The Encyclopedia of Unsolved Crimes [Paperback]

Michael Newton (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Written by the author of such works as The Encyclopedia of Kidnappings (2002) and The Encyclopedia of Robberies, Heists, and Capers (2002), this second edition presents the strange truths of criminal cases from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries that have stumped investigators. Newton defines an “unsolved case” as being one that either has no suspect identified, a known offender who cannot be charged for lack of concrete evidence, or a miscarriage of justice. The book has been updated to include 93 new unsolved crimes, omit crimes from the first edition that have been solved, and add information to preexisting entries. Entries are arranged alphabetically by the individual victim’s name, event, popular nickname of an unidentified offender, geographic location, or recognized media label for multiple victims. Cross-references and an index assist users in locating information on their crimes of interest. A bibliography of sources at the end of the volume encourage one to look for more information on unsolved crimes. Suitable for college or public libraries, this book will entertain and inform any mystery or crime aficionado with factual and well-researched information. --Sara Marcus --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 436 pages
• Publisher: Checkmark Books; 2 edition (October 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081607819X
• ISBN-13: 978-0816078196
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #594,432 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A California native, Michael Newton has published 215 books under his own name and various pseudonyms since 1977. He began writing professionally as a "ghost" for author Don Pendleton on the best-selling Executioner series and continues his work on that series today. With 104 episodes published to date, Newton has nearly tripled the number of Mack Bolan novels completed by creator Pendleton himself.

Newton's first book under his own name was Monsters, Mysteries and Man (1979), a survey of unexplained phenomena for younger readers. While 156 of Newton's published books have been novels--including westerns, political thrillers and psychological suspense--he is best known for nonfiction, primarily true crime and reference books.

His firearms manual for writers, Armed and Dangerous (1990), remains a best-seller for Writer's Digest Books in its 8th printing. Newton's Encyclopedia of Serial Killers (Facts on File, 2000) is currently in its second edition. His history of the Florida Ku Klux Klan, The Invisible Empire (2001), won the Florida Historical Society's 2002 Rembert Patrick Award for Best Book in Florida History. His Encyclopedia of Cryptozoology was just named as one of twelve books on the American Library Association's 2006 List of Outstanding Reference Sources. Newton's shorter work includes horror fiction, true crime articles and case histories for Court TV's Crime Library online.

He is a member of several organizations, including the Centre for Fortean Zoology, the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club and Feral Cat Friends Inc.

His 24 upcoming books, scheduled for release through 2011, include 8 novels and 16 nonfiction works. He lives in Nashville, Indiana.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Whatever DID happen to Jimmy Hoffa?!, October 31, 2006

By 

Michael OConnor "Wordsmith" (Wausau, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Encyclopedia of Unsolved Crimes (Paperback)

If you lie awake at night wondering if Marilyn Monroe really was murdered or where the 'Tylenol Murderer' ended up or if New York's 'Dartman' is still roaming the streets...you need to get a life! But, seriously, you also need to get a copy of this marvelous book covering unsolved crimes of the past hundred and fifty years, mostly in America.

Author Michael Newton casts his net fairly wide, covering all the famous American cases (JonBenet, Judge Crater, the Lindbergh kidnapping, etc.). Obviously most of the cases deal with murder most foul but there's disappearances, thefts, etc.

Arranged alphabetically the book has lots of cross references. If you're a crime buff or just an "I wonder" type, you'll enjoy this book. It makes for interesting reading; you can read it straight through or jump in at any page. Recommended.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Encyclopedia of Uncolved Crimes, July 20, 2009

By 

Lorraine Chadwick "Avid Reader" (Pittsfield MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Encyclopedia of Unsolved Crimes (Paperback)

This is a great book for any crime buff. Or for any college student that may have to do a report on crime or a criminal. I only read true crime books. I do not read make-believe romance or anything else make-believe. Only true crime. 95% of my TV watching are true crime shows and movies. If a make-believe crime movie is good I'll watch that. This book is all about unsolved crimes and there are alot of people in the book that are not famous. There are a few other "The Encyclopedia of...." to go along with this one and I recommend them all. They are all great reading and alot of the stories leave you wondering "Why?".

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-Buy Encyclopedia, September 7, 2011

By 

Jonathan T. "True Crime Investigator" (Quebec, Canada) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Encyclopedia of Unsolved Crimes (Paperback)

This Encyclopedia is amazing and is really a must-buy book. If, like me, you have a real passion for True Crime/Serial Killers and Murder cases then you really need to buy this great book. I am surprised that this book doesn't have much reviews, this is really a fantastic book to own.

This Encyclopedia presents readers with the facts, evidences and theories of more than 800 cases. I repeat: more than 800 cases. Examining mysteries from the 19th and 20th Centuries this Encyclopedia looks at murders, robberies, missing persons, kidnappings, serial killers and much, much more. Each entry documents the events of the crimes, the victim(s), the alleged perpetrator(s), the key point of the police investigation and the current status of the case. 93 new cases have been added to this second edition and many others have been updated.

You'll find all the "legendary" or well-known cases: The Black Dahlia; The Zodiac; The assassinations of J.F.K., Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King; Jimmy Hoffa; DB Cooper; Judge Crater; JonBenet Ramsey; Jack the Ripper; The Lindbergh Kidnapping; The Boston Strangler; Natalee Holloway; The St-Valentine day Massacre; Bugsy Siegel; Chandra Levy and so, so many more, hundreds more cases that you might have heard or read about at one point in your life.

There's also hundreds of cases that most people might not know, I have discovered a lot of cases just by reading this book. Cases like: The Dartman (New York 1975-1976); Germany's Highway murders (1935); Ponoma Strangler (1993-1995); Texas' I-35 murders (1976-1981); Honolulu Strangler (1985-1986), The 2001's Myojo 56 fire in Japan and so many more, hundreds of cases the general public may have never heard or read about.

The list of cases covered in this encyclopedia is really outstanding, author Michael Newton did a wonderful job researching all the cases. I am happy that a lot of my favorite cases are featured in the book ( Joyce Chiang, Kristen Modafferi, the Butcher of Mons ) but I was a little disappointed that other cases ( Molly Bish, Betsy Aardsma, Danny Casolaro ) are missing from the list, but hey nothing is perfect and like I said the list of cases you'll find in this great book is really impressing and outstanding.

Do I need to say more ? Just buy this great encyclopedia, and for less than 20$ you can't say no. You won't be disappointed. ;)