The Black Dahlia Files Book Review

On Jan. 15, 1947, the nude, bisected body of a young woman was found in a South Los Angeles vacant lot. The victim was soon identified as Elizabeth (a.k.a. Beth, Betty) Short, a raven-haired mercurial girl who had come to Hollywood, like so many others, with the hope of becoming a star.

Despite the efforts of hundreds of police officers and homicide investigators, this highly publicized murder remains, to this day, open and unsolved; one of the coldest of cold cases. In the book "The Black Dahlia Files" evidence surrounding the unsolved murder of Hollywood hopeful Beth Short is skillfully examined by a journalist who lived in L.A. when it happened.

What's So Special About The Black Dahlia Files?

True, there have been dozens of books written about this mystery, each author trying to identify the murderer, and building a case for whoever he or she most suspected. Donald Wolfe's book, however, clearly brings something new to the table.

In 2002, Los Angeles District attorney, Steve Cooley, began establishing a historical archive of 20th century criminal investigations. Cooley's files contained materials from both the district attorney's office and the LAPD warehouse, including testimony, documented evidence and other information on the Black Dahlia case that had never before been made public. Donald Woolfe had connections which enabled him to get his hands on these Black Dahlia files, and what he found was astounding.

Donald Wolfe's Unique Perspective

As if this weren't enough to warrant a new historical examination of the case, Wolfe's book also benefits from the fact that this journalist spent much of his life in Los Angeles. He was a teenage boy living in Beverly Hills when the Black Dahlia murder hit the front pages, and experienced, first hand, the media frenzy surrounding this case.

As an L.A. resident, the author also knew about many other things that were going on in Hollywood at the time, such as how the syndicate's tendrils enmeshed the underworld and the entertainment industry. Wolfe's own Uncle Vern was one of Benjamin "Bugsy" Seigel's lawyers, a "fixer." Siegel lived (and was shot dead) in a house just behind Wolfe's childhood home. Although young Douglas' mother, very wisely, had not allowed Bugsy into her home, the big ears of young Wolfe's little pitcher absorbed a good bit of mob-related information as he grew up.

Who Killed the Black Dahlia?

Can't tell you, but if you read the book, Donald Wolfe might. The crime officially remains unsolved, but the evidence and logic that Wolfe presents in this book leads to a very plausible scenario for Elizabeth Short's death. And it is twisted. The context and interrelationships of all who may have had a role in Ms. Short's murder does nothing less than boggle the mind-Hollywood corruption so thick and rich you could drizzle it over pancakes.

This book is filled with photos of the suspects, the victim, and many of the other players who investigated, or were in some way connected with Elizabeth Short and this crime. Many documents are also represented, including newspaper headlines and articles from the time of the murder, as well as photos of evidence relating to the case. Wolfe even weaves other high-profile Hollywood murders into this tale, crimes that are not as unrelated as one might think.

• Title: The Black Dahlia Files: The Mob, the Mogul, and the Murder That Transfixed Los Angeles
• Author: Donald H. Wolfe
• Publisher & Year: Regan Books/Harper Collins 2005
• List Price: $15.95
• Verdict: If you are an avid reader, you might just finish this book in one day-not because it's a brief, but because it is nearly impossible to put down.

For more reviews of historical books, see Enoch Callaway's Asylum: A Mid-Century Madhouse and Its Lessons about Our Mentally Ill Today and Philip Sugden's The Complete History of Jack the Ripper.