Customer Reviews

Tailspin: The Strange Case of Major Call

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

 

 

Tailspin is a real thriller, a book you'll try to finish in one go. the "true story" of Major Call and his crimes and his link to a gruesome murder some 50 years ago seems so much more thrilling as it is non-fiction - or is it not? To be critical, a lot of conversations, thoughts, moves, have been liberally construed by the author, and the link between Major Call and the Sheppard-murder is circumstial, at best. So there is a lot of fiction in this book.
Nevertheless, it's worth reading.

There is not much I can add to the other reviews. I couldn't put it down either and spent the whole day reading until my eyes gave out. Bernard F. Connors can really write. Major Call, the poetry loving desperado was an almost likable fellow, but as usual, "there was something about him." And God help the person who got in his way. A dedicated military and family man, he couldn't control his rages or his weakness for dangerous situations, fast cars, and stealing. He may very well have been the mysterious bushy haired stranger seen in the Bay Village neighborhood where Marilyn Sheppard was murdered in the 50's. Did he kill her? Read the book and decide for yourself. I went back and re-read parts of the story and studied the haunting photos. There are also documents and additonal photos in the back of the book. This is one you will want to own.

Major Call was my grandfather. I never knew him and know very little about him due to the fact that no one in my family has ever been willing to speak of him. I tried to read this book objectively. I was aware of the fact that my grandfather was a murderer growing up so it wouldn't have been difficult for me to accept the premise of this book.However, I don't think there is any solid evidence to implicate my grandfather in this case. I also think the book is poorly written (the made-up conversations are overly dramatic, the scant evidence poorly presented) and I think the author is basically trying to use lightning to illuminate a match, as it were.

I read this book in two sittings.The transformation of Major Call from a distinguished Air Force officer to a criminal is very hard to understand but well told.The story is compelling and grips your attention immediately.He was a very skilled criminal not to mention ruthless.His possible role in the murder of Dr.Sheppard's wife is fairly well established in this book.It would certainly leave you with a reasonable doubt if you were sitting on a jury.His penchant for living on the edge and taking risks makes Bond's 007 pale by comparison.

Author Brian F. Conners new offering of "Tailspin" is brilliantly written about Major James Call, an US Air Force hero,who after the loss of his beautiful wife took a path of criminality, which involved murder,burglary et al. Although non-fiction the book is written with a fictional method. I received this book three days ago and immediately began reading it, unable to close the covers until my reading was completed. This fine work is a must read for those readers who pursue true murder mysteries and police technique. Conners' research is methodical and accurate. It is historical and very interesting.
The 106 Day manhuntfor Call was factual and complex. Read this book, you will enjoy Mr. Conners' written word. Sensational!!!.

Written by a former FBI agent Bernard F. Conners who drew upon more than forty years of personal research, Tailspin: The Strange Case Of Major Call is a compelling, fact-based work offering a "literary bloodhound" solution to the still unsolved murder mystery of Major James Arlon Call. A war time hero who, after the death of his beloved wife, turned criminal. He was a man almost larger than life, flawed with a dark and ultimately lethal side when he engaged in a shootout with four police officers, wounding three of them, and one fatally. Gripping, descriptive, and persuasive in its case, Tailspin is an engaging, provocative, true crime narrative that dares to tread the border between historical fact and logical supposition.

Tailspin is a page-turner. While the story of Major Call is indeed fascinating, what makes Tailspin phenomenal is the surprising revelation. Could Major Call have committed one of the most famous unsolved murders of the century? After reading Tailspin, I'm convinced. I couldn't put the book down. Highly recommended. Tailspin is riveting!

This book is aweful. Horrible writing and an unbelievable stretch of barely circumstantial evidence. Any serious student of this case should look elsewhere.

To fully appreciate "Tailspin", one should probably be familiar with the Sam/Marilyn Sheppard murder case. That would be the same one that spawned "The Fugitive" TV series. The main character here is an AWOL Air Force Major, Jim Call. Confused? Keep reading! Major Call has a fine military record and a bright military future, with decorations from aerial combat in Korea. When his wife dies, he simply "loses it", throws away his career and virtually overnight, pursues a life of crime. The author offers a gambling problem as an unsatisfactory explanation for this bizarre decision. Call's life continues it's downward spiral via a series of petty robberies and burglaries in Ohio (!), Massachusetts and in the Adirondack region of upstate New York. It was in Lake Placid, NY that Call shoots 3 local cops, killing one. He uses his military escape and evasion skills to elude a NY State Police dragnet. He slides all the way to Reno, NV where he finally is busted by an alert local cop for possessing stolen property. All of this action transpires in just 7 months of the year 1954! This brief time span is the heart of "Tailspin". This reviewer is ignoring Call's combat experience since this is not in the least a military tale. What happens next? One will just have to read "Tailspin" to find out! A good review doesn't divulge the ending. What makes "Tailspin" so unique is that there is MORE to the plot! Very briefly Author Conners, a former FBI Agent, proposes that the perpetrator of the Sheppard murder was none other than the AWOL Major Call! The murder supposedly took place during the Ohio portion of the crime spree mentioned above! An exhausting amount of circumstantial evidence is offered in a lengthy addendum to buttress this view. The problem here is that these considerations are in weighty addition to the obviously recreated dialog, restaged scenes and liberally reinterpreted events of the first part of "Tailspin". Exactly what-and whom- is the reader to believe? Is this True Crime or fiction? As stated above, there is a definite credibility gap here. Were it not for the author's former status as A G-Man, the gap would be wider still. "Tailspin" is still recommended as long as the reader is not overly concerned with facts. Those who view "Tailspin" as a fascinating alchemy of fact and fiction should not be disappointed. A final note: The "Ann Rule" rule is in effect: Some of the photos give away clues. They -and the entire addendum- should be ignored until the reader is done with the main text.

A friend lent me this book years ago, I loved it, let others borrow it and now I finally remembered to buy it for myself. For years I raved about this book, so happy to finally have it in my possession. I couldn't put it down and that's how I judge if I love a book.