Book recommendations.

[Herlock Sholmes]

I just finished a book that I’m guessing that many on here would have already read, it’s called Yorkshire Ripper: The Secret Murders. I bought it after watching a tv documentary recently although I’d actually bought a copy a few years ago but never got around to reading it before I mistakenly gave it away to a charity shop. It’s well worth a read. It makes a really good case that Sutcliffe actually had around 35 victims plus some survivors of attacks and highlights some staggering incompetence and dishonesty by the police. It also goes into detail about the 3 innocent men all spent well over 20 years in prison for murders that they didn’t commit but that Sutcliffe might well have.

Im looking forward to my next book which arrived today. It’s called Suspect No.1: The Man Who Got Away (2020) by Lise Pearlman and is about the Lindbergh Kidnapping. I read one book on the case around 20 years ago so my knowledge of the case is very basic. This one has been well received to it should be a good one.

Review

"A myth-smashing book, beautifully written, powerfully argued."

Lloyd C. Gardner, Author of The Case That Never Dies


"Shocking...well-documented and highly plausible."

Dr. William M. Bass, Best-selling Author & Founder of "The Body Farm"


"This book addresses an enduring, troubling question: Was an innocent man convicted of

kidnapping and killing Charles Lindbergh's baby? Fascinating read with surprising conclusion."

Barry Scheck, Co-Director of The Innocence Project


"Astounding research, thorough and insightful analysis. Lise Pearlman is a great storyteller...

This will be one of the defi nitive books on the Lindbergh saga...a great and provocative new work."

D. Lowell Jensen, Retired Federal Judge, Former District Attorney

& Asst. Atty. General of the United States, Criminal Division

[c.d.]

Hello Herlock,

You seem to gravitate towards criminal cases so I will recommend:

"Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase to Catch Lincoln's Killer" by James Swanson

"Hellhound on His Trail" by Hampton Sides (the search for the killer of Martin Luther King)(it was the largest manhunt in U.S. history)

Both excellent and both absolute page turners.

c.d.

[Herlock Sholmes]

Thanks c.d. I’ll certainly add them to my list. I’ve seen Hampton Sides mentioned on here before. Maybe it was by you?

[c.d.]

Hampton Sides is very good. Very well researched and detailed. I really enjoyed both of these:

https://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Ice-Terrible-Voyage-Jeannette/dp/0307946916/ref=sr_1_3?crid=1BCKHYRI3FMNC&keywords=hampton+sides&qid=1646430983&sprefix=hampton+sides%2Caps%2C439&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Soldiers-Account-Greatest-Mission/dp/038549565X/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1BCKHYRI3FMNC&keywords=hampton+sides&qid=1646431019&sprefix=hampton+sides%2Caps%2C439&sr=8-5

c.d.

[c.d.]

Herlock,

If you have any interest in World War II, "Flags of Our Fathers" by James Bradley is excellent.

https://www.amazon.com/Flags-of-Our-Fathers-audiobook/dp/B000GPCNTU/ref=sr_1_1?crid=ERZW0K3DSMN5&keywords=flags+of+our+fathers+book&qid=1646431736&sprefix=flags+of+%2Caps%2C156&sr=8-1

c.d.

[c.d.]

An interesting side note on "Flags of Our Father." Three of the flag raisers on Iwo Jima are buried in Arlington National Cemetery and I have visited their graves. All of them were used by the military in an extended tour of the U.S. to promote the buying of war bonds. So many appearances and so much travel that the men were completely exhausted by it all. One of them died at a fairly young age and his widow requested he be buried at Arlington. Her request was denied. She went to see the individual who made the decision and said "here's the deal. My husband was a war hero and raised literally millions of dollars in war bonds. Either he gets buried at Arlington or I go to the newspapers and create a **** storm like you have never seen." They relented.

c.d.

[RManny]

Just finished "Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders" by Vincent Bugliosi. Bugliosi was both the chief investigator on the case as well as the prosecutor. So it is very detailed. A long book - about 650 pages in paperback. I enjoyed it but it was kind of depressing. Manson and his family were some sick individuals.

https://www.amazon.com/Helter-Skelter-audiobook/dp/B005MM7F9A/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1IOTVW5JX6F9E&dchild=1&keywords=helter+skelter+book&qid=1633442591&sprefix=Helter+sk%2Caps%2C198&sr=8-1

Next up is "Gentleman in Moscow."


c.d.

I had read this book years ago and I highly recommend it. This was one of the first books that I read that showed me that there can be folks who possessed such a dark and horrible mindset.

Richard

[RManny]

Although I’m probably late to this book and many on here will already own it but I’ve just ordered Lost London 1870-1945 by Phillip Davies (2009). It looks like an absolute cracker and every single review is 5 star. I’m really looking forward to getting this one.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-London.../dp/0955794986

I just ordered this book on the strength of your recommendations and the quality of reviews.

Looking forward to it!

Richard

[Herlock Sholmes]

I just ordered this book on the strength of your recommendations and the quality of reviews.

Looking forward to it!

Richard

I hope you like it Richard. I’m certainly glad that I got it.

[c.d.]

Just ordered "The Stranger in the Woods:The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit." A true story and over 3,600 reviews on Amazon. Should be a very different type of read.

https://www.amazon.com/Stranger-Wood...cx_mr_hp_atf_m

c.d.

[Herlock Sholmes]

Just ordered "The Stranger in the Woods:The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit." A true story and over 3,600 reviews on Amazon. Should be a very different type of read.

https://www.amazon.com/Stranger-Wood...cx_mr_hp_atf_m

c.d.

That’s a strange story. Should be an interesting book.

[Herlock Sholmes]

I just finished Suspect No 1: The Man Who Got Away by Lise Pearlman.

First of all I have to say that before reading this book I didn’t know much more than generalities about the Lindbergh Kidnapping case. I mentioned in an earlier post that I’d read one on book on the case many years ago but I couldn’t recall which one. The bibliography reminded me though that it was the Ludovic Kennedy book.

There are even 2 Lindbergh case forums which was a surprise to me, so there are many knowledgeable people who may not have such a high opinion of this book. This is a cracker in my opinion. Even just as an overview of the kidnapping, investigation and trial this book is worth having. The author is a retired judge who’s done a lot of research on this. I won’t give away her ‘verdict’ or who Suspect No1 is but but for what it’s worth I think she’s come up with a plausible version of what happened. From previous reading I recalled thinking that Hauptmann might have been innocent and this book has strengthened that belief. There’s no way on earth that he got a remotely fair trial. This was little more than a judicial lynching. To be honest I didn’t realise that there were so many books on this case.

Recommended.

[Abby Normal]

hi herlock
love this thread!

im an avid reader and my library has over five hundred books. im reading anywhere from 3-5 books at any one time and if its good ill read a book in one to three sittings over the course of a couple days. all genres but i lean towards non fiction as i get older.

since this is a true crime site i will recommend one of the best and craziest unsolved serial murder mysteries of all time:

The Monster of Florence

its got so many twists and turns even the author was arrested at one point!

some other greats:

Helter Skelter
Zodiac
Ill be gone in the Dark (the golden state killer)
Mindhunter
Lost Girls (LISK)
Lobster Boy

The Amityville Horror is one of the greatest page turners ive ever read. did it one sitting in sixth grade literally under the covers with the flashlight.

not recommended:
cornholes sickert book what a load of garbage. i tossed in tje circular file half way through the third chapter.
Devil in the white city. Boooooooooring

[Herlock Sholmes]

hi herlock
love this thread!

im an avid reader and my library has over five hundred books. im reading anywhere from 3-5 books at any one time and if its good ill read a book in one to three sittings over the course of a couple days. all genres but i lean towards non fiction as i get older.

since this is a true crime site i will recommend one of the best and craziest unsolved serial murder mysteries of all time:

The Monster of Florence

its got so many twists and turns even the author was arrested at one point!

some other greats:

Helter Skelter
Zodiac
Ill be gone in the Dark (the golden state killer)
Mindhunter
Lost Girls (LISK)
Lobster Boy

The Amityville Horror is one of the greatest page turners ive ever read. did it one sitting in sixth grade literally under the covers with the flashlight.

not recommended:
cornholes sickert book what a load of garbage. i tossed in tje circular file half way through the third chapter.
Devil in the white city. Boooooooooring

Hi Abby,

I think it’s good hearing about books that might not have been picked up on everyone’s radar. I always look through the bibliography of every book that I read and have bought quite a few gems that way and the odd dud of course but there’s always a risk in buying a book of course. I’ve read 4 of the ones in your list although I might have to look into the intriguingly titled Lobster Boy. I bought The Moster of Florence on your recommendation and it’s a classic. I’ll Be Gone In The Dark too ( Isn’t there another book out on the case by Paul Haynes? I thought that I’d read it somewhere but I can’t find it.)

The Adam Selzer book on HH Holmes is another cracker imo. It was recommended to me on her by someone (it might have been Wolf Vanderlinden but my apologies if it was someone else)

I can recommend The East Rover Ripper by George Dekle on the Old Shakespeare case but I know that you were put off by his errors in his overview of the ripper murders. As the ripper murders weren’t connected I just think that he assumed that all versions would tie up when he was writing a short overview - he should have checked of course but this small part doesn’t reflect on the rest of the book imo. It’s a far more interesting case than I’d believed.

Its not always easy to find new books online because I type in things like ‘historical true crime’ and find a lists of modern crime books or books on gangs or drugs. I do tend to prefer historical crime books (Victorian/Edwardian eras)

I’m guessing that I currently have around 1000 books but sadly I’ve had to get rid of around the same amount over the last 5 years due to a lack of space. I hate letting books go but I’m just too restricted on storage. At the last count I have around 315 on the ripper case (plus magazines, facsimiles, old Ripperologist and Ripperanas too) So that’s one and half smallish bookcases taken up.

I don’t know if there are any Ripper books in the pipeline though? I used to buy everything that came out but not these days. Too many rehashes or barking mad self published stuff. The new A-Z will be a must have as is John Malcolm’s annotated version of Anderson’s book. Martyn Priestnall is also working on one. I’m also considering getting Morley’s two suspect books. I even considered having a look at Pierre’s book but it’s no longer available.

I hope everyone keeps the suggestions/reviews coming.

[GBinOz]

Hi Herlock,

Belated birthday greetings for your 57th yesterday. I hate to be the bearer of sad tidings, but it's all downhill from here mate. Enjoy it while you can.

Cheers, George