Crime Buff's Guide™ to OUTLAW LOS ANGELES

One of a series of guidebooks showing you where crimes took place in different areas of the US, kind of like a guided tour. Ron Franscell takes you on a bloody murder tour, this time of Los Angeles, one crime scene at a time. Until you know it's most famous macabre history inside and out. From the better known ones like the Black Dahlia and Manson, O. J. and the Onion Field slayers, to lesser known and older crimes. It's very thorough, showing both addresses and GPS coordinates for most locations to get you as close as possible to where it actually happened. This guide book has photos and lots to satisfy the true crime lover who likes to see where the crimes really happened and maybe wants to try to go see it for themselves if it's accessible. My thanks to NetGalley, WildBlue Press and the author for giving me an ARC in return for my honest review.

In OUTLAW LOS ANGELES, author Ron Franscell has produced an annotated list of the most lurid murders and other crimes in the Los Angeles area. One thing that makes this book unique—and the feature that attracted me to the book is how the author includes the exact GPS location of each site.

For example, when discussing the deaths of famous criminals, and where they are buried, the author notes: “The grave is at Pierce Brothers’ Westwood Memorial Park, 1218 Glendon Ave. You can find it in the middle of the lawn area at GPS 34.058405…”

You get the idea—the author provides the EXACT location. Just bring your GPS and it will take you there. I think this is really helpful when looking for exact places, like grave sites, or obscure locations.

One chapter really surprised me. I was raised in Los Angeles, and I (thought) I knew all about the Lennon Sisters, and the bizarre murder of their father by a deranged gunman. What I didn’t know was that he was murdered in my home town of Westchester! Ron explains, “The crime scene is in the parking lot of the Westchester Golf Course (formerly Marina del Rey Golf Range), 6900 W Manchester Avenue, or GPS …”

I had no idea that Wyatt Earp lived in LA. His last home (now razed) “sat at 4004 W. 17th St., or GPS 34.042269, -118.325593. Today, it’s the site of the Johnnie Cochran Middle School in the West Adams Historical District. A plaque marks the spot.”

The above facts could be useful trivial information, “What do Johnnie Cochran and Wyatt Earp have in common?”

Another chapter that interested me was The Watts Riots. My hometown is very close to Watts, although I was too young to remember anything about them. The author explains that “The epicenter of the rioting is at the intersection of Avalon Boulevard and East 116th Street, or GPS 33.929330, -118.265242. “

I was also surprised to find out that my Orange County home was just down the street from Richard Ramirez’s “last known crime scene.” This was in Mission Viejo: “Serial killer Richard Ramirez’s last known crime scene is at 24411 Chrisanta Drive, or GPS 33.608332 , -117.674136. This is a private home. “ This is right next to the high school where I graduated!

All in all, I found OUTLAW LOS ANGELES to be a fascinating book, full of lurid details. Okay, I admit I found it a captivating read—especially since LA is my home town. I would have liked to see a map of the locations, although there is a good index that lists the key sites.

Advance Review Copy courtesy of the publisher.

L.A. is my home town.

Along with movie stars and palm trees, Los Angelenos grow up with tales of murder, mayhem, and titillating scandals. And this book puts them all in one place for you.

What surprised me most were the details. I really though I knew everything there was to know about Manson, Richard Ramirez, and the scores of other crimes noted her. I was wrong. Franscell gives his readers the tiny little details that others have left out - details that put you squarely at the scene of the crime.

The book also contains addresses and GPS coordinates for those readers who want to take a little crime tour of their own. (He also notes which places are private residences - so you don't end up arrested for trespassing!)

The only thing that would have made this even better would be more photos. There are a few, but I wanted pictures of every criminal, every victim, and every crime scene.

This may have been my first book by Franscell, but it won't be my last!

This is a fun book. It is a crime scene tour of Los Angeles in book form, but gives you the addresses and GPS locations of these crime scenes. Some are high profile, others are not. But this book is very informative for all. I personally love these kinds of books and read as many as I can. There are more in Ron Franscell's series, too. There are no morbid, gory details here, just the basics and where you can see the crime scene. Great book and fun to read!

“Crime Buff’s Guide to Outlaw Los Angeles” is the seventh in Ron Franscell’ popular Crime Buff’s Guide series, this one set where I live, the greater Los Angeles and Southern California area. I couldn’t wait to find out more about the people and places in my local area’s crime past.
Geography is the star of this book. Franscell has done comprehensive research, and the book includes the geographic locations, descriptions, and of course GPS location of every crime location from Hollywood, Orange County and the Inland Empire, to San Diego and beyond. The directions are specific and complete, for example “Look on the west side of Whittier for a concrete sewer drain between a streetlight and a tree. There’s a manhole cover in the street.” Most of the locations are private property, so he also cautions readers NOT to plunge onto private property.
Crime in L.A. is not limited to Hollywood celebrities, although of course there are a lot of them included. The crime journey includes politicians, pioneers, writers, Wild West heroes, serial killers, terrorists, and, of course, law enforcement personnel and the innocent victims. Franscell’s guide covers the range of time from the mid- 1800 to the past few years and contains complete details about the crime itself, the people involved, and many times where people are buried.
Thank you NetGalley, WildBlue Press, and Ron Franscell for a great adventure in true crime. I loved the virtual tour, and can’t wait to visit some of the public sites.

I was not a real fan of this book, but I felt I had to rate it at 5 starts simply because it delivered exactly what it promised. I do find the “true-crime” genre to be generally interesting, but I am not the type to drive by OJ’s house just for the thrill of it.

=== The Good Stuff ===

* The book does exactly what the marketing description says. It lists quite a number of famous LA crimes, and lists the GPS coordinates for the location where the crime occurred. On a recent business trip I gave the book a shot and hunted down a murder scene on my way to the airport. I drove right by the scene-of-the-crime without even noticing.

* Each crime described in the book has a short write-up, just a couple of pages, that is only a very brief summary of the crime.

=== The Not-So-Good Stuff ===

* I really wanted to read more details about the individual crimes, and would have preferred fewer, but longer, narratives.


=== Summary ===

If you would enjoy driving around LA all day and looking for “crime landmarks”, this is your book. As even the author forewarns, most are not marked and the current residents or occupants probably don’t want to be bothered in any way. Still, it this sounds like a fun way to kill some time, this is a pretty good source of information for you.

I love reading this kind of thing. It's a sickness, I'm sure! What I really liked was the Hollywood crimes. If this book had been all about old Hollywood's murders then I'd of given the book 5 stars. I did learn a few things that I didn't know, and the book was well researched, and oddly enough funny in places. The author has a fine sense of the sarcastic. I personally am not the type to visit crime scenes as its just too real and raw, but the author has provided g.p.s. coordinates to the crime scenes and burial places of victims and murderers alike....so if you're into that, then this is the perfect book for you! My thanks to WildBlue Press and Netgalley for the arc. Honestly, Mr. Franscell did a great job on this book, and I'd willingly read his other Outlaw books.