Alan G. Gauthreaux

I had a difficult time getting through this book. Normally, I am intrigued by old crimes, and I'm fascinated by Louisiana's history. But I kept putting this book down and didn't have a lot of desire to pick it back up.

The homicide cases chosen are interesting enough, though some are only "infamous" because the murder was tied to local politics, and many don't differ much from any of the countless 'typical' murders committed in the nation.

My lackluster feeling comes mainly from the writing style. These accounts feel like straightforward news articles, like something you might read in the newspaper. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that style, but I personally find it too drab. I wanted more color and atmosphere, more of an engaging narrative.

One thing I found odd was the treatment of swear words. When the author quoted something from a resource, if there was a swear used in that quote, the author used an underline instead. So it looked like this: "You French ____, I..." This is a true crime book, with details of bloody murders, read by adults. I just felt that if an author is going to quote something in a book of this nature, he (or she) does not need to treat us like children and eliminate "bad words". I've never seen this done, and I thought it was weird.

These tales do offer a snapshot of Louisiana's politics and the workings of the police force there. It's a good read for anyone looking to learn more about the states history and/or the evolution of their police department.

*I received a copy of this book via LibraryThing, in exchange for my honest review.*… (plus d'informations)

A collection of case studies of murders, from the 1891 case of a mob-connected businessman to the 2006 murder of a woman who was divorcing a well-known local sportscaster. There is a chapter on the career and murder of former Governor Huey P. Long in the 30's, but for me, the most interesting were the chapters about the two young female serial killers I'd never heard of before. One young woman named Annie Crawford poisoned her parents, two sisters and attempted to poison an aunt before she was caught. Overlapping that time, a series of multiple murders, whole families brutally killed with an axe throughout Southern Louisiana and into Texas, were committed by seventeen year old Clementine Barnabet, and then by her followers, as she turned out to be a leader in a religious cult.

I won this through LT (thanks!) and it's really interesting. I'm not sure if it's an ER or ARC, but there are plenty of editing mistakes, with a paragraph of actions being followed by another paragraph that says the opposite happened and names changed in a paragraph.
I have to mention that Southerners have a talent for wonderfully quirky names, something that I see in my own older relatives. "Clementine Barnabet" sounds so sweet (though she was evil), then there's "Troisville Sykes", who was apparently a witness to a murder and also a murderer himself, and a lawyer named "Wiley Beevers".… (plus d'informations)