The Criminology Shelf

In Search of the Blonde Tigress
Silvia Pettem, author
The Lyons Press
www.lyonspress.com
c/o The Globe Pequot Press
www.globepequot.com
9781493068630 $29.95 hc / $21.49 Kindle

https://www.amazon.com/Search-Blonde-Tigress-Untold-Eleanor/dp/1493068636

Synopsis: Beginning in 1933, Eleanor Jarman was sensationalized by the pres=
s as the "blonde tigress" and "the most dangerous woman alive." But a close=
r look at her life shows that she was an otherwise ordinary woman who got c= aught up in a Chicago crime spree, then was convicted as an accomplice to m= urder and sent to prison. In 1940, Eleanor escaped and managed to live out = her life as, perhaps, America's longest-running female fugitive.

Following the murder of an elderly shopkeeper, with the publication of "In = Search of the Blonde Tigress: The Untold Story of Eleanor Jarman" by Silvia=
Pettem readers are given a front-row seat for Eleanor's arrest, trial, con= viction, and sentencing (all documented with recently unearthed primary-sou= rce police records, court transcripts, and prison files) and her subsequent=
prison years.

Deftly woven in are comparisons and contrasts between Eleanor's and her esc= ape partner's criminal histories, as well as speculation on their lives on = the lam. Whether Eleanor deserved her sentence, or whether it was too harsh=
, is left for the reader to decide.

"In Search of the Blonde Tigress: The Untold Story of Eleanor Jarman" sets = the mystery and intrigue of this wanted woman into historic context. It als=
o includes her family's plea, in 1993, for Eleanor to come forward and appl=
y for clemency. Most revealing at the time was Eleanor's alias. With that i= nformation (and considering that Eleanor, born in 1901, is most certainly n=
ow deceased), biographer Silvia Pettem documents her search for Eleanor's r= emains -- right up to a visit to her likely grave.

Critique: Fascinating, informative, compelling, and combining biography and=
prison reform in the 1930s with modern-day evidence that has helped to unr= avel a long-standing mystery, "In Search of the Blonde Tigress: The Untold = Story of Eleanor Jarman" will have immense appeal to readers with an intere=
st in criminology and true crime. While an unreservedly recommended pick fo=
r community and academic library American Biography collections, it should =
be noted personal reading lists that "In Search of the Blonde Tigress: The = Untold Story of Eleanor Jarman" is also available in a digital book format = (Kindle, $21.49).

Editorial Note: Silvia Pettem (silviapettem.com) is a Colorado-based histor= ical researcher, writer, and author. After local history research led her t=
o the identification of a decades-old murder victim, Pettem switched from w= riting about history to the genre of true crime. Pettem's other books that = relate to cold case investigations include Someone's Daughter: In Search of=
Justice for Jane Doe (2009); Cold Case Research: Resources for Unidentifie=
d, Missing, and Cold Homicide Cases (2013); The Long Term Missing: Hope and=
Help for Families (2017); and Cold Case Chronicles: Mysteries, Murders, an=
d the Missing (2021).

Bloody Savannah
Derek Smith
Exposit Books
c/o McFarland & Company
PO Box 611, Jefferson NC 28640
https://mcfarlandbooks.com
9781476691831, $25.00, PB, 249pp

https://www.amazon.com/Bloody-Savannah-Citys-Violent-Reporter/dp/1476691835

Synopsis: Savannah, Georgia is one of America's most beautiful and historic=
cities. Yet underneath the mint juleps, oaks bearded with Spanish moss and=
the splendor of colonial architecture, there lurks a deadly undercurrent.

With the publication of "Bloody Savannah: The City's Most Violent Era as Se=
en by a Crime Reporter", Derek Smith offers a first-person account of his c= areer as an award-winning newspaper crime reporter who covered scores of mu= rders in the Savannah area, including one of the bloodiest eras in the city=
's history: in 1985, metro Savannah earned notoriety with the nation's high= est homicide rate.

"Bloody Savannah" describes a wide range of crimes, including murders over =
a 14-year-old lover, $4 for hamburgers or a baby carriage; the grisly murde=
r of a voodoo priest; bound corpses in the waterways and interstate body du= mping grounds; the Scarecrow and "Say Cheese" Killers, serial killer Wade S= heffield; and many more.

Critique: With a special appeal to readers with an interest in True Crime h= istories, "Bloody Savannah: The City's Most Violent Era as Seen by a Crime = Reporter" is informatively enhanced with the inclusion of a four page Intro= duction, a Prelude (Beginnings), an Epilogue, six pages of Chapter Notes, a=
nd a ten page Index. Exceptionally well written, organized and presented, "= Bloody Savannah" is an extraordinary history of an extraordinary American c= ity and highly recommended for personnel, community, and academic library T= rue Crime collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should =
be noted for students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an=
interest in the subject that "Bloody Savannah" is also available in a digi= tal book format (Kindle, $11.99).

Editorial Note: Derek Smith (https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B08XS9T3J= V/about) was a crime reporter in Savannah, Georgia, for almost ten years an=
d has written extensively on the Civil War. He lives in Bishopville, South = Carolina.

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