Daly includes some of the best-known names of her genre -- the likes of Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, and John Hinckley, Jr. -- but sprinkles in historic killers and lesser-knowns from around the world, mixes in legislation sparked by outrage over crimes such as hate killings, adds law enforcement goofs and foibles, and leavens the whole with tales of the plucky -- and sometimes lucky -- survivors of violent crimes.
Daly also touches on the science that can catch criminals -- or backfire on prosecutors. For those who think science is faultless, consider the troubled record of such clues as hair structure, blood spatter, even fingerprinting. Check out the number of exonerations, sometimes even with supposedly scientific evidence, and often even of those who have pled guilty to the crimes for which they were charged. Then ponder how many actual criminals may still be lurking while the innocent are imprisoned.
Most of the more than 200 entries in "The True Crime File" are bite-sized -- not more than two pages in length, leading readers to say, "just one more," before lights out.
Readers who long for a break from records of human villainy can turn to the "Antics and Accidents" section for the likes of "Assault with a Deadly Gator" (in which no reptiles were harmed). Or my favorite, "The Bizarre Body Snatching of Gram Parsons, involving an already-dead rock star, a pair of inebriated friends, and a wrecked hearse. "(B)ecause there was no law in California at that time against stealing a dead body," Daly deadpans, the criminals were only charged with stealing the corpse's coffin. Someday I may visit the national park where the friends attempted to follow what they believed was his wish to be cremated, with its unofficial monument to him -- and them.
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