True Crime

[Patrick Murtha]

True crime has a reputation as one of the scuzziest branches of writing, but it doesn't NEED to be (and some of the scuzzy examples are admittedly entertaining). A good true crime book will inevitably have a sociological dimension (like that TV series City Confidential some 20 years ago; I loved that).

Some examples I have read fairly recently:

John Buntin, L.A. Noir (full-bodied account of Los Angeles crime at mid-20C)

Bryan Burrough, Public Enemies: America’s Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34 (a book I frequently recommend)

Dave Cullen, Columbine (sobering analysis)

August Derleth, Wisconsin Murders (fun short takes)

Karen Dybis, The Witch of Delray: Rose Veres & Detroit’s Infamous 1930s Murder Mystery (good example of the sociological dimension)

T.J. English, Havana Nocturne (entertaining survey of the pre-Castro years)

Harry J. Maihafer, Oblivion: The Mystery of West Point Cadet Richard Cox (see post below)

Robin Odell, Ripperology (excellent survey of theories)

Richard Rayner, A Bright and Guilty Place (a great companion to the Buntin volume above, coveting the period just prior)

Nick Reding, Methland (eye-opening)

Kate Summerscale, The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher (absorbing Victoriana)

Douglas Woodruff, The Tichborne Claimant (ditto)

 

[Patrick Murtha]

I have a particular obsession with missing persons cases, such as the disappearance of West Point cadet Richard Cox in 1950.

I have a personal connection to two such cases. A female cousin then in her 20s disappeared in the Eighties, making tracks with a boyfriend. No information about either of them has ever turned up, and my aunt died without ever knowing what happened to her daughter. My gut feeling is that my cousin died a long time ago. She was somewhat mentally challenged, what they used to call “slow”, very vulnerable to the world, which is why my aunt had been so protective of her. As far as I know, there has never been a single meaningful clue, and I don’t think the police did much but I’m not blaming them, they have a lot on their plate, and it was some months without any contact before the realization that the situation might be more serious than someone simply choosing to lead her own life. The family did not have enough money to hire a detective, which I think would have been the way to go if possible.

Also in the Eighties, a college roommate of mine disappeared while swimming off Catalina Island. Shark? No one is sure. No evidence or body parts washed up - very strange. My roommate was a competitive champion swimmer, so was unlikely to have any problems in that way. If he HAD drowned close to shore, the body should have appeared. Needless to say, I am haunted by this.

The way I was told it, his girlfriend went up to their beachside hotel room to dress for dinner; he said he would be along in a few minutes, he was enjoying his swim. And that was the last that anyone ever saw of him. The water off Catalina that day was normal, without pronounced undertow, and he was not excessively far out.