Murder Books

The Emmet Till Book is a significant expansion of some of the matter covered in Susan Klopfer's longer book on Mississippi civil rights, Where Rebels Roost . . . Mississippi Civil Rights Revisited. Therefore what I said in the foreword of Where Rebels Roost also applies to The Emmet Till Story:

"Following [the June 21] conviction of Edgar Ray Killen on three charges of manslaughter for the 1964 murders of civil rights workers James Chaney, Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman in Neshoba County, Mississippi, it has been typical to hear triumphant declarations such as this one by Jim Prince III, editor of The Neshoba Democrat: 'We pronounce a new dawn in Mississippi, one in which the chains of cynicism and racism have been broken and we are free, free at last, thank God Almighty we are free at last!'

"It is at best delusional and at worst a deception to view Killen's conviction as meaningful expiation for Mississippi's notorious racist crimes. To begin with, there are nine other living suspects whom the prosecution did not pursue. More to the point, however, are the lines of culpability that extend well beyond Killen and well beyond the Neshoba County klavern of the White Knights. We must look instead to the racist state government of Mississippi of the 1950s, 60s and 70s and to federal complicity in the state's crimes.... Susan Klopfer is determined to tell the truth about Mississippi and about America and she does a great deal of that truth telling in the pages of this book.

"Klopfer's book is one of the first to look closely at the Mississippi Sovereignty Commission, the state spy agency whose anti-civil rights activities included providing intelligence and money to the Klan. Klopfer also examines the roles of powerful people like Senator James O. Eastland, who received regular reports from the Sovereignty Commission. We cannot begin to fathom the nature of racial repression in Mississippi without knowing what Klopfer reveals in her book. It is no exaggeration to say that Mississippi of the 1950s and 1960s was a totalitarian police state....

"America's greatness rests on the countless brave souls, like Chaney, Schwerner and Goodman, who have stood up for justice on its soil, in the name of this nation's own democratic principles. The nobility of these American citizens is not always understandable without some measure of the evils that they have faced. Klopfer's truth telling brings careful scrutiny to the long and ongoing history of racial repression in Mississippi and the resistances to it. "

You won't be ready to stop reading until you finish and then I read it several more times. It's a part of history that I lived through and the story just hasn't been told like this before. Her interviews and descriptions made me feel like I was there both during and after. I have a feeling I'm still not ready to put this book down.

This is such a masterfully written book. Even apart from the fact that it is based on historical events (interesting enough!), I thought the story worked so well as just a damn good story. If you have any interest at all in Paul Gauguin (or even if you don't!), I highly recommend this book.

This book is soooo cool! about a guy who gets revenge for his best friend's death at the hands of pirates. paul gaggin is in it too. he was a famous artist. he painted lots of pictures and had sex with lots of hot Tahitian girls! then he died of siphilis!

Robert Kirby is a former police officer turned writer who has written a book about the Utah police officers who have been murdered in the line of duty. Kirby's style is easy to read; he explains police procedure for the lay person very well. The title comes from the term for when a police officer ends his shift. One of the most surprising things in End of Watch is how little training early police officers received. Even in 1978, when Kirby started patrolling the streets of a small Utah town, it wasn't required that police officers attend the Police Academy before hitting the streets. As you can see from reading End of Watch, Utah is not exempt from danger, and many of the police deaths were earlier in the 20th century-- during what some people might think of as the good old days.
Another thought provoking thing about reading End of Watch is how stupid some of these crimes were. In 1974 a Utah Highway Patrol Officer pulled over a man for speeding. The driver shot the patrolman-- because he was going to be late for work! Stupid! This was the first officer killed by gunshots in the history of the Utah Highway Patrol. Previous Highway Patrol deaths involved traffic accidents-- sad, of course, but somewhat expected in that line of work.Sadly it hasn't been the last.
In Utah, Kirby is known for writing usually humorous columns for The Salt Lake Tribune. Read End of Watch, which is not humorous but an admirable piece of reporting. You will find yourself a lot more conscientious the next time you get pulled over.

This is an excellent book. It is well written and researched. From the first story to the last it will hold your interest and leave you wanting to read "just one more" story.

Anybody who has studied another language abroad will appreciate the humor in at the English School. There are many characters that are enjoyable to despise. Other characters are quite sympathetic. Best of all the writing is concise, original, and humorous. She manages to write complex dialog simply by implying the speaker from their style of speech.

The writing is splendid, the story is intriguing (I was kept in the dark as to the miscreant - no small feat). The protagonist is human and likeable, and the cast of characters a motley crowd of eccentrics. I loved this book, laughed my way through it (while puzzling),and truly hated turning the last page.

I hope that Larry Shriner publishes more! His book grabbed my attention on the first page and I couldn't stop turning the pages! I love his work.

This book should receive a lot of attention. Shriner has done his homework. It is refreshing to read a novel that does not fill space with four-letter words and sex. I hope to read more of his novels.

First a brief introduction: From 1986 - 1992 I was employed as an investigator at the Office of Capital Collateral Representative (CCR) in Tallahassee, Florida, where Scharlette Holdman worked as the supervisor of the investigators from October 1985 - March 1988.

I have known Scharlette since the mid-1970s. Her office, the Clearinghouse on Criminal Justice, was in the same wing of the Petroleum Building as my office at Common Cause in Florida, where I volunteered.

The Petroleum Building was next to the State Capital, the Florida Supreme Court and the State Archives and Library. When it was torn down, the Petroleum Building space and the space for the first CCR office became the Mary Brogan Art and Science Museum and a condominium. The Petroleum Building was called by those of us who worked or volunteered there the "Forces of Good" (FOG) Building -- as opposed to FOE -- Forces of Evil, such as Associated Industries, the Chamber and other big business interests in Florida. The FOG building also included (not an exhaustive list) the Clean Water Action Project, the ACLU, NOW, Florida Legal Services, Migrant Farmworker's Organization (directed by Cliff Thaell, who has more recently been a Leon County Commissioner for over ten years), Mike Vasilinda's television news service.

David von Drehle's excellent book "Among the Lowest of the Dead" provides the best history and analysis of the Florida death penalty, with Michael Mello's books a close second. Part of each of these books is about Scharlette Holdman. A bit of the negative aspects:

When Scharlette had essentially declared war upon CCR in 1987 and thereafter, some of us decided to investigate her background given some things that we had heard. Low and behold, Scharlette's claim of a Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Hawaii and a Master's Degree from Memphis State (now University of Memphis) don't exist. A claimed undergraduate degree from Memphis State: I no longer recall if this was confirmed by the university.

We used Scharlette's Social Security number, her maiden name and her married name -- with all this information, both universities had no record of Scharlette having received any degrees from these institutions.

As I understand Scharlette, she needed the "degrees" to confer upon her "credentials" that she really never needed as she is indeed then and now a national expert on capital mitigation, litigation, etc. However Scharlette can be deceptive, as her lack of a PhD and Masters so demonstrates. Even today she claims to have the degrees as when she gives presentations regarding capital cases, she is identified as "Dr." A key word search of her name will bring up some of the presentations that she has made in the past several years with the title "Dr." preceding her name.

If she has received any honorary or other degrees since 1990, that would be new information for me. If so, please let me know: P.O. Box 38458, Tallahassee, FL 32315-8458.

This book is very informative and provides the reader with amazing detail of how the justice system works.

I've read a scattered sampling of the "weird" Doctor Who from between the cancellation of the classic Sylvester McCoy series to the new Russell T. Davies series. Some fine works of science fiction, inventive new worlds and new ways of life, came out of that niche fan series.

You don't need, but might well want, to know the setting of this novel within that world. Either way, this is a great example of inspired science fiction set in the world of all humanity set against the backdrop of the war to end all wars. It manages to remain small in scale, with real characters, at the same time as it explores large ideas, large scale stories.

I can't speak highly enough about this book - if you love the kind of intelligent, tight science fiction that grips you from the moment you pick it up, then you're love this!

This book resulted from a mourning heart being put to pen. This was Pastor Arnold Ruby's way of releasing some of the anguishing pain while at the same time honoring his most beloved son-in-law, Mark Stall. Few people hold such immense love.
I read the book when he was our pastor. He, his wife Kay, and their daughter Cheryl are very humble and gracious Christians.
Mark was the first policeman to perish on duty in the City of Boise, which occurred in '97. He was an outstanding Christian citizen and officer who was not reluctant to defend our community's safety.
John MacArthur of "Grace to You" ministries offered to perform Mark Stall's memorial service. Pastor Ruby is a friend of John MacArthur's and previously served as a fellow elder at Grace Community Church. Mark attended John MacArthur's Master's College where he met his wife, Cheryl. This was a gracious gesture; however, Pastor Ruby so loved his son-in-law that he desired to lead the service. This was the right decision as he touched many a heart. (This is not included in the book)
Pastor Ruby planned to perform the service in a small church, but he was wisely told he would need something far larger--The Boise State Pavilion, our immense coliseum. It was the right choice as multitudes of people packed in. Thousands of citizens also lined the streets in honor of him to witness the hearse and motorcade pass. Many officers from other states traveled distances to attend. I believe there was never a funeral that was more attended in Idaho than Mark Stall's.
It was televised throughout the northwest and touched the empathy of people as far as Seattle.
Countless tears were shed in honor of his bravery, Christian witness, and his arms...which where open to anyone he felt needed a friend. I shed many tears as I read the book's account.
God had a purpose in this tragedy and this resulting book, that of bringing honor to Christ's name. This manuscript thoroughly covers Mark's life, family, his personal belief in Christ, and his police service. It also covers his impact on the community before and following the tragedy.

I went to high school with Mark Stall. We lost touch after graduation, as most people do. He moved his family to a small family town to get away from the "mess" of the big city. This book is about his life and tragic death - in the line of duty. But it's about more than that. It's about one man and how he affected so many people. It's about life changing moments that teach you to cherish every day.

This extensively-researched true crime story reads like a novel. The players come alive to a disturbing extent. I hope Ms. Booth continues with her crime writing efforts.

Taylor Helzer was a devout Mormon who lost his moral compass after diving into the teachings of a "self-help" program and heavy drug use. Charismatic since a child, he managed to manipulate his brother and a lonely woman into sharing his belief that he was a prophet who would save the world from the Apocalypse. His plan was to kidnap the top leaders of the church and force them to write letters to Mormons declaring him the new leader.

Author and journalist Claire Booth gives an excellent narrative of the shocking events of the summer of 2000, when the Helzer gang brutally murdered five innocent Bay Area residents -- including the daughter of blues musician Elvin Bishop -- in an effort to extort money he hoped would finance his plan.

Booth gives us insight into the real nature and history of all the people involved -- the victims, their families, law enforcement, the killers -- and shows us how Helzer transformed into the false prophet.

Can a Southerner working for a temp agency truly swear off men forever? And what if her social life, consisting of working as a secretary and reading murder mysteries, turns real, all too real?

India Edghill, who is known for her historical novels, writes a tight mystery in a very classic style. The mystery is rather in the vein of PD James or Dorothy Sayers, smart, humorous and with a good dash of nasty. Highly recommended for mystery fans looking for a new author.

Following the death of her husband a southern Peter Pan, Cornelia Upshaw and her three year old daughter Heather relocate from Savannah to live with her artist sister in Manhattan. Not needing to pay rent, Cornelia works as a temp for Metropolitan Office Professionals, a firm that finds her short term secretarial work and provides child care services.

Cornelia currently works for Dayborne Ventures Executive Vice President J. Abercrombie Davis, a control freak of the worst order. Half way through her six week stint, Davis' office remains closed all day until Cornelia tries to reach him via the intercom. When they go into his office they find him dead. Lieutenant Victor Kosciusko and Detective Charlie Morton investigate when the autopsy reveals that the deceased was poisoned. Victor and Cornelia surprise themselves because of an immediate attraction that must remain on hold until the investigation is completed, but a killer stalks the office with Cornelia on the short list for interfering with another murder attempt.

This exhilarating investigative tale takes its time to introduce Cornelia, the center that holds the tale together. Once the murder occurs, the story line takes off on two planes that of a classic police procedural aided by an amateur sleuth who learned what to do by reading mystery novels. The cast makes this Manhattan murder mystery a fine novel and hopefully as India Edghill proves once again no one does heroic females better than she does.

Harriet Klausner