Rating: 
Summary: No Statute of Limitations on Murder
Review: I read this book from cover to cover to the point that my friends were simply sick of hearing me. Wolfe uncovers evidence that at the very least should cause the L.A. District Attorney's office to take notice. Based on what I know and Mr. Wolfe's account I still am unconvinced of a suicide. There were too many mitigating factors. American Movie Classics recently ran a 'last days' scenario. Her doctor and others were paraded before us - he talked about her depression and maintained the same story he had before. There are many people, still alive, who should be called for their account of what happened. They should be subpoened and compelled to give a full account of what they know of those days. Especially Patricia Lawford and Eunice Kennedy. Lawford in particular knew Ms. Monroe well. Mrs. Lawford was there. How much did Monroe know about various national security issues? Was she a national security risk? Had the Kennedy brothers leaked information to her? And then there is all the FBI expurgated evidence that is still blacked out - 40 years later - why? I have more questions than answers. I'm more disturbed by the questions raised that have no answers and the lack of response on the part of the government. This book ads fuel to the fire - bravo for Wolfe!
Rating: 
Summary: This book raises more questions than it answers.
Review: As much as her fans would like to see the mystery of Marilyn Monroe's death solved once and for all, this book falls far short of that goal. The book is well-written, interesting, and thought provoking, to be sure, and Wolfe is one of the few authors who has written about her death that doesn't hedge his bets. Instead of saying "this is probably what happened," Wolfe's tone is, "I have proven that this is definitely what happened, when it happened, who did it, and why." But, merely having confidence in one's own conclusions, and claiming that they have been proven, doesn't make it so.Wolfe's main problem is that he relies too heavily on the account of Norman Jeffries, a man who spent 32 years known mainly as a minor character who saw Marilyn briefly on the morning of August 4. Somehow, Jeffries has become an important eyewitness who spent almost the entire day, evening, night, and next morning at Marilyn's house. Wolfe has no explanation for why we should believe Jeffries. How do we know Jeffries told Wolfe the truth? Why did it take him 32 years to come up with his story? These are important questions that Wolfe pretends don't need to be answered. Moreover, Wolfe is guilty of the same problem as other MM death theorists: he accepts the testimony of anyone who claims to have witnessed anything about her death. Everyone who claims Marilyn called them, everyone who claims she told them things she never confided in anyone else, everyone who claims they saw this or that person at her house -- all this heresay is repeated, without being subjected to any scrutiny or evaluation. If you're going to prove something, you have to do better than just take everyone who has anything to say on the subject at their word. Look, I don't believe Marilyn committed suicide, intentional or accidental. I believe she was murdered, and, in fact, I believe it went down pretty much the way Wolfe explains it. I just wish someone could prove it. Wolfe certainly hasn't.
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