Best American Crime Reporting, 2009

The Best American Crime Writing Series (renamed The Best American Crime Reporting in 2006) ran from 2002 to 2010 and presented the finest in true crime journalism. Many of the stories are available from the online magazines in which they were first printed or from other legitimate sources. In previous posts I have presented links to the stories in the 2010, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, and 2002 editions. In this entry I will complete the list by presenting links to the articles from 2009.

2009. Edited by Otto Penzler and Thomas B. Cook. Guest editor, Jeffrey Toobin.

Body Snatchers, Dan P. Lee Philadelphia magazine.
A ghoulish tale of stolen corpses and the market behind him.
The Fabulous Fraudulent Life of Jocelyn & Ed, Sabrina Rubin Erdely, Rolling Stone.
A pathological spree of consumerism.
The Day Kennedy Die, Michael J. Mooney, D Magazine.
A surgeon's memories.
Red Days, Charles Bowden, GQ magazine
Drug wars in Mexico
Hate and Death, R. Scott Moxley,  OC Weekly.
A hate crime or not a hate crime?
Dead Man's Float, Stephen Rodrick, New York.
A hedge fund trader is found floating face down in his swimming pool.
American Murder Mystery, Hanna Rosin, The Atlantic.
Why is crime going up in Memphis?
The Color of Blood, Calvin Trillin, New Yorker.
A black man is killed in suburban Long Island.
Stop, Thief! John Colapinto, New Yorker.
The intense business of stopping shoplifters in New York City.
True Crime, David Grann, New Yorker.
Did an author confess to murder in his novel?
Non-Lethal Force, Alec Wilkinson, New Yorker.
"Lethal weapons are defined by their capability. Non-lethal are defined by their intent."
Tribal Wars, Matt McAllester, Details.
The Somali conflict is played out on the streets of Minneapolis.
The Zankou Chicken Murders, Mark Arax, Los Angeles Magazine.
A chicken recipe is at the center of a murder.
Breaking the Bank, L. Jon Wertheim, Sports Illustrated.
An ultimate fighting champion makes the biggest bank robbery in history.

And finally, only available in the book:

Everyone Will Remember Me as Some Sort of Monster, Mark Boal, Rolling Stone.
The sad life of a spree killer. 

Martin Hill Ortiz, also writing under the name, Martin Hill, is the author of A Predatory Mind. His latest mystery, Never Kill A Friend, is available from Ransom Note Press. His epic poem, Two Mistakes, recently won second place in the Margaret Reid/Tom Howard Poetry Competition. He can be contacted at mdhillortiz@gmail.com.