The seven deadly sins. Like me, you’ve probably heard this term all of your life. Some say continuous violation of these sins will send you straight to Hell. In my personal opinion, it’s a religious zealots’ unreasonable demands on human beings.
While my personal opinion really has no relevancy other than a (extremely) minimal refresher course to remind you that the Seven Sins, essentially, covers all aspects of human life and introduce you to the Seven Sins book recently released by Village Voice Media.
Seven Sins is a compilation of true crime stories, both contemporary and historical, covering the gamut of human behavior (er, misbehaviors) such as:
- The Case of the Kidnapped Coed by Alan Prendergast about Theresa Catherine Foster, a University of Colorado engineering student, who was murdered in November 1948. Police were stumped but Perry Mason creator, and some say alter ego, Erle Stanley Gardner believed he had all the answers, announcing these whacked-out “facts” to Colorado residents. Then in walks a woman who claimed her husband Joe Sam Walker was the killer. What should have been a relatively open and shut case turned into a three-ring circus.
- Left for Dead by Nicholas Phillips recounts the January 2011 murder of Anthony J. Rice, a young African-American man, allegedly mowed down by Reggie Allen, a white guy with an extensive criminal history. With so many witnesses, the question lingers: Why hasn’t Allen been arrested?
- Hell Hole by Paul Rubin focuses on possible proper treatment for mentally ill prisoners as brought about by the Arizona case of Shannon Palmer. Palmer was a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic who was put into a cell for 26 days with a Jasper Rushing, a man serving life for the murder of his stepfather. Rubin questions the pairing of two obviously different men, current stats about imprisoned mentally ill, and presents possible alternatives to the present-day laws working against the mentally ill.
- Honor Thy Father by Paul Rubin draws focus to “honor killings” with the case of Noor Almaleki an Iraq-born 20 year-old who had completely Americanized her life by moving in with her boyfriend as his mother. Noor’s father, Faleh Almaleki was outraged by his daughter’s behavior and disgusted with the former friends from Iraq who he believed was contributing to his daughter’s downfall. In the name of “honor,” Faleh mowed down his daughter and then attempted to flee prosecution.
- Killer Instinct by Ashley Harrell puts the spotlight on Samantha Spiegel a young California woman in love with the idea of loving a serial killer. There are “murder groupies” and then there is this murder groupie.
- The Scooby-Doo Files by John H. Tucker is the saddest, most disgusting of human behaviors: the sexual abuse of children. Readers take a front row seat into a federal and multi-state investigation into child pornography where Scooby-Doo, a classic children’s cartoon icon, becomes a signal for the most horrific of crimes against children.
- Who Killed Edwin Pratt? by Rick Anderson is about the murder of Seattle, Washington, Civil Rights leader Edwin Pratt who was gunned down outside his home. Anderson explores a very real theory as to the reason behind the murder of a man who some considered to be “too white” and was planning to leave his wife for his lily-white girlfriend.
With the exception of one story that seems to go into a bit more of a political-based rant on mental health issues than focusing on the crime, Seven Sins is a fabulous collection of true crime from talented authors that will amaze, disgust, enrage, sadden, amuse, confuse, and frustrate you from beginning to end – or, to put it simply: 7 emotions for 7 sins.
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