I’m a sucker for true crime stories (well, any sort of crime stories, but you know what I mean). After Serial, I needed something to fill the hole left in my heart. I did know some of the cases here, but not nearly as thoroughly as the author did. He actually made me think differently about some of them, as in the case of Lizzie Borden.

The book is well researched, so it helps to understand all the cases presented. The author gives real evidence and doubts about almost everyone involved. He doesn’t force any interpretation of the facts, which are presented very clearly. Most of the murders here are still unresolved, so making a conclusion and presenting it as the absolute truth would have been irresponsible on his part. He does, however, point out the inconsistencies in some of the statements (as in the case of JoBenet Ramsey, in which nothing makes any sense). Many of the cases are either still being investigated, and some of them are so far in time that nobody involved is still alive. James doesn’t assert anything that is not proved by the official authorities.

The writing is also very clean, and it helped to comprehend better the different timelines and statements made by the witnesses. He also chose interesting cases, ones that changed history and are part of popular culture (Lizzie Borden, ¿anyone?). Cases which most people have heard of, even in a simple way, maybe a passing reference or something. But one never thinks of investigating further. And when you do so, as in this book, you see a lots of things you’ve never even thought of before. I never even entertained the idea that Lizzie Borden could be innocent. Now I’m not so sure.

On the downside, this book promises an analysis of the US “obsession” with these kinds of crimes. We can see it in cases like Seria, when a lot of people were truly invested in the resolution of the case (despite Sarah Koenig saying that it was likely there wasn’t going to be a conclusion there). People want to listen the sordid and gory details of crime, to picture themselves looking at the scene of the crime and to guess who did it. And while the introduction promises to look into this mindset and explain it, it fails to do so. I don’t quite think it’s a good analysis of that subject, while it’s interesting to read about these cases. Weirdly enough, I had a good time reading this (yes, I’m aware of how creepy I am).

It’s probably not THE text on crime in the US. There are things lacking here, and that is because this is intended for a general public. It’s written in a way that helps everyone understand and doesn’t dwell on legal and otherwise technical aspects. But, for a laywoman’s perspective, it’s good enough to see how crime and the public’s relationship with it have changed in the last two hundred years.

Three stars.