Return Again to the Scene of the Crime: A Guide to Even More Infamous Places in Chicago

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Summary: Return Again to the Scene of the Crime
Review: I am a friend, so I may be biased, but the first (Return to the Scene of the Crime) was so good, I was happy to see the second. Anyone who is interested in Chicago history, mystery, or geography will enjoy both these books. Richard's rich descriptions of both famous and long-forgotten cases create excellent backdrops for the events he narrates, and the information about the "then" and "now" of the communities in which they occur wrap up the stories neatly.

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Summary: Terrific Read - Fascinating and Off-beat Chicago Stories
Review: I don't know how author Rich Lindberg comes up with his material, but he has a knack for story-telling, and this true-crime anthology is just as good, if not better than the first volume in the series, "Return to the Scene of the Crime: A Guide to Infamous Places in Chicago." The sequel features the story of the executed Nazi spy, Herbert Haupt, captured on the North Side in 1942. It is particularly timely, given the ponderous debate over what to do with the captured American Taliban, John Walker. In 1942, Haupt slipped into Chicago and was promptly seized by the FBI, tried, convicted and executed within a few months. This is but one of an amazing assortment of stories lost to history. The "Vampire Woman" of Hammond is another, and the two female "Torso Killers" of Wrigleyville is quirky, amazing, and gruesome but one that I never heard of until now. This chilling crime of passion happened in 1935, proving once again that the daily dose of violent and heinous crime we hear about we are subjected to on the news every night is not exclusive to our modern times. Blanche Dunkel and Evelyn Smith, the two North Side femme fatales, chopped up the victim Irvin Lang in 1935. Lindberg's research on this case is meticulous: he even looked up their parole dates, and unlike other authors who leave us hanging once the suspects are arrested and tried, he tells us the rest of the story. This book is not only crime told with grim irony, an occasional dash of cynicism, and much pathos, it is a moving account of the City of Chicago, and the people that shaped its destiny for good and bad. Lindberg is a fine writer, and it will be interesting to see what he comes up with next.

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Summary: Again, second rate city, third rate writer
Review: Just another example of Mr. Lindberg's pitiful attempt at exhibiting a strong expertise on a subject with which he is clearly obsessed. Don't waste your time with this book, either. It is poorly written and fails to engage the reader. You might consider using this book and the first book he wrote on the same subject, as a pair of bookends. That is about all they are worth.

Rating:
Summary: good subject-needs editing
Review: The subject is interesting and the details are wonderful. My problem with the book is the writing. One sentence in the book was over 70 words long. In my day we called that a paragraph.
Also, many things had to be read twice to see what the writter meant rather than what was written.
The best example of this is what the author call a sidetrack on page 174. He writes "sections of the beach extended fifty to one hundred fifty feet into the lake, indicating that the water level had dropped six feet or more" To me if the beach is into the lake the water level has risen. I believe he's trying to say the water receded fifty to one hundred and fifty feet.
All in all a great description of Chicago life and neighborhoods.

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Summary: "reader" doesn't know what he's talking about
Review: This guy below obviously has never been to Chicago. I'm sure it's a much better place than where he and his small mind were raised. Anyway, the book is great for both crime buffs and people with interest in Chicago, the greatest city in the world.