No-Nonsense Nonfiction: Death at the Lighthouse

Reading local books is always cool because the reader can recognize the places mentioned or alluded to, or perhaps knows the people in the book (when nonfiction) or people that inspired characters (when fiction).

The book I would like to tell you about today, Death at the Lighthouse by Loren Graham, is set on Grand Island, near Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and the small town of Munising.  While I have not visited Grand Island, I saw it six days a week during the past year.  Now that I am no longer working there, I will tell you that I was a library assistant at the library in Munising.  So there were locations in this book that I knew, and family names that I recognized.  I admit, that makes it more interesting.

Statistics
Checkouts: 2 at the small public library where I am the director
Typical reader: True crime fans, fans of the author, residents and tourists of the area
Do the Dewey: 364.15 (true crime)
Source: Snowbound Books

Synopsis: In the early 1970s, the author and his wife bought the Old North Light on Grand Island, Michigan, as a summer home.  During the early renovations, they discovered that the lighthouse keeper and his assistant were allegedly murdered in 1908.  Graham spent years researching what had transpired, and this book is the result.

My Goodreads rating: 3 stars

In June 1908, the assistant lighthouse keeper from North Light of Grand Island turned up dead in a battered boat, looking like he'd been beaten to death and set afloat.  The lighthouse keeper himself was missing, and turned up weeks later, dead on a beach.  What happened?

Good question.  The author delves deep into not only the deaths of the men, but also the history of the Upper Peninsula and Munising, the clashing, multi-ethnic cultures of the denizens, and the lives of the imperious tycoons that established industries and towns.  This is a fascinating read, if you like a bit of true crime in your history, rather than the other way around.

But was there a crime, and whodunnit?  The conclusion the author drew took me by surprise.  Maybe it's accurate.  Maybe not.  If you read this book, please let me know what you think.

Cover-to-Cover Commuting: Sex on the Moon

As I said before, I'm on a bit of a true crime kick this summer.  Sex on the Moon by Ben Mezrich has a catchy title and quite the different premise from the usual murders that are found in the 364 Dewey section.

Unfortunately, as I was writing this review, I happened upon some information that made me feel duped.  While this is no Million Little Pieces, it is an embellished tale.  Entertaining, yes; entirely factual, no.  The author did not do his homework for this book, which seems mostly based on interviews with the criminal behind the caper.  It drops my rating.

(As Wikipedia puts it, "Testimony given [for a National Geographic show] is at odds with some of the key claims made in Ben Mezrich's account.)

Statistics
Checkouts: Information unavailable
Typical reader: True crime fans and those drawn by the title
Source: Checked out from my local library

Synopsis: Thad Roberts, a daredevil and an up-and-coming fellow in a prestigious NASA program, risks it all to perform a most audacious heist - stealing moon rocks gathered by the Apollo missions.

My Goodreads rating: 3 stars

Thad Roberts is an idiot of a genius.  After a rough and rocky start to adulthood, allegedly getting kicked out of the Latter-Day Saints' missionary training as well his family, and marrying young and penniless, he decided to be an astronaut and set about achieving that goal.  He managed to land an internship several years in a row at the Johnson Space Center in Texas.  It was there that he came up with a wild, extravagant heist to impress his girlfriend - the liberation of moon rocks from a secure safe in one of NASA's most secure buildings.  Then he went and promptly got caught in a sting operation by the FBI.

The book is exciting in parts, particularly the execution of the theft itself, and dry and dull in others.  It lacks the complete story; apparently Mr. Mezrich only interviewed Roberts and Axel Emmermann, the Belgian rock collector who contacted the FBI about someone trying to sell moon rocks.  From what I've read elsewhere, both men are portrayed as greater than they really were.  The characterizations of those involved are actually quite the caricatures.  If you go by this book, the other interns had dull lives before Roberts spiced things up with camping trips, skydiving, and such.  And all the female interns were blonde and buxom beauties.  (Speaking of the female interns, I don't know why his girlfriend and other accomplice's names were changed, considering they also were charged in the heist and their names are matters of public record.)

I did not particularly enjoy the audiobook's narration.  Casey Affleck has a rather gravelly voice.  His diction is clear, though, and he differentiates between speakers.  It did not deter me.

In spite of being embellished, this was still an interesting book to listen to.  As I previously stated, the execution of the heist was exciting.  Learning a bit about NASA, the Apollo missions, and the moon rocks was also interesting.  If you want to read or listen to this book, just take it with a grain of salt.

Cover-to-Cover Commuting: Two books by Ann Rule

Ann Rule is one of the leading true crime authors in America.  I came across her work some years ago, when her book Green River, Running Red needed repair at the small library where I worked.  After fixing the binding, I checked it out and was engrossed in the story of the Green River Killer.  It was at once horrific and absorbing.  Adding to the intrigue of the book is that, as with her more famous work, The Stranger Beside Me (about Ted Bundy), Ms. Rule had unknowingly met the man she'd one day profile as a horrific serial killer.

While I don't care for mysteries, true crime stories and TV shows such as Forensic Files are fascinating.  So as I began my foray into audiobooks, I've gravitated toward this genre of nonfiction.  Two of the first books I listened to were by Ms. Rule, which I shall review here today.

Statistics
Checkouts (school/public library): 32
Typical reader: Fans of true crime and/or Ann Rule
Source: Checked out from the school/public library

Synopsis: Two children die in a house fire in Prairie Village, Kansas.  The fire was intentionally set - by their own mother.

My Goodreads rating: 4 stars

Statistics
Checkouts (public library): 60
Typical reader: As above
Source: Checked out from my "home" public library

Synopsis: A Southern belle tears her husband and his family apart with lies, manipulation, deception, robbery, and more.

My Goodreads rating: 4 stars

These two books pair together well.  Both are about strange, conniving women who ruin the lives of those close to them.  The tales are complex and twisted.  And both are abridged in audiobook format, much to my dismay.  (Most audiobook versions of Ms. Rule's books are abridged, it seems.)

Abridgement is when a book is shortened.  Many classics are abridged, including in the kid-friendly Great Illustrated Classics series.  It is also common with audiobooks.  You get the flavor of the book, and most of the story, but without the length and little details.

While Bitter Harvest seemed like a complete story, I felt like I missed something with Everything She Ever Wanted.  Having not read the print version, I'm not sure if there was a chunk left out of the story that could have otherwise enhanced it, or if it was just that confounding.

These books are narrated by different readers.  Before listening to them, this puzzled me somewhat; typically, the books of a particular author will be read by consistent talent, be it one particular voice actor or a full cast (provided that the recording/publishing company remains the same).  However, the change makes perfect sense.  Bitter Harvest is read in a Midwestern accent, befitting the Kansas location, while Everything She Ever Wanted is read in a delicious Southern drawl.  These were excellent choices by the crew at Simon & Schuster Audio.

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These books ended up starting my true crime "kick" this summer.  While I'll still be reading and reviewing children's and YA literature, I'll also be highlighting a number of books in this nonfiction genre, both in audio and print formats.

Also coming soon, I'm interviewing an author of local interest.  Stay tuned!