Customer Reviews

Daddy Was the Black Dahlia Killer: The Identity of America's Most Notorious Serial Murderer--Revealed at Last

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(43)

 

 

I have read the book based on the subject matter, the Black Dahlia murder, which I am very interested in since it was never solved. Although I do believe that Ms. Knowlton was defintely abused by her father, there is no proof that he has committed the Black Dahlia murder or any other. There is no direct evidence that would convince me that has committed the murders that are mentioned in the book. I do feel for Ms. Knowlton and her suffering, however, many of the things that she mentions about Beth Short (the Black Dahlia), do not meet the facts that are known about her. For example, Ms. Knowlton mentions that "Aunt Betty" had sex with her father (George Knowlton)and was a well known prostitute. Beth Short had a deformed sex organ that did not enable her to have intercourse with men. This was a fact that was kept out of the news papers in order to identify the true killer if they ever confessed. the picture that Ms. Knowlton paints of Beth Short is as sadistic babysitter and a tramp, as if to say in indirect words, that the Black Dahlia put herself in a position that caused her death and suffering. The abuse is too well described and I had to put the book down many a time because of its disturbing content. I am sorry to say that this book is not one that I would recommend to people who never heard of the murder of the Black Dahlia. It is full of rumors that could have been overheard over time and facts about the murder that could have been taken out of back issues of newspapers that were printed in January of 1947, when the murder took place. I hurt for Ms. Knowlton, but do not believe that her "facts" are well founded.

SUMMARY OF DADDY WAS THE BLACK DAHILA KILLER:

1)Ms. Knowlton is a extremely disturbed lady, that had some really bad stuff happen to her in childhood.

2)Ms. Knowlton's father was, most probably, a card-carrying scumbag.

3)For whatever reason (your guess is as good as mine) Ms. Knowlton latches on to the classic case of the Black Dahila killing.

4)Ms. Knowlton has access to "repressed memories" that (through sickeningly graphic detail) "prove" her father was the killer.

5)As if providing absolutly ZERO evidence to back up her rediculious claim wasn't enough, there is massive character assination to Beth Short, the "black dahila".

CONCLUSION: Even though it's obvious Janice Knowlton needs large amounts of time in the horizontal position on a leather couch with a mental health professional nearby to comfort her, you should not help to offset this expense by buying gory, fictious trash dressed up to be a "true crime" non-fiction autobiography memoir of some kind. Let this nut find her own cash.

This disturbing diatribe by an aspiring actress clearly indicates that she is credible as a victim of extreme child abuse. Her "memories" of the Black Dahlia murder, however, are highly dubious...if her case were as strong as she claims, she wouldn't be relegated to this kind of pulp work that is so over-the-top disgusting that it is impossible to read. I found myself having to skip portions of graphic torture too heinous to digest. I cannot imagine any psychological adviser supporting this kind of "purge" and it is best avoided by any reader. Hopefully the author will find some more productive way to exorcise her demons.

I really just can't say enough bad things about this book. I will say that Mr. Newton should be commended for his research and presentation, however, the story of Janice and her alleged murderous father are the work of pure fantasy. Perhaps she was indeed a victim of her father's abuse, but the besmirching of a murder victim without a shred of evidence except for the repressed memory of an obviously disturbed woman for nothing more than making a buck is absolutely despicable!! I won't even get into the disservice it does to all victims of child abuse and incest. It is interesting to note that in James Ellroy's non-fiction account of the investigation of his mother's murder, MY DARK PLACES, he refers to Ms. Knowlton as the "crazy Black Dahlia Lady." You see, Ms. Knowlton's father was ALSO the alleged murderer of Mr. Ellroy's mother if you are to believe her account. In MY DARK PLACES, Ellroy memorializes that the Crazy Black Dahlia Lady was constantly trying to contact him, probably with the intent on getting more media attention (or my theory is that she was afraid he was going to crack the case and therefore prove that she was indeed a phony). This book is pure garbage and I implore you not to buy it and reward this kind of behavior. If you desire well-written fictional accounts of the murder, read Max Allan Collins' THE DARK ANGEL, TRUE CONFESSIONS by John Gregory Dunne, and/or, of course, Mr. Ellroy's BLACK DAHLIA. If you want non-fiction, read John Gilmore's SEVERED or Mary Pacios' CHILDHOOD SHADOWS, or check out the multiple web sites that are out there, particularly those run by Larry Harnisch or Pamela Hazelton (Beware that some of these individuals seem to be at odds with each other for reasons based on the fact that they all are adamant that they know who actually commmited the murder, however, they all seem to agree on the fact that Ms. Knowlton indeed has a screw loose). Even "contributor" Michael Newton has written excellent books on other LA Noir cases that I would recommend. But don't waste your time or money on this one. If this review doesn't convince you, well, just read on....

I am...at a loss for words when it comes to this book. Never before have I read such a thoroughly useless and perverse book. Not perverse in the content, but perverse in the motives of the author. Janic Knowlton's book is a a sick and blatant attempt to attain her 15 minutes of fame. Let me tell you, this woman deserves nothing less than what she got (to be dismissed and attacked by critics). The entire book seems to be an "Ode to why we all feel sorry for poor, poor Janice." I can understand that she was a victim of her father's abuses, but to use the name of a horribly murdered young woman (for whatever reason) is simply appalling. I simply cannot offer enough criticism for this book. The author(s) take circumstancial evidence and claim that they've found the end all be all of solutions to the murder of Beth Short.

I read this book after just finishing "Severed" by John Gilmore...and what a letdown! "Severed" left me wanting to learn more about "The Black Dahlia" and this book just made me sick. First off, I do not know what to think of Janice's assertions about repressed memory. I am in a psychology course in college right now and the professor says that "repression" has never been proven. But I believe Knowlton had to endure some kind of abuse to come up with this stuff, because it is VERY disgusting (I MEAN GRAPHICALLY DISGUSTING). The book makes me angry in so many ways. First off there is this insinuation that Elizabeth Short got what she deserved. Knowlton accuses her of physical and sexual abuse. Also the book assumes the readers are ignorant...for example every time something can not be backed up factually (and that is most of the time) it is blamed on a cover up, lost documents, lies of friends/families, and "gaps" in the recovery of Jan's memories. But the thing that really got me annoyed is that the book is written in this horribly sick, sarcastic tone...for example, an anacronym for Jan's sexual abuse was once referred to as "daddy's love". The whole book is written in terms like that and it made me sick. I am not a very cynical person and I usually can give someone the benefit of the doubt, but this was too much. You have to wonder if this was such a painful real thing for Janice Knowlton to experience, why she had her story written for the world to see? If any of this stuff had come from my mind, repressed or not, I would run and hide!!!!

I am an avid reader of true crime books, but this book reminded me too much of another book dealing with shocking claims-- Lauren Stratford's " Satan's Underground"-- and that book was revealed to be full of lies. I do not trust this " recovered memory" syndrome as to accuracy to the truth and while I do not know of this person other than what was described in the book, certain claims seem conviently no longer verifiable while some other claims, such as her alleged births of some bablies , can be revealed even with the hysterectomy ( the pelvic bone). While I have no doubt that severe sexual and physical abuse does happen, the authors seem to say trust us, we are telling the truth, without providing legit corroborative evidence. The descriptions of some acts are suspiciously too vivid, as is her claim she remembers being raped while still an infant. The claim of the LAPD being corrupt so they will not reveal the files sounds like an excuse to avoid possible information that may contradict the claims. It is POSSIBLE she is telling SOME Of the truth, but I would need more actual proof that validates her claims before I actually believe her. It just doesn't fit.

I've been interested in "The Black Dahlia" murder for years, so of course I went out and bought "Daddy was the Black Dahlia Killer" to read another theory. BIG mistake! This book was soooo graphic and unnessarily grotesque I had nightmares! I didn't see the point in torturing the readers with details of the rapes and molestations Ms. Knowlton was subjected to. I have no doubt she was abused as a child and that George Knowlton was an evil man but did he kill Beth Short? Highly unlikely. Ms. Knowlton gives no back up to her claims and every shred of "evidence" she does come up with falls apart when put to the test. She tells stories of horrible abuse and blatant infidelity her mother endures being married to George, yet when she demands he get Beth out of the house...he does it! Another thing that doesn't make sense is why would Beth Short date a man like him? From other books and interviews with people who knew Beth, she liked good looking young men, George was neither. He wasn't even employed most of the time so there goes the "using him for money" theory! Shame on Janice Knowlton for smearing a dead woman's name in the worst way and for subjecting such horrible trash on unsuspecting readers!

When so many people only rate a one star, someone may get so curious and buy the book just to see how bad it is. But honestly, don't bother. I got to the middle and lost interest, and after a few months of it on the shelf I wound up throwing it away. The author has no credibility, and I don't want to waste my time with fantasies.

A friend gave me a copy of this to read, because she was doubtful of its validity and wanted another opinion. I read it (well, halfway through I started skimming through Knowlton's childish, ludicrously gruesome prose) and I'm glad I didn't actually spend money on this dirtbag piece of junk. What a steaming collection of half-baked trash!!! I won't go into the many specifics of bad logic, conveniently vague accounts and lack of corroboration (Knowlton conveniently explains these things away by hysterically suggesting cover-ups, witnesses too "frightened" to come forward, or testimonies of dead people) which other reviewers have already pointed out.

Where does she get off, making unsubstantiated claims about her father and Elizabeth Short (both dead and therefore unable to defend their reputations) and then insisting that we take her words at face value? It's especially egregious that Knowlton sinks low enough to trash the memory of a dead woman in her bid for attention; her descriptions of Elizabeth Short as an abusive babysitter (Knowlton claims this relationship in her book) are bad enough, but her suggestions that Short was a prostitute and that her promiscuity more or less led to her demise are outrageously hypocritical; even if Knowlton's memories are true (and any casual reader will see the holes in Knowlton's manufactured plot) her exploitative treatment of serious issues like child abuse and sexual molestation render her morally unqualified to pass judgement on anyone else.

It's obvious Janice Knowlton is sick enough to feel jealousy of Elizabeth Short's fame---Short has become a de facto icon of Hollywood's dark side and her image still fascinates and stirs the imagination after 50+ years. Janice Knowlton is nothing more than a bottom-feeder, so desperate for attention (whatever fame she gains won't be through her writing skills) that she would violate the memory of a girl who, in all likelihood, never did anything bad to Knowlton and certainly doesn't deserve the treatment she gets in "Daddy..." I won't discuss John Gilmore's excellent book "Severed"; to mention that in the same breath as Knowlton's fictional account (gotta call 'em as I see 'em) is an insult to Gilmore.

Shame on Simon & Shuster for publishing this indefensible junk.