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Master detective : the life and crimes of Ellis Parker, America's real-life Sherlock Holmes /

By: Material type: TextTextPublication details: New York : Citadel Press, c2006.Description: xiii, 320 p. : ill. ; 24 cmISBN:
  • 0806527501
  • 9780806527505
Other title:
  • Life and crimes of Ellis Parker, America's real-life Sherlock Holmes
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 363.25092
LOC classification:
  • HV7911.P34 R45 2006
Contents:
A crime in the next county (1932) -- A fiddler becomes a detective (1871-1900) -- Bloody murder and burning barns (1901-1919) -- Bootleggers, a pickled corpse, and 175 suspects (1920-1922) -- Two weddings and a scandal (1922-1929) -- Depression crimes (1930-1932) -- The crime of the century--the case of a lifetime (1932-1933) -- A semi-official investigation (1932) -- Bradway Brown and an international fugitive (1933-1934) -- The most hated man in America (1934) -- Second opinions and second guesses (1935-1936) -- The second Lindbergh kidnapping (1936) -- Confessions (1936) -- The storm (1936) -- The trial of Ellis Parker--the prosecution (1937) -- The trial of Ellis Parker--the defense, and the verdict (1937) -- His last bow (1937-1940).
Summary: Ellis Parker, a detective known in the early 1900s as the "American Sherlock Holmes," was the man members of other law enforcement agencies turned to when they were baffled. Even Scotland Yard thought he was brilliant. Long before the advent of today's forensic science tools, he solved over 98% of the murders in his New Jersey county, sometimes never even leaving his desk. Drawing on the emerging discipline of psychology and his uncanny deductive reasoning skills, he was a "profiler" before the term existed, earning the "Holmes" nickname and a worldwide reputation for solving cases that baffled everyone else. Then he got into the biggest case of his career: the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby in 1932. Things began to go terribly wrong, as he drove himself to unimaginable depths in pursuit of the truth. The genius died in prison, on the eve of a presidential pardon.--From publisher description.
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Holdings
Item type Current library Home library Collection Call number Copy number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Standard Loan Hayden Library Adult Nonfiction Hayden Library Book 363.25/REISING (Browse shelf(Opens below)) 1 Available 50610018301122
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Ellis Parker, a detective known the world over in the early 1900s as the American Sherlock Holmes, was a profiler before the word was ever coined. Master Detective provides a complete picture of the man and the circumstances surrounding his tragic fall. of photos.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 307-308) and index.

A crime in the next county (1932) -- A fiddler becomes a detective (1871-1900) -- Bloody murder and burning barns (1901-1919) -- Bootleggers, a pickled corpse, and 175 suspects (1920-1922) -- Two weddings and a scandal (1922-1929) -- Depression crimes (1930-1932) -- The crime of the century--the case of a lifetime (1932-1933) -- A semi-official investigation (1932) -- Bradway Brown and an international fugitive (1933-1934) -- The most hated man in America (1934) -- Second opinions and second guesses (1935-1936) -- The second Lindbergh kidnapping (1936) -- Confessions (1936) -- The storm (1936) -- The trial of Ellis Parker--the prosecution (1937) -- The trial of Ellis Parker--the defense, and the verdict (1937) -- His last bow (1937-1940).

Ellis Parker, a detective known in the early 1900s as the "American Sherlock Holmes," was the man members of other law enforcement agencies turned to when they were baffled. Even Scotland Yard thought he was brilliant. Long before the advent of today's forensic science tools, he solved over 98% of the murders in his New Jersey county, sometimes never even leaving his desk. Drawing on the emerging discipline of psychology and his uncanny deductive reasoning skills, he was a "profiler" before the term existed, earning the "Holmes" nickname and a worldwide reputation for solving cases that baffled everyone else. Then he got into the biggest case of his career: the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby in 1932. Things began to go terribly wrong, as he drove himself to unimaginable depths in pursuit of the truth. The genius died in prison, on the eve of a presidential pardon.--From publisher description.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

  • Author's Note (p. ix)
  • Acknowledgments (p. xi)
  • 1 A Crime in the Next County (1932) (p. 1)
  • 2 A Fiddler Becomes a Detective (1871-1900) (p. 17)
  • 3 Bloody Murder and Burning Barns (1901-1919) (p. 28)
  • 4 Bootleggers, a Pickled Corpse, and 175 Suspects (1920-1922) (p. 45)
  • 5 Two Weddings and a Scandal (1922-1929) (p. 66)
  • 6 Depression Crimes (1930-1932) (p. 85)
  • 7 The Crime of the Century-the Case of a Lifetime (1932-1933) (p. 107)
  • 8 A Semi-Official Investigation (1932) (p. 117)
  • 9 Bradway Brown and an International Fugitive (1933-1934) (p. 131)
  • 10 The Most Hated Man in America (1934) (p. 151)
  • 11 Second Opinions and Second Guesses (1935-1936) (p. 165)
  • 12 The Second Lindbergh Kidnapping (1936) (p. 185)
  • 13 Confessions (1936) (p. 200)
  • 14 The Storm (1936) (p. 216)
  • 15 The Trial of Ellis Parker-the Prosecution (1937) (p. 244)
  • 16 The Trial of Ellis Parker-the Defense, and the Verdict (1937) (p. 257)
  • 17 His Last Bow (1937-1940) (p. 273)
  • Epilogue (p. 289)
  • Notes (p. 299)
  • Bibliography (p. 307)
  • Index (p. 309)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Booklist Review

The panic and chaos surrounding the Lindbergh kidnapping case, as well as tactics of crime fighting from the early twentieth century through the Depression, come wonderfully alive in this thoroughly researched, well-crafted biography. Ellis Parker, the first chief detective of Burlington County, New Jersey, was dubbed the American Sherlock -Holmes by newspapers for his uncanny ability to reconstruct crimes through psychology and deduction. Reisinger follows Parker's career, from solving horse thefts, barn fires, and murders, through catching bootleggers and bank robbers, on to the detective's professional Waterloo, the Lindbergh case. This is as much a study of criminology as it is a biography, with Reisinger detailing the old-time police work that relied heavily on informants and intimidation and how criminals adapted to changing times, especially during the Depression. The core of the book is the Lindbergh case, Parker's theories on the real suspect, and his tragic overreaching to prove his point. Gripping. --Connie Fletcher Copyright 2006 Booklist

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