Customer Reviews

Hastened to the Grave: The Gypsy Murder Investigation

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I read ALL of Jack Olsen's books and this one was one of the best! So great, that I visited Fay Faron's website and e-mailed her to tell her how much I admire what she did. SO WHAT that he wrote so much about Fay's personal life. It's a true-crime story, and Fay's true life was part of it for over four years. This book should be read by anyone vulnerable to any type of con game, Gypsy or not. HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!

My first Jack Olsen book and definitely not my last. Read it straight through the night. Although I found the focus on Fay Faron a bit much and would have prefered more pictures of the victims and especially the perps (the better to watch out for them), this book was an excellent read. The outcome is absolutely amazing--proving once again that police politics win rather than justice. Thank goodness that people like Fay Faron exist. Taking into consideration that we all will grow old, this book should be read by everyone.

I can't believe someone had the courage to write this book. I am sad to say that it is more serious than this book could ever expose. It is hard to fathom that people could be so vicious and sick and to do such crimes. My grandmother was a victim of some of these sick, twisted people. I am so glad that Jack Olsen had the guts to write this book. I could not put it down. I wish there were more books on Gypsy scams, crime and murder.

I have read all of Jack Olsen's true crime novels and consider myself a huge fan of his work. However, I was very disappointed in this book because of its focus on Fay Faron, who I found annoying. The story was a good one and Faron was an integral part of the story, but Olsen's intense focus on her took away from what could have been an outstanding book, like all his others.

Who cares what the "beautiful" Fay Faron aka Rat Dog Dick ate for breakfast! This book is full of minutia about this woman's life and none of it has anything to do with the "story." I was so dissatisfied when I skimmed through the last five pages just to get it over with, that I threw the book away!! I was so sick of Rat Dog and the endless glorification of her that I would NOT recommend spending time or money on this book. I'm scratching my head trying to figure out why it got all the accolades.

Do not be misled by the hype on the cover! "Jack Olsen's particular gift is his ability to illuminate the souls of his characters."?? I feel bad for author Mr. Olsen. I couldn't find any illumination. There is no real emotion. Eight pages of chilling photos?? The most chilling photo is of private investigator Fay Faron in a cheesy Sam Spade get-up. This book is amateurishly written. Maybe the point was to bring to our attention the problem of scams targeting the elderly. In this it has barely succeeded.

While I was out of town, some strange stuff happened in my old neighborhood, so I grabbed this at the public library to read on the bus to work. BAD CHOICE: The laundry sat, the kid whined, bedtime came and went and the book didn't make it through one morning's commute. Who were the good guys and the bad guys? Why do some people attack wrongdoing with tenacity, and others just treat it like business as usual? I wish some fact checker had gotten out a map of the city so they hadn't displaced Balboa Street to the Sunset, and moved Colma into the city. You wouldn't know if you live someplace else, but details is details. The story is riveting. I came on line to research it further (yeah, sick.. but it coulda been one of my parents: they went to West Portal for deli), and found this reviews section. My recommendation: Read it and think about it. What would you have done? What are you doing? What can you do?

Jack Olsen is the grand master of True Crime reporting...be prepared to forget everything else once you open one of his books...you won't be able to put it down! Jack's words caress you with their poetic prose...yet, they have the power to cause the hair on the back of your neck to stand up...tingles run up and down your spine. Jack's mastery of creating suspense is unmatched. His latest effort, Hastened to the Grave, was born out of an article he wrote for Vanity Fair; May 1998, titled "Gone With the Gypsies." His fascination with the PI on the case, Fay Faron, head of the Rat Dog Dick Detective Agency, and the string of Arsenic and Old Lace-style murders, led to the creation of the book.

Don't be misled by Jack's literary style of writing that is as fascinating and entertaining as any work of fiction. He is a supreme investigative reporter, and every word is true.

Fay Faron is as captivating as the best Mystery novel herione...well, just look at what she named her detective agency-- Rat Dog Dick!

When the police won't pay attention to her suspitions that a beautiful Gypsy and her family have broken with tradition and are systematically poisoning elderly victims in order to inherit their wealth, the 'Rat Dog Dick' works pro bono to gather the evidence that forces them to listen.

I did enjoy this book, admittedly! It was fast-paced and kept my attention.

My reluctance about this book isn't the style, the writing or the focus on Fay Faron who deserves the kudos and acknowledgment. I would have preferred the criminal family profiled in the book would have been profiled as just that - a criminal family. Not all gypsies are criminals and the book helps promote the stereotype. Just as all Italians are not Mafia, all Roma are not lying, thieving, scamming criminals.

The most relevant question in the book was simply this: Why can't the authorities use the RICO act to prosecute this type of criminal activity? This criminal family, the Tene-Bimbos, continue to carry out these kinds of scams, even today!

This is a good book but it only scratches the surface of elder abuse and how these scams are carried out. Lonely elderly people in a lonely society are vulnerable. This lead me to think about many larger issues, including the disposability of elder people in this culture and the lack of concern for their well-being. If for no other reason than my own heightened consciousness of the issue, this was a book well worth reading.

Written like a novel, "Hastened To The Grave" is an expose on the "sweetheart" scams and murders of several elderly men by the Tene Bimbo gypsy clan. It is so well written, you really can't put it down as you follow the trail of the heroine detective, Fay Faron, aka "Rat Dog Dick" who investigated allegations that elderly men were being fleeced of their homes and bank accounts. You get mad and frustrated with the San Francisco Police Department for its anemic efforts to bring these crooks to justice, as you rightly should. You cheer Jerry Lama, a brave man, whose brother was a primary actor in the scams, who worked with Faron to stop the criminals. Ultimately, You will learn about the Roma gypsies, their background, their tribes and families, their number in the United States (millions in population), and their nefarious, multi-million dollar scam industry in its many forms, especially about the Tene Bimbo clan. It's time to know the truth, if only to protect yourself.