The Annals of Unsolved Crime

Starred review from March 15, 2013

Here Epstein (The Hollywood Economist: The Hidden Financial Reality Behind the Movies) has written case studies of 35 controversial crimes. Several involve conspiracy theories, e.g., JFK's assassination and the Dominique Strauss-Kahn case. He includes well-known historical cases (e.g., Jack the Ripper, the Lindbergh baby kidnapping), some (perhaps) lesser-known international crimes, and media-sensation cases such as those of Amanda Knox, O.J. Simpson, and JonBenet Ramsey. What makes this book unique is Epstein's analysis of each case: he lays out each as though it were a detective story. After describing each case, he outlines theories, and offers his opinion on the most likely solution. Some of the cases are quite detailed and clearly reflect the author's extensive research. Readers who crave these longer explanations will appreciate the further-reading list, which suggests definitive titles on each case. VERDICT Extremely entertaining, this book will be popular with fans of ripped-from-the-headlines crime tales and students of the more historical cases. Highly recommended.--Karen S. Silverman, Ctr. for Applied Research, Philadelphia

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