I started this one yesterday and I almost bailed. But I returned to it today and I'm so glad that I did. Very similar vibes to Danielle's Devil's House. Plan on finishing tomorrow. Such a fascinating, complex, disturbing portrait of a terrible crime.
pickAn interesting look at how searches are conducted for missing hikers, the tools used by both amateurs and professionals including drones, psychics, in-person searches, and social media. It centers on 3 missing hikers, and while none are found, you get to know the hikers, their families, and the author, a former national park ranger, throughout the searches on the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail). It‘s informative and heartbreaking.
pickI found Shari Franke‘s account of her life and experiences with Ruby Franke —her mother, family vlogger, influencer, and convicted child abuser — to be compelling. I will occasionally watch a video with a cute baby in it; since reading Franke‘s book, I try not to do that anymore. Ruby blamed much of what she did on a woman she worked closely with, Jodi Hildebrandt, but it‘s clear that she was always abusive — Jodi just helped make it worse.
pickThis was mostly surprisingly fun, explaining the whole thing via two parallel timelines that converged: first, the story of Wise's early entry into forgeries, and then on the other hand the stories of Pollard and Carter. There's a fair bit of creative reimagining, to attempt to bring it all to life.
Aside from the boo-boo about Sayers I wrote about earlier, I don't know of any other errors of fact, and it was pretty engaging.
Oof! Badly misattributes stuff in Dorothy L. Sayers, and of course I noticed. Claims that “an analytical chemist“ (Sir James Lubbock) finds “arsenic on the victim's shoe“ during The Unpleasantness of the Bellona Club. It's nothing of the kind: Wimsey goes to see him, Lubbock is finishing a previous job, and then says the bit Hone quotes about arsenic about *that*.
The sample from the shoe is paint, not arsenic.
Immediate eyebrow raising here.
Books from my closest Little Free Library on the same night.
pickThis book surprised the ✨️heck✨️ out of me.
Part 1 - But when is this gonna get good? (Please tell me that someone knows this meme)
Part 2 - OMG this is so good
Part 3 - Gasp! The tragedy never ends 😭
This was for May bookclub - I loved the conversation we had about this time in history. Many people even brought their own stories from their family members. So interesting. And also, incredibly sad. I hate it here.
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05.22.2025
pickPelly untangles how most music discovery gets nudged by invisible hands – makes you wonder what‘s shaping your next #bookish obsession. It‘s like #truecrime without the serial killers, talking about algorithmic influence in a tech driven investigation. 🧐
It takes a little extra concentration to adsorb.
#tunestuesday #popculture #bibliophile #2025
#librarybooks #uncommon #nonfiction
pickIf you like true crime, autobiographies, or memoirs this is a great #audiobook that you should pick up. Read by the author, it details her life experiences growing up with her father Edward Wayne Edwards who later was discovered to be responsible for several murders and horrific crimes.
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Harry was defensive about some of the methods he had used to get his stories. At one point, he turned on the reader, who he imagined censuring him for how he had obtained the Christie exclusive: 'Sit down there, you, that man in the back row, he admonished. 'I'll have no hypocritical comment! How many murderers' stories have you read, sir, in the Sunday papers? If you've never read one, then I'll listen to you. If you have read one, then shut up!
