Yet Another Dahila Killer
I just read on CNN that there's a new book on who the Black Dahila killer is. This time a detective named, Steve Hodel claims his late father, a respected LA doctor is the killer. The book is called "Black Dahila Avenger: The True Story". It's funny that I saw this last night because yesterday during the day my friend Cristy and I were watching the Johnny Depp movie "From Hell" on Showtime and were talking about why Jack the Ripper was such a famous case. I said that it was because at the time the killings were so shocking and notorious and the fact that they never caught anyone made it even more sensational. I said it was similar in my mind to the case of the Black Dahlia and how no one was ever caught in that case, and that it too was a sensational case (the body had been severed in half, pretty shocking for the 40's). When I read the article later that evening I read that the detective also likened his father to Jack the Ripper, which was an interesting coincidence.
I read a book that I picked up at Rite Aid last fall called "Daddy was the Black Dahila Killer" which was pretty bad. The author, Janice Knowlton claimed that her abusive father was the killer and she only realized this 40 years later after lots of therapy and memory regression. I'm not sure I'd recommend that one as a good read, but if you're into the Dahila case, why not. The most popular Dahila book out there is "Severed" by John Gilmore. Lots of photos, more seemingly factual than the other book, although in the last chapter(s) it exlains who the supposed killer is as well, which of course can't be proven. I'd probably recommend reading "Severed" first before any of the other two mentioned above. Although I'll probably read the Avenger book when it's out in paperback. I like unsolved mysteries, true crime books, stuff like that. Probably goes along with my love of the horror genre.
I have to add though that the best Dahila book I ever read was the fictional Black Dahlia by James Ellroy. Great story! He takes the characters and some of the facts from the original case and weaves his own tale of what might have happened. This book really made me a fan of James Ellroy. It's the first book in a series of 4 L.A .crime novels which includes L.A. Confidential (Black Dahlia, Big Nowhere, L.A. Confidential, White Jazz), all of which are really excellent books. Here's the link to the the CNN article on the new Dahila book if you're a Dahila fan like I am and want to check it out.
I read a book that I picked up at Rite Aid last fall called "Daddy was the Black Dahila Killer" which was pretty bad. The author, Janice Knowlton claimed that her abusive father was the killer and she only realized this 40 years later after lots of therapy and memory regression. I'm not sure I'd recommend that one as a good read, but if you're into the Dahila case, why not. The most popular Dahila book out there is "Severed" by John Gilmore. Lots of photos, more seemingly factual than the other book, although in the last chapter(s) it exlains who the supposed killer is as well, which of course can't be proven. I'd probably recommend reading "Severed" first before any of the other two mentioned above. Although I'll probably read the Avenger book when it's out in paperback. I like unsolved mysteries, true crime books, stuff like that. Probably goes along with my love of the horror genre.
I have to add though that the best Dahila book I ever read was the fictional Black Dahlia by James Ellroy. Great story! He takes the characters and some of the facts from the original case and weaves his own tale of what might have happened. This book really made me a fan of James Ellroy. It's the first book in a series of 4 L.A .crime novels which includes L.A. Confidential (Black Dahlia, Big Nowhere, L.A. Confidential, White Jazz), all of which are really excellent books. Here's the link to the the CNN article on the new Dahila book if you're a Dahila fan like I am and want to check it out.
