True Crime in Titletown, USA [Paperback]

Tracy C. Ertl (Author), Mike R. Knetzger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2005

Green Bay is best known for its football team and frigid winter climate. In "True Crime in Titletown: Cold Cases," the authors offer profiles of three historic unsolved crimes including a 1931 bank robbery, extortion case and a restaurant murder. Tracy Ertl and Mike Knetzger go beyond the newspaper stories and interview people involved in the cases to fashion dramatic accounts of each crime.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Tracy Ertl is a police dispatcher and former newspaper crime reporter while Mike Knetzger is a Green Bay police officer. This is their first book.

Product Details

• Paperback: 250 pages
• Publisher: Badger Books (September 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932542175
• ISBN-13: 978-1932542172
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,667,381 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars True Crime in Titletown USA, February 11, 2007

By 

T. Martinez "T.Martinez" (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: True Crime in Titletown, USA (Paperback)

Wow! I would highly recommend this book as it kept me very interested. Very good detail of what the various criminals were living,thinking and doing before, during and after their crimes. Amazingly well described and orally illustrated this was a book I thoroughly enjoyed and found to be provoking in my emotions as I read thru and became an analyzer of the crimes committed. Given a glimpse into the minds of the criminals and into the minds of the police as they pursue criminals and are faced with various scenes, danger and obvious desire to bring the bad guys down! I was able to build a better appreciation for those working to crack unsolved crimes. This is a definite read for those interested in pursuing a career in the Criminal Justice field! This book for me is about JUSTICE.Sometimes justice is never seen and this is truly amazing even in light of the evidence presented.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Mediocre, November 15, 2006

By 

Maria Rosenfire (Auckland, NZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: True Crime in Titletown, USA (Paperback)

I was not disappointed with this book. This is not to say that it was well written; merely that it was slightly more interesting than I anticipated it would be. The book provides summaries and dramatic recountings of three crimes committed in and around the area of Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are fairly run-of-the-mill crimes; an extortion case gone wrong, a double homicide, and a bank robbery-- none of the three are really fascinating enough to write an entire book about. In addition to the rather yawn-inducing topic, the writing is amateur at best, using overblown imagery and fabricated events, and feels, rather than having the tone and language of a non-fiction suspense novel, as though it was a collaboration between a journalist and a sixth grader with a vivid imagination. The stories meander, often trailing off into ennui-inducing rambles with little or no connection to the crime at hand.

However, the book is not all bad. Though riddled with theories, the hard facts of the book are well researched, and the stories used in place of missing facts are creative, if not particularly well written.

One of the books other flaws has nothing to do with its authorship. At only 250 pages and with a jaw-dropping $17 list price, the book is ridiculously overpriced. It would need many more redeeming qualities before I would consider paying anything close to that.

All in all, this is a lot of money for very little quality. If you really want to read it, borrow it.