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Never Let Them See You Cry
True stories of crime in Miami by the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Corpse Had a Familiar Face. Set against the neon backdrop of the South Florida city where Miami Herald reporter Edna Buchanan covered the police beat for nearly two decades, this memoir collects true tales of both heroes and villains—from the heartbreaking to the heartwarming to the outright hilarious. “A flurry of cases—of criminal Christmases, historic crimes, homicidal love, cop heroes, rescuers, odd occurrences (such as that of the barbiturate-soaked gunman who took 26 direct hits from cops’ guns and kept shooting until a 27th round took him down) . . . a generous bonanza for crime buffs, presented by one of the sharpest writers in the field.” —Kirkus Reviews
383 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1992
168 people are currently reading
272 people want to read
About the author
Edna Buchanan
55 books160 followersEdna Buchanan knew she wanted to be a writer since she was 4 years old. She moved to Florida where she got a job at a small newspaper. Ms. Buchanan became a reporter for the Miami Beach Daily Sun in the late 1960s.
In 1970, she was hired as a general assignment and police-beat reporter at the Miami Herald. In 1973, Ms. Buchanan became a police beat reporter, which coincided with the rise of Miami as a center of the international drug trade.
Winning a Pulitzer Prize, Ms. Buchanan became one of the best-known crime reporters in the U.S. She discussed some of her assignments in the books, The Corpse Had a Familiar Face (1991) and Never Let Them See You Cry (1993). She has retired from journalism and writes mystery novels. The main character in her crime mystery series is Britt Montero.
In 1970, she was hired as a general assignment and police-beat reporter at the Miami Herald. In 1973, Ms. Buchanan became a police beat reporter, which coincided with the rise of Miami as a center of the international drug trade.
Winning a Pulitzer Prize, Ms. Buchanan became one of the best-known crime reporters in the U.S. She discussed some of her assignments in the books, The Corpse Had a Familiar Face (1991) and Never Let Them See You Cry (1993). She has retired from journalism and writes mystery novels. The main character in her crime mystery series is Britt Montero.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
September 29, 2019
A second anthology of nonfiction essays by Pulitzer prize winner Edna Buchanan, from her days on Miami's crime beat. She sketches out the friends, heros, villians and bystanders she encountered. Unlike her contemporary reporter-turned-mystery-writer, Michael Connelly, Buchanan manages to convey a mostly positive impression of her city, in both this book and her fiction. There are humourous turns, such as when she was trapped in a judge's closet while her dress was repaired. There are portraits of people she admires judges, reporters, ordinary people caught in extraordinary circumstances. As an anthology it's an easy book to put down and return to. I found I had to finish it in a couple of sittings
Highly recommended.
Highly recommended.
October 7, 2023
The mystery and magic of Miami as only Edna Buchanan can portray it. Written in 1992 it still sounds like it was hot off the press yesterday. Nothing really changes. This was minus Google and iPhones, but was still very relevant.
I loved the chapter on Al Capone - just substitute Trump’s name. Both narcissists, liars, lawbreakers, egotistical mental cases who bought huge mansions and ravished Florida. Al went to Alcatraz, maybe Trump will get sent to Rikers island???🤞
The story of the Southerland family was heart wrenching. Such faith in the jaws of adversity.
I stumbled on this book as I was browsing the library on line for a current book with the same title. I’d read many of Ms Buchanan’s fiction books 30 years ago so I selected this as an option. Glad I did. I Googled her and she is alive at 84, just like me!! May go back and reread some of her mystery novels.
I loved the chapter on Al Capone - just substitute Trump’s name. Both narcissists, liars, lawbreakers, egotistical mental cases who bought huge mansions and ravished Florida. Al went to Alcatraz, maybe Trump will get sent to Rikers island???🤞
The story of the Southerland family was heart wrenching. Such faith in the jaws of adversity.
I stumbled on this book as I was browsing the library on line for a current book with the same title. I’d read many of Ms Buchanan’s fiction books 30 years ago so I selected this as an option. Glad I did. I Googled her and she is alive at 84, just like me!! May go back and reread some of her mystery novels.
January 18, 2016
Great book! If you are into True crime books this is a must read.
September 29, 2017
Crime writer Buchanan is back with more wild and wooly tales from the city in which she works and loves, Miami. I'll admit to finding this effort not quite as compelling as her earlier book, THE CORPSE HAD A FAMILIAR FACE.
Buchanan is an accomplished writer--she expertly weaves together such a wide variety of stories that her readers can be horrified on one page and laughing maniacally the next. It's like sitting around a campfire with the most interesting person you know.
There are moments when the book grasps for humor that isn't there. For example, the escape of Irene the elephant, who apparently was unhappy with her life in a circus, is played as another wacky day in Miami...but I saw it as something deeply sad. Irene's desperate run concludes with the line Hobbled by the chains now double-wrapped around her legs, Irene struggled in vain to escape, until she was finally locked inside the circus van. Can you blame her for wanting to get away?
That said, I appreciated the author's stories of her rescue and eventual release of a wild duck, and the touching bond between a homeless man and his only friends--the stray cats whose needs he put before his own. I felt my blood boiling when I read about emergency "professionals" laughing at and mocking a desperate woman while her dog died in her arms. Her dog had accidentally been poisoned, she couldn't find a vet, and she did the only thing she knew would get her help--she called 911. The EMTs were already on the scene when they realized the call was for a pet, not a person, so the least they could do was try to help instead of standing around and laughing. I'm not a fan of social media shaming, but no one can argue that it doesn't give people pause about the choices they make...especially if pets or children are involved. If this incident would have happened in the U.S. today instead of 30 years ago, these EMTs would have been called out mercilessly and most likely disciplined for their unprofessionalism.
Buchanan is an accomplished writer--she expertly weaves together such a wide variety of stories that her readers can be horrified on one page and laughing maniacally the next. It's like sitting around a campfire with the most interesting person you know.
There are moments when the book grasps for humor that isn't there. For example, the escape of Irene the elephant, who apparently was unhappy with her life in a circus, is played as another wacky day in Miami...but I saw it as something deeply sad. Irene's desperate run concludes with the line Hobbled by the chains now double-wrapped around her legs, Irene struggled in vain to escape, until she was finally locked inside the circus van. Can you blame her for wanting to get away?
That said, I appreciated the author's stories of her rescue and eventual release of a wild duck, and the touching bond between a homeless man and his only friends--the stray cats whose needs he put before his own. I felt my blood boiling when I read about emergency "professionals" laughing at and mocking a desperate woman while her dog died in her arms. Her dog had accidentally been poisoned, she couldn't find a vet, and she did the only thing she knew would get her help--she called 911. The EMTs were already on the scene when they realized the call was for a pet, not a person, so the least they could do was try to help instead of standing around and laughing. I'm not a fan of social media shaming, but no one can argue that it doesn't give people pause about the choices they make...especially if pets or children are involved. If this incident would have happened in the U.S. today instead of 30 years ago, these EMTs would have been called out mercilessly and most likely disciplined for their unprofessionalism.
July 9, 2009
The book comprises many many anecdotes from Buchanan's crime beat. Some of them consist of a line; others take up a section or chapter. I was riveted by her stories, and I now never want to go to Miami.
Sadly, this may be out of print.
Sadly, this may be out of print.
February 18, 2013
Edna Buchanan has a way with telling a story that can bring you to tears, anger, to a broad smile... this book shares many of the stories she wrote about on her job as a crime reporter in Miami. definitely never a dull moment
December 7, 2022
I read this book years ago when I was starting out in journalism. It's a book I reread parts of every few years and was so happy to see it as a Kindle deal. I also read Edna Buchanan's The Corpse Had a Familiar Face, which was her first book about her stories. She wrote some very fast-paced mysteries, as well, and I loved all the ones I read.
December 2, 2019
Re-read. Although technological changes have made a lot of the references to older news processes sound a little quaint, the ideas Buchanan presents still hold up for the most part and her storytelling remains great.
March 2, 2020
Loved it
I have not yet read any of Ms. Buchanan's fiction but I certainly intend to now. I love this title and The Corpse Had a Familiar Face. She tells great stories about Miami and the citizens both good and bad live there
I have not yet read any of Ms. Buchanan's fiction but I certainly intend to now. I love this title and The Corpse Had a Familiar Face. She tells great stories about Miami and the citizens both good and bad live there
October 20, 2015
I would be really curious to know what Edna would think about reporting on police activities, and police interference in coverage of protests nationwide, over the last couple years.
March 15, 2019
Fascinating!
Crime stories galore and some great Florida history of the strange. Ms. Buchanan is an expert at telling the tales. Loved this book.
Crime stories galore and some great Florida history of the strange. Ms. Buchanan is an expert at telling the tales. Loved this book.
June 28, 2024
Heart-warming, hilarious, and horrifying - sometimes all in the same paragraph.
I remember reading this author's book "The Corpse Had a Familiar Face" when it was published in 1987 and loving it. I missed this follow-up book in 1992, but it's just as good and I'm thrilled to get the Kindle edition. In the 1970's and 80's, Buchanan's Miami Herald columns were written and talked about all over the country. She loved her city, rejoiced in its triumphs, celebrated its strengths, raged against its corruption, and mourned any time a good person there was harmed or threatened. No local columnist ever wrote with more honesty or compassion or intelligence.
The contrast between the grimness of New Jersey and the tropical paradise of Miami, Florida amazed her when she arrived as a young woman and she never lost that sense of wonder. Miami was warm, with white sand beaches, waving palm trees, clean sea breezes, exotic architecture, and a heady mixture of cultures from all over. Like many others who arrived in that era, she saw Miami as a Magical City.
If the surface was magical, there were dangers lurking below. The flip side of the balmy weather was the life-threatening hurricanes. Like many newcomers, she took her first hurricane too lightly. It was almost her last mistake. As the population exploded, so did crime, which meant that the Miami Herald's crime reporter was one of the busiest people in town.
How and why did Miami become so crime-ridden? There's no easy answer, but a large percentage of the population were new-comers. Some came from different cultures with different expectations. Some came from small town America but took the opportunity to leave their inhibitions behind when they moved. The proximity to Cuba and the political crisis there was a pressure point. Then came the drug epidemic and the Magical City was Ground Zero.
It's human nature to be both fascinated with and repelled by true crime stories. Some have accused them of being "violence porn" and there's something to be said for that view. And yet, crime happens and those it happens to and the people who love them are changed forever.
Edna Buchanan deserved her Pulizer Prize for crime reporting because she always remembered that the people she wrote about were REAL, with real lives and real emotions. They were human beings who deserved to be heard and remembered. She tried not to cause additional pain to victims and survivors, but she also knew that sometimes her columns made those people feel that they weren't forgotten or disregarded as being worthless.
Her personal life was a long-running train wreck, with three short, volatile marriages and no children. Her job consumed her and sometimes cost her friends and even threatened her life. She kept writing because she knew she could do the job and do it well and it was a job that should be done.
Today, the few newspapers left have skeletal staffs. Information is lifted from police or First Responder reports with little attention to details or accuracy. There are no Edna Buchanans following up to interview victims or their families to check the accuracy of the facts or report the effects of the crime on those involved. Maybe that's why we've become so numb to crime, accepting it as an inevitable part of life, not as something that could and should be prevented.
Today, Edna Buchanan is eighty-five years old, suffers from dementia, and lives in a nursing home. I want to believe that she still remembers all the people she touched, informed, and comforted in her professional career. There will never be another one like her.
I remember reading this author's book "The Corpse Had a Familiar Face" when it was published in 1987 and loving it. I missed this follow-up book in 1992, but it's just as good and I'm thrilled to get the Kindle edition. In the 1970's and 80's, Buchanan's Miami Herald columns were written and talked about all over the country. She loved her city, rejoiced in its triumphs, celebrated its strengths, raged against its corruption, and mourned any time a good person there was harmed or threatened. No local columnist ever wrote with more honesty or compassion or intelligence.
The contrast between the grimness of New Jersey and the tropical paradise of Miami, Florida amazed her when she arrived as a young woman and she never lost that sense of wonder. Miami was warm, with white sand beaches, waving palm trees, clean sea breezes, exotic architecture, and a heady mixture of cultures from all over. Like many others who arrived in that era, she saw Miami as a Magical City.
If the surface was magical, there were dangers lurking below. The flip side of the balmy weather was the life-threatening hurricanes. Like many newcomers, she took her first hurricane too lightly. It was almost her last mistake. As the population exploded, so did crime, which meant that the Miami Herald's crime reporter was one of the busiest people in town.
How and why did Miami become so crime-ridden? There's no easy answer, but a large percentage of the population were new-comers. Some came from different cultures with different expectations. Some came from small town America but took the opportunity to leave their inhibitions behind when they moved. The proximity to Cuba and the political crisis there was a pressure point. Then came the drug epidemic and the Magical City was Ground Zero.
It's human nature to be both fascinated with and repelled by true crime stories. Some have accused them of being "violence porn" and there's something to be said for that view. And yet, crime happens and those it happens to and the people who love them are changed forever.
Edna Buchanan deserved her Pulizer Prize for crime reporting because she always remembered that the people she wrote about were REAL, with real lives and real emotions. They were human beings who deserved to be heard and remembered. She tried not to cause additional pain to victims and survivors, but she also knew that sometimes her columns made those people feel that they weren't forgotten or disregarded as being worthless.
Her personal life was a long-running train wreck, with three short, volatile marriages and no children. Her job consumed her and sometimes cost her friends and even threatened her life. She kept writing because she knew she could do the job and do it well and it was a job that should be done.
Today, the few newspapers left have skeletal staffs. Information is lifted from police or First Responder reports with little attention to details or accuracy. There are no Edna Buchanans following up to interview victims or their families to check the accuracy of the facts or report the effects of the crime on those involved. Maybe that's why we've become so numb to crime, accepting it as an inevitable part of life, not as something that could and should be prevented.
Today, Edna Buchanan is eighty-five years old, suffers from dementia, and lives in a nursing home. I want to believe that she still remembers all the people she touched, informed, and comforted in her professional career. There will never be another one like her.
October 25, 2019
4.5 stars. I stumbled across this book yesterday and spent a good portion of the hours reading story after story about real people’s tragedies and triumphs as told through the eyes of this wonderful author. While this book is a collection of her memories of stories she covered and people she became friends with over the years as a reporter for The Miami Herald, she has also authored books of fiction. I will be adding them to my to-be-read list. Really enjoyed this book and recommend!
December 2, 2018
True Crime Story
This is the author's usual fare of murder, mayhem and particular stories about her readers. It is fascinating and interesting and she always comes hip smooth something new. Her stories are always good and always written well.
This is the author's usual fare of murder, mayhem and particular stories about her readers. It is fascinating and interesting and she always comes hip smooth something new. Her stories are always good and always written well.
February 24, 2020
I laughed and cried at this tribute to Miami. All of the good things and so many bad things.
Edna tells of her years working as a journalist on the police beat. Her stories are harrowing, sad, scary and even triumphant. A great read.
Edna tells of her years working as a journalist on the police beat. Her stories are harrowing, sad, scary and even triumphant. A great read.
December 21, 2024
The chapter labeled Courage about the Southerland family really did me in! I would read an entire book about them. The last update was from 1990. I wonder how life progressed for Steve, Jane, and Bert...
August 4, 2022
3.5 stars.
August 21, 2022
Great read
February 22, 2025
Some chapters were truly hit out of the park by the author. Considering some of these stories were news reports from the 70's and 80's, I truly enjoyed them.
May 7, 2025
Edna Buchanan was the crime beat reporter for the Miami Herald in the 70’s.
This is an interesting behind-the-scenes read.
She went on to write mystery novels when she left the paper.
This is an interesting behind-the-scenes read.
She went on to write mystery novels when she left the paper.
March 13, 2016
When I found out there was a follow up to one of my favorite books of all time - Buchanan's The Corpse Had a Familiar Face - I knew I had to read it! Compared to its predecessor, Never Let Them See You Cry is a little bit disappointing. This stems from the relative paleness of the events Buchanan recounts in comparison to those shared in Corpse. However, though Never Let Them See You Cry was markedly less exciting, Buchanan did provide some interesting anecdotes about Florida history that were quite informative.
Overall, Never Let Them See You Cry is a less exciting, less interesting sequel to The Corpse Had a Familiar Face, but that doesn't mean it isn't enjoyable. If you like Buchanan's witty voice and style, you will love Never Let Them See You Cry despite the absence of particularly thrilling accounts.
Overall, Never Let Them See You Cry is a less exciting, less interesting sequel to The Corpse Had a Familiar Face, but that doesn't mean it isn't enjoyable. If you like Buchanan's witty voice and style, you will love Never Let Them See You Cry despite the absence of particularly thrilling accounts.
February 23, 2016
Buchanan has a wealth of stories to draw on for her fiction from her life as a crime reporter for the Miami and Miami Beach newspapers. I enjoy her fiction very much. This non-fiction was taken from those stories she wrote about and it's very enlightening. There are many brief, sometimes very brief, bits of the people and events she's covered. They are well-arranged throughout the book in chapters of similar types of stories. I have a greatly expanded respect for the police and fire fighters. I found it hard sometimes to leap to the next story, sometimes without resolution but Buchanan explains that difference between fiction and journalism. I really like fiction best, and her's is outstanding. I'm glad I read this and will look for some of these stories to appear in her books, I'm sure I've already seen some of them!
May 30, 2015
This one had been on my shelves for more than 20 years - I have an extensive collection of "to-read" books. From today's revelations and perspective, it is hard to be so "pro-police" as Edna clearly was. But the reporter knew how to tell a story cleanly and simply and the last selection in the book, "Courage," is unforgettable.
November 5, 2015
I remember reading Edna's column in The Miami Herald when I was a teenager growing up in Miami. Is was one of my favorites. Needless to say I really like this book as well as The Corpse Had A Familiar Face. Both do a great job of conveying just how crazy of a town Miami was in the Eighties.
April 21, 2009
Stories and memoirs of Miami crime reporter, Edna Buchanan, winner of a Pulitzer Prize and considered "The Queen of Crime" by the Washington Post.
July 25, 2009
You have to like real life crime, but I do like her style of writing.
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November 22, 2014Good
If you're into true crime, this is good. Some stories are short and others are long. Overall, it's an interesting read.
If you're into true crime, this is good. Some stories are short and others are long. Overall, it's an interesting read.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews