Review of Cold Serial: The Jack the Strangler Murders
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Review of Cold Serial: The Jack the Strangler Murders
[Following is a volunteer review of "Cold Serial: The Jack the Strangler Murders" by Brian E. Forschner.]
Cold Serial: The Jack the Strangler Murders written by Brian Forschner is a true-crime novel that sheds light on five murder/rape cases of the early twentieth century that took place in and around the Dayton, Ohio area. Additionally, the novel also highlights the investigation process, its shortcomings, the role of media, and the reaction of the common people about these crimes. Victim-blaming and the troubles faced by their grieving family members are penned down remarkably.
What sparked my interest and compelled me to dig deeper into this novel was the fact that not just the characters but the dialogues are real as well. Apart from that, an enormous amount of research was done by the author. This is evident from the fact that there are excerpts from newspapers, press statements of the officers, the photographs of the victims, all the people involved in these cases, the place of the incident, and, at times, their maps as well. These, collectively, provide a better understanding of the time period.
The writing style is simple yet effective. I was able to experience the grief their families must have gone through. The pictures of the eleven-year-old victim, Ada Lantz, and the fifteen-year-old victim, Mary Forschner, evoked my anger and grief. Moreover, I enjoyed those simple facts which Forschner stated in between the serious moments. They were informative and also provided a break from all the building-up emotions. I also loved the fact that the author justified the subtitle in the very first chapter itself.
In my opinion, the first half of the book is well detailed. The second half seems a little rushed, especially the sixth chapter. I wanted to know more about each of those beautiful, young, and ambitious girls and the investigation process as well. Despite this, these chapters never bore me. Also, at some point, the chapters get repetitive, but they didn’t bother me because I believe that the stories of those individuals need to be told and read about. However, there are some legal jargons that, at times, get in the way of comprehension. They broke my flow of reading as I had to look up their meaning.
I absolutely love the book. There ain’t any errors which make it a smooth read. In my opinion, the extensive amount of research done and the sanity with which the author has penned down all these horrifying incidents is commendable. Hence, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars.
I recommend this book to real-crime enthusiasts. I would also recommend it to those who hate an overly dramatic and unsympathetic description of gruesome incidents and like reading a simple yet informative work.
******
Cold Serial: The Jack the Strangler Murders
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Cold Serial: The Jack the Strangler Murders written by Brian Forschner is a true-crime novel that sheds light on five murder/rape cases of the early twentieth century that took place in and around the Dayton, Ohio area. Additionally, the novel also highlights the investigation process, its shortcomings, the role of media, and the reaction of the common people about these crimes. Victim-blaming and the troubles faced by their grieving family members are penned down remarkably.
What sparked my interest and compelled me to dig deeper into this novel was the fact that not just the characters but the dialogues are real as well. Apart from that, an enormous amount of research was done by the author. This is evident from the fact that there are excerpts from newspapers, press statements of the officers, the photographs of the victims, all the people involved in these cases, the place of the incident, and, at times, their maps as well. These, collectively, provide a better understanding of the time period.
The writing style is simple yet effective. I was able to experience the grief their families must have gone through. The pictures of the eleven-year-old victim, Ada Lantz, and the fifteen-year-old victim, Mary Forschner, evoked my anger and grief. Moreover, I enjoyed those simple facts which Forschner stated in between the serious moments. They were informative and also provided a break from all the building-up emotions. I also loved the fact that the author justified the subtitle in the very first chapter itself.
In my opinion, the first half of the book is well detailed. The second half seems a little rushed, especially the sixth chapter. I wanted to know more about each of those beautiful, young, and ambitious girls and the investigation process as well. Despite this, these chapters never bore me. Also, at some point, the chapters get repetitive, but they didn’t bother me because I believe that the stories of those individuals need to be told and read about. However, there are some legal jargons that, at times, get in the way of comprehension. They broke my flow of reading as I had to look up their meaning.
I absolutely love the book. There ain’t any errors which make it a smooth read. In my opinion, the extensive amount of research done and the sanity with which the author has penned down all these horrifying incidents is commendable. Hence, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars.
I recommend this book to real-crime enthusiasts. I would also recommend it to those who hate an overly dramatic and unsympathetic description of gruesome incidents and like reading a simple yet informative work.
******
Cold Serial: The Jack the Strangler Murders
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Musings of an Autistic Mind by Darryl Jefferson
