Best in American Crime Reporting, 2010

These posts have marched backwards in time back to the first year of The Best American Crime Writing series (Renamed The Best American Crime Reporting in 2006).  Previous entries have provided links to the stories in the editions from 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, and 2002. Now, I'm set to cover the most recent two years. Today, 2010, the last edition.

2010. Edited by Otto Penzler and Thomas B. Cook. Guest editor, Stephen Dubner.

What Whoopi Goldberg (‘Not a Rape-Rape’), Harvey Weinstein (‘So-Called Crime’) et al. Are Saying in Their Outrage Over the Arrest of Roman Polanski, a poem by Calvin Trillin, The Nation.
What Happened to Etan Patz? Lisa R Cohen, New York
After thirty years a father believes he knows who killed his child.
Flesh and Blood, Pamela Colloff, Texas Monthly
The seemingly perfect child kills her family.
The Chessboard Killer, Peter Savodnik, GQ
A look at one of the most prolific serial killers.
The Great Buffalo Caper, Maximillian Potter (5280)
The complicated history of a commissioned piece of art.
The Man Who Shot The Man Who Shot Lincoln, Ernest B. Furgurson, The American Scholar
The fate of the troubled soldier who shot John Wilkes Booth.
The Boy Who Heard Too Much, David Kushner, Rolling Stone
A blind teenager takes telephone pranks to a new level.
Bringing Down the Dogmen, Skip Hollandsworth, Texas Monthly
Undercover cops versus dog-fighters.
The Sicario, Charles Bowden, Harper's Magazine
Confessions of a Juarez hit-man.
At the Train Bridge, Calvin Trillin, The New Yorker
Three teenagers are murder at a Michigan train bridge.
Madoff and His Models, Ron Chernow, The New Yorker
The predecessors to Madoff
The Celebrity Defense, Jeffrey Toobin, The New Yorker
More on Polanski
Smooth Jailing, Rick Anderson, Seattle Weekly
A drug dealer named Smooth plays the system.
The Snatchback, Nadya Labi, The Atlantic
Follows a specialist in retrieving children kidnapped in custody battles.
Trial by Fire, David Grann, The New Yorker
The Execution of Cameron Todd Willingham.

In the anthology but not available online:
Sex, Lies, & Videotape, Kevin Gray, Details
The world's greatest playboy conman.

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.

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Links to the Best American Crime Reporting, 2007

The Best American Crime Reporting, 2007.

Continuing from yesterday, I provide more links to the stories presented in the Best American Crime Reporting series, this time focusing on the 2007 anthology. The series was published annually from 2002 to 2010. Why did I start with 2008 and then go to 2007? Frankly, I thought 2010 was the weakest in the series and I didn't want to start there and proceed in reverse chronological order. On the other extreme, I am concerned that 2002 will be dominated by impossible-to-find links, so I didn't want to start at the beginning. I thought I would start in the middle with some of the best in the series.

Many classic fictional mysteries were inspired by true crimes, for example, the Ruth Snyder case inspired James M. Cain's The Postman Always Rings Twice. In each of the stories linked below, a novel awaits.


2007. Introduction by Linda Fairstein. Personal favorites are starred.*

The Talented Dr. Krist: Steve Fennessy, Atlanta Magazine
The perpetrator of a notorious kidnapping becomes a physician and appears to be trying to go straight after prison. Should he be allowed to leave his past behind?
Double Blind: Matthew Teague, The Atlantic
An undercover agent helps take down the IRA.
A Kiss Before Dying: Pamela Colloff, Texas Monthly
A legendary haunting inspires a reporter to dust off a 45 year old killing.
The Devil in David Berkowitz: Steve Fishman, New York*
Born again, David Berkowitz now has Christian advocates.
Dirty Old Women: Ariel Levy, New York
Teachers who seduce their students.
Who Killed Ellen Andros? / Dan P. Lee, Philadelphia*
The prosecution of a police officer plays out between competing Medical Examiners.
Fatal Connection: David Bernstein, Chicago Magazine
The murder of a high class prostitute.
Last Seen September 10th: Mark Fass, New York*
A doctor disappears the day the towers fall.
My Roommate, The Diamond Thief: Brian Boucher. New York
An aspiring writer lucks out by stumbling into a good story.
The Monster of Florence: Douglas Preston, The Atlantic*
A journalist and a crime novelist investigate a series of murders near Florence, Italy and become part of the story.
The Loved Ones: Tom Junod, Esquire*
A riveting account of a New Orleans couple scapegoated for the sins of those who did not adequately respond to Katrina.
The School: C.J. Chivers, Esquire*
Over a thousand students, parents and teachers are taken hostage in a Russian school.

Several in the collection are not available online for the general public.


The Inside Job: Neil Swidey, Boston Globe
A trusted employee pilfers millions. (The link says available from the archives for subscribers)
The Man Who Loves Books Too Much: Allison Hoover Bartlett, San Francisco
A book collector doesn't want to pay for them. This story was converted into a full-length book. The perpetrator, after prison, has returned to his former ways.
The Case of the Killer Priest: Sean Flynn, GQ Magazine
After a quarter century, a priest is brought to trial for the murder of a nun.

Continued with 2006.

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.

Continue reading →