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Saturday, March 13, 2010

Nothing Like a Jane Doe to Lure Me in


I love a good mystery. I followed almost everything on the Crime and Suspense channel (Listen, Solar. I want it back. Or if you did something like put the shows in another channel, like the crime investigation one - is that even yours? - please let me know somehow because I remain unenlightened). I followed even the rather obscure shows (I don't know how popular they are in the States, but I base my judgment on whether my pop-inclined sister cottoned to them) - Close to Home, Women's Murder Club, Crossing Jordan... For a time, I was even watching Dominick Dunne. I just avoid Law & Order SVU because it really messes me up. Anyway, you get the idea. I'm the same with novels. Shhhhsh, keep it quiet, but I confess to still collecting those vintage Bobsey Twins and reading them. Anyway, my favorite contemporary mystery writer (man or woman) is Sue Grafton. I've been collecting her alphabet mysteries and recently acquired the Q one. I actually got copies of R and S before I got hold of it. As expected, I loved the story. As usual, it was masterfully written. This is not a review (mostly because I don't know how to write one and I'm such a flake I'm usually self-conscious about my opinions since they are usually very lonely creatures, lol... that's actually a lie. I'm always mouthing off like an unstoppable moron... h-anywayz), just a vague rambling about something that fascinated me. I almost missed the author's note at the back, but there Sue (I can't call her Grafton) explained about what inspired her to write the story. The novel was actually based on a real life Jane Doe found in Santa Barbara in 1969. Up to the publication of the book in 2002, the victim (also the killer) remained unidentified. The body of this Jane Doe was actually exhumed and with the technology present now, forensic artist Betty Gatliff was able to reconstruct her face. The book included pictures of the reconstruction with an appeal to anybody who recognized the face to get in touch with the Sheriff's Department of Santa Barbara. Naturally, I was curious about the progress the case had made in the last 8 years, so I googled it and learned that Jane Doe remains unidentified (Why couldn't it be like in fiction? Kinsey Millhone found out the identities of the victim and her killer within weeks of taking on the case!). I do hope the case can be solved even after all these years. I know it's possible. Kathryn Morris does it all the time on Cold Case. :D

4 comments:

The Rooster Crows at 4am! said...

I saw that episode on TV back in America where the Jane Doe's face was reconstructed. So sad she has not been identified yet. My wife was a BIG fan of the crime shows back in the States, but we really haven't found that many since moving to the Philippines.

spinninglovelydays said...

I didn't know they actually televised it. I'd love to have seen it.

Frances said...

me, too! i love murder mysteries, crime shows and spy stories! the hubby is perplexed, he thinks it's porn of the worst kind (murder, after all, is the worst violation of the human body) and wishes i can just lay off the macabre, especially now that i'm preggy! i'm trying!!!

spinninglovelydays said...

I know. When I was pregnant, I was watching all the crime shows and following all controversial cases at that time (Natalee Holloway, etc.). I was really scared it might affect the baby, but I was just so hooked, lol.