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45 Murderers: A Collection of True Crime Stories
From Hollywood’s Black Dahlia to the Arkansas an anthology of true crime profiles by “the grand dame of mystery” (Ed Gorman). Whether venturing into a blood-spattered farm in Texas, down a lonely mountain road in Alabama, or into the deceptively sunny Ohio suburbs, acclaimed mystery writer Craig Rice lends her hard-boiled style and a wicked irony to this gallery of real-life murders. Among them . . . A saintly middle-aged widow bludgeoned to death in her New Jersey home; the headless torsos of two women found floating in the Lake of the Ozarks; a New Year’s fire in Pennsylvania set to cover the traces of a more ghastly crime; a traveling evangelist on a divine mission blown to bits in Berkley; an aspiring starlet tortured, bisected, and dumped in a vacant LA lot; and a New York couple poisoned to death by the mysterious “Veiled Murderess,” a convicted killer who never revealed her motives—or her true identity. Culled from Rice’s work as a crime reporter, “the stories in 45 Murderers have withstood time” as a century-spanning, cross-country tour of the sinister underbelly of the American Dream (Jeffrey Marks, author of Who Was That Lady?).
367 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1952
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About the author
Craig Rice
103 books56 followersPseudonym for Georgiana Ann Randolph Craig aka Daphne Sanders and Michael Venning.
Known for her hard-boiled mystery plots combined with screwball comedy, Georgiana 'Craig' Rice was the author of twenty-three novels, six of them posthumous, numerous short stories, and some true crime pieces. In the 1940s she rivaled Agatha Christie in sales and was featured on the cover of Time Magazine in 1946. However, over the past sixty years she has fallen into relative obscurity.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Ri...
Known for her hard-boiled mystery plots combined with screwball comedy, Georgiana 'Craig' Rice was the author of twenty-three novels, six of them posthumous, numerous short stories, and some true crime pieces. In the 1940s she rivaled Agatha Christie in sales and was featured on the cover of Time Magazine in 1946. However, over the past sixty years she has fallen into relative obscurity.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_Ri...
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 30, 2020
An excellent book. Ms. Rice has such a great sense of wit and turn of phrase that it is very entertaining to read these accounts. Most crimes I had never heard of and very much in the 30s ish time frame which was nice. Some of the psychological comments were out of date with how much we have learned since she wrote this, but that is to be expected. Well worth the read
November 18, 2018
This was a great read, full of intriguing true-life mysteries. Some have been solved and some are being hotly debated to this day. All are well-written in Craig Rice's distinctive hard-boiled style. Don't miss this one.
January 22, 2020
Outdated to some, vintage crime to others
All of the true crimes in this book occurred prior to 1952, the year the book was published. While there are a few stories you have read about already, the majority of the crimes have flown below the radar of popularity.
Each story is brief, meaning this is a book in which you can read about a murder or two or three, put the book down and pick it up later. Some of the cases, including The Black Dahlia, are still unsolved and are likely to remain so.
23
All of the true crimes in this book occurred prior to 1952, the year the book was published. While there are a few stories you have read about already, the majority of the crimes have flown below the radar of popularity.
Each story is brief, meaning this is a book in which you can read about a murder or two or three, put the book down and pick it up later. Some of the cases, including The Black Dahlia, are still unsolved and are likely to remain so.
23
November 7, 2023
Interesting, gory, sometimes eerie tales of murder and mayhem. Narrators are entertaining and get involved. Not a late night read… 😲
June 17, 2023
The important thing to remember about this book, and something that I continuously had to remind myself of, is that IT WAS WRITTEN IN A DIFFERENT TIME. I have to tell myself that because I kept getting annoyed with certain stereotypes. Like, did you know that ladies can't keep secrets? Also, men and women eat peanuts differently, and that's a FACT.
But seriously though, this was an entertaining example of true crime journalism with stories told in a sometimes tongue in cheek manner that was intriguing and engaging. I don't get why there were two different narrators but either way it was something good to put on in the background while I did things.
Highlight would be the contemporary piece on the Black Dahlia murder. Very interesting to hear the perspective of someone from much closer to the time when it took place. Bit sad that it ended with a very definitive statement about finding the murderer and to this day we still don't know what happened to her.
I'd recommend to anyone interested in historical crime - majority of the stories in here I had never heard of before.
But seriously though, this was an entertaining example of true crime journalism with stories told in a sometimes tongue in cheek manner that was intriguing and engaging. I don't get why there were two different narrators but either way it was something good to put on in the background while I did things.
Highlight would be the contemporary piece on the Black Dahlia murder. Very interesting to hear the perspective of someone from much closer to the time when it took place. Bit sad that it ended with a very definitive statement about finding the murderer and to this day we still don't know what happened to her.
I'd recommend to anyone interested in historical crime - majority of the stories in here I had never heard of before.
January 1, 2025
An Entertaining Collection Of True Tales Of Murder
In 45 Murderers, Craig Rice gives us the basic facts in tales of murder that happened between the early 1900s and the late 1940s across the United States. Writing with her usual style and wit, she lays out each case quickly and succinctly, telling us what we need to know but not drowning us in details. It’s a fascinating look at some of the most notorious murders of the 20th century, now mostly forgotten sad to say. It’s a great reminder that murder and murderers have been around forever and each one is as unique in its own strange way. I highly recommend this book to any fan of true crime.
In 45 Murderers, Craig Rice gives us the basic facts in tales of murder that happened between the early 1900s and the late 1940s across the United States. Writing with her usual style and wit, she lays out each case quickly and succinctly, telling us what we need to know but not drowning us in details. It’s a fascinating look at some of the most notorious murders of the 20th century, now mostly forgotten sad to say. It’s a great reminder that murder and murderers have been around forever and each one is as unique in its own strange way. I highly recommend this book to any fan of true crime.
November 1, 2018
Entertaining collection of true crime stories, mostly from the 1930s and 1940s, famous in their day but largely forgotten now, with the exception of a nearly contemporary write up of the still unsolved Black Dahlia murder.
March 11, 2019
Fascinating book!
This book offers interesting accounts of murders which occurred throughout the United States during the early and middle years of the last century. It is a must read for true crime aficionados.
This book offers interesting accounts of murders which occurred throughout the United States during the early and middle years of the last century. It is a must read for true crime aficionados.
July 5, 2021
I’ve found a new author
I enjoyed her quirky style of writing. She drew me in with the facts about the crimes and her sense of humor and how it was like having a conversation with her.
I enjoyed her quirky style of writing. She drew me in with the facts about the crimes and her sense of humor and how it was like having a conversation with her.
September 6, 2022
DNF 17%
What was that? Seriously? Dont waste your time and just skip this book. If you're interested in short stories about true murders, you can watch some videos on YouTube instead of reading this confusing book.
What was that? Seriously? Dont waste your time and just skip this book. If you're interested in short stories about true murders, you can watch some videos on YouTube instead of reading this confusing book.
June 30, 2020
I’m not a huge true crime fan but Craig Rice’s prose is so funny and so sharp that it adds an irreverence to the perversity of reading about gruesome death. Love her writing.
July 21, 2025
Increíble que un libro de este giro esté aburrido, pero así fue. 🤷🏻♀️
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September 13, 2019I wonder if the author’s name is a pseudonym. Back in ’52, when this book was published (the year before my birth) pseudonyms were more common. But so were names like Craig Rice.
Graphic Publications was the publisher, and the double-title page features a black-and-white map of the USA filled with distorted cartoony skulls. (Other than that, there are no illustrations – despite the publisher’s name.) The price: 35¢.
There’s no introduction, but one gets the sense that Rice is a reporter. He writes in an easy, newspapery style, with a touch of noir:
“But who was Schwartz? Why had he gone to such elaborate lengths to murder the traveling evangelist? And where was he?
“The murder warrant named the missing man as Leon Henry Schwartzhoff, alias Charles Henry Schwartz, alias John Doe Stein.”
That’s from “Murder the Hard Way,” a story that takes place at a small chemical manufacturing plant in Walnut Creek, California, in 1925. Last line:
“He might even have gotten away with his crime – if he hadn’t insisted on doing it the hard way.”
This book is full of grudging respect for murderers.
[Well, I did the research:
Craig Rice (1908–1957); born Georgiana Ann Randolph Craig; was an American author of mystery novels and short stories, sometimes described as "the Dorothy Parker of detective fiction." She was the first mystery writer to appear on the cover of Time magazine, on January 28, 1946.
Like many of her characters, Rice was an alcoholic and made several suicide attempts. She died of a barbiturate and alcohol overdose aged 49.]
Graphic Publications was the publisher, and the double-title page features a black-and-white map of the USA filled with distorted cartoony skulls. (Other than that, there are no illustrations – despite the publisher’s name.) The price: 35¢.
There’s no introduction, but one gets the sense that Rice is a reporter. He writes in an easy, newspapery style, with a touch of noir:
“But who was Schwartz? Why had he gone to such elaborate lengths to murder the traveling evangelist? And where was he?
“The murder warrant named the missing man as Leon Henry Schwartzhoff, alias Charles Henry Schwartz, alias John Doe Stein.”
That’s from “Murder the Hard Way,” a story that takes place at a small chemical manufacturing plant in Walnut Creek, California, in 1925. Last line:
“He might even have gotten away with his crime – if he hadn’t insisted on doing it the hard way.”
This book is full of grudging respect for murderers.
[Well, I did the research:
Craig Rice (1908–1957); born Georgiana Ann Randolph Craig; was an American author of mystery novels and short stories, sometimes described as "the Dorothy Parker of detective fiction." She was the first mystery writer to appear on the cover of Time magazine, on January 28, 1946.
Like many of her characters, Rice was an alcoholic and made several suicide attempts. She died of a barbiturate and alcohol overdose aged 49.]
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews