Overview
Despite the tireless work of crime investigators, and the wealth of modern forensic techniques available to them, a disturbing number of crimes remain unsolved. This may be because the perpetrator cannot be identified -- or, if identified, cannot be traced -- or because the evidence is insufficient to bring the case to trial. A major proportion of these cases, unfortunately, are of murder, or suspected murder, and this book takes a look at six of the most challenging cases that have frustrated investigators in recent years.Synopsis
Despite the tireless work of crime investigators, and the wealth of modern forensic techniques available to them, a disturbing number of crimes remain unsolved. This may be because the perpetrator cannot be identified -- or, if identified, cannot be traced -- or because the evidence is insufficient to bring the case to trial. A major proportion of these cases, unfortunately, are of murder, or suspected murder, and this book takes a look at six of the most challenging cases that have frustrated investigators in recent years.
Greg M. Romaneck - Children's Literature
Readers sometimes have a macabre fascination with violent crime. For some reason people may be drawn to reading about acts of criminal behavior that are quite chilling. In Major Unsolved Crimes author Brian Innes traces seven instances where murder was committed with no clues ever leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator. As part of the broader "Crime and Detection" series, this work follows a pattern very typical of that multi-volume set of books. As in other books in this series, this particular work features very graphic descriptions of some of the crimes in question. Examples of this somewhat disturbing content include descriptions of torture, body disposal, rape, and mutilation. Also included is one explicit photo of the dead body of a young woman who was murdered and has come down to the modern day via her nickname, the "Black Dahlia." Considering that this book is geared to adolescents and school-aged youth, the appropriateness of the content is highly questionable. Indeed, like other books in the series, this one appears to be a somewhat voyeuristic approach to events that resulted in the torment and murder of human beings. As such, the purchase of this text for library, school, or personal use is not recommended. 2003, Mason Crest Publishers, Ages 14 up.
Editorials
Children's Literature
Readers sometimes have a macabre fascination with violent crime. For some reason people may be drawn to reading about acts of criminal behavior that are quite chilling. In Major Unsolved Crimes author Brian Innes traces seven instances where murder was committed with no clues ever leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator. As part of the broader "Crime and Detection" series, this work follows a pattern very typical of that multi-volume set of books. As in other books in this series, this particular work features very graphic descriptions of some of the crimes in question. Examples of this somewhat disturbing content include descriptions of torture, body disposal, rape, and mutilation. Also included is one explicit photo of the dead body of a young woman who was murdered and has come down to the modern day via her nickname, the "Black Dahlia." Considering that this book is geared to adolescents and school-aged youth, the appropriateness of the content is highly questionable. Indeed, like other books in the series, this one appears to be a somewhat voyeuristic approach to events that resulted in the torment and murder of human beings. As such, the purchase of this text for library, school, or personal use is not recommended. 2003, Mason Crest Publishers, Ages 14 up.— Greg M. Romaneck