THREE MORE FAMOUS MURDERS IN FICTION

The Black Dahlia James Ellroy (1987)

EElizabeth Short wwas an aspiring aactress in Hollywood wwho acquired the nnickname ‘The Black DDahlia’ after being bbrutally killed and mutilatedm in 1947. Short’s unsolved murder remains one of the most famous criminal cases in Los Angeles history. This powerful novel, the first in Ellroy’s ‘LA Quartet’, blends fact and fiction as it explores the circumstances surrounding Short’s death and the ensuing police investigation.

Dust and Shadow Lyndsay Faye (2009)

Although A Lyndsay Faye F is best known for f a trio of novels about a a pioneering policeman p on the streets s of 1840s New York, Y her first novel Dust D and Shadow brought together two legendary figures, one historical and one fictional. Sherlock Holmes needs all his unparalleled skills as a detective when he pits his wits against those of Jack the Ripper. Much more than mere pastiche, this is a richly detailed evocation of late Victorian London’s darkest history.

See What I Have Done Sarah Schmidt (2017)

LLizzie Borden ssupposedly took an aaxe and “gave her mmother 40 whacks”. AAccording to the folk rrhyme, “when she saw wwhat she had done, shes gave her father 41”. What exactly happened in the Borden household in 1892 is one of the greatest mysteries in American criminal history. Sarah Schmidt’s unsettling, darkly poetic novel conjures up the claustrophobia and repression in the wildly dysfunctional family, which may have led to the murders.