Scan barcode
A review by jessferg
Dannemora: Two Escaped Killers, Three Weeks of Terror, and the Largest Manhunt Ever in New York State by Charles A. Gardner
3.0
I must've been in a "media blackout" period when this escape happened because I don't remember shit about it. But that means I'm the perfect reader for it, right?
What a crazy and frustrating story about neglect, mental illness, criminal behavior, prison ineptness and the stress of law enforcement.
Gardner seems to struggle a little in determining the appropriate "moment of reveal" to keep the reader engaged and to avoid repetition but despite this occasional flaw he manages to pull lots of threads together into a fast-paced story.
I was into this enough that it kept me up a night or two but I can't bring myself to up the star rating because the bias is undeniable and yet mostly unacknowledged. Gardner is a retired prison worker and he lives in the area, which he is upfront about. While both of these things probably gave him access to information unavailable to others, he isn't able to use that info completely objectively. His anger at those who helped these criminals escape, directly or indirectly, is understandable, and his dislike of former Gov. Cuomo is palpable, but unnecessary to what is being presented as a non-fiction account of the facts. I suppose the opposite view of the issue is that Gardner was upfront about his bias so it's up to the reader to decide if anything smelling like opinion is worth taking as fact.
This is one of those "you can't make this stuff up" stories that true crime reader will love and that general readers will enjoy because of the fast pace and detailed character studies.
What a crazy and frustrating story about neglect, mental illness, criminal behavior, prison ineptness and the stress of law enforcement.
Gardner seems to struggle a little in determining the appropriate "moment of reveal" to keep the reader engaged and to avoid repetition but despite this occasional flaw he manages to pull lots of threads together into a fast-paced story.
I was into this enough that it kept me up a night or two but I can't bring myself to up the star rating because the bias is undeniable and yet mostly unacknowledged. Gardner is a retired prison worker and he lives in the area, which he is upfront about. While both of these things probably gave him access to information unavailable to others, he isn't able to use that info completely objectively. His anger at those who helped these criminals escape, directly or indirectly, is understandable, and his dislike of former Gov. Cuomo is palpable, but unnecessary to what is being presented as a non-fiction account of the facts. I suppose the opposite view of the issue is that Gardner was upfront about his bias so it's up to the reader to decide if anything smelling like opinion is worth taking as fact.
This is one of those "you can't make this stuff up" stories that true crime reader will love and that general readers will enjoy because of the fast pace and detailed character studies.