Cold Case: The Tombstone Mysteries: Investigating History's Mysteries

by W.C. Jameson

CSI the Old West! WC Jameson takes on the myths and discovers what really happened in the Old West, storytelling by consulting private investigators, using modern forensic techniques, and examining the original evidence.

252 pages, Hardcover

Published April 30, 2021

About the author

W.C. Jameson is the award-winning author of 70 books, 1500 articles and essays, 300 songs, and dozens of poems. He is the best selling treasure author in the United States and his prominence as a professional fortune hunter had led to stints as a consultant for the Unsolved Mysteries television show and The Travel Channel. He served as an advisor for the film, "National Treasure" starring Nicolas Cage and appears in an interview on the DVD. Jameson has written the sound tracks for two PBS documentaries and one feature film. His music has been heard on NPR and he wrote and performed in the musical, “Whatever Happened to the Outlaw, Jesse James?” Jameson has acted in five films and has been interviewed on The History Channel, The Travel Channel, PBS, and Nightline. When not working on a book, he tours the country as a speaker, conducting writing workshops and performing his music at folk festivals, concerts, roadhouses, and on television. He lives in Llano, Texas.

Reviews

[Rowan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hovered between liked it and it was okay.

The CSI call out in the blurb makes you think it is meticulously researched but it reads much more like a collection of tales. It's pretty entertaining if you don't want something academic. It does have a two-page list of source material but three of the sources are the author's own work. That said, there were a lot of unsolved murders in the Tombstone area and this is a collection of them, along with a few local ghost tales at the end.

Tombstone is near me and I have gone down there for a visit so it was enjoyable as local lore. However, it is not like the blurb, so that is disappointing. I had to give up my expectations to truck through it, so I just read a few stories every other night to finish it. The way it is presented as well took away some of my enjoyment as for most stories there is a short preface like chapter then the story is divided into more short chapters. It makes each story seem a little choppy. Not sure why the editors/publishers decided to do that - it made the book less enjoyable for me.

Read it if you like Western History and don't care deeply about footnotes and research sources being cited, or if you are looking for some plot lines for a Western story.

[TENN2ARIZ · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read about some of the real cold cases behind the public relations hype of some of Tombstone, Arizona. Some new ideas about the Earp family and their demise. A good read.