4 out of 4 stars
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Ada Lantz, Dona Gilman, Anna Markowitz, Elizabeth Fulhart and Mary Forschner- five misplaced lives; the horror of their tragedies all but forgotten, until Brian Forschner brought their stories to life. After discovering that his great aunt (Mary Forschner) was the victim of a serial killer, Mr Forschner’s meticulous research led him to the riveting tales of five unsolved murders. The author presents these stories in his debut novel Cold Serial: The Jack Strangler Murders.
All five crimes took place during the early 1900s, an era in which police did not have the ‘magical’ technology of today. Thus, perhaps one of the most compelling parts of this book, is reading just how limited lead detectives were in solving these crimes. Their frustration as they followed one dead end to the next, makes for an entertaining yet anxious (because you want that next clue to lead to the apprehension of the culprit) read. This made it impossible for me to stop reading until I reached the last words on the last page.
If these murders were fictional, perhaps we could only credit the author for having an impressive imagination. However, these murders took place and these women were the true victims of a villainous crime. As such, I take my hat off to the author for the excellent way in which he narrated these accounts. Furthermore, his take on these events are so well articulated one cannot but be impressed with his writing skills. He has a rare gift of transporting the reader to the place (or in this case the era) he describes. I loved it.
I revelled in every moment I was reading this book and there is only one reason why I won’t read it again: it is too heart-breaking. Although I highly recommend this book to fans of the real crime genre, it is most certainly not for the faint-hearted. This book touched me deeply. The story of Ada Lantz moved me to tears; the senseless murder of such a young girl baffled my mind.
It gives me great pleasure to rate Cold Serial: The Jack Strangler murders 4 out of 4 stars. I loved the epic roller-coaster ride the author took me on. The stories of these ladies are etched in my mind permanently. I can neither fault this book, nor the writing of the author. I was captivated from start to finish. I am looking forward to more from this author.
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Cold Serial: The Jack the Strangler Murders
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