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Each issue of the Mystery Readers Journal has a theme: religious mysteries, cross-genre, culinary, medical, and so on. Because each entry in JUST THE FACTS was written for a particular issue of MRJ, each column is somehow connected to the theme for that particular issue. JUST THE FACTS is a short story anthology for people who enjoy reading true crime. Doherty starts in the old West, with Bill Tilghman and works his way up to the 1980s and some of the more notorious serial killers of our time. But his focus isn't so much on the bad guys as on the lawmen who hunt them down. A refreshing point of view, actually. Doherty makes no bones about his bias -- he's a cop, and the cops in JUST THE FACTS are the good guys. And they tend to be cops we've not heard much about. Bill Tilghman, for instance, was a contemporary of such famous lawmen as Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp, and Wild Bill Hickok. How many of us have ever heard of Mr Tilghman? Or the Chinese-American policeman in Hawaii, Chang Apana, who was probably the inspiration for Charlie Chan? What made JUST THE FACTS even more interesting for me was the lagniappe at the end of almost every column. One is a brief bibliography of books about the crime/criminal/officer discussed in the column. Another is fictional treatments, both written and visual, of the crime or personnel involved. If a particular subject really grabs you, these bits of information make a great starting point for finding out all the gory details. Doherty's diligence in research is self-evident, based on these addendums. My only negative comment is on the physical layout of the book. The font is just a little smaller than I'd like to see, which made each page seem very congested and not as easy on the eyes as it could have been. A minor beef, all in all. If you enjoy true crime, and are looking for something a little less weighty than most Ann Rule books, something you can read while you're waiting at the dentist's office, something like a dim-sum appetizer platter of cases to send you looking for more, then JUST THE FACTS is probably just what you want. If you're a fan of the lesser-known, want information about the not-so-famous but just as important people in law enforcement history, get JUST THE FACTS.
Reviewed by P. J. Coldren, December 2004
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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