Texas True Crime

by Texas Monthly, Evan Smith (Introduction)

Since 1973, one magazine has covered crime in Texas like no one else, delving deep into stories that may turn your stomach—but won't let you turn away. Texas True Crime is a high-speed read around Texas, chasing criminals from the Panhandle to the Piney Woods, through gated mansions and trailer parks, from 1938 to the twenty-first century. The stories, which originally appeared as articles in the magazine, Texas Monthly, come from some of its most notable writers: Cecilia Ballí investigates the drug-fueled violence of the border; Pamela Colloff reports on Amarillo's lethal feud between jocks and punks; Michael Hall re-visits the legend of Joe Ball, a saloon owner who allegedly fed his waitresses to pet alligators; Skip Hollandsworth uncovers the computer nerd who became Dallas' most notorious jewel thief; and Katy Vine tracks a pair of teenage lesbians inspired by Thelma and Louise . Texas Monthly's Texas True Crime is the second in a series of books in which the editors of Texas Monthly offer the magazine's inimitable perspective on various aspects of Texas culture, including food, politics, travel, and music, among other topics. Texas Monthly's Texas Women was released in 2006.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime, Essays

245 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2007

Reviews

[Mrs. Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

All I can do is echo other Goodreaders’ pronouncements that Texas Monthly on Texas True Crime is an absolutely terrific book! The only way it could be improved would be by adding more - more entries, more volumes. Not all the articles are about killings, although there’s no doubt that Texas has contributed lots to choose from, but all are very well-written, and a few involve crimes I’d never heard of before. It does contain a too-short article about what may be my all-time favorite Texas crime - the dentist who ran over her husband three successive times in an upscale hotel parking lot with the guy’s teenaged daughter in the front seat while being filmed by a detective she had hired. It sounds like something Dave Barry made up, but that’s exactly what happened.
You don’t need to be a true crime fan to appreciate the articles reprinted in this book. Highly Recommended

[Ricki Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic...Skip Hollandsworth is not only a Texas treasure, but a national one as well. Long live Texas Monthly!

[lawyergobblesbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish this book were three times as long. Loved each and every article about often bizarre crimes in an otherwordly state; from tragic local murders to unexpected bank robbers to serial killers passed into legend. PLEASE publish a sequel...in the meantime I'll be looking up each author on the magazine's Web site to see what they're writing now.

A love letter to short-form true crime journalism: http://www.whatbookshouldireadtoday.c...

[SundayAtDusk · Rating 5 out of 5]

After coming across some excellent true crime articles on the internet by Skip Hollandsworth, I ended up subscribing to the Texas Monthly magazine to look for more. (An annual digital subscription is $15.) With a subscription, I could read 50 years of archived articles, too. I did wonder if I had already read all the stories in this book before buying it, but fortunately had not. There are also stories written by other journalists, and it's an interesting mixture of crimes.

There was only one story I did not finish and wished I had never started--the alligator man one. Usually, Texas Monthly stories aren't that gross and graphic. One of the funnier stories was about Bernie Tiede, and I do feel guilty thinking it was funny since he did shoot down an elderly woman. The 2011 movie Bernie was based on the story and was even funnier. (Yes, I felt even more guilty laughing all the way through it.) Mr. Hollandsworth was a co-writer of the movie.

A surprise story was on a jewelry thief in Dallas in the 1990s. What was surprising about it is I had recently read The King of Diamonds: The Search for the Elusive Texas Jewel Thief, a story about thefts in Dallas in the 1960s; where I wrote a review that ended with the thought such thefts could not occur in later decades, due to more advance home security systems. Obviously, I was wrong. The homes in the 1990s did have much more advanced security, but still a computer nerd, no less, broke into multiple homes stealing countless jewels.

If you like long true crime stories, this book is one to get. You won't be bored. Yes, Texans are not like the rest of us. Even their criminals are often unusual. :)

[Robert P. Hoffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the people profiled in the stories are people who could easily be dismissed and made a caricature. But each writer has told a story of how they got to the place they ended up in and what happened to their lives. All of the people are broken people. Many of them engaged in actions that minimized the chances of physically hurting people. Many of them were capable of having achieved success without engaging in criminal behavior.

While half of the stories are by Skip Hollandsworth, who is one of the best writers around, the other stories are also exceptionally well written and show the power of telling a good story.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Skip Hollandsworth articles here.

[DeWayne Wicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Truth is stranger than fiction.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a handful of writers that I'm just plain jealous of. They're writers who can spin a story so artfully I can't help but marvel at their skill. Two of those writers--Skip Hollandsworth and Pamela Colloff--are respresented in this volume of longform selections from Texas Monthly centering around crime. It includes Hollandsworth's "Midnight in the Garden of East Texas", which became the basis of Richard Linklater's frankly hilarious film Bernie. The stories are long enough to immerse yourself in their world but short enough to finish during a sitting. If you like this, check out the back archives on Texas Monthly's website. It's a gold mine of excellent journalism.

[Andie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything is bigger in Texas, and that goes for the crimes committed in the state. Texas Monthly has compiled a book of some of the best of them ranging from the cross-dressing bank robber, to the woman who ran over her husband in her Mercedes after she caught him with his mistress, to the mild-mannered undertaker who murdered his benefactress (which became the recent movie, "Bernie.").

Reading this book is like watching a good crime movie with a big bag of buttered popcorn

[Michael Loven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good Book

Consisting of short stories of murder and other crimes in Texas. The stories are true and the research done for the stories is spot on. The writer brings the reader into the story which makes for a good read.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the finest magazines in the nation and outstanding true crime stories!

[Stacy Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Texas Monthly is a great magazine filled with excellent stories, profiles. This book collects some of the more interesting recent crime stories printed in the magazine. Guilty pleasure!