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kaydondino 's review for:
Black Dahlia Avenger: A Genius for Murder
by Steve Hodel
If you’re not into true crime, you might not realize that there is an entire sub genre of retired white guys who believe their estranged fathers committed terrible murders. Hodel’s book is one of the grandfathers of this subgenre, so I had to read it.
It starts with Hodel having conflicted feelings over the death of his father (who sounds like a complete ass, by the way) and instead of finding a therapist to talk it over, decides that two photos in his dad’s photo book are of Elizabeth Smart and that he killed her (apparently now Hodel is claiming is dad is the Zodiac Killer too, because he’s not content with his dad committing one headline grabbing murder, he’s had to have done them all).
The premise is intriguing and while its 100% certain his dad was a terrible human being, Hodel never proves anything. He believes he does, but it’s all a house of cards built upon guesswork, assumptions and gut feelings (the gut feelings of a conflicted son). And don’t even get me started on the “conspiracy” within the police department that could arrest his dad for sexual abuse, but not for murder. Or the fact that, according to Hodel, Smart’s murder was highly ritualized and scripted and the other murders his asshole dad supposedly committed.... weren’t.
In short, therapy is a good thing, writing books about how your asshole dad committed every murder ever isn’t.
It starts with Hodel having conflicted feelings over the death of his father (who sounds like a complete ass, by the way) and instead of finding a therapist to talk it over, decides that two photos in his dad’s photo book are of Elizabeth Smart and that he killed her (apparently now Hodel is claiming is dad is the Zodiac Killer too, because he’s not content with his dad committing one headline grabbing murder, he’s had to have done them all).
The premise is intriguing and while its 100% certain his dad was a terrible human being, Hodel never proves anything. He believes he does, but it’s all a house of cards built upon guesswork, assumptions and gut feelings (the gut feelings of a conflicted son). And don’t even get me started on the “conspiracy” within the police department that could arrest his dad for sexual abuse, but not for murder. Or the fact that, according to Hodel, Smart’s murder was highly ritualized and scripted and the other murders his asshole dad supposedly committed.... weren’t.
In short, therapy is a good thing, writing books about how your asshole dad committed every murder ever isn’t.