September 10, 2015
Thursday
When true-crime author Dina Di Mambro reviewed my 30 Illegal Years To The Strip on
Amazon.com, I reread her book so I could review it and confirmed she earned
5-Stars. My review follows.
Carefully researched and interesting true-crime writing in
the glamour of Hollywood!
I really enjoyed True
Hollywood Noir: Filmland Mysteries and Murders, because the author handled
every element of the presentation extremely well. I am impressed with her depth
of research, her coherent organization of the issues, and the clarity of her
writing. With each of the dozen murders, she presents a very human view of the
lifestyle and character of the victim and the relevant key figures in his or
her life. While factually too little evidence was ever discovered in some cases
to judge guilt, in the other cases, she draws well-reasoned conclusions based
on a strong preponderance of evidence. This all combines to create interesting,
first-rate writing. That is why this book established her as my favorite
true-crime author.
On a personal note, I was 17-years old when the press
reported George Reeves committed suicide. Since Superman was one of my favorite early TV shows, I was very
disturbed by this event. It was hard for me to process how a man who had so
much going for him would commit suicide. In this book, the author proves
Reeves' was murdered and points to the likely suspect. The author's excellent
analysis transformed what appeared to be a suicide, which I found unsettling,
into a murder that, while sad, is understandable.
