Black Dahlia, Red Rose: The Crime, Corruption, and Cover-Up of America's Greatest Unsolved Murder
Black Dahlia, Red Rose: The Crime, Corruption, and Cover-Up of America's Greatest Unsolved Murder book cover

Black Dahlia, Red Rose: The Crime, Corruption, and Cover-Up of America's Greatest Unsolved Murder

Hardcover – Illustrated, October 10, 2017

by
Price
$25.34
Format
Hardcover
Pages
368
Publisher
Liveright
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-1631492266
Dimensions
6.6 x 1.2 x 9.6 inches
Weight
1.32 pounds

Description

" Black Dahlia, Red Rose by Piu Eatwell provides fresh evidence that we can never get enough of our favorite pin-up corpse. . . . [A] juicy page turner…capturing both the allure and the perils of the dream factory that promised riches and fame to star-struck young women from tired little towns all over war-weary America and who, even today, find themselves at the mercy of predatory men." ― New York Times Book Review "There will be other books. There will be other theories. They’ll have to meet the Eatwell standard." ― Minneapolis Star Tribune " Black Dahlia, Red Rose . . . put[s] Elizabeth Short at the center of her own story, while still managing to read like a classic noir tale. Eatwell's extensive research pays off in the narrative, which is impressively detailed. . . . Fascinating." ― Bustle "Eatwell writes brilliantly . . . After decades of cultural appropriation by journalists, novelists and film-makers, Eatwell has finally offered [Elizabeth] Short a type of belated justice. Her book reads like a thriller, but it never loses sight of the real woman whose life was so savagely extinguished." ― Sunday Times "A meticulously researched work that is delivered with all the punch, pace and suspense of the finest noir thrillers . . . Eatwell never forgets the tragic figure at the heart of her story, while emphasising the callousness of the post-second World War era in which she was so brutally murdered." ― The Irish Times "Eatwell makes a convincing case for the Black Dahlia killer’s identity." ― Publishers Weekly "A thoroughly researched look at the crime . . . Eatwell successfully paints a portrait of the city and its police department, signifying that the cover-up and corruption involved in this case (as well as throughout the department) was a product of the time and not reflective of today's practices. . . . .The investigative materials provide a solid foundation for Eatwell's film noir-style narrative; a first purchase where true crime titles circulate widely." ― Library Journal "Piu Eatwell is hot on the trail of one of the twentieth century’s most famous cold cases―the Black Dahlia murder―and she takes us along for the ride…back to Los Angeles in the winter of 1947, back to the wealth of evidence assembled by the cops, by the tabloids and news dailies, by a 1949 grand jury. The ride is well worth taking, especially when she hones in on a plausible and previously neglected suspect in the case." ― Jon Lewis, author of Hard-Boiled Hollywood: Crime and Punishment in Postwar Los Angeles "Compulsively readable, impeccably researched and heart-rending at times, Black Dahlia, Red Rose deserves a place at the top of any true crime aficionado’s bookshelf. With forensic precision and an admirable eye for detail, Piu Eatwell not only uncovers plausible new insights into the notorious and brutal murder of Elizabeth Short, she unpicks the mores of the time, delves into the motivations of the main players and blasts through the smoky noir clichés surrounding 1940s Los Angeles." ― Sarah Lotz, author of Day Four and The Three Piu Eatwell is the author of Black Dahlia, Red Rose and The Dead Duke, His Secret Wife, and the Missing Corpse and has produced and researched historical documentaries for the BBC and other channels, including the widely acclaimed film Charles Manson: The Man Who Killed the Sixties . She divides her time between Paris and London with her husband and three children.

Features & Highlights

  • With startling new evidence, this gripping reexamination of the Black Dahlia murder offers a definitive theory of a quintessential American crime.
  • Los Angeles, 1947. A housewife out for a walk with her baby notices a cloud of black flies buzzing ominously in Leimert Park. An "unsightly object" is identified as the mutilated body of Elizabeth Short, an aspiring starlet from Massachusetts who had been lured west by the siren call of Hollywood. Her killer would never be found, but Short’s death would bring her the fame she had always sought. Her murder investigation transformed into a real-life film noir, featuring corrupt cops, femmes fatales, gun-slinging gangsters, and hungry reporters, replete with an irresistible, legendary moniker adapted from a recent film―
  • The Black Dahlia
  • .
  • For over half a century this crime has maintained an almost mythic place in American lore as one of our most inscrutable cold cases. With the recently unredacted FBI file, newly released sections of the LAPD file, and exclusive interviews with the suspect’s family, relentless legal sleuth Piu Eatwell has gained unprecedented access to evidence and persuasively identified the culprit.
  • Black Dahlia, Red Rose
  • layers these findings into a gritty, cinematic retelling of the haunting tale.
  • As Eatwell chronicles, among the first to arrive at the grisly crime scene was Aggie Underwood, the "tough-as-nails" city editor for the
  • Los Angeles Evening Herald & Express
  • ; meanwhile, the chain-smoking city editor for the
  • Los Angeles Examiner
  • , Jimmy Richardson, sent out his own reporters. Eatwell reveals how, through a cutthroat race to break news and sell papers, the public image of Elizabeth Short was distorted from a violated beauty to a "man crazy delinquent." As rumors of various boyfriends circulated, the true story of the complex young woman ricocheting between jobs, lovers, and homes was lost. Instead, kitschy headlines tapped into a wider social anxiety about the city’s "girl problem," and Short’s black chiffon and smoldering gaze become a warning for "loose" women coming of age in postwar America.
  • Applying her own background as a lawyer to the surprising new evidence, Eatwell ultimately exposes many startling clues to the case that have never surfaced in public. From the discovery of Elizabeth’s notebook, inscribed with the name of the city’s most notorious and corrupt businessman, to a valid suspect plucked from the hundreds of "confessing Sams" by a brilliant, well-meaning doctor, Eatwell compellingly captures every "big break" in the police investigation to reveal a truly viable resolution to the case. In rich, atmospheric prose, Eatwell separates fact from fantasy to expose the truth behind the sinewy networks of a noir-tinged Hollywood.
  • Black Dahlia, Red Rose
  • at long last accords the Elizabeth Short case its due resolution, providing a reliable and enduring account of one of the most notorious unsolved murders in American history.
  • 8 pages of illustrations

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
30%
(218)
★★★★
25%
(182)
★★★
15%
(109)
★★
7%
(51)
★
23%
(168)

Most Helpful Reviews

✓ Verified Purchase

FINALLY a believable solution!

I have read too many books about this case and was initially wary of Ms. Eatwell’s take on the murder. I’m glad I took a chance on this excellent book. The research is unique: LAPD files unearthed and FBI documents exposed provide clarity on the corrupt bureaucracy of the LAPD during the postwar period. Very well-written and respectful of Elizabeth Short’s memory.
52 people found this helpful
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A CHILLING COLD CASE GETS UNRAVELED

Author, Piu Eatwell, reveals new, little-known facts and happenings during the late 1940s era of Old Hollywood and a murder that remains unsolved (and now reveals many answers). The puzzle is pieced together here miraculously. I had visions of that 1997 film called L.A. CONFIDENTIAL as the story unraveled.
I found this book to be an amazing piece of research that brought me in, feeling as though I was investigating the crime myself. I actually felt CHILLS towards the end of Chapter 19 (DETOUR).
I could easily see a mini-series stemming from this 'cold case' story.
I will definitely pass this along to my avid-reader friends who love to delve into a mystery. There are a lot of eye-openers here.
May Elizabeth Short rest in peace...she should've been a star; and now in a bizarre way she will always be that unforgotten starlet.
The storyline kept me at my edge-of-my-seat. It is quite the page-turner. Don't miss this one...you won't be too surprised by the corruption back in the late 1940s and 1950s...people could get away with MURDER more easily back-in-the-day. I found this to be a must-read for anyone looking for a great mystery. It's also the ideal book for a book club (for so many discussions could come out of it). And...if I were a CRIMINAL JUSTICE Professor all of my students would have this as REQUIRED READING. Outstanding!
37 people found this helpful
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True Noir

Los Angeles in 1947 was a hard, gritty city filled with people hoping to make a fresh start or to achieve fame and fortune. One of them was Elizabeth Short, a beautiful young woman from Massachusetts who dreamed of becoming a movie star. Ironically but sadly her desire for fame was achieved, but only because of the manner of her death. Her body was discovered one cold January morning, bisected and mutilated. The investigation into her death became a cause celebre. Christened the Black Dahlia murder by the newspapers, the publicity went on for weeks and periodically resurrected when new possible new evidence or information surfaced. But the mystery of who killed Elizabeth Short and why was never solved. Piu Eatwell's new history of the crime and the investigation makes it clear that the failure to track down and bring Short's murderer to justice was due to widespread corruption within the LA Police Department, which had multiple cozy relationships with organized crime figures.

Piu Eatwell's new history of the Black Dahlia case brings the corrupt world of 1947 Los Angeles to life. Elizabeth Short herself, as well as the men with whom she consorted, the police officers and detectives who were in charge of investigating her death, and the newspaper reporters who told the story to the world, are all vividly described. Making use of newly released FBI and local police files, Eatwell provides new material pointing to the likely murderer, and then explains the circumstances through which that murderer evaded the law. Perhaps the most interesting parts of the book are those set in the present, in which Eatwell describes her own visits to some of the scenes of the crime and coverup, and eventually even encounters the daughter of the culprit.

Black Dahlia, Red Rose is a film noir tale brought to life, and is even more fascinating than anything Hollywood in the 1940s could have produced, because it's all true.
29 people found this helpful
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Just So-So

I don't know what to make of this book. As a fan of anything written about The Black Dahlia, I guess I am pleased that another researcher has stepped forward to offer her ideas. On the other hand, I found the book confusing and not terribly persuasive. If Leslie Dillon did in fact commit this murder, I would expect him to have a history of violence toward women, and nothing of the kind is mentioned. The idea that Mark Hansen would mention to Dillon that he wanted Elizabeth Short disposed of, and Dillon took it upon himself to murder this young woman in the most bizarre way imaginable--I am not sure I find this believable.

Elsewhere in the book, the author refers to the "unsolved murder of Johnny Stompanato." Did I read that correctly? Johnny Stompanato was murdered by Lana Turner's daughter, Cheryl Crane. I think that's well established, and would be common knowledge to anyone who has researched Hollywood history.

I realize that Lana Turner's boyfriend has nothing to do with the Dahlia murder, but I find it troubling that the author seems to be so poorly informed. Maybe I read it wrong.
15 people found this helpful
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form your own opinion

Meticulously researched with newly opened FBI files, interviews and incredible detective work.....this book about Elizabeth Short was unique among all others.
I've read others, watched the documentaries and movies, so of course my interest was piqued.
She was a beautiful woman from the east hoping to make it big in Hollywood, like thousands of others. Her desires, her needs, were no different than anyone else's, particularly at the time. Fame....love.....the need to make something of herself.....all made her human. Not just some dissected corpse named Dahlia.
Eatwells findings shifted my views and thoughts, read it and see what YOU think!
15 people found this helpful
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Terrible Book

I love reading True Crime, but Black Dahlia, Red Rose is a dud. Though the reader begins forming the opinion that Elizabeth Short had turned to prostitution as a means to make money, and that her "johns"--Leslie Dillon and Mark Hansen--were basically providing call girls for members of the LAPD--one shouldn't need to wait until page 226 for the wrap-up. I could have Googled "Leslie Dillon" and read the same information in under 10 minutes.

It is disturbing that: layers of police corruption prevented justice from being done in this case; Dr. De River and others were virtually harassed into silence concerning the matter; Mark Hansen and Leslie Dillon lived into their 60's and 70's with no consequence for their involvements in this kinky crime.

The only upstanding characters in this story were the Aster Motel owners' in laws, the Moorman's, who identified Mark Hansen as the man they saw coming and going from the hotel the time of the murder. The Moorman's stuck to their story and identified Hansen--regardless of what appears to be an attempt by police to intimidate them--by bringing them face to face with Hansen for identification purposes, vs using a line-up to do so.

Overall, this book is nothing more than a tale of a hooker, some Johns, and women losing big in a 1940's man's world. Longwinded, boring, and badly written.
12 people found this helpful
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A New Look at An Old and Enduring Mystery

At last! This is the book I have been waiting for about the enduring mystery of who killed Elizabeth Short. The basic knowledge of the case has been around for years, but Piu Eatwell has done the remarkable in that she has given this case a new and dramatic viewing. Eatwell takes us back to the dark side of post-war Los Angeles, where young girls dreams of Hollywood stardom often turned ugly and deadly. Corruption abounds throughout the investigation into Short's brutal murder, as cops, gangsters, and sexual deviates develop an unholy alliance to thwart an honest conclusion to the crime. Much of Eatwell's story reads like a Noir novel--a fast paced and intriguing whodunit which is all too real. There is a great deal of new information here--in particular the name and almost certain involvement of a little known suspect. If this case has haunted you like it has many of us for decades, this should top your reading list for 2018.
11 people found this helpful
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Still Unproven....

Having read every BD book ever written I could not pass on this one and found it to be yet another cobbled together set of "likely", "probable" and "to my satisfaction" types of conclusions. Now it is an interesting and skillful review of the history of the case but the author had to have her own "hook" so she makes a case for a discovery of the real suspect that is not supported by the hard facts. One example of the absurdity of this quest to prove for once and for all who did it is the author's arranging for the forensic testing of one suspected scene of the murder, a still operating sleazy motel room, seventy years after the murder! Such behavior and other examples of questionable analytic reasoning casts a shadow on the investigative integrity of the book.
9 people found this helpful
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True Crime Classic!

A detailed and well researched book on the Black Dahlia case. The book really makes a strong case as to who the killer may have been. Sadly, the real Elizabeth Short remains a lost and elusive figure and to me that's the real tragedy. The defining event in her life was her gruesome death and we will never be able to conclusively know who she really was.

Were this ranks in comparison to other books on the subject is up to each reader. I have read a lot of them, and put this near the top. But each of them in their own way helps to build a better picture of the crime and the largely lost world of Postwar Los Angeles.

Overall a terrific book that I really recommend to anyone interested in the subject!
7 people found this helpful
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Miss Short is given to us as a beautiful girl, aged twenty-two on the loose in every ...

This is a good/bad book. First the author’s clear intent is to indict one man, Leslie Dillon, for the murder in 1947 of Elizabeth Short. Miss Short is given to us as a beautiful girl, aged twenty-two on the loose in every sense of the expression whose bisected body was discovered on January 15, 1947, dumped on a vacant, until then, lot in Norton Avenue, LA. She was considered a “hot date” despite a plentitude of cavities in her teeth. The author inundates the reader with piles of interviews, records, comments and whatever from the Los Angeles press, investigators, police men and seemingly every law enforcement agency in Los Angeles County. Trouble is Eatwell has no evidence that her proposed murderer, Dillon, was anywhere near the murder site or the ground on which lay Short’s body. She cannot place the alleged killer in LA. Triste. Her mushy evidence is composed of hearsay, rumor and speculation. A competent cross examination would demolish her story and that of the now dead shrink who from the grave supports Piu Eatwell’s unproven theories. The shrink owns no certain name. The evidence of his professional training is sketchy. His credibility is minimal. The book is laced with: “she thought that”; possible sightings of persons who may have been close to the case, weak facial identifications, lost records, transfers of police off the case etc. A scrim of truth carries Eatwell from one muddy puddle of conjecture to the next. But hard fact and untinctured evidence seem beyond the author’s reach.
What Piu Eatwell has given us, in depth is a searing picture of tawdry pre-boom Los Angeles. The out of work actresses, the corrupt cops, the unpaid rents, the low lifes who owned the seedy motels and the chancy exchanges of money and favors for God knows what benefit to whom are all there. Air in any of those police stations Eatwell fondles so closely was dusty and toxic. The investigatory history into Short’s murder strays into comedy, but is finally bewildering and sad. Did anyone come out of this story untarnished? No. But we knew that already.
6 people found this helpful

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