The Corpse Had a Familiar Face: Covering Miami, America's Hottest Beat

by Edna Buchanan

A Pulitzer Prize-winning police reporter recalls her eighteen years covering the police beat for The Miami Herald and describes the city, its diverse people, its underworld, and the diverse criminals and cases she encountered during her career. Reprint.

Genres: Nonfiction, True Crime, Journalism, Crime, Memoir, Mystery, Biography

362 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Edna 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.

Reviews

[Jeanette · Rating 3 out of 5]

This comes from another era. The violence is the same or worse now. But the consequences, reporting of the event or outcomes, process served or attempted in the meanwhile between the two- all different. Now murder is often served with revolving door and subsequent multiple murder recommitting, regardless of what/how/when/why the first assaults or dead victim results occurred.

I read this in another era. It was far more encompassing to interest then than it is now for this 2020 read. To me, absolutely. And most probably for any law enforcement officer, agent, social justice seeker for any true level of "fairness" it would be too. Homicide detective or any level of cops or crime reporter who followed them, this rendition is nearly imaginary now. They actually had people who persecuted the crimes with indictments and trials in 1980. And had most of society covering their backs on top of it.

This would be a good read to begin to understand the kids who are not kids. Or the daily violence over absolutely nothing. Or the urban newspaper culture of old. Rather nostalgic, as it comes from a time where true victims actually counted to be "heard". At least for a few days or weeks, if they did survive.

Buchanan says a lot about herself. This one also gives almost a complete set up of "eyes". Autobiography? Not at all, but secondarily you see her slant and where she originated. So if you are interested in Miami during the 1980 time period when this city was Murder #1 USA- you might like to peruse it. Have a strong stomach, because some of the domestics especially are very bad.

Newspapers were entirely different then too. They reported facts as learned in journalism school and not interpreted opinions or "group think" propaganda for 95% of their copy. Edna's job as a "job" doesn't even exist today.

All our cities are currently worse. And gun fire deaths aren't near to being the whole story why either. Then if you called 911 or police, somebody always came. Now it is only the Mayor or elite friends who have protection from the absolutely feral and vicious.

[Kathryn in FL · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read years ago, highly impressed with this work.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read another review on this site that said this book was far better than Connelly's book on his career as a journalist covering the crime beat. Buchanan's book is far more interesting in many aspects - first, she was a woman entering a man's career world in the late 60's/early 70's; second, she illustrated many stories she covered (I'm sure not even scratching the surface of what she did over her long career) but didn't go in depth but hit on the important parts so you still got the full picture; third, she wrote about the many different sides of her stories - the victims, the suspects, the cops, the witnesses - basically anyone that was affected by the story. She also threw in some personal stories but again, not too in depth but just enough to get the picture. If you're a journalism student and/or interested in crime reporting - this is a great book to read - especially since it took place before computers and cell phones!!!!

[aPriL does feral sometimes · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘The Corpse Had a Familiar Face: Covering Miami, America’s Hottest Beat’ by Edna Buchanan holds up even almost 25 years later. If all reporters were as accomplished in the way Ms. Buchanan was at her job, people might still be buying hardcopy newspapers! Ok, ok, perhaps that is a might strong…

Since she won a Pulitzer it's obvious her writing is as superb as her reporting. This book is a wonderful 'true crime' book, but they should actually invent a genre for her since this is far superior over normal true crime books. More memoir of a reporter who is, imho, among the five best reporters ever.

[Carla Remy · Rating 3 out of 5]

05/2016

Edna Buchanan covered crime for the Miami Herald through the 1970s and most of the 1980s. Her stories of being an early female reporter are interesting. The body count, the endless horrible things she covered, terrible. Or fascinating. This book came out in 1987.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes, she is a fine journalist and was really able to get the story, as told over and over and over again in this book. It is a bit monotonous, though, with story after story after story of horrible things happening to people. It does not go anywhere. It is a catalogue of crime stories, and for that it has value, but anyone looking for any kind of narrative arc will be disappointed.



Plus, a chapter devoted to her cats? Totally unnecessary.



Anyhoo

[Noah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stumbled onto this book by accident but I'm sure glad I did. It's outstanding. Buchanan writes perfect crisp newspaper sentences, structures her paragraphs and chapters with purpose, and packs the book full of fascinating stories and people. It's rare for a book to paint a picture of a particular place in a particular time this well. Even if you could care less about the topic this is still a great read.

[Greg Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Reporters are like cops in yet another way: We suddenly appear in someone's life at a crucial, often emotional point, suddenly their best friend, confessor, defender, confidant, and shoulder-to-cry-on. We share the same foxhole for a short time, then we are gone with our story, slam-bam-thank-you-ma'am. It is often difficult for both of us."

The life of a journalist is a difficult one to grasp. The nights are long slaving over a story with a deadline quickly approaching. A journalist's life is a thankless endeavor, but Edna Buchanan shows that a good journalist does not enter the industry for notoriety. They enter the industry because they love what they do.

Buchanan's writing is straightforward and short. Her sentences are simple but have plenty of insight. The descriptions of the subjects in her stories are poignant and tactile. Readers simply do not read this book, they digest it.

Journalism students and aspiring journalists should read this book. Buchanan overcame many hurdles to become a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. Female crime reporters were unheard of; however, she broke barriers and paved the way for other talented female journalists.

[Leah James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist (Miami Herald reporter) Edna Buchanan takes us along for a ride as she narrates some of the most memorable stories and characters of her career (to that point). Great, great book for any novelist who writes about crime....except these are all true! Makes me almost wish I'd taken up journalism. Edna Buchanan (from one former Jersey Girl to another), thank you for sharing your stories.

[Kolbe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best long-form journalistic memoir I have read. Edna Buchanan tells her story of working the crime beat during the height of crime in Miami with skillful ease and intrigue. She tells her stories with plenty of personality, yet remains true to all the facts of each case she covered. Nothing has inspired me to pursue covering a crime beat more (although I'm still not doing that, what's wrong with me?).

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Could anybody turn a phrase like Edna Buchanan? Part autobiography, part greatest hits of crime, part chronicle of Miami from the 1960s-1980s, this is a treat for all fans of true-crime, journalism history, and tough broads who paved the way for the rest of us.

Also, bless her, Edna Buchanan loved her cats.

[M. Romero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edna Buchanan has exposed what many of us Floridians try to forget, that we are a state of stranger than fiction characters. Her love of Miami and all its many warts shines through. Definitely recommend.

[Pamela Mclaren · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a former reporter and public relations professional, I knew a lot in general about news and crime coverage but I still found this book an interesting and very dramatic book to read. I have enjoyed Buchanan's fiction books featuring Brett Montero, and figured she had to be a darn good reporter even before reading this but I'm impressed as the lengths she went to to get the award-winning articles that she has done — and it shows in all of her writing, including this book.

Covering the types of stories she has is always emotionally draining, particularly in the depth and care that she has shown. She has covered mass murders to missing persons and clearly has worked hard to bring out the human face to every victim. Sometimes that doesn't happen in news coverage, particularly these days in the 24/7 get the news out crush. Its often why reporters burn out and switch to public relations or some other field. While that didn't happen to me — my career was in community news — I know others who couldn't forget or live with what they had seen in reporting of major crimes.

So yes, this is well written, precise and at times even seems almost as in depth as a tally sheet. Buchanan has covered a lot of these cases, but she has shown why these stories are never, and shouldn't be ever, forgotten.

[Oscar Glyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

She's so cool. Like really cool. Kind of feel I wasted time slightly as don't see it necessarily helping with my interview but such a gripping read. The personal nature of the stories is fascinating and her writing is superb.

Quite dated with some old school views but she clearly overcame a lot of sexism in her job and the way she writes about it is interesting. Thoroughly recommend but quite heavy...

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've watched a few documentaries on the Miami, FL of the late 1970s-early 1980s, and was consistently stunned by them. Buchanan reports from this time and place, and her stories, as one would would imagine, are hair-raising. Yet the author is an accomplished writer, and she throws in enough humor and happy endings to keep her readers hooked. I also appreciated her interludes about the cats and dog she rescued from the mean streets of Miami.

It's true, this book is 30 years old, and some of the attitudes displayed in it are dated. It also struck me that so many of these crimes could have been solved--or the criminals stopped sooner--if DNA technology had been available. I hope that some of these cases have since been solved thanks to updated forensic technology.

[Stephanie Dargusch Borders · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apparently true crime memoirs were a thing in the 1980s because that’s what this is. Well written with a dose of 80s cheesiness.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the department of Things That Aren't There Anymore:

"From the beginning, it was a comfort just to see the Miami Herald building looming huge and permanent against the skyline. It made me feel secure. It still does. You can see it from the expressway, the causeways, from downtown, and from the bay. Just look up. The Herald building sprawls over an entire block of prime waterfront. Employee parking lots are slowly swallowing the surrounding neighborhood. Sometimes the world's biggest barge is moored at the back door, delivering newsprint.

The yawning fifth-floor newsroom is the size of a concert hall, with a spectacular view. To the east, beyond the glass cages of the executives, lies Biscayne Bay, its surface dotted by the bright sails of weekend regattas, the spans to Miami Beach, and the resort skyline with the sea beyond. The panorama is so clear and beautiful that any imperfection is quickly noted. Twice over the years one sharp-eyed editor has spotted from his office desk, and hastily reported to the proper authorities, dead bodies adrift in the bay. The vista to the west is an overview of stunning skyscrapers, Overtown slums, spectacular sunsets, and the lights of the Orange Bowl, above which the Goodyear blimp hovers during big games. Brown pelicans and Chaulk's seaplanes swoop gracefully past the newsroom's picture windows to land at Watson Island just southeast of the building. The blue-and-white seaplanes arc in a sharp turn so close to our windows that even veteran newsroom habitues sometimes catch their breath. A stranger visiting my desk gasped and would have hit the floor had he not realized that all around him it was business as usual.

Somewhere in the heart of that mammoth structure, buzzed by birds and planes and strafed by the politicians that it gores, a newspaper is actually printed."

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Before she descended into writing potboiler mysteries, Edna Buchanan was a crackerjack Pulitzer Prize-winning crime reporter for The Miami Herald. This out-of-print book has Buchanan fondly going over her days on the cops and courts beat. Not always well-written, but a good place to mine information on what being a journalist is really like, and there a few good tips on reporting for the observant.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eerie and terrifying. This book really isn’t something I should have read in one sitting. There is some really terrible people out there. It was an interesting read.

[gail ober · Rating 5 out of 5]

My hero

Edna Buchanan represents the finest that journalism has to offer. As a retired life-long crime and court reporter, I could only hope to be worthy of her shadow.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edna Buchanan is a helluva lady.

[Julie lit pour les autres · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite my diligence, some editors failed to take me seriously during these first months at the Herald. I thought I knew why: Something was missing.

I threatened to buy one at an adult toy store and display it in a flowerpot on my desk. (p.83)

Madame Buchanan est badass. Elle a couvert pendant 18 ans le beat de Miami: ses meurtres, enlèvements, viols en série et autres terribles histoires. Une femme dans un milieu d'hommes, dans les années 70-80, qui s'est mérité le Prix Pulitzer du journalisme en 1986.

Dans ce récit, elle ouvre ses cartons et nous partage, pêle-mêle, sa vie de reporter, sa vie sentimentale (assez ratée merci, mais racontée avec un sourire en coin irrésistible), son amour pour ses chats, les histoires les plus abracadabrantes sur lesquelles elle a écrit, les liens complexes qu'elle entretient avec les policiers, les enquêteurs, et la famille des victimes.

Et aussi, parfois, avec les criminels. Ces moments sont sans doute les plus inconfortables du livre. Buchanan reste fidèle à sa volonté d'avoir toute l'histoire quand elle écrit sur les violeurs ou les meurtriers.

C'est sûr que si vous cherchez une histoire avec des licornes et des papillons, ce livre-ci va vous rester en travers de la gorge. Il y a des chapitres interminables, non pas parce qu'ils sont mal écrits, mais simplement parce que la somme horrifiante de cadavres finit par assommer. Mais le style de Buchanan ainsi que sa volonté de débusquer l'histoire - toute l'histoire- la rend éminemment fascinante. Un des chapitres les plus marquants et des plus actuels de ce récit est celui qui porte sur Arthur McDuffie, un jeune homme noir tué par des policiers qui ont tenté d'étouffer l'affaire. Un récit écrit il y a trente ans qui trouverait sa place dans les médias aujourd'hui.

[Mitch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edna Buchanan is a fucking legend...








I apologize for my crass use of language, but I simply could not think of another sentence that encompasses the gravity of her accomplishments and persona.

I first heard about Edna in Nicholas Griffin's fantastic The Year of Dangerous Days and I knew that I needed to find out more. Boy am I sure glad that I did!

I must confess that late 1970's and 1980's Miami has always fascinated me, ever since seeing the reflection of the city's neon lights on the side of Sonny Crockett's Ferrari in Miami Vice. Subject matter aside however, this book provides a first hand account of a remarkable woman who covered thousands upon thousands of murders, robberies, and rapes or in other words - lifetimes worth of heartache, pain, hope, and the "stranger than fiction" nature of some of these crimes.

What's more, Buchanan did this at a time when print journalism was still near its peak in the public consciousness and also had to combat the difficulties that come with being a female reporter from the mid 1960's - late 1980's.

Buchanan relays these accounts in a highly readable manner that carries the empathy she has for the subjects while still delivering the cold hard facts necessary to understand what transpired. She also writes with the dry sense of humor that is common among the cops, emergency and social workers, and reporters who make their living by visiting scenes of human depravity. Clearly she excels at her craft, as she won the 1986 Pulitzer prize for journalism!

I absolutely adored this book, and cannot wait to dive into its pseudo sequel, Never Let Them See You Cry. I also plan to read through Buchanan's novel series', as her writing is just incredible.

[Connie N. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a sort-of interesting, but not compelling memoir from Edna Buchanan. She is the very good author of the Britt Montero mystery series, but she also worked as a newspaper reporter in Miami for many decades. I enjoyed getting to know her better. She is a hard-hitting, determined, and well-respected journalist on the crime beat. She started at a small newspaper, doing all sorts of stories, and she admits that her curiosity is what keeps her going--she wants to know the whos, whats, and whys of any situation. She writes about how Miami has changed over the years (for the worse, crimewise), but she also includes some heart-warming stories and shares her relationships with good cops and other people who are trying to do the right thing in a chaotic environment. I found the story to keep my interest, but it was heavy going because of the depressing nature of much of it. She tells us about crimes that didn't get justice, missing persons who have never been found, and murders that are covered up or mis-investigated. It was pretty discouraging at times, but it was still fascinating. This has reminded me about my enjoyment of her Britt Montero series, so I plan to get back to it sooner rather than later.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this book in anticipation of a recent trip to Miami. Edna Buchanan was the police beat reporter for "The Miami Herald" for 18 years in the 1970s and 1980s before leaving the paper to pen her own mystery novels. The book was a little dated (although there were some updates added into the new edition in 2009), but definitely oozed a "Miami Vice" vibe and was chockful of all sorts of murders committed during her tenure, some which made for more compelling reading than others. I was particularly riveted by the missing persons case of Amy Billigs and her mother's lifelong quest to find her and the police brutality case of Arthur Lee McDuffie and the subsequent riots. I also enjoyed reading about Buchanan herself as she came up in the world of police reporting when there weren't many women in the business and she makes a point of profiling other strong and notable women in her book.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I picked this up in a random used book drop thing. I glanced at the title, assumed it was a murder mystery and paid 50 cents.
This was one of those times where 50 cents massively pays off.
This is not so much a murder mystery but an excellent memoir by a female crime reporter from the 60's. I'd never heard of Edna Buchanan before reading this but her career was fascinating. It was like reading about Lois Lane in real life. I loved her pursuit of justice and how she dealt with sexism.

That said, this was written in the 80's by a woman who came of age in the 50's/60's so there was some internalized misogyny and casual racism that was uncomfortable to read.

But overall, good book, the crimes were interesting, to say the least and the writing was solid. Wouldn't recommend if you're very squeamish though.

[Jon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was on my bookshelf forever, purchased back when I was still working for newspapers. I was expecting a review of Buchanan's snappiest writing, a la her Miami Herald counterpart Carol Hiassen. This wasn't that, though I liked it for what it was. A memoir, of sorts, with several doses of crime stories, cops, bad guys and most of all victims. Buchanan's sympathy for the victims is apparent. So is her clear-eyed look at cops, and some criminals, as good guys and bad guys, often at the same time.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another blast from the past, but if you want to know what Miami was like post-gangster, pre-dope smuggler, this book will tell you. She's a fascinating story teller, and weaves personal stories in with riveting details of life in a fast moving newsroom. Those were the days, when an investigative reporter rally meant something. We'll miss those hard working, dedicated professionals. AI and internet click bait just doesn't do it. I miss the newspaper!

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy to read and easy to follow, TCHaFF offers some entertaining tales of murder in its first few chapters, but the last half of the book doesn't hold the same excitement. Still, Buchanan has lived as unique a life as anyone in the journalism industry, and I'm not disappointed in having read about it. And an A+ book title fo sho.

[Tima · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fantastic. Can’t wait to read everything else she’s written. She took a subject that had great potential to be boring and wrote with such feeling and style that I couldn’t put the book down. Definitely can see why she has won so many awards. Also loved the updates to some of the stories that at the time of the first publication didn’t have an ending.