Lawrence Schiller

I bought a used copy of this book on impulse last year -- mainly because of the title locale, with which I am somewhat familiar. I found the book very hard to put down once I began reading it. This is the story of an accident (or was it?) that left a woman dead. Citing the Medical Examiner's report, the woman's husband (a respected dentist) sued the Ford Motor Co., claiming that a defective air bag killed his wife. Ford counterd -- with the theory that she was strangled, and the accident was show more used as a cover up and attempt at profiting by her death.

I can't say that I was especially impressed with how the story was told; but the events themselves kept me reading. I'm sure it took a lot of persistent research to track down all the information which is recounted here. I kind of agreed with the summary a previous owner of the volume scribbled on the inisde back cover: "VG" (presumably, Very Good), "but too long!" I felt there was more detail than necessary for a general reader like myself. However, I imagine readers in the legal profession would be fascinated by all the details recounted. It's amazing to see how much maneuvering can be done when a bunch of lawyers go to work on a high-stakes lawsuit; and how much money goes into fighting on each side.

The story's ending might be a let-down to some readers, simply because in non-fiction you can't tidy up all the loose ends; it is what it is. Sometimes there are no easy answers. But after reading this, I do know that I definitely wouldn't want to go up against a big company in court! show less

The JonBenet Ramsey murder case is truly perplexing. Not only is evidence as to perpetrator and motive extremely scarce, but the specific circumstances of its occurrence (including the leaving of a bizarre, rambling "ransom note", when the girl's body lay in the basement) make no sense whatsoever. Unfortunately, the case remains an unsolved mystery with too many discrepancies, conflicting stories, and unresolved issues.

In "Perfect Murder, Perfect Town", Lawrence Schiller offers an exhaustive show more account of the case's investigation, with a particular focus on the incompetence of the Boulder police force and the DA's office (which had little experience with homicide investigations) and the conflicts between them. At 600+ pages, the book is excessively long with an enormous cast of minor characters, yet it reveals little that is new. What's more, the author purposefully ends the book before the grand jury has made its judgment -- meaning that any reader will know more than the author himself about the upshot of the case.

Nevertheless a 60 page segment towards the end of the book (that outlines the grand jury evidence), helps make the case more clear. For this reader at least, it makes it seem likely that the murder (and cover-up) had to be done by members of the Ramsey family. Few other possibilities explain why a protracted ransom note was written and left *after* the girl's death, given that her body lay hidden in the basement; not to mention the elaborate "staging" of the crime scene. Little else explains why the father, John Ramsey, was seeking to fly his family out of Boulder within 35 minutes of discovering the ransom note -- when a real victim of a kidnapping would be frantic to find his daughter and torn over meeting the demands of the ransom note. Nor is it easy to explain why the demanded money -- the peculiar figure of $118,000 -- happened to be the exact amount Ramsey was receiving as a employee bonus. Then there is the question of how a supposed intruder could make his way silently through this enormous maze of a house without turning on lights, and while carrying the child, managed to find a hidden wine cellar in the recesses of the basement -- there to murder her, before proceeding upstairs to write a long ransom note. And finally, there's the fact that the family dog was absent -- it had been sent to another house to spend the night. Coincidence?

Given the weight of evidence, the author's epilogue is very odd. He opines that neither John nor Patsy Ramsey ever asked the other whether they had caused the death of the little girl. Such a notion is utterly impossible to believe. That question is the first that any parent would want answered, unless of course they were both present at the scene. One can understand the author's reluctance to jump on the bandwagon of Ramsey accusers, but he obscures matters by inventing a scenario that is far less plausible that any of the alternatives.

Given its length, exhaustive detail, and lack of closure, I came away from this book unsatisfied, and regretting that I spent so much time with it. I suspect that most other readers will do so as well. show less

This book was published in January 1970 -- the killings happened in August of 1969 and the case hadn't even gone to trial yet. Lawrence Schiller (who went on to a lucrative career in true crime books, movies, and TV shows, as well as a friendship with Norman Mailer) somehow landed an exclusive interview with Susan Atkins before her access to the press was limited by a judge's order. This book, obviously rushed to press to cash in on the Manson Family excitement, consists of two long sections show more by Schiller (one introducing the reader to the Hippie movement, the drug scene -- much of which seems to come from Schiller's first book, LSD (1966), -- and San Francisco; the other giving some background on the Manson Family and the killings), and then a long section in Atkins' "own words" (which are probably based on the interviews with her but are so so so obviously the author's, and not her own words at all).

This book is not good as a cultural, legal, forensic, or psychological overview of the Manson Family killings. It is not very well written, and it is obviously playing to the curiosity, fascination, and fear people felt about these killings at the time. That being said, it is a great document of the contemporary reaction to the murders, a good example of grocery store true crime journalism, and it takes about two seconds to read, so it is worth looking at if you have an interest in this sort of thing.

[full review here: http://spacebeer.blogspot.com/2009/05/killing-of-sharon-tate-1970.html ] show less

A fiction novel written under the facade of a non-fiction piece. Heavily blurs the lines between what is actual facts about the case, and what is simply a figment of the authors imagination. There is nothing wrong with a fictionalized account of the Robert Hanssen story - however, you can't classify this is a non-fiction book and make every attempt to deceive the readers that this is a true story. When reading this you simply have no idea what is truth and what is not. Read The Bureau and show more the Mole instead - you'll get an accurate depiction of the tale of Robert Hanssen without the conjured up back story & dialog. show less