393 
Title: [The Devil in the White City]
Author: Erik Larson
Pages: 447
Genre: Nonfiction
Medium: Kindle
Acquisition: Library Book
Date Completed: May 14, 2013
Rating: ****

Erik Larson's The Devil in the White City, about Chicago's Worlds Fair and serial killer H.H. Holmes is not a book I would have ever found on my own; credit for this read goes to one of my students, who was assigned the book in high school and was shocked that I had never heard of it, given my own reading habits.  A big thank you goes out to her for a fantastic read.

For most of this book I assumed I was reading historical fiction.  In fact, I assumed as much up until my sister-in-law invited me to see a rock opera about "America's first serial killer, H.H. Holmes."  Thus is the narrative style of the text, that it allows for such misconception - Larson's books is a story that seems to imitate true crime writing, as opposed to an overly technical nonfiction account.  As such, I'm sure the scholarship of the text may be suspect to someone who knows the Fair or Holmes better than I, but as someone with no prior knowledge or experience I found the book to be engrossing, and the characters fascinating. 

14.
Title: The Terrible Axe-Man of New Orleans
Author: Rick Geary
Pages: 80
Genre: Nonfiction Graphic Novel
Medium: Hardcover
Acquisition: Recommended on a list of true crime graphic novels
Date Completed: January 24, 2012
Rating: ***1/2

The Terrible Axe-Man of New Orleans is a true crime graphic novel that covers a series of mysterious axe murders/attacks that occurred in New Orleans (obviously) at the turn of the century. Geary's text once again confirms that graphic novels are an excellent medium for true crime, as it allows authors to truly capture the horror of events; what may be unnecessary purple prose in traditional true crime is translated to captivating illustrations that more easily hold the reader's attention and sympathy. While Axe-Man is not a spectacular example on its own, it is an enjoyable graphic novel, and certainly worth a peek for those interested in the genre(s).

4.
Title: Green River Killer
Author: Jeff Jensen
Pages: 240
Genre: Nonfiction, True Crime, Graphic Novel
Medium: Hardback
Acquisition:
Date Completed: January 3, 2012
Rating: ****

According to an article by Seattle PI, Gary Ridgway, the Green River Killer, holds the record for most murder convictions of any serial killer in the US. Altogether, he has claimed responsibility for the deaths of 49 women. He was a suspect for seventeen years before DNA technology advancements lead to his arrests, but his murders began two years before that (his first murder attempt - that of a seven-year-old boy - was in 1966).

Detective Tom Jensen leads the task force on the Green River Killer from the beginning, and in 1991 becomes the only member of the police force still assigned to the case. And, as presented by his son Jeff Jensen, he continued to press on, driven by sympathy for the families of missing or murdered young women, and nearly crippled by his own humanity.

In the end, he finds retribution.

The graphic novel proves to be a strong medium for true crime, literally giving the detective, victims, and Ridgway faces that continue to haunt the reader after the text is closed. The stark illustrations emphasize the emotional turmoil that would accompany any case of this kind, and Jensen's penchant for focused portraiture lends humanity and introspection to the story.

One drawback to this particular graphic novel, however, is the inconsistent use of time; Jensen frequently jumps backwards and forwards through time, often leaving the reader to scan the characters carefully to decide if a particular sequence is from the 1980s, 90s, or after Ridgway's apprehension. Still, Green River Killer is compelling as a whole, and I would recommend it to fans of true crime and gritty comics.

"'I killed so many women I have a hard time keeping them straight,' he said in a statement read by Deputy Prosecutor Jeff Baird.

'My plan was I wanted to kill as many women I thought were prostitutes as I possibly could,' he said. 'I picked prostitutes as my victims because I hate most prostitutes and I did not want to pay them for sex. I also picked prostitutes for victims because they were easy to pick up without being noticed.'"

Read more from the November 4, 2003 article in Seattle PI.