I am a fiend for true crime. Particularly now, when I am a little burned out with CR3 and brainwork in general. True crime is an easy and quick read for me. It's fascinating to me what humans are capable of doing to one another. It's also fascinating to follow the path of those who solve these mysteries.
This is the sixth of Ann Rule's "Crime Files" series, and it consists of one longer story and several short ones. The main story is of Silas Cool, a man who climbed on a city bus in Seattle, shot the driver, and managed to send the bus careening off a bridge. The police who worked the case had little to go on because they couldn't figure out WHY this had happened. Through all their research, they still only have a few clues as to what might have gone wrong. It's fascinating to see how the detectives try to solve the case, and all the various avenues they travel to find information.
The rest of the stories in the collection are also for the most part about "stranger" killings, several involving spree killers or murderers who stalked their unknowing victims before their savage attacks. Once again, each time the police have their work cut out for them because there are no obvious motives.
Ann Rule always does a good job fleshing out her stories, even the very short tales in this collection. She provides imagination-grabbing details, as well as including (sometimes graphic, but definitely illustrative) photographs. The one issue I had with this collection is that it's rather old. Some of the stories end with the murderers being jailed, and a note like "He won't be eligible for parole until 2003" but I don't know if he DID get out in 2003!
On the whole, while this is nothing spectacular, new, or original, it is reliable reading for a true crime enthusiast.
No comments:
Post a Comment