Murder Books

Scottish true-crime writer Carol Anne Davis (who blogs at the outstanding In Cold Blog) released this collection of profiles of deviant duos in the UK in 2005. Three years later, this chilling collection is available to U.S. readers in a paperback printing. Davis discusses the most famous UK serial murder couples -- the moors murders and the case of Fred and Rosemary West - plus over a dozen more murdering couples from around the globe. She pays special attention to her subjects' childhoods, cataloging the physical and sexual abuse that is so common in their backgrounds.

Carol Anne Davis organizes her crime profiles by type -- couples who kill together vs. couples in which one partner is exonerated vs. homosexual couples, and so on. She does the headline-grabbing cases well, and introduces the reader to a number of other lesser-known (but no less fascinating) serial murderers. Her essays are complete criminal profiles, including the detective work required to take these criminals down. Highly recommended for true crime fans.

COUPLES WHO KILL: PROFILES OF DEVIANT DUOS is a chilling study of what drives attractive male cousins to rape and kill ten young women, why an altar girl and her boyfriend torture their victims, and more. These killers make up only twenty percent of murderers, but often are serial killers and responsible for terrible murders. Thirteen case studies are examined in a study which combines research with interviews with experts and surviving victims to make for eye-opening revelations about couples who kill together.

I can definately see why this book is a classic. Dostoyevesky writes with such intelligence and skill. It is as if you are viewing a murder from the mind of the murderer. It is a page turner. For anyone who HAD to read it when you were younger, please read it again for fun. It so interesting to read. This traslation comes with some helpful tips and is a very convenient size. I highly recommend this book, as well as this version.

This book is excellent but readers should take the time to read the Translator's Preface before jumping in. This will help to understand the names of the characters and other nuances that apply to a book translated from another language. The book is about redemption. It's worth the effort to get through it. I woud not have understood or appreciated the book in my youth.

Joyce Spizer is the only writer who could possibly makes us feel outrage on behalf of a monster. How does she accomplish this? By showing us the failings in the justice system and the social supports and the schools that could have prevented the deaths of the 70 people of which Glen Rogers has killed, that we know about. Joyce's most shocking revelation is not that Glen may be the one who actually killed Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson. This will most likely be a matter of fierce debate, as will her contention that Glen Rogers' depravity is partly due to his unfit parents, who have rendered all but one of their seven children forever damaged (they have 300 arrests between them.) Her insight into judicial errors of L.A. County and Florida makes you take seriously her argument that the law enforcement officials who failed to stop Glen Rogers before he killed his first victim are as much to blame for the ruined lives as Glen himself. Joyce sets out to do something revolutionary, and succeeds in sounding a "wake-up call" to all those who just wash their hands of troubled at-risk juveniles.

I haven't ever picked up a true crime book before. I really enjoyed this book. You can tell it was well researched! Some of the family interviews must have been very difficult. I learned a great deal about the mind of a serial killer, or at least this one in particular.Also, I learned a whole lot about trial law and porphyria (the disease Glenn has). It was very insightful.

The book tells the dark story of how the Catholic church with its liberation theology fought a battle in Latin America defending the poor and oppressed peasants and Indians against landowners, rancheros, paramilitary police, US backed dictatorships and the CIA.

In Honduras the wealthy ranchers did not want to let the bishops fulfill their jobs since it increased agitation amongst the peasants. Hector Gallego was one priest who didn't let himself be silenced. He was killed when he was thrown in the pacific ocean from a helicopter by what believes to be agents from the Panamanian police. Canadian Protestant missionary Gilbet A.Reimer and Father Ivan Betancur where also victims of landowners violence against priests, landowners who called the new testament "a communist book". The CIA was "particularly valuable in providing full information on certain priests-personal data, studies, friends, addresses, writings, contact abroad, etc." Between 1975 and 1978 twelve foreign missionaries had been arrested and father Raymond Herman who worked with helping the Indians in Cochabamba in Bolivia was found strangled with two bullet wounds in the head.

The Banzer plan, named after the Bolivian dictator Hugo Banzer, was a plan developed to undermine the churches work in Bolivia. This plan was later adopted by 10 different Latin American countries. Support for anti-Marxist priests was also proposed. Bishop Pronao of Ecuador, who supported the impoverished Indians in that country against the wealthy landowners, said, "I am honored to be called a subversive. I hope that we are permanently subversive in the way that I have described. If we are living within a state or a system that is evidently not in accord with the designs of God, we must oppose it. In a sense Christ, too, was a subversive." The stories of priests who have been killed, disappeared or been tortured are not isolated incidents. A few major American companies made major economic gains by encouraging a political system that bred this kind of militarism, torture and repression against its citizens.

The Catholic Church has been severely denounced in Latin America by the US defense department for criticizing it. But what the Catholic Church was criticizing was really a rebirth of a kind of fascism in Latin America, a "Creole fascism". This was "a model for promoting economic development without changing the existing social conditions". This colonial fascisms marriage to capitalism intensified class differences and made the rich richer and the poor poorer. The United States was directly involved in the creation of military, police and paramilitary agencies responsible for torture and other atrocities in seventeen Latin American countries. Did it ever occur to the Americans that the reason for subversive movements, Marxist guerillas, or other disruptive elements did not have so much to do with a "communist threat" as it had to do with internal influences; like decades of dictatorship and repression. There was no way the US could admit that there may have been legitimate reasons for the subversive activities. Anything that went against the government was automatically labeled as "communist activities".

Between 1968-1969, 1000 marines helped the Guatemalan counterinsurgencies hunt down subversive peasants. Around 8000 peasants in total where killed. These groups where the forerunners of he infamous "white hand", a right wing vigilante group responsible for thousands of deaths. In 1970, 3200, trained Guatemalan policemen killed or had disappear 7000 people. The military intervention in all these Latin American countries made it almost impossible for the regular citizen to have any real involvement in politics. These dictatorships operated under the myth that they created "law and order" when in fact there where narcotic traffickers, black mailers, thieves and assassins for hire operating freely under these Para-military regimes. Many churches opposed these regimes and therefore made it clear that the real message of the gospels was to stand up for human rights. These priests who speak out have been denounced by their governments just like the humanitarian priest who spoke out 400 years ago by the colonialists. Many of these priests and bishops also rightly pointed the finger at the United States government for being involved in training army and police who destroyed Christian communities and murdered priests and nuns. A Brazilian bishop said, " Where it not for the guns, for the torture, and the terror, Brazils military regime could not survive. And were it not for this regime, foreign corporations could not continue to make enormous profits at the expense of the people. The government has all the legal instruments necessary to control the companies, and so has the United States, but the military ignores them."

Most Latin Americans know that US foreign policy is run by corporate interests. Many of the men who approved of CIA activities against democratically elected governments; assassination courses for the police were all "pillars of the US business community". Many of the Latin American coups have meant big payoffs for US corporations. In 1980 the richest man in Latin America earned 550,000 dollars a week while the poorest earned 90 dollars a year, the gap still widening. Bribes are very common even for the biggest American corporations. "Consumer democracy" was to replace political democracy. The Catholic Church objected to this because they thought that this model of development was a mask for privilege. There was only as small procent of the Latin American population that could afford things like refrigerators, cars or TVs. The theologian Jose Comblin says, " the economy is not supposed to produce for the people, but for foreign markets, for the military, and for a few privileged technocrats. This marginalization means that the masses do not work for themselves, or have any hope of advancing themselves through their work." Father Virggilio Rosa Netto from Brazil says: "The amazing thing is that so many of these technocrats have turned their backs on own earlier educations as Christians to adopt the religion of the global corporations."

In the Amazon nuns, bishops and priests are in "open, often violent conflict with the multinationals, local ranchers, the military and the police." This land that at one time relieved the pressure of overpopulation now has caused land-starved peasants to move by the millions into the inner city favelas. This is an "avalanche of human misery" that makes up the backbone of Brazils industrial wealth. In the bible there is a part in the first book of kings, chapter 21 that illustrates this story. The Amazon is about 83% of the size of the United States of America and is incredibly rich in natural resources. The indigenous people living here have no real rights and the basic attitude is that "the Indian cannot stand in the way of progress". Brazils Indian population has declined from 2 million at the beginning of the last century to 200.000 in 1963 and went down to 100,000 in 1978. Both American and European multinational corporations have cleared and taken over land that originally belonged to the Indians. They have also cleared large areas of the Amazon by using the same chemicals they used to clear out jungles in Vietnam.

During the 1960s many American Catholic missionaries where approached by the CIA to gather information about progressive priests in Latin America. Many of them where quite naïve and felt flattered by the attention. The CIA was playing god in Latin America, deciding who should be the next president, which people should be assassinated, even how the people should live. The CIA was using the religious groups in Latin America for their own secret ends. They supported right wing catholic groups and trained police that killed and tortured priests, nuns and bishops some of who where US citizens. The missionaries now started saying that you "cannot defend democracy by destroying it." The TFP group-Tradition, family and property, was a right winged catholic group that existed in several Latin American countries. They were wealthy and belonged to the upper class of the society. They wanted an old school church that saw the rich as having a divine right for owning all that they owned. They supported the CIA economically in staging many of the government coups in Latin America. The CIA in turn encouraged and supported the TFP. Therefore the CIA was accused by many Latin American bishops of "inciting one sector of the church to attack another."

Father Joao Bosco Penido Burnier was a Jesuit missionary who was shot in the head and killed when he tried to top two police men from torturing and raping two peasant women who were related to a man who had opposed himself to the police brutality in the Amazon. Bishop Hipolito was another Brazilian bishop who was kidnapped and beaten because he opposed the dictatorship. Father Tito de Alencar was a 29-year-old Dominican priest who was severely tortured for 40 days in a Brazilian prison. He later committed suicide after being let out of prison. The "institutionalization "of terror was rationalized by the US government and multinational corporations as something that was necessary for development. In Argentine during its dirty war between 1974 and 1976 the repression was even worse. Officially 9000 people went missing but some say the numbers are as big as 30000. The group "mothers of the disappeared" has since been formed consisting of mothers who still want to find out what happened to their sons and daughters under this torturous and brutal regime. The US government funded Argentina's regime and gave them extra money for police training. This police force was corrupt and according to Lernoux involved in drug trafficking. There was also a wave of anti Semitism in Argentina fueled by the hundreds of Nazis that the country had let in after World War 2. Argentina became the world center for the publication of anti-Semitic literature. The progressive Catholic Church was also persecuted. By the end of 1977 seventeen priests and nuns had been killed, thirty where in prison and Argentina's most vocal bishop Enrique Carletti had been killed in a fake auto accident. The situation in Mexico was tense as well with many priests being tortured for working for rights for the poor. There where several assassination attempts on a few of the countries bishops and one priest, father Rodolfo Aguilar, was killed. He was shot while working in an impoverished area trying to improve conditions for the poor there. A few weeks after another priest was killed called Father Rodolfo Escamilla. He had worked for 8 years in the slums trying to help the poor there organize themselves and organize cooperatives.

Poor Latin American Christians therefore view the bible as "a very revolutionary book". A book that from the beginning to the end tells the story of Jahves liberation of his people. The exodus story is the central event, where the people are freed from oppression. The oppression is from a political tyrant who has imposed on them an unjust economic order with unjust social structures. So it's a story about economic and political liberation too. The Old Testament prophets convey the same message. Attacking the corruption within the state of Israel and condemning those within the ruling classes who oppress the poor. Jesus as well stands in the same tradition as these prophets, the core of his message being "freedom to captives" and "liberation to the oppressed." Therefore if god took sides back then god is still doing it now, identifying with the oppressed. Earlier the church mostly has taken the side of the rich oppressor but this was starting to change in Latin America. If the church doesn't speak out against oppressors then they run the risk silently supporting them. Many Latin American peasants first saw the catholic imagery in their own way. God was the wealthy landowner who one had to bow down to and obey. While Jesus was the poor peasant or Indian who had been tortured and killed. They had difficulty viewing the symbolism of the resurrection. This came as a shock to many of the priests who started working more actively with the poor and left their comfortable positions of power. Gradually this view is starting to change with the spread of liberation theology. Here the teachings go against those of the colonial church. Instead of trying to force teachings on the people instead one tries to listen and learn from them. This opened up a more authentic dialogue between the church and the people. Smaller Christian communities started developing throughout Latin America where the principals of liberation theology where applied at a grassroots level. When the new pope came to Latin America in the late 1970s he denounced the situation in the continent speaking closely to Indians and other marginalized groups saying that the church was on their side. After this a new document was drafted by all Latin American bishops that strongly took the side of the poor and the oppressed. On the other hand there was a more conservative vein within the church that opposed these progressive liberation theologians. Later Ratzinger turned on the liberation theologians and started a new inquisition against them. Read more about this in Penny Lernouxs book "People of god".

The American bishop in El Paso said: "The use of capital and the development of a corporate economy have without doubt produced great benefits for mankind. But it has become increasingly evident that large corporations reaching across national boundaries drain natural resources and labor from poor countries primarily for the benefit of a small proportion of affluent people in the world. Such an ordering of the world economy is immoral and must be rejected and fought by the church. It is not sufficient to weep for the priest who is martyred by the regime in Brazil, without acting to prevent the complicity of the United States of America in that act of murder. The system that we know it holds in bondage, not only those who are exploited to maintain a flow of wealth largely in one direction, but it also holds in the bondage of unslaked thirst for goods and power and sense of superiority those who reap the benefit."

A scathing indictement of U.S. foreign policy in Latin-America. Follow this book with "Turning the Tide", by Noam Chomsky, and you will realize that the United States bank-rolled, engineered, and directly carried out more acts of international terrorism than any other dozen countries in the world. A courageous book, not for the head-in-the-sand crowd or those bamboozled by the myth of the inherent benevolence of American society.

Bought this on remainder a few years ago and picked it up a couple of days ago. It's terrific. Takes you right inside the LA D.A.'s office and quickly becomes a page turner. Better in many ways than John Grisham, etc., . . . plus it's a true story.

As a Prosecutor I really enjoyed this book and the various cases that it followed. Recommended.

An excellent book. Definitely not a happy book, but one that is extremely informative about the US and Canadian Justice Systems, and their impacts on everyday families. An amazing glimpse of how people deal with tragedy, and what it takes to get a killer behind bars.

This is very personal to my heart since my very good friend is very close to the Bagby family & I am from Pennsylvania where this tragedy took place. David Bagby's writing is very eloquent, considering the circumstance. I hope this story of how the Canadian Government failed this family will help change the laws in Canada. An EXCELLENT read.

Sue Hartigan said it very well so we stand by her qualified review.

The book is great.

Fay Cunningham is a middle aged, fourty pound overweight, menopausal, divorcee who is trying to quit a twenty-year, pack a day smoking habit. She has a daughter in college, and is the publisher of the town's very successful newspaper. She recently handed over her newspaper duties, for the time being, to see if she still wants to continue doing it. In the meantime she is delivering the papers herself to get closer to her customers, help her with her depression, and to lose the weight she has gained from not smoking. Faye Cunningham is what a lot of us are, a lady trying to find herself. But she is also much more than that. She is also a very loyal, and trustworthy friend. And so on a rainy, dreary day, when she went to the door of Joe Wise, one of her closest friends, to deliver his newspaper, and a strange woman, very rudely answered the door, saying that Joe isn't there, Fay becomes very curious.

Leaving Joe's house she goes to the "gossip corner", a nearby restaurant in town, and finds the former police chief, Mitch Malone, there having lunch. Not someone she is particularly happy to see at the moment. I have got to say that I was hooked on A DANGEROUS WOMAN when I read the very first paragraph. And Ms. Lee did not let me go. She has created a character, in Fay Cunningham, that most of us can relate to. A funny, not so perfect, but warm woman, who is trying to find herself after a devastating divorce. A woman who is so loyal to her friends that she puts own problems on the back burner, to make sure that they are alright, and not in harm's way. Bumbling along, but not giving up when things don't quite go the way that she wants them to.

A DANGEROUS WOMAN is a wonderful cozy, mystery that you will just want to curl up with, and forget the rest of the world, as Ms Lee pulls you into Fay's world. And you will not be sorry, because you will laugh, you will cry, you will bite your nails. Ms. Lee writes in such a fashion that it is easy to get to know Fay, and all of the other characters that she brings into the story. The plot keeps your interest, and makes you want to keep going. The characters are alive, and breathing. And you can't help but relate to the wonderful heroin, Faye.

If I could order up a friend, with all the qualities I desired, I would want a friend just like Fay Cunningham. And, I know, after reading A DANGEROUS WOMAN you will too.

I just can't say enough about this wonderful book. I just hope that this isn't the last Faye Cunningham mystery. A DANGEROUS WOMAN is much too good to not have a sequel. And believe me when, and if, it appears, I will be the first one in line to get it. And anymore thereafter.

Merging real life events with that of the fictional super-hero world can be a recipe for mediocre and questionable storytelling. When Marvel Comics decided to respond to the events of September 11, 2001 with its publication of Amazing Spider-Man #37 (Vol.2), the story contained so many flaws that it simply proved that this was nothing but a poorly conceived sales gimmick. This is why I was somewhat apprehensive to purchase Daredevil: Redemption since the plot is inspired by the true story of "The Robin Hood Hills Murders".

However, David Hines' writing skill on the District X series made a convincing case that while I await the eventual release of the over-sized hardcover of Daredevil Volume 5, this trade paperback could somewhat appease my insatiable desire for more Brian Michael Bendis tales about Hell's Kitchen guardian. I do not regret putting my faith in him. Alongside Frank Miller, Dennis O'Neil, the often forgotten Roger McKenzie and the aforementioned Bendis, Hines' name has to be listed as the author about one of the character's best all-time stories.

This is not your standard super-hero garbage where Doctor Doom wants to avenge himself against The Fantastic Four for being second best to Reed Richards or The Avengers going head to head with Kang in order to thwart his plan for world domination by time travel.

Hines offers the reader a disturbing glimpse about police corruption, bigotry and the terrifying influence of Christian doctrine on a community that is as small-minded as its church. He also addresses cringing topics such as child sexual abuse and domestic violence. This is not the kind of evil that can be solved with mutant powers or gamma-radiated monsters.

Oddly enough, Daredevil is barely utilized throughout the story. Instead, the focus is on Matt Murdock and his abilities as a lawyer. Hines' account of the victims and their surroundings is so gripping that the reader may come to realize that this tale could have been published solely as a Matt Murdock series without the presence of his alter-ego. However, I doubt that commercially, it would have been viable for Marvel Comics.....

Artist Michael Gaydos and colorist Lee Loughridge are a perfect fit to give illustration to Hines' script. The penciling style is straightforward black and white with no shading whatsoever. The artwork has a sense of realism but it is as stern and severe as the account itself while Loughridge's use of hues are dark without being overwhelming thus giving the sombre tone that Hines is aiming for.

I would have no qualms in repurchasing Daredevil: Redemption in the over-sized hardcover format if Marvel decided to publish it as such. It definitely deserves this treatment.

Review by Brian Grindrod

There's already a brilliant review on this page, but I feel it's my civic duty to plug it some more so someone buy's it, because it deserves to be read.
As mentioned in the other review it explores some pretty shady and very real social issues within a small, deeply religous town that has been shattered and pushed to the edge by a gruesome murder of a young boy. Alongside that, it also contrasts Matt's role as both a lawyer and a vigilante, and seeks to show wheter working within the law or outside the law achieves more good, and kinda leaves it up for the reader to decide. For instance as DD he jeopardises somewhat his own legal case by elimanating a key suspect but as a lawyer he faces an extremely uphill and slanted battle, where justice is elusive. For example Matt suspects strongly someone else as the killer, so why doesn't he just beat the guy up, and turn him in? Cause he knows as a lawyer that doesn't achieve anything in the long term. He's not the Punisher, he's way cooler and more complicated.

The art, by Michael Gaydos (who provided the art for Alias by Bendis) is also great as it is very suited to the story and to Daredevil (I hope he gets to draw him again someday)though it may not be everyone's cup of tea if your more used to art in more "Super-hero" titles like the Avengers or X-men. Covers, however, are by Bill Sienkiewicz.

The only complaint I have is that it could have been shortened by an issue, as about mid-way through it starts to slow down, hampering the flow and excitement of the story, but thankfully picks up again.

4 and a half stars.

I am a real Barbara Parker fan. Her newest book is not a disappointment. The story line is exciting and as intriguing as all of the "Suspicion of" novels. The twists and turns as well as exciting characters makes one call for more even when this particular story is through.

Anyone who likes intriguing characters, a plot full of twists and turns, and a tropical Miami setting should read Barbara Parker! Parker is a former Florida prosecutor; her protagonist in this novel is high power defense attorney C.J. Dunn, whose clients are not the only ones with skeletons in their closets. I enjoyed Parker's "Suspicion" series as well, and hope that she will write more books about C.J. Dunn. If you have enjoyed other legal thrillers, try reading The Dark of Day--it won't disappoint you.

I won't repeat the basic storyline, which is already here in the book description. Instead, I'll just say that the book is a great read and hard to put down. It has a complex protagonist--a very successful defense lawyer, a recovering alcoholic with a secret past. It it set in Miami, and delves into the sordid side of the lives of that city's "beautiful people." It has a compromised politician, society high-rollers, an unscrupulous journalist, vulnerable young women seeking a piece of the action, and a shadowy client, who may or may not be guilty of murder. The author takes her protagonist on a suspenseful, roller-coaster ride, as C. J. Dunn tries to find the truth before she loses her reputation or even her life. Highly recommended, as are Parker's early books, also set in Miami, which featured attorneys Gail Connor and Anthony Quintana

Greg Yawman is a talented writer who has "done it again". "Dead Luck", his second novel, was even more ejoyable to read than his first piece of work, "The Ultimate Plan". Once I started reading this book, it was difficult to put down.

The book takes place in the Baltimore area, and anyone who reads it and lives in Baltimore, will find themselves visualizing locations in the book. If you don't live here in Baltimore, it is still a GREAT read. I admire the way that Greg Yawman has been able to capture the essence of the Baltimore culture on paper.

Greg Yawman offers the reader an interesting, fast paced storyline that is "peppered" with vivid descriptions offering the reader a "spicy" treat that is savored like a good steak coooked on a grill and a glass of cold beer on a warm summer evening.

If you have not read this book, you are missing a truly enjoyable experience.

Greg Yawman has proven he is the "Master of the Metaphor", the "Sultan of Similes". Dead Luck takes you on a vivid journey through the dark, perilous streets of Baltimore and into the serenity of rural Maryland. Yawman paints a picture in your mind, so realistic, so clearly perceptible, it would make Bob Ross jealous.

Yawman has captured the imaginations of us all, by leading us through his story with a stripper from Baltimore's Block, as the heroine we all would like to "feel"....... for. Greg gives you the opinion he has personally lived through many experiences from "The Block", leaving us to wonder if the dancer is really a fictional character or a memory from his misinterpreted past.

Greg may lose some readers with his use of some odd words, such as, sycophant and subterfuge, but as long as you have a dictionary handy, you can raise your beefy arm and give it a big thumbs up!