Trial by Fire

Title: Trial by Fire
Author: Scott James
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: October 27, 2020
Page Count: 320
Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Read book blurb here

I was only familiar with The Station nightclub fire in a very peripheral way.  But, from the very first page, author Scott James grabs your attention and brings home this tragedy hard.  He makes you understand the horror of the fire - the lives lost, the lives forever changed - in a very relatable way:

It takes ninety seconds to sing "The Star Spangled Banner." Human beings, on average, can hold their breath for up to ninety seconds. A typical person needs ninety seconds to read one page of this book. [...] in ninety seconds nearly everyone inside The Station nightclub was dead or dying. 

Rhode Island - at 37 x 48 miles in size - is the sort of place where everyone has only a few degrees of separation. Scott James, a New England native, knew several of the people involved in the fire, and many people later learned just how many friends and acquaintances were affected by the tragedy. For a country only 500+ days past the horror of 9/11, this tragedy opened fresh wounds and memories. 

The story is meticulously researched, but on the most basic level, James writes of gut-wrenching moments of heroism, cowardice, and courage; of death and loss and heartstopping pain.  I had a hard time reading parts of the book, first because of sorrow and then anger as the blame game starts. The owners are immediately vilified, the soundproofing foam ordered for use in the club was actually another - flammable - foam, Great White's lead singer Jack White acted despicably and in the end there was a resolution, but the devil is in the details.  

The author skillfully details the fire and its aftermath, as well as the personal loss, and I highly recommend this book. 5 stars for "Trial by Fire."

I received an ARC from the Publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

The Killer's Shadow : The FBI's Hunt for a White Supremacist Serial Killer

Title: The Killer's Shadow : The FBI's Hunt for a White Supremacist Serial Killer
Author: John E. Douglas, Mark Olshaker
Publisher: Dey Street Books
Release Date: November 17, 2020
Page Count: 304
Rating: 5+ stars out of 5

Read book blurb here

Joseph Paul Franklin wanted to become famous - famous for killing interracial couples, Jews, young black boys, white girls who dated black boys, and ultimately for starting a race war and being embraced as a hero. 

I wasn't familiar with Franklin prior to reading this book, but the authors do a stellar job of presenting the case along with giving us a flavor of the 1970's time period. Franklin was that most difficult of killers to catch - he expertly used a sniper rifle but had no set MO for his kills. Some were spur of the moment, others were meticulously planned out, and he had no personal connection to his victims.

Given his hard wiring and the effects of his upbringing and environment, and especially his view of his mother's abuse and neglect, it was as if nature had loaded the gun and nurture pulled the trigger.

The author lay out Franklin's background in detail, as well as efforts to create a profile, identify Franklin and ultimately capture him and bring him to trial. But Franklin's case is only part of the story. The authors give us related cases that really hammer home the simple fact that WORDS MATTER. And eventually all that dangerous speech turns into real actions. And all we have to do is look around us to see that hatred "metastasizing across social media platforms as well."

Franklin committed his crimes in the 1970's and was captured in 1980, but our country is still immersed in his mindset and philosophies.  And that is why this book is equally fascinating and terrifying. 5+ stars and I highly recommend this book. 

The journey to reckon with our nation's searing history of racial hatred, intolerance, and discrimination is ongoing, and there are no neutrals in that struggle. 

I received an ARC from the Publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Trial by Fire

Title: Trial by Fire
Author: Scott James
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: October 27, 2020
Page Count: 320
Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Read book blurb here

I was only familiar with The Station nightclub fire in a very peripheral way. But, from the very first page, author Scott James grabs your attention and brings home this tragedy HARD. He makes you understand the horror of the fire - the lives lost, the lives forever changed - in a very relatable way:

It takes ninety seconds to sing "The Star Spangled Banner." Human beings, on average, can hold their breath for up to ninety seconds. A typical person needs ninety seconds to read one page of this book. [...] in ninety seconds nearly everyone inside The Station nightclub was dead or dying.

Rhode Island - at 37 x 48 miles in size - is the sort of place where everyone has only a few degrees of separation. Scott James, a New England native, knew several of the people involved in the fire, and many people later learned just how many friends and acquaintances were affected by the tragedy. For a country only 500+ days past the horror of 9/11, this tragedy opened fresh wounds and memories. 

The story is meticulously researched, but on the most basic level, James writes of gut-wrenching moments of heroism, cowardice, and courage; of death and loss and heartstopping pain. I had a hard time reading parts of the book, first because of sorrow and then anger as the blame game starts. The owners are immediately vilified, the soundproofing foam ordered for use in the club was actually another - flammable - foam, Great White's lead singer Jack White acted despicably and in the end there was a resolution, but the devil is in the details. 

The author skillfully details the fire and its aftermath, as well as the personal loss, and I highly recommend this book. 5 stars for "Trial by Fire." 

  I received an ARC from the Publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. 

Absence of Evidence : An Examination of the Michelle Young Murder Case

Title: Absence of Evidence
Author: Lynne Blanchard
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: September 1, 2016
Page Count: 213
Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5

Read book blurb here

Having recently finished Steven B. Epstein's excellent Murder on Birchfield Drive, I came upon this book and felt compelled to get a counterview of the case.

Blanchard was approached by members of Jason Young's family and therefore her book provides information that was not revealed in the court proceedings.  On the other hand, it also clearly has a bias toward Jason Young.

Blanchard reveals that initially the police suspected that Michelle's sister, Meredith, was not truthful about her actions the night of Michelle's death and may have been involved. She also relates that the family hired a private investigator to go through the house and found several things the police had missed. Blanchard also brought to light several oddities about Casssidy and the family dog that were never addressed.

Where Blanchard falters, in my humble opinion, is her slant that everything is a possible conspiracy or a result of a police blunder.  Although upon finishing the book, I was left with the feeling there is a slight chance that maybe, just maybe, the police were too myopic in their quest and too focused on making all the oddities of this case fit into proving that Jason Young killed his wife.

If you read both books, please leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts about this case.  Thanks!

Murder on Birchleaf Drive: The True Story of the Michelle Young Murder Case

Title: Murder on Birchleaf Drive
Author: Steven B. Epstein
Publisher: Black Lyon Publishing
Release Date: June 1, 2019
Page Count: 272
Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Read book blurb here

Steven B. Epstein is a welcome addition to the world of true crime literature.  Epstein brings 30 years of experience as an attorney as well as a crisp writing style that clearly presents the case, the personalities and the legal strategies.

Jason and Michelle Young had just recently celebrated their third wedding anniversary and appeared to live a charmed life. With a 2-1/2 year old daughter, Cassidy, and a son on the way, the young couple had a solid core of friends, a lovely home and good jobs. Michelle's brutal murder on November 3, 2006 is shocking, but no less disturbing is that Cassidy was in the house during the murder and there are tiny bloody prints throughout the crime scene.

But as gruesome as the scene is, there is no bloody fingerprints (other than Cassidy's in the bathroom and her bedroom) and no sign of a break-in. Jason, immediately a suspect, was 3 hours away in a Best Western and if he did kill Michelle, it was a very tight timeframe for him to kill her and get back to the hotel by morning.  But what about Cassidy, who despite the footprints, was free of blood from head to toe.  Who took the time to clean her up?

This is a fascinating case because, IMHO, it hinges on a series of assumptions based on circumstantial evidence with little in the way of direct evidence.  The prosecution does an exceptional job of weaving all the circumstantial evidence into a strong argument that ultimately convicts Jason.

Unfortunately, Epstein had no access to the families or attorneys and as thorough as his research of the court documents and trial recordings was, getting insight from detectives, attorneys, and the families may have given some other theories of the crime as well as perspectives and insight.  But overall, this is an excellent book about the Jason and Michelle Young case. 4.5 stars.