A handy, compact guide for the would-be true crimes sleuth

The New York Crimes, Volume 1: The Fifties & Sixties, by Stephanie Hughes. Stephanie Hughs/Sunshine Sally. 90 pages. Paperback $7.99.

With this title, Fort Myers resident Stephanie Hughes begins a series that will please both “true crime” addicts and more retrained followers of crimes that have become markers of our crime-riddled times. For the most part, Ms. Hughes selects crimes that had already received the attention of authors and film makers. Such endeavors have amped up the celebrity of crimes – even if the criminals or victims were not celebrities to begin with. 

Ms. Hughes offers a multipart primer to help readers remember and understand – and  possibly further explore – major New York crimes over two decades. She writes for the “armchair sleuth” who, if in New York, can of course visit the crimes scenes and other important locations just by googling the provided addresses. For the rest of us, the author provides photographs, not just of the key locations, but in the context of the immediate neighborhood. Many of these photos were taken by the author.

But you should take your own! Don’t investigate without a camera. And some mace.

Of course, photos of the victims, criminals, and others important to the case are also provided.

Aside from the visuals, Stephanie Hughes offers: an overview of the crime story; thumbnail biographies of the key players, including law enforcement officers and witnesses; and complete addresses and histories of the locations that housed or were otherwise connected with the crime.

Precise dates and times? They are provided as well.

Eleven chapters, each covering a major New York crime (or possible crime), provide a spectrum of possibilities.

Stephanie Hughes

One examines the fate of Frank Olson, a CIA scientist who became involved as a test subject in experiments with psychedelic drugs being conducted at the U. S. Army’s Fort Detrick in Maryland. In November of 1953, he suffered terrible effects and was sent by his superiors to a meeting in New York’s Hotel Statler. He crashed through a 13^th floor window to his death on 7^th Avenue. Suicide? Accidental fall brought on by the narcotics? Or a murder to shut him up about what the government was up to? Vicariously, you can find out for yourself.

Did best-selling author Norman Mailer get off too easily for the stabbing of his wife at a party in the couple’s Manhattan condo? Look over the information Ms. Hughes presents, and see what you think. . . .

To read the full review, as it appears in the July 5, 2017 Fort Myers Florida Weekly and the July 6 Naples, Bonita Springs, Punta Gorda / Port Charlotte, and Palm Beach editions, click here: Florida Weekly — New York Crimes