|
[ Home ]
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
Fans of the true crime genre, whether newbies or lifelong addicts, soon realize that the typical true crime tome invariably follows the same predictable formula: The Crime, The Investigation, The Arrest and The Trial. While flashbacks or first-person narratives can often serve to spice up this formula, little else can be done with the actual chronology of real-life cases that do indeed happen from the crime to the trial, and most of the time in that order! However, fans aching for a little relief from this tried and true timeline can take heart. From the files of True Detective magazine comes a collection of real-life horror stories edited by David Jacobs and built around the ungraceful theme of Road Kill. Cheesy title aside, this extensive collection offers true crime fans an opportunity to explore numerous and shocking crimes without committing themselves to 500 pages of the trial to follow. While aficionados of the true crime genre often look down upon such cheesy compilations, and indeed many more of these have never stooped low enough to read a single page of the sensationalized True Detective magazine from whence these stories come, garden-variety fans of real-life murder and mayhem won't be disappointed with this page-turning collection of shocking crimes, heartless criminals and the dedicated cops, highway patrolmen and detectives who eventually bring them to justice. Don't let the titillating (not to mention tasteless) chapter titles throw you off, either: "They Whacked Walter for his Wheels," "Deranged Drifter's Bus Stop Bloodbath" and "Gun-Toting, Wheelchair-Bound Killer" are all common fare for a magazine who must compete with hordes of other true crime rags on the magazine stands and checkout aisles in supermarkets and drug stores across the country. However, the authors of these stories are, in fact, quite talented writers who must surely cringe when listing such published clips on their own curriculum vitae! There's the story of Keith Allen Brown, a depraved cabby who ends an unsuspecting victim's night of terror by running her over with his car. Or how about Spencer Corey Goodman, a martial arts enthusiast who kills an ex-beauty queen for her cherry red Cadillac? And don't forget Donald Ray Gideon, who kills an innocent teenager just because she was hitchhiking on the wrong road at the wrong time. There's plenty of real-life chills buried within the pages of this value-packed volume, and as soon as you finish one of them, there's a fresh one waiting for you only a few pages away. So, whether you're an Ann Rule junky or it's your first foray into the world of true crime paperbacks, you can't go wrong with this creepy volume resting on your nightstand or bedside table. (Just don't be surprised if it "kills" your love life!)
Reviewed by Rusty Fischer, August 2001
[ Top ]
QUICK SEARCH:
Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
[ About | Reviews | Search | Submit ]
[ Home ]
| 
