The Fleagle Gang - Betrayed by a Fingerprint - Written by N T Betz

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Fleagle Story - Incredible

You better believe it! This story tossed down through the ages, generation after generation, toppled the lives of a community in the roaring 20's, rankled the great plains, and scoured a nation. Little Jake Fleagle, a name innocent enough in conception, appears a bit as one might expect to appear on the Apple Dumpling Gang, in the Little Raskals, or more recently appearing Slappy and the Stinkers. But the man had no dimples, he wasn't cute, and his memory shivers fear though the citizens of southeastern Colorado.

On a warm sunny May afternoon, First National Bank opened for business; a day like any other in 1928. Laughter regaled the prairie, neighbor folks cheerfully greeted each other, and life in rural Lamar, Colorado resounded with pure simplicity. May 23, 1928 echoes through history as the date Lamar, Colorado lost its innocence. Ravaged by murder of prominent citizens, the community changed. Innocence abandoned the towns people, and brash reality filled it's place

The story is told in historic simplicity by one of the community's best, N.T. "Tom" Betz with the expertise and accuracy we've all come to expect from the Betz family. The Betz family published the local paper for many years, including during the time of the robbery. News reals, publications, articles, and people who remember the incident well were interviewed and included for this factual commentary of one of the most magnificent crimes, still 77 years after the event, taunted as the biggest robbery in County History. Details of an intense and on going investigation and search for the men guilty of murder make this a most interesting and profound book. Intriguing commentary, news items, and recounts of historic court room events, tracking options, and numerous "firsts" used in the investigation of the crime and location of the guilty parties make this book a worthy read for anyone interested in history of crime investigations.

Some of the numerous "firsts" in the investigation process included:

* First fingerprint used to identify and locate the guilty party in a murder/robbery.

* First time aeroplanes were used in tracking criminals traveling by vehicle away from a crime.

One interesting aspect of the investigation and search included the various forms of communication used by everyone involved.

* Messages dropped from planes.

* People receiving verbal shouts from passing officials.

* Messages left with injured bystanders.

* Notes written and passed from person to person.

* Telephone messages sent hours after the fact, saved, for hours, in case another message is received.

* Telegraph.

In today's' remarkable world of nanosecond communications, technologically advanced instant forms of transmission, and instant satellite tracking systems reading the historical commentary of first implemented fingerprint and flight tracking gives the reader a comprehension of the extreme radical changes experienced by even basic services across our nation, and around the world.

Tom's rendition of this hellacious scar on Southeastern Colorado History bring tears to the citizens there, and revelations to those who pass through... An understanding of the isolation experienced by those who reside in the area.

I'm Jan Verhoeff, a writer from Southeastern Colorado. When I pick up a book to read, it better be good. Time is of the essence, so the few books I get to read have to capture my interest, or I put them down fast. For more book reviews and writer info, visit my Writer Blog at http://janverhoeff.com/

Murder So Cold by Patricia Springer - True Crime Book Review

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Married for eight years, the Smiths seemed the perfect couple. On September 28, 1994, in Portage, Michigan, Candace Smith was told by her father Russ that her mother had run away with another man. But he never explained to the young seven year old child why the bathroom upstairs was a wreck and why there was blood in the sink. They then drove miles out of state to her grandparent's house with a barrel loaded into the back of a pickup truck.

I saw this original story on the Crime & Investigation channel and wanted to know more and so I ordered the book online. I was right in that there was so much more information in the book which obviously they could not all fit onto a half an hour show. I am amazed at how this man got away with murder for so long. In fact he was only caught by a cold case squad a few years later. The original investigators seemed to be incompetent in that they dismissed the case as a woman who had run away from home despite relatives and friends assurances that she would never have left her child. It seems that if you murder someone and hide the body well enough (and this man travelled miles with the body) the chances are very good that you might get away with murder. This murderer was blatant in his actions even remodelling his bathroom. The amazing thing is you could think that maybe this was so long ago that the investigators were perhaps not so well trained that they did not know how to conduct an investigation but this case was as recent as 1994.

The entire time I read this book I had a constant feeling of disbelief that this man was not getting caught so I can well imagine the reactions of the people close to the victim. They had to live the nightmare and incompetence in the investigation of this case. I was also constantly worrying about the child still with this unstable father.

The book reads well but was a bit of a disappointment as I had watched the tv program before so I knew about the main twists and turns. Paricia Springer does however fill up the spaces in between with pertinent information and a few surprises here and there. I would recommend this book if you are passionate about true crime books and especially if you have never seen the tv program before.

I suggest accessing other reviews from readers of true crime stories before making an online book purchase.

For more information on true crime books, reviews on these books, a wish list and a swop corner for readers of true crime stories come browse though http://truecrimebookreviews.blogspot.com/

Kiss Me, Kill Me by Ann Rule - True Crime Book Review

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This book has ten true crime stories included. Kiss Me, Kill Me is the longest story with 128 pages and is about a young pregnant mother who gets killed in her home. The other stories "The Postman Only Killed Once", What's Love Got To Do With It? ", "Old Flames Can Burn", The Lonely Hearts Killer", The Captive Bride", "Bad Blind Date", The Highway Accident", You Kill Me...Or I'll Kill You" and "Where Is Julie? " are shorter stories and average about 25 pages each. The common thread in each of these stories and probably why Ann Rule used them all for this crime file is they are all crimes against women and involved a certain element of trust by the victims for the killer.

Suffice to say all Ann Rule books are brilliant. Her ability to take you into the lives of the victim before they get murdered evokes an emotional response as you feel you already know these people by the time they get murdered.

I enjoy the true crime files but feel a little let down by the shorter stories as most of them seem to have the potential to be a full book on their own. Ann Rule has made the comment that she gets asked to write so many books about certain people and criminal acts and really does not have the time to write all of them. The true crime files is her way of writing about as many stories as she can. She mostly chooses stories which are close to her heart as in "Kiss Me, Kill Me" she is a personal friend of the victim's uncle.

I think the True Crime Files are perfect for readers who enjoy true crime stories but do not really like reading big books. In that way Ann Rule has made sure that all her types of readers are satisfied. For me any Ann Rule book is wonderful and I just wish she would write more books. I always wonder when I read a true crime story that I do not enjoy, if Ann Rule would have written it differently and made it a good book. I personally think so. . .

To sum up, I prefer full length stories but I still read the crime files as I will read anything written by Ann Rule.

This is my personal review on Kiss Me, Kill Me written by Ann Rule but I would suggest accessing the opinions of other readers of true crime stories before making an online purchase of a true crime book.

For more information on true crime books, reviews on these books, a wish list and a swop corner for readers of true crime stories come browse though http://truecrimebookreviews.blogspot.com/