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COLD CASE VANCOUVER: The City’s Most Baffling Unsolved Murders
RATING: 4 STARS
There is something about a cold case mystery. Hearing about a cold case captures the interest of not just the family of the victims, but new investigators and also armchair detectives. We drink up the past clues and background story hoping to find something new that will blow the case open. New forensic methodology has been one of the biggest ways to close a cold case. New witness testimony and undiscovered clue are usually close seconds. There is a great sense of triumph (no matter who closes the case) when the case does finally become solved. I do enjoy a good mystery – real or not – and watching programs about cold cases has always intrigued me. Reading real-life mysteries for some reason gives me the shivers so I don’t read true crime as much. As I perused the library’s “just ordered” page I saw the cover to Cold Case Vancouver and thought I would just look through the book. Afterall, a book about cold cases set in Vancouver is a must.
Each chapter has a brief case study of a cold case in Vancouver from 50 years ago. The cases are still unsolved so there is no thrill in seeing it to the end. However, it was eye-opening to see how the cases were investigated and where and how they stalled. Some murders seem random so have no suspects while others did but never had any concrete evidence to convict. Lazarus meets with the family and friends of the deceased and give the readers an insight to victim behind the crime. It was a quicker read than I first expected. Lazarus outlines the case without “sensationalizing” it. I do wish there had been a little more information for each case as the chapters ended just as you seemed to get into it. I do recommend this book to fans of true crime, mysteries, cold cases and those living in Vancouver, BC.
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