Already part of a genre known for generating controversy, some true crime and scandal books have wielded a particular power to unsettle readers, provoke authorities and renew interest in a case. The reactions to such literature have been as contentious as the books themselves, clouding the “truth” with myths and inaccuracies.
From high-profile publishing sensations such as Ten Rillington Place, Fatal Vision and Mommie Dearest to the wealth of writing on the JFK assassination, the death of Marilyn Monroe and the Black Dahlia murder, this book delves into that hard copy era when crime and scandal books had a cultural impact beyond the genre’s film and TV documentaries, fueling outcries that sometimes matched the notoriety of the cases they discussed and leaving legacies that still resonate today.

Julian Upton has written about film and popular culture for the Journal of British Cinema and Television, Bright Lights Film Journal, and Filmfax. He lives in the United Kingdom.

Julian Upton
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 191
Bibliographic Info: notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2018
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7109-3
eISBN: 978-1-4766-3370-1
Imprint: Exposit Books

Acknowledgments vi
Introduction 1
1. Thelma Todd: ­Eighty-Year Death Riddle 5
2. The Secrets Behind the Door: Ten Rillington Place (1961) 17
3. Say Goodbye to the Truth? The Strange Death of Marilyn Monroe (1964) 31
4. Provocative Action: JFK and Mark Lane’s Rush to Judgment (1966) 46
5. Facts and Fictions: The Alice Crimmins Case 61
6. Executioner: Pierrepoint (1974) 76
7. Lord Lucan: An Honorable Manhunt 83
8. Memoirs of a Survivor: Mommie Dearest (1978) 99
9. Hollywood Checks Scandal: Indecent Exposure (1982) 110
10. Lethal Book Deal: Fatal Vision (1983) 119
11. Crimes of Passion: The Killing of the Unicorn (1984) 132
12. Mary Bell: Outcries and Cries Unheard (1998) 141
13. Sins of the Father: Black Dahlia Avenger (2003) 151
14. Undetermined Factors: Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour (2009) 163
Chapter Notes 179
Bibliography 180
Index 183