The Search for Anne Perry: The Hidden Life of a Bestselling Crime Writer by Joanne Drayton

Release Date: June 3, 2014
Publisher: Arcade Publishing
  
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis:
From the beginning of the book, the journey of Anne Perry's publishing career was chronicled from the rocky start which left her destitute at times to the peak of her success. Everything in between was also examined, including the plots to her various series of books and the intimate friendships which grew out of her advance in the publishing world. What no one expected was that an incident from Anne's past would put everything into jeopardy once again.

In her youth Anne was known as Juliet Hulme, one half of a teenage duo that was involved in a scandalous murder in New Zealand during the 1950s. As this part of her history came under scrutiny, everything she'd worked so hard to attain and change within herself threatened to fall apart once again. The book examined the aftermath of this revelation as well as Anne's reaction to her darkest secret being laid out for everyone to see.

Review:
This book was another good find from OHFB and kept me entertained through another round of the flu. I honestly didn't know anything about the author, Anne Perry, or her various crime novels before I began this book. However, I did know some basic facts of the murder case which took place in New Zealand decades prior. It was a little hard at first to reconcile the fact that the crime writer was the same young girl who committed such a crime. The author not only attempted to show the stark differences between the adult Anne and the teenage Juliet, but she also explored the years shortly after the murder took place and the imprisonment of both girls. For most people, the case usually ended with the verdict and little thought was given to what comes after it.

Though the book began with the bombshell revelation about her past to her publisher, the central figure in the book was definitely Anne Perry. From her quiet second beginning and finding herself among the Mormon faith to the rocky start of her writing career, it was apparent that she was very much removed from the teenager who had made a grievous mistake. She safeguarded that dark secret as much as possible, more to protect those she loved than to protect herself. It was stated in several places that the anxiety about her past drove her to delve deeper into her comfort zones and explore things through her writing whenever possible. Mixed with the examinations of both past and present were the various plots of her books. Though they obviously were included to show a correlation between Anne's thoughts and feelings of her past with those of her future, there were quite a few times when I became lost reading about the plot of her books and distracted from the life of Anne herself!

For me the book had moments where the pacing was steady and I was always ready to keep turning those pages. However, there were also bits of the chapters were I felt like a lot of time had been given to the characters in her books instead of Anne, her colleagues, friends or family. I was glad to see that when the author wrote about the crime, the trial which followed and the imprisonment of both girls, she didn't sensationalize any of the events which took place. In fact, the author offered views from both sides of the aisle as well as the girls' own thoughts about what was taking place. It was quite clear that the author spent a lot of time researching and going through the various documents as she investigated the life and times of Anne Perry.

Overall, I quite liked the book. There was a message of hope and redemption through much of the trials and tribulations that Anne often wrote about in her own novels. She truly tried to be a person deserving of the second chance that she'd been granted after her release from prison. She also didn't try to invalidate the gravity of murder and the harm it caused for many people after the fact. She accepted responsibility for her actions time and again over the years. By the end of the book, one was left with a sense that the girl who found herself involved with something that escaped her grasp and comprehension wasn't the woman who began writing novels as a way to right social wrongs and spread a message of hope.

The Search for Anne Perry: The Hidden Life of a Bestselling Crime Writer by Joanne Drayton is currently available at many retailers. Copies can be purchased in various formats including hardcover, paperback, audio-book and Kindle. The following link will take you to the book's page at Amazon.
The Search for Anne Perry: The Hidden Life of a Bestselling Crime Writer by Joanne Drayton

Serial Killers True Crime Anthology 2014 (True Crime Library RJPP #1) by R.J. Parker

Release Date: December 11, 2013
Publisher: RJ Parker Publishing
Series: True Crime Library RJPP, Book 1
Authors Included: R.J. Parker, Peter Vronsky, Dane Ladwig, Sylvia Perrini, Michael Newton  

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis:
Those who step outside the bounds set by society captivated the masses for as long as the tales of their deeds were told to the next generation. Real evil began to infiltrate the usual bedtime stories about scary boogeymen, vampires or werewolves. Men and women who became obsessed, or some say possessed, by the desire to take the lives of others roamed the streets and blended in with average folk as they went through their everyday routines.

In this volume of the True Crime Anthology, several serial killers were explored from their birth and early childhood through their crimes and the aftermath. The novel included both men and women from both ends of the financial spectrum and from various parts of the world. Exploring the cases through police reports, court documents and even through the words of the killers themselves, the authors shine a light on the dark deeds without neglecting to remember the victims.


Review:
*Graphic Warning* - This novel explored subject matter that might be disturbing to some readers. It included pictures of crime scene evidence as well as statements made by the killers in written or vocal interviews.

This book was among one of the great deals that I found on OHFB - a site that I love for keeping my Kindle stocked with lots of different books. Since I was always interested in crime and crime-related stories, I knew the included photographs or statements wouldn't bother me. However, I must say that there was little, if any, censoring of either items in their related stories, but there weren't a lot of the photographs throughout the book either. Each of the authors covered a particular serial killer, or killers in a few cases.

They delved into the earliest known information about the serial killer involved and follow him or her through the years, the murders and the repercussions of their actions. Written and taped interviews were used alongside police evidence and court documents to try and find the answers to questions that plagued investigators and society alike over the years. Some of the killers in this volume of the anthology include people from hundreds of years ago to the early part of the 2000s. Some were rich, killing with impunity because of their station in life such as Erzsebet (Elizabeth) Bathory. Others weren't so lucky to come from wealth and made due with what they were given, including the Bloody Benders and Robert Pickton.

For me there wasn't much in the way of pacing for this book. Each of the chapters laid out the timeline for each of the killers without leading into the next. It was much like the chapter was its own case file. That made it easy to set the book down if I needed to take care of something else and come back to it later without feeling lost or confused about where I am in the book. The victims weren't forgotten in the midst of all the coverage of the crimes. Their names, faces and voices gave them more weight than much of the media did during their coverage. Not a lot of detail about the actual crimes filled the pages even though they weren't hidden either.

While I knew of a few of the killers listed, there were a few that I hadn't heard of before, making it an interesting read. Overall, I liked the book and found it interesting to see the evolution of many included killers as well as possible explanations for their methods of madness. I was also glad to see that very little speculation appeared in the various chapters. When it did, the author was sure to note what was speculation and what wasn't. If you're looking for a fairly comprehensive look at a small section of serial killers and what may have led them to do what they did, then this anthology is definitely one to consider!

Serial Killers True Crime Anthology 2014 (True Crime Library RJPP #1) by R.J. Parker is currently available at various online retailers in paperback, Kindle and audio-book versions. Clicking the link below will bring up the book's page at Amazon.
Serial Killers True Crime Anthology 2014 (True Crime Library RJPP #1) by R.J. Parker

True Crime: Michigan: The State's Most Notorious Criminal Cases by Tobin T. Buhk

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

Synopsis:
True Crime: Michigan is a book full of murder, mayhem and history from across the state of Michigan. Beginning with some of the crimes known to have taken place before Michigan had been given statehood, the book shows the rough and tumble way of life that has come to those in Michigan. The stories include many arenas of the criminal world including murders, extortion, gang activity and even a disappearance. Each is a true account given with background information concerning the key individuals and several theories, if applicable. Some examples of cases covered within the book include the Michigan victims of the Lonely Hearts Killers Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck, the rise and fall of the Purple Gang, an island where one man's perception of religion ruled, the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa and many more.

Review:
As a lover of true crime novels, I was quite pleased to find this book on a day when the Kindle version was free. I was immediately taken in by the history of the state we've come to know as Michigan. The author lays out how the land and its people moved from uncharted, wild territory into the state we may visit today. Along the way, we learn some of the shady characters that make the history colorful, to say the least. I really liked how the author kept his writing unbiased, presenting the information in both an entertaining and informing narrative that was quite easy to follow. Of course, I feel as though the book was a bit short but that's only because I do enjoy the genre. All in all, the book is a solid, entertaining read that provides as accurate information as allowed by records that have been kept or media coverage of events. If you are a true crime lover, this book is one you should consider checking out.

True Crime: Michigan: The State's Notorious Criminal Cases by Tobin T. Buhk is available in both paperback and Kindle form. It can be purchased from Amazon.com at the link below.
True Crime: Michigan: The State's Most Notorious Criminal Cases by Tobin T. Buhk