7 stars- 3 for language = 4 starsThis book is a collection of 12 truly unique articles by New Yorker staff writer David Grann. They are strange, creepy, interesting, and at times disturbing. Here is a sample of a few of the articles.
- A real life murder mystery involving a scholar who studied Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Sherlock Holmes.
-My personal favorite, a con man pretends to be a family's missing child. A suspicious personal investigator discovers that the family may have killed their 'missing' child and know full well the the con man isn't their child. Who has really been conned?
-A firefighter loses his memory shortly after the events of 9/11and tries to retrace his steps, struggling to learn whether he was a hero or a coward when the towers fell.
-A man convicted in what seems to be a clear cut arson case is revealed to be innocent after certain advancements in science.
-The world's largest prison gang is investigated and disturbing insights are revealed.
-And more!
The stories range from real life mysteries to strange events to bios of obsessive people. All are nonfiction and all are very interesting. I must say that I enjoyed the articles in this book a great deal. Unfortunately, the language is simply terrible. The author himself doesn't use any bad language but he quotes many gangsters, criminals, and tough characters that can swear up a storm. Although I found it very interesting, I can't recommend it to anyone who dislikes bad language in books.
