The appeal of the mystery novel has always been their built-in game - figuring out who the culprit is before the protagonist does. "From Crime to Crime: Mind-Boggling Tales of Mystery and Murder" invites readers to play that game once more with an anthology of short mystery stories following love-starved husbands, deadly psychotherapy sessions, and the gritty world at the turn of the century. All of the tales are as intriguing as they are entertaining, making "From Crime to Crime: Mind-Boggling Tales of Mystery and Murder" highly recommended for community library mystery collections.

I'm embarrassed to admit that though there are several mini-whodunits squeezed into this entertaining book, I guessed a total of nada. Lest you think I have no business reading mysteries, I did pick up a few clues and managed one or two close calls. But, alas, I'm no Isaac.

The Smart Guys Marching Society is a testosterone, food and brewskis fueled meeting of the minds that nets hints, strange facts and surprising results as well as a lot of fun. I know these guys, and you will likely, too, if you spend any time hanging out with groups of men. If you merged the essence and personalities of Psych, Monk, The Office and The Big Chill together with Agatha Christie and Watson, you might be able to get a feel for the Marching Society get togethers.

A smattering of bonus stories introduce other characters, but hands down, The Smart Guys Marching Society wins my vote as a charming, snarky, good time. I appreciated the blend of several stories, the book was easy to read and gave my mind plenty of details to sort out...fruitlessly in my case... but still entertaining. I'm looking forward to more stories by Dennis Palumbo.

Sensitivity warning...adult language and some locker-room type humor pepper the book. There is little violence so unless you are very sensitive, it's safe to read after dark.

Dennis Palumbo absolutely fascinated me with his new book FROM CRIME TO CRIME: MIND-BOGGLINGS TALES OF MYSTERY AND MURDER. In nine tales about his Smart Guys Marching Society, he delivers traditional locked room puzzles, red herrings, and clues aplenty for armchair detectives everywhere. But the world he represents in his writing is our present and our world, thoroughly seeded with pop culture references you just don't find in the Golden Age of Mystery tales by Agatha Christie or Sherlock Holmes.

More than that, Palumbo - at least for a time - gave me back one of my childhood heroes: Isaac Asimov. I read all of Asimov's science fiction stories when I was a kid, haunted the library and the used book stores for his books. I loved the robot stories (I, ROBOT, THE REST OF THE ROBOTS, and the R. Daneel Olivaw/Lije Baley novels).

In my late teens, while reading my other favorite genre, mystery, I discovered Asimov's "Black Widowers" stories in the pages of ELLERY QUEEN MYSTERY MAGAZINE. I enjoyed the brain teasers, the puzzles, the characters, and the dialogue presented in the tales. Most of all, I enjoyed Henry, the waiter that eventually unraveled every mystery brought before the group.

Palumbo's Smart Guys Marching Society consists of an ex-military intelligence operative turned reporter, an actor, a lawyer, and a psychologist. All four are middle-aged, married men that get together once a month for serious talks, food, and the chance to get away. Inevitably, though, the subject always turns to murder.

There is a fifth member of the group. He's an older man with lambchop sideburns, an affinity for the Golden Age of science fiction, and who seems to know something about everything in the world. He's a keen observer, quick with a bit of humor or a turn of phrase, and someone I felt like I knew from the instant he stepped onto the page. This is Palumbo's homage to Isaac Asimov, of course, and to the beloved Black Widowers' tales.

When I sat down to read the collection of nine stories about the Smart Guys, I was instantly at home. The resonance with Asimov's series was just too deliberate to miss for anyone that's read those stories. However, Palumbo has updated the characters, the situations, and the language accordingly. There is adult language and adult situations are discussed in a frank manner.

Palumbo also plays fairly with his audience, which is another thing that Asimov did. Most of the time I figured out the mystery, but not till the end of the story. But that's how it's supposed to be. A good mystery reader/armchair detective SHOULD be rewarded for his/her attention and eye for detail.

Sadly, I got so caught up in the mixture of the new and the familiar that and ended up reading the whole book. Including the three one-off mystery stories at the end. I found a treasure and inadvertently inhaled it all in one sitting. It was literally gone before I knew it.

The author's writing and mysteries are engaging and compelling enough. In these nine stories, Palumbo started to forage out from the beginning conceit and started to elaborate more on his world, bringing in more characters and building a history of everything that had gone on before. I'm sure there are many more tales to tell.

I truly hope these nine stories won't be the only ones about the Smart Guys. I'd love to see them again, and once more battle wits to see if I can figure out the mystery before Isaac explains it all.

In the recent spate of American murder mysteries involving groups of men (The Dante Club; The Mephisto Club), Dennis Palumbo's From Crime to Crime describes guys who are much more in line with my tastes--a bunch of middle-aged slobs like me, whose priority at each monthly meeting is the food. And while the literary clues and solutions of Harvard's Dante Club were beyond me, the basic tales of everyday American crime stories are culled from the headlines.

The premise continues the classic "armchair-detecting" of the great mystery writers, where four men--a lawyer, a psychotherapist, a journalist, and an actor--are presented with a murder case (encountered in their jobs or through associates), and where the "clues" are presented simultaneously to the reader. In theory, the reader should be able to solve the mystery, but most readers will miss that one small detail, that one small nuance of criminal analysis, that we aren't smart enough to "catch."

Through the course of each story, the "catch" is provided by Isaac, a peripheral character in the stories initially (the visiting uncle of the psychotherapist's wife), who quietly sits by and takes in the details, muses on various analyses by the group, and then simply resolves the mystery. Reminiscent of Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple and others, but without the arrogance of Sherlock Holmes, Isaac's solutions rely upon a lifetime of "common sense" and experience as a "jack-of-all trades," rather than solely on the "little gray cells." And the minute that Isaac sums up the case, the reader is struck by the simplicity of just following the clues, as well as the irritating, "why didn't I think of that?"

"From Crime to Crime" a "tour de force" of "locked room" mysteries and "arm-chair detecting, is an easy read. However, the reader will be tempted to go back and read the stories again, looking for that all too obvious clue that was right in front of your eyes. Doing it twice will lead to an appreciation of how complex and brilliant the story structure is, and how Dennis Palumbo has creatively styled this material to fit a favorite genre among many mystery fans.

Jim Denova, Ph. D.
Pittsburgh, Pa.

fantastic plot and characters, but i like the anime a little bit better. but then the only thing wrong with the anime is that it stops at 12 episodes whilst the manga continues. however, both are wonderful and should be watched/read.

Loveless is one of the best manga ever. I loved it so much, that I rushed to buy every one the bookstore had one sale. Ritsuka is hilariously cute. Soubi is just hilarious in general.

Everyone around me seemed to be reading "Loveless". I finally gave in and read the first volume and I'm glad. The storyline was very unique and the artwork is beautiful. It is all around a good piece of work and is enjoyable to read. I couldn't put it down!

I don't think my review matters any, seeing as this book gets 5 stars all the way across!

It's a great book, it's new and interesting. I came into this having seen the entire anime series first. I noticed that Ritsuka is more outwardly expressive in the manga series. I liked that a lot. It didn't make Soubi seem like such a perv in that aspect.

It's a great story, romantic, funny at times, adorable. Just a great book.

New to manga/anime/yaoi/shonen-ai/shota, as of about four months ago, I encountered Loveless very early in my quest for the secrets of this amazing literary form, and I must say I got the impression all anima/manga was as profound and exquisite as Loveless. I saw the first episode on the Newtype free DVD and have been screaming and weeping and clapping my hands ever since. In spite of the ethereal beauty of the anime in vol.1 (or because of it), the suffering seeps through immediately. You know this child (Ritsuka) is abused one way or another, and that there are real secrets here as moving and significant as in any great work of literature. You know what you've got to work with as an empathetic viewer/reader: BIG HEARTACHE.

The longing is tremendous, and manifests in the yearning for each other among the other characters as well(Yuiko, Yayoi-san, the teacher and the therapist, Koya and Yamato, not to mention Ritsuka's poor mother)almost as much in the dance of relationship (whatever its nature)between Ritsuka and Soubi. There is throughout constant pleasurable tension in which the heart slowly breaks. This is not frivolous stuff. The lightness and humor which appears often only draws us into greater identification with the characters, and enriches the story.

The magical/fantasy element in the series suggests the truth of psychological struggle in the realm of the unconscious, and yet the action of story takes place in the world of realism, of believable emotional and social conflict. And while there are many conventions of the anime/manga I've seen (fighting with magical or scientific powers, high school or Jr. High social interaction, the necessity of loyalty and partneship in war, the awakening of love) Kouga takes these conventions to a level both more realistic and more sublime.

While Ritsuka's suffering is all-apparent and heartwrenching, I found myself worrying a lot about Soubi. He has lost Seimei, the Beloved, and will not have him back, however Ritsuka may have awakened him from the breakdown Kio describes. We also suspect he will not get what he really longs for however things turn out, that he will be the most tragic figure of all in this story. In addition, he is the so-called adult, who must not show his suffering, who must appear cool and mature as a model for these younger children. Soubi's role is in a way sadest and most sympathetic of all.

I did not at first know Earthian was also Yun Kouga's work. The contrasts and similarities are intriguing. In my opinion, the style of the art work in Loveless is much more beautiful, or perhaps just more to my taste. I will have to go back and check out the complexity I know Earthian contains. I want more Loveless and I'm afraid the next manga is all we're going to get. However, vol. 3 of the anime left things delicately open-ended, so maybe we're not going to be frustrated. Maybe Kouga-sensei will make some more gorgeous, thoughtful works of her beautiful art.

All the characters in the book are so real, they remind me of a lot of people that I know. From the first sentence to the last, the book keeps you guessing. Will there be a sequel I wonder. I hope so. Lets encourage the author by supporting him. Buy this exciting and humorous book. You'll be glad you did.

It is too bad that a big name critic has not reviewed this book. So many more people would have the opportunity to read this exciting, fun story. Get a copy while it is still available.

Chapter 13, titled MANSFIELD, is only two pages long, but it is packed with dynamite dialogue and descriptions of the room called THE CLOSET. Do yourself a favor. Read it !

The high-profile Law Firm of Daniels & Rumm, with its wonderful characters like Jacq Daniels, Jarvis Rumm, Marcus Lambrusco, Sherry Weinstein, Gina Collins and Brandy Jones (just to name a few), weaves a wonderful story of suspense and excitement. I enjoyed the names of all the great actors in the book. Get a copy. It's one of a kind!

'The curved blade of the knife flashed forward and deep.'
That's the first line in the book...enough to carry you to the second line, and so on. Couldn't put the story down. Scary, but lots of humor, too. Loved it!

This is one of those books you can't put down, very sad. Well written.

Anyone who opposes the death penalty should read this book.

Why the people who committed this crime are still drawing breath is beyond my comprehension.

This book first interested me because I'm from Tennessee and then because it occured in my lifetime. I can't believe this murder took place. The most devastating part, after finding the victim, is the fact that the death sentence does not mean the death sentence. If I was a member of the victim's family; I just don't know how I would hold it together after all they've been through. When a case is as open and shut as this case was, I don't understand the rights of the accused. Obviously, the murderer does not think about thier victim's rights (to live); so why should the murderer be treated any differently.

I've read many true crime books and this one is a favorite. I absolutely could not put it down. The crime was horrific but the book is very well written and your heart will bleed for the family.

It breaks my heart to read what Debbie Groseclose's family went through after her murder. Beware, the court descriptions of what happened to her as she was killed are very graphic. A great read. It reads like a fictional mystery book but the fact that you know everything that happened in the book actually happened makes it chilling.

This 10th entry in Victoria Thompson's Gaslight Series is indeed a winner. I have noted how each book in the series seems to get stronger and this is no exception. We also get a resolution to Sarah Brandt's husband's murder which occurred three or four years before the timing of the first book in the series. We also get a keen insight into Sarah's nursemaid Maeve and her intelligence and quickness. We learn that she is a girl that is used to living by her wits, and this stands her in good stead when she offers to help Malloy and Sarah track down the killer of Sarah's husband. I love the way these characters are developing, and I love the stories. The plots are tight and very fast-moving. I truly look forward to the next book in this series.

Loved it. Another enjoyable addition to the Gaslight Mysteries. I just hope Victoria Thompson keeps them coming! These are books to take to the beach or cuddle up with on a cold day.

I've become a fan of this series and I was glad there was finally a resolution to the murder of Sarah Brandt's husband, Dr. Thomas Brandt. It was quite a page turner and there are so many suspects, it keeps you guessing until the end. I was satisfied that there is great progress in the romance between Sarah Brandt and Detective Sergeant Frank Malloy. I was also surprised by who the murderer was at the end. I can't wait to read the next book!

This is one very large suprise, I usually can figure fairly close who the killer is before it is noted by the author. This was not happening is this book. Cant wait for the next in the series, Go Victoria!!!!

Victoria Thompson outdid herself on this book. Finally a Sarah Brandt mystery that didn't reveal itself several chapters into the book. She kept me guessing until the end and now I am anxiously awaiting her next installment in the Gaslight Mystery Series.

A young girl, Skye Dancer, has to live with the torment of losing her mother at an early age. Raised by her father, Skye is lonely, drawn to once place to seek comfort. Lake Odawa brought peace to Skye. She never knew why.

As time passes, Skye encounters a man named Charlie Crane, "prospector." Skye had an eerie feeling when around him, but never knew why. She never knew Charlie abducted her mother, and held her captive in a cave. Charlie is a killer, someone who is not pleasant to be around.

Ms. Pinord did a fantastic job, plotting and revealing secrets in Skye Dancer. It is a page turner, one that I did not want to put down. It is very suspensful and will make you want to read more. Just when you think you have reached the ending, Ms. Pinord slips in more a little more suspense.

Author Lila Pinord uses the pages of Skye Dancer to spin an eerie tale. Her descriptions of the old man, a recluse, Charlie Crane leave you looking over your shoulder at every person with watery eyes and coveralls. The backdrop of Washington State and misty-gray Lake Odawa create the perfect canvas as your mind draws the pictures. The pictures turn into a story that leave you anxious, sad, and terrified all within just a few pages. I recommend this book. Be prepared to read it straight through. You won't want to put it down.
P. J. Grondin

All I can say is WOW. I finished this adventure tale in two readings. Lila Pinord's writing style is so descriptive that I found myself watching the story unfold from within the covers of the book. I felt that I was walking, talking and walking with the characters as well as sharing their fears, anguish and joys. I actually feared the morbid behaviour of serial killer Charlie Crane throughout the entire novel. The ending was spun with adventurous twists and dangers that lurked behind every bend. I'm ashamed to admit this, but I actually shed a tear at the warm family ending. After reading this suspenseful tale, it will be a long, long time before I walk in the woods alone or enter a cave again.

Lila Pinord is a wonderful lady who looks and is one of the sweetest persons on earth...who just has the ability to scare the reader to the point of sleeping with the lights on for a month...
In each of Ms. Pinord's books, the Native Americn culture is almost a character. Indeed Ms. Pinord was raised on the Quinnault Indian Reservation in Washington, and grew up learning what most cultures have forgotten to do to their descendents, their cultures' history.
In Skye Dancer she creates one nasty villian, Charlie Crane. He is this creepy man who hangs around Lake Odawa...he gives everyone the creeps..
One day. long ago, a beautiful young Native American woman, Jessie Dancer, disappears. In those days, sometimes women were taken from other tribes as wives, but she didn't have that fate. Charlie Crane confused Jessie with a long lost woman in his life. He tries to make a home with Jessie - but she fights and will not talk to him.
She then switches tactics and starts to be nice, and tries to run away only to be thrown into a pit like an animal.
Years later, Jessie's oldest daughter Skye becomes a part of the solution to the mystery by the help of her friends and the love of her mother.
The ending is one of the most beautiful and spiritual I have read in a long time.
Love and spirit comquer evil - may take a while...but...
An excellent read - all of Lila Pinord's books are excellent.

take... one part of a picture book - like description from someone who is obviously in close contact with Mother Nature, two parts of devilish wrong doings, experienced and vividly explained by blood related women, three parts of instances where the native American gift of `envisioning' adds to the mystery, four parts of cold blooded killings from a man who calls himself a ...WHAT?...a Prospector... and countless parts of spine tingling chills and you end up with a wonderful, scary, well told tale.

I might be off here or there on my measurements but let me tell you; the ingredients are what count.
In Skye Dancer, Lila L. Pinord has brought together the right recipe for a story I can only describe with words previously used by reviewers: creepy and hair - raising.

I enjoyed this tale very much, however; and I can NOT recommend it to be read....in the dark with JUST a reading light...

Rebecca Lerwill, author of 'Relocating Mia'.

The Kingsbury Run murders were gruesome and the killer seemingly mocked Cleveland, Ohio, Public Safety Director Eliot Ness in executing the perfect crime.

The crimes - still unsolved - were committed in the mid- to late-1930s with the victims surgically butchered; the heads, arms, legs and torsos cut by someone who seemingly had a medical expertise in removing body parts. Only three of the fourteen victims were ever identified.

Ness - who took center-stage in the investigation - was criticized for the inability in finding the killer. Police detective Peter Merylo actually believed that there were at least 40 murders in Cleveland, Youngstown and Pittsburgh, Pa., spanning three decades that were perpetrated by the individual.

Torso captures the frustration of Ness and the concerns of the public and city leaders while discussing the various theories and suspects. In as much a political as safety decision, Ness ended up raiding & burning several shantytowns in The Flats to clear out an area where it was felt the murderer could feast on any number of "nameless" victims.

According to The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, a film on the murders could be released in 2008. While that may bring new focus - and books - on the crime, Torso will surely remain an outstanding resource for those seeking an understanding of those frightening years.

Very good. Accurate, concise, and interesting. Could have used more elaboration on both the potential connected crimes and the Elliot Ness socialite nut goofiness. Best book on the Kingsbury Run Butcher yet.

In the 1930s over a dozen murders were attributed to the "Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run", a ravine that runs through Cleveland Ohio and contains this stream and railroad yards. Most of these bodies were unidentified: headless, the arms, legs, and torso were cut up by someone who knew anatomy or butchering. It was never solved, altho one suspect was made to confess, repudiated this confession, and then found a suicide in jail. Such serial murders were rare in America; earlier serial murderers did it for money and left this trail. No motive was ever established for these murders. Most sex murderers are the product of large cities, which have anonymous victims or perpetrators. Chapter Eleven summarizes these cases.

This book is about the later career of Eliot Ness. After Chicago, he was put in charge of the Alcoholic Tax Unit of norther Ohio. He cleaned out bootleggers, hitting a still every day. Organized crime made Cleveland a safe haven for criminals on the run. Corruption had spread everywhere; neighborhood crime had greatly increased. Harold Burton became mayor, and chose Eliot Ness as Director of Public Safety to oversee the police and firemen. (Burton later became a Senator, a friend of Truman, and was appointed to the Supreme Court.) The ineffectiveness of the police was due to widespread corruption and complacency. With Prohibition gone, Ness prosecuted gambling and union racketeering. Ness cultivated a good relationship with reporters, and got favorable publicity. He tried to purge corrupt policemen but was met with silence. Then a police captain was caught in a cemetery lot racket. Another owned a restaurant which fronted for a gambling room. The bodies found in Kingsbury Run highlighted the corruption.

Cleveland had been the worst city (after Los Angeles) for traffic deaths and injuries. Ness purged the traffic division, began arresting drunk drivers, prosecuted ticket fixing, gave harsher penalties for unpaid fines, and started tougher automobile inspections. Ness promoted traffic safety with a public awareness campaign. He began an Emergency Patrol with first aid training to reach any accident within two minutes. This cut traffic deaths by half, and he received national recognition. Some of the increased traffic fines were put back into the police budget. Squad cars now had two-way radios. A single phone call brought police assistance within 60 seconds. Ness was criticized for wasting tax dollars, but in one year overall crime dropped 38%, robberies by 50%! Public success was followed by private problems: divorce, late night socializing, stories of drinking.

Ness later resigned to join the Federal Social Protection Program during WW 2. Afterwards, he became a businessman but was not successful. His campaign for Mayor of Cleveland flopped. He later met Oscar Fraley and began to write his book. Just before its publication, Ness died of a heart attack; he never knew of its success.

Not long after his "Untouchables" days, Eliot Ness experienced many successes as Public Safety Director of Cleveland (OH). Unfortunately, capturing the 'Torso Murderer' was not among them. A relatively little known crime, this serial killer haunted Ness' time in Cleveland. This book is both a look at Ness himself after his Chicago accomplishments, and an examination of one of America's greatest unsolved serial killings. If you are interested in either subject, this is an excellent purchase.

The book's title is somewhat misleading us into believing that the 1930s `The Untouchables' character of Elliot Ness ran a serial killer investigation. Half this book is the life and times of Ness who happened to be Director of Public Safety in Cleveland while his skid row turned up mostly unidentifiable dismembered remains of vagrants, it was Ness who gained the most attention throughout the investigation by eventually burning down the homeless slums of the Kingsbury Run district in an attempt to clean out, tag, and fingerprint potential victims in the making, probably destroying the killer's Cleveland homeless hunting grounds, also a turning point event in Ness's career, a prohibitionist alcohol distillery buster, who once put away the national crime lord Al Capone, sadly failed systematically to progress his ratings with the city, eventually becoming involved in a hit and run accident that cost him an election run as Mayor, the over-hyped but none-the-less interesting account of Ness is all here, but maybe a little bit more than a seasoned non-crime fiction reader would care to expect, means you get only about 100 pages of the Torso investigation, where we concentrate on the city coroner Dr. Samuel Gerber and Detective Peter Merylo.

Ness comes into play now and again, obviously as a propaganda figurehead designed to play to the media, backfires most of the time he does appear by getting involved in the wrong thing at the wrong time, still had a very high success rate in exposing corruption, and did work on a number of highly constructive policies like getting kids off the streets and stressing the fight against disease, obviously behind the scenes worked with the ""good guy"" force heavies getting all the important political prohibition work done (alcohol prohibition was a failure not because alcohol is safe to use but because prohibition itself actually increases the prohibited drugs risks, usage rates and overall crime goes up because of it, a statistical fact). It is reading the situation of these same propaganda violent cops becoming cold case serial killer squads, even before the term serial killer was used, makes it an absurd situation of bad police management for the 21st century reader to contend with, and was the reason Ness went bust in the end and even more importantly, why the killer got away with so much in the first place.

Thus the investigation in Torso is not like any other, the cops are a different breed (just like out of a comic book meaning useless in real life) and the concept of `stranger killing' was not even present then. The classic book "The Complete History of Jack the Ripper by Philip Sugden" is based on the police records at Scotland Yard of the investigation at the end of the 19th century, news paper clippings and various memorandums that followed with surprising valid detail (all 500 pages of it). Torso reads like trying to find anything factual as if anyone except the leads could read, write or file reports, pounded and smashed their way across Cleveland in the hopes of stumbling across a sexual sadist who would suddenly admit to picking up homeless people, decapitating them with a large blade while they where asleep and or tying them up beforehand so they could not escape, a paraphiliac, expertly removed all the appendages after death with `knowledge of surgery' and bisected the body, sometimes used chemicals or freezers to keep his victims, would then wrap the pieces and begin his very strange dumping process which ranged from never-found victims, to victim's body parts appearing in the middle of the city for everyone to see, going to great lengths to leave two incomplete victims from different time periods together in the same spot, it stands to reason that Dr. Samuel Gerber and Detective Peter Merylo would give us a much better angle, and it is with the medical evidence that Gerber comes off as a sort of new-wave criminology serial killer expert, knowingly prevented other coroners from going near the victim's body parts, rightly asserts himself as a scientist in among all the investigative despair, leading some to suspect and challenge Gerber himself, after his conclusions that a recent severed leg was the work of the same hand, this statement exonerated various numbers of peoples who where obviously rotting in jail on suspicion of being the killer.

Merylo correctly guessed that the killer was somewhat mobile in the area and probably moved on after the killings that did not stop at #12, Merylo at the end of his career guessed that it was probably above forty. Dr. Francis E. Sweeney is the mystery Ness suspect not named in this book but the evidence is circumstantial at best. Gerber may have given the investigators a better idea of who there man was if he did not also subscribe himself to propaganda theories (druggie maniac). It is almost a certainty that if the investigators conducted better searches of abandoned train carts that they would have discovered the killer's `laboratory', a series of abandoned carts containing three different bodies that came from Youngstown after being there for almost a year, was almost certainly that unacknowledged lab of his, but Gerber did not examine these bodies. From the victims that could be identified all where prostitutes or homosexuals. The killer probably killed them away from his home, suggesting that he lived homelessly or with a family, certainly hung around the lower classes of society, befriended vagrants and some other loiterers who where happy enough to sleep with him in train carts (if this fact you are reading now had have been known at the start it would have probably prevented more death), resided in the general area and probably killed and mutilated several times before the first official Torso was found, meaning he learned his `surgical skill' that way.

He should have been caught earlier. Torso is a shallow account of the subject matter but still essential non-fiction crime literature.

I read somewhere on the internet a few weeks ago about the Zebra murders and wondered what the heck was that about, and how it was said that the main-stream-media had ignored this huge news item and then the book about it. BINGO! I knew I had to read the book right away, and did! It is true, like any good crime story, once you start reading it, you can't put it down. The chapter about the tracing of the gun was an interesting short story in itself.

The murders occurred in 1973 in San Francisco, and I talked to some people about it and they never heard of it, and neither did I ever recall hearing anything about it myself. But, basically these murders held a terror siege on the city of San Francisco for nearly six months! The brutality of these murders was shocking! Who they were committed by, for, and against was just as shocking. The story ends each chapter with a short memorial of each victim as the body counts begins to build up.

Though the story is well-written by a capable author, I must say there was one part in the book that was confusing and I thought the author could have stated it better. It read, "While the white family had its picnic and Ward Anderson visted his friend, the two black Muslims known an Skullcap and Rims had a philosophical discussion on the subject of murder". This part had me thinking that Ward was talking to the two Muslims as pals and I only realized this was a mistake several pages down as the story wasn't making any sense.

So, why was this book and and essentially racist crime news ignored by the big media? Sigh... somethings never change (look at today's current events). It involved race and religious beliefs, something the Left and the MSM won't touch unless it coincides with their agenda. This time it didn't, and thus, the deafening silence.

This book recounts the horrifying crime spree known as the Zebra killings that happened in the Bay Area in the early 1970's. This spree, committed by black members of an offshoot of the Muslim religion, was done in an attempt for the murderers to win "Death Angel" status. This dubious honor was given to any "true believer" who murdered a certain number of white children, white women, or white men, or a combination of the three. (One received more credit for slaying a child or woman than a man supposedly because it would take more fortitude to do it. However, the author believes [with good reason, I think] it had more to do with the murderers being cowards afraid of anyone who might fight back.) Taking place over several months, the killers took several lives and wounded others in their barbaric attempt to win Death Angel wings. The author does a splendid job in recreating the events as well as allowing the reader to get inside the head of the people who actually believed it to be an honor to murder others. What is even more chilling than the specific Zebra murders is the fact that other Death Angels supposedly existed in California and could be walking the streets even today. For those with a strong stomach wishing to find out about a savage wave of crime (a wave that has strangely been forgotten), this is a must read.

"Zebra" is focused on the related crimes in San Francisco. But the "Zebra" crimes were actually happening state-wide. They were racially motivated, a psychopathic race to kill enough innocent victims to rate the killer as a "Death Angel."

Some of the killers were intellectually deficient and almost always chose the victims at random, on impulse. They were encouraged to seek out children or women as victims.

True to the expectations of some investigators, the killers were cowards and offered no resistance when arrested.

The name "Zebra" was inspired by the "Z as in Zebra" radio channel that was reserved for the investigation. Although there are other racial connotations for the case name.

The statistics in San Francisco were 23 assaults resulting in 15 deaths and numerous survivors scarred in one way or the other from the assault that they survived. Mr. Howard does a commendable job portraying the victims as everyday people rather than merely numbered victims.

I echo the surprise of the other reviewer that this case hasn't recieved more attention over the years. It was a huge case,more like conspiracy,of murder throughout California that had as amany as 70+ victims!

Clark Howard's "Zebra" is a very good read for any true crime reader.

considering just how limited/censored the info on this case is, Zebra is an OK read, I wish it was more from the police perspective as the killer perspective has to have some serious conjecture. Why this case was never fully solved is astounding , they convict a few people for a 14 murders, when there were perhaps dozens of killers and 70+ confirmed murders, the pattern was Black Muslims, so how hard could it have been to pursue that avenue.

I simply cannot understand why the media covers up stories like this but gives stories that are far less provoking front page news. It is frightening to know that many of the ideals revealed in this novel still exist today. I highly recommend this novel for anyone interested in true crime. It was so well written, it was easy to foget that these events actually happened.