True crime book recs? (cover, author, story, great)

[Cida]

I don't normally read true crime, but this was fantastic.


Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art, by Laney Salisbury and Aly Sujo, is the extraordinary story - which although unknown to me was apparently a huge story at the time - of a charming sociopathic con man, who not only had art forged, but falsified the documentation, thereby corrupting museum/art historical records.


Book Review: 'Provenance' by Laney Salisbury and Aly Sujo - washingtonpost.com

Provenance - Books by Laney Salisbury - Penguin Group (USA)

[greatblueheron]

Thanks to all for recommendations~

gbh

[ssg II]

Ann Rule, THE BEST in her genre. She actually worked with Ted Bundy.
Ann Rule's Home Page
and Joe McGinniss
Joe McGinniss - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[midge1021]

Originally Posted by Cida

I don't normally read true crime, but this was fantastic.


Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art, by Laney Salisbury and Aly Sujo, is the extraordinary story - which although unknown to me was apparently a huge story at the time - of a charming sociopathic con man, who not only had art forged, but falsified the documentation, thereby corrupting museum/art historical records.


Book Review: 'Provenance' by Laney Salisbury and Aly Sujo - washingtonpost.com

Provenance - Books by Laney Salisbury - Penguin Group (USA)

I agree! I really enjoyed this book. True crime, but not in the morbid, death sense. It was fascinating to read the lengths taken by the con man to dupe the art world. This book also flows very well - an engrossing read.

[Mayvenne]

I highly recommend THE MURDER ROOM by Michael Capuzzon
- this is non fiction but sort of reads like a collectioin of short stories. The Vidoqc society is a group of real life detective type stars who meet once a year in Philadelphia to brainstorm and stir interest in various cold cases. One of the folks highlighted was the one who did that bust of John Lizt which ended up being instrumental in catching him. I read teh book last summer I think so my details might be a bit off, but it was definitely a worthwhile read. There is one case that continues to haunt me in particular- the boy in the box.
Amazon.com: The Murder Room: The Heirs of Sherlock Holmes Gather to Solve the World's Most Perplexing Cold Cases (9781592406357): Michael Capuzzo: Books

[ans57]

Have you read "The End of a Dream" by Ann Rule? Riveting!

They were best friends, four talented and charismatic young men who lived charmed lives among the evergreens of Washington state: Kevin, the artist; Steve, the sculptor; Scott, the nature lover and unabashed ladies' man; and Mark, the musician and poet. With their stunning good looks, whip-sharp minds, athletic bodies -- and no lack of women who adored them -- none of them seemed slated for disaster.

[midge1021]

Originally Posted by Mayvenne

I highly recommend THE MURDER ROOM by Michael Capuzzon
- this is non fiction but sort of reads like a collectioin of short stories. The Vidoqc society is a group of real life detective type stars who meet once a year in Philadelphia to brainstorm and stir interest in various cold cases. One of the folks highlighted was the one who did that bust of John Lizt which ended up being instrumental in catching him. I read teh book last summer I think so my details might be a bit off, but it was definitely a worthwhile read. There is one case that continues to haunt me in particular- the boy in the box.
Amazon.com: The Murder Room: The Heirs of Sherlock Holmes Gather to Solve the World's Most Perplexing Cold Cases (9781592406357): Michael Capuzzo: Books

Thanks for the review. I'd heard of this book and it sounded really interesting but it only had 3 1/2 stars on amazon so I wasn't sure if it was worth a read or not. I'll put this one closer to the top of my to-read list!

[Mayvenne]

[quote=midge1021;19130770]Thanks for the review. I'd heard of this book and it sounded really interesting but it only had 3 1/2 stars on amazon so I wasn't sure if it was worth a read or not. I'll put this one closer to the top of my to-read list![/quo

when it first came out, there was a thread on it by itself. It did get very mixed reviews, but on both extremes. Some people raved about it and others trashed it. Guess that is what makes the world go round... It was a great read and a page turner to many (myself included) and others commented on the organization of the writing if I remember..

[emily_williams81]

You should definitely read "Skylights and Screen Doors" by Dean Smart. Here is the synopsis:

On May 1, 1990 Gregg Smart was gunned down in his home in Derry, New Hampshire. On March 4, 1991 his wife Pamela Smart was placed on trial for accomplice to murder. The sensational aspects of the case – that Pamela was a teacher who had been having an affair with one of the perpetrators of the crime, her 15-year old student William Flynn – would spark a media frenzy that spawned several books and two movies. Now for the first time, Gregg’s brother Dean reveals the personal side of the tragedy – about growing up with a brother he idolized, and the true story of the events that led up to that tragic night. You’ll see the first televised trial in American history through the author’s eyes – from the circus atmosphere in front of the courthouse, to the emotional testimony of witnesses, to the closing arguments and sentencing. A poignant memoir, Skylights and Screen Doors is an affecting story of innocence lost and a brother remembered – and of the trial that shocked the nation.

[Wordy]

I am going to recommend Echoes in the Darkness, by Joseph Wambaugh. The details of the story itself are grim and utterly depressing at times. I grew up just a few miles away from where these crimes took place and I'm still horrified at the fact of them.

Here's a synopsis (from Publisher's Weekly):

The bizarre, seven-year-long case of an Upper Merion, Pa., high school teacher, Susan Reinert, found murdered in 1979, and her two missing children receives masterful treatment from police novelist Wambaugh, who is now building a reputation as a true-crime writer. He shows the dead teacher's lover, colleague and beneficiary of her insurance policiesamounting to about $750,000to have been a superficial intellectual, able to dazzle impressionable high school students and to gather around himself a coterie of naive and trusting neurotics. There is no doubt in the author's mind that William Bradfield, Pied Piper of the chronologically adult but psychically underdeveloped committed the crime in concert with the former principal of the school, Jay Smith, whom he portrays as a sociopath. The skein of murder is highly complex, but Wambaugh unravels it superbly.

Then either when you have read it or even before, Google what ends up happening with Jay Smith. I don't think it's in the book. It's sort of unreal. The two missing children have never been found.