A Murder

Greg Fallis knows all about murder. He spent more than ten years as a private detective before turning to writing about murder. He's also a criminology instructor. His latest book is A Murder: From the Chalk Outline to the Execution Chamber, in which he "examines murder as a process--a series of actions, events, and operations conducing toward an end." He starts with the observation that people are both repelled and fascinated by murder. While we generally regard the taking of someone's life as the most serious of all crimes, we've also incorporated murder into our entertainment. Fallis notes that "films, televison programs, novels, theatrical plays, computer games, even board games revolve around murder." Fallis starts with a murder--a man rapes and kills a woman, then hides the body. He uses this to kick off the discussion of the kinds of murder, such as manslaughter and the reasons why people kill one another. The remainder of the book follows this pattern--a fictionalized case used to illustrate the common elements of all murders. In addition to providing information on how and why murder happens, and how the murderer is apprehended and punished, Fallis reminds readers to "periodically remind yourself of the enormity of the act. To kill another person is an act of tremendous presumption." Readers, whether repelled or fascinated by murder, will find that A Murder is an excellent reference that answers all their questions about what happens when one person kills another.

Greg Fallis knows all about murder. He spent more than ten years as a private detective before turning to writing about murder. He's also a criminology instructor. His latest book is A Murder: From The Chalk Outline To The Execution Chamber, in which he "examines murder as a process--a series of actions, events, and operations conducing toward an end." He starts with the observation that people are both repelled and fascinated by murder. While we generally regard the taking of someone's life as the most serious of all crimes, we've also incorporated murder into our entertainment. Fallis notes that "films, televison programs, novels, theatrical plays, computer games, even board games revolve around murder." The book is divided into five sections: what constitutes murder; how murders are investigated, including the arrest process; how the defense system works; the trial and jury deliberations; and the punishment, which includes a description of exactly what happens to a body when it's subjected to execution. Fallis starts with a murder--a man rapes and kills a woman, then hides the body. He uses this to kickoff the discussion of the kinds of murder, such as manslaughter and the reasons why people kill one another. The remainder of the book follows this pattern--a fictionalized case used to illustrate the common elements of all murders. In addition to providing information on how and why murder happens, and how the murderer is apprehended and punished, Fallis reminds readers to "periodically remind yourself of the enormity of the act. To kill another person is an act of tremendous presumption." Readers, whether repelled or fascinated by murder, will find that A Murder is an excellent reference that answers all their questions about what happens when one person kills another.Sandra I. Smith, Reviewer