Lindbergh: The Crime Book

Whereas Ludovic Kennedy's account of the Lindbergh kidnapping/murder case (Crime of the Century) strips the drama down to a few key players, Lindbergh: The Crime is just the opposite: it is an explosion of minor characters and a baffling array of subplots. Most Lindbergh books do not describe, for example, the multiple parties who met with Charles Lindbergh and his allies, who were trusted with large sums of money, and made supposed negotiations with kidnappers. Noel Behn ambitiously tries to cram in as many details as he can about the events following the kidnapping, and to a large extent succeeds in convincing readers that an elaborate subterfuge was engineered by the Lindbergh camp. His proposed solution to the mystery is well researched, cogent, and fascinating. Behn's writing style makes for slow reading, though, so Lindbergh: The Crime is best read by someone who is already familiar with the case. The book includes 50 pages of footnotes, bibliography, and index. It was a 1994 finalist for an Edgar Award in fact crime. Read More