Customer Reviews

The Lockerbie Incident: A Detective's Tale

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4 star:		(1)
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There have been several books written about the Lockerbie Incident, but I don't see how there could be a more honest, open, heart-wrenching telling of the tale than this one by John Crawford.
I think only since 9/11 many Americans have come to realize the extent of evil in the world. Two hundred seventy people died as the result of this evil in 1988. Nowadays it seems that aircraft being blown out of the sky is something we have become desensitized to, but this event has touched the lives of many people, including this author, as well as myself.
From the luggage being loaded at the terminal, to the body bags on the rolling hills of Scotland, you will be involved in the case through the eyes of an experienced professional investigating it. You will be taken to Malta, shown piece by piece how this case was solved. You will be able to read each name one by one and get a sense of the magnitude of this event.
You will come to appreciate the work involved to keep a crime like this from going unpunished. You will not soon forget Lockerbie or the people who died there, may they rest in peace.

This is a clearly written and at times deeply honest account of the complexities involved in a major investigation. This investigation was a major one, not only for Scotland, but for the civilized western world, and had repurcussions that effected countless lives...and still does. The author places it well to allow the reader an opportunity to relate with the time of year and some of those complexities. The technical jargon of Police work and aviation is clearly explained and the brief history "lessons" concerning the Middle East and some of the fanatical characters is useful. Its written by someone who was literaly there picking up the pieces from the start. At times the author lays open his own feelings, which as a serving professional police officer, had to be secondary to the investigation. Not only raw emotions of dealing with the aftermath of such carnage, but of wrestling with the politics..not only of the police service, but of the Governemnts involved. This is documented and at times more subtly hinted at. It adds to the placing of the book and its historical usefullness in painting a detailed picture of such a major enquiry and the negotiaions that need to be undertaken..or avoided.

I was fortunate to find this book early. It is written by a man who was actually on the ground as a local serving Police officer. It is written with feeling and sympathy for the unfortunate victims, who cascaded from the skies on to the small Scottish hamlet of Lockerbie.Mr Crawford then spent the next few years tracking the perpertrators of this unspeakable crime, around the world. He describes the horror at the outset,then follows every little clue, in true Sherlock tradition. He interviews suspects, talking to members of various Middle Eastern terror groups. He shares intelligence with other police forces from around the world, and his travels involving the investigation take you to the most unexpected corners of the globe. This is one great story, told by a very ordinary man who was determined to bring these terrorists to justice. John Crawford is destined for greatness in the detective story genre, and I'm eagerly awaiting his next work. Well recommended!

This is an extraordinary book. It's true, the language isn't as smooth or as suave as a professional author - but Detective Crawford never claims to be a professional author. The narrative is very much in his voice, and it's a voice that many fiction authors have tried, and failed, to emulate.

Crawford was on the investigate team from nearly start to finish, moving from team to team as necessity dictated - as one job one was completed, and another stage of the investigation entered. He never tries to make himself 'the hero,' never tries to build himself up; he continually stresses that the investigation was a massive team effort. Indeed, some of his strongest criticism is for fellow policemen who had their own agendas, or who let the team down in one way or another. He's also careful to give credit where it's due, praising fellow officers who found crucial pieces of evidence.

Here is a man who helped retrieved bodies from the crash site (which was massive); who scoured the ground for evidence; who pursued leads that didn't pan out - and leads that did. Detective Crawford doesn't present any conspiracy theories - here's what he learned, and how he learned it. It's as much a book about damn fine police work as it is about the Lockerbie (Pan Am Flight 103) incident. He never pretends that he or his colleagues are more than human, either; he recounts early rumors of survivors (there were none) that spread among the searchers - rumors reminiscent, and also prescient, of the rumors of survivors from the upper levels of the Twin Towers.

Most impressively, Crawford never, never loses sight of the pain and suffering of the victims of what the world calls simply 'Lockerbie' - the men, women, and children on the plane, on the ground, and their surviving relatives. Crawford is himself a husband and a father, and he grounds his narrative from that perspective, not that of an unemotional 'hardened copper' who just wants to get the job done. He feels an emotional connection to the victims and their relatives, and his personal perspective engages and makes the horrors of the crash real to his readers.

There are moments of horror, of pathos, of realization; and a few unexpected moments of humor, too. Crawford doesn't bask in glory or triumph, either. He 'got the job done,' yes - but it left him forever changed.

Kudos to Detective Crawford, his colleagues on the force, and to his wife, Janis. Her job was as tough as his, and she did it with love and aplomb.