The Best American Crime Reporting

I have always enjoyed the annual "Best American..." series of books. I have read several of the books in the series (those on mysteries, sports writing, and true crime). Each book I have read has been good. The only downside to the "Best American..." collections is that the quality of the stories in each collection varies; this is intuitive, as each story is by a different author and on a different topic. The Best American Crime Reporting 2007 contains fifteen stories of varying quality. There are some gems and there are a few disappointments. I believe that five stories are particularly good: - The Talented Dr. Krist: In 1968 Gary Krist kidnapped an Emory University coed and buried her alive while the coed's wealthy parents paid a large ransom. The police eventually found the coed alive and captured Krist, who was sent to prison until 1979. After he got out of prison, Krist (who has an exceptionally-high IQ) graduated from a medical school in the Caribbean and then attempted to establish a medical practice in Indiana. Krist is fascinating and his life story would be completely unbelievable if it weren't true. (FYI: The story of Krist's original crime is the subject of the book 83 Hours Till Dawn). - The Devil in David Berkowitz: Son of Sam killer David Berkowitz claims that he has become a born-again Christian during his incarceration. Surprisingly, Berkowitz has become a celebrity among fundamentalist Christians, many of whom hope that he will gain his release from prison. The story also recounts Berkowitz's alleged involvement with Satanists at the time of the Son of Sam murders. Similar to Gary Krist, Berkowitz both fascinates and repels. - The Man Who Loves Books Too Much: This is the most-original piece in the collection. The protagonist is a man named John Charles Gilkey, who sees nothing wrong with stealing rare first editions from book dealers. The real treat here (for an avid reader) is learning about the deeply-weird world of rare-book collectors. - Last Seen on September 10th: This tells the story of a female physician who apparently perished during the 9-11 attacks. A subsequent police investigation revealed, however, that she was leading a double life and may not have been in the World Trade Center, after all. This is a great, real-life mystery. - The Monster of Florence: Between 1974 and 1985 a serial killer murdered seven young couples who were having sex in their cars in the hills surrounding Florence, Italy. Much about the case still causes controversy in Italy. American author Douglas Preston re-investigates the case with an Italian journalist. Their sleuthing makes so many waves that the Italian is jailed and Preston is ordered to leave Italy and never return. This one is fascinating, but Preston spares the reader none of the grisly details. Readers might want to skim a few pages from the other ten stories and see if one "grabs" them. The Best American Crime Reporting is worth seeking out. Given that each story is

I too have read every one of this series from 2002 through 2008 and I have to say this one is the best of the bunch. Linda Fairstein, probably best known as the prosecutor of the infamous "Preppie Murder" case in New York turns out to be a brilliant editor. The selections are all outstanding and the sift from a crime in Beslan, Russia to a crime in Odessa, Texas is sublime. From nursing homes, to doctors to priests the arrangement of stories in unfailingly good and translates into a smooth read. These are stories that will stay with you long after you've finished. Kudos to Ms. Fairstein and all involved in the production of this volume. I cannot reccomend it highly enough.

I have read all the books in this series since 2002 and this is one of the best. All of the "true-crime" stories here are extremely well-written, taken from various magazines throughout the year, and provide background information that you will never get from the news headlines. The book begins with the story of Sal and Mabel Mangano, the New Orleans nursing home owners who were accused of abandoning their residents to Hurricane Katrina. The article addresses this story from many angles, not the least of which concludes that the Manganos are far from the monsters that they were made out to be in the media. There is another fascinating story of a New York writer who unwittingly shares his apartment with a subject of "America's Most Wanted," and another story of a young female medical intern who disappeared the day before 9/11 and whose fate is still unknown. There are a couple of great whodunits, and a heartbreaking account of the Russian school hostage seige in Beslan. Every story in this book is a page-turner, and I highly recommend it.