A Murder: From the Chalk Outline to Death Row

For would-be lawyers and armchair detectives, Murder places readers inside the inner circle of its investigation with all the key players.

Plainly written but comprehensive, this is an informative guide to the legal and social responses to the crime of murder. Fallis, a former PI and coauthor of Be Your Own Detective, utilizes a strange yet successful narrative bifurcation: he alternates a dry, thorough tutorial on what actually occurs following a murderAthe processes of finding and arresting a suspect, the judicial system, etc.Awith a fictionalized homicide case (said to be based on a real one) that dramatically illustrates how the procedures work. This tale (of a seedy photographer who "accidentally" strangles a model he's drugged with Rophynol, the so-called "date rape drug") is quite compelling on its own, despite its blandly anecdotal nature. Yet the chapters on the crime, police investigatory techniques, defense measures, trial procedures, sentencing and the death penalty are even better, thanks to Fallis's clear organization and his zest for detail and for the subject's obscure ramifications (delineating, for example, the various kinds of murders and discussing such little-considered corners of criminal justice as prosecutorial misconduct). He uses thumbnail sketches of real cases and some statistical tables to good effect. The result of this odd amalgam of legal basics and hard-boiled TV-style dramatization is a helpful and gripping layperson's primer on the criminal justice system's response to murder, though it's ultimately a work of less gravitas than others on the subject, such as Robert Jackall's Wild Cowboys and David Simon's Homicide. (Dec.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A former private eye offers an engrossing, comprehensive guide to homicidea must-have text for courtroom drama addicts, mystery fans, and would-be sleuths. Using a fictionalized murder based on a real crime, Fallis takes his reader through the process from the murder itself to the gruesome account of the ways in which the death penalty is carried out. About 20,000 murders are committed a year in the US. The majority are private and domestic, but it's the mass murders like the one at Columbine or the recent serial killings by a Mexican drifter that get the most attention and grip the public imagination. The murder Fallis uses as an example is a ``most ordinary one: A photographer with kinky tastes drugs a model with the ``date-rape drug'' Rohypnol, and when she still resists him, accidentally strangles her, then in a panic dumps the body. Fallis divides the book into five parts, each preceded by a status report on the fictional murder. In The Crime of Murder, the murder is perpetrated and the various legal definitions of the act discussed. The Police Investigation covers the discovery of the body as well as the arrest of the suspect, and the various conditions that must be met before an arrest is made. The Legal Process explains the relationship between the prosecution and the defense, and describes the role of the various participants. Fallis calls the fourth part, The Trial, an ``improvisational play'' with a familiar outline, but one in which ``the dialogue changes with each performance, and nobody knows how the final act will end. The final part, The Sentence, is a review of the history of capital punishment, the appeal process, and life on Death Row, which may well drag on for many years. An anatomy of a murder that is both elegantly written and instructive, as well as an accessible reference. (Radio tour) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Fallis, a former private detective, has written a behind-the-scenes view of a fictional murder, told from all sides. He divides the book into sections that cover the murder, police investigation, legal process, trial, and death sentence. Smoothly written, the book deftly escorts the reader through the case. However, Fallis devotes part of the book to describing types of murder, such as serial murders, which detracts somewhat from the book's purpose of describing the crime and the ensuing legal process. There are also informational sidebars sprinkled throughout. While well written, the crime story would have been more interesting with some added twists and turns. This case is open and shut from the start. Writers like Ed McBain do a better job with the gritty aspects of murder investigations. Overall, though, Fallis provides a useful introduction to crime investigations and trials for a general audience. Recommended for larger public libraries.
-Harry Charles, Attorney at Law, St. Louis
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.