Black Dahlia

Murder, Monsters, and Madness in Midcentury America

By: William J Mann

Narrated by: Michael Bower

New York Times bestselling author of Tinseltown and Bogart offers the first definitive account of the Black Dahlia murder—the most famous unsolved true crime case in American history.

The brutal murder of Elizabeth Short—better known as the Black Dahlia—in 1947 has been in the public consciousness for nearly eighty years, yet no serious study of the crime has ever been published.

Short has been mischaracterized as a wayward sex worker or vagabond, and—like the seductive femme fatales of film noir—responsible for and perhaps deserving of her fate. William J. Mann, however, is interested in the truth.

In his masterful, critically acclaimed biography, Mann humanizes Elizabeth Short like never before. Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as “a meticulous and thorough retelling, five years in the making, that resists the sensationalism of the infamous crime to restore dignity back to this young woman’s image,” The Black Dahlia is the definitive study about the most famous unsolved case in American history.

Critic reviews

"This audiobook examines the 1947 murder and dismemberment of Elizabeth Short, known as the Black Dahlia, and shares new information. Narrator Michael Bower gives a deep-voiced, intense presentation that humanizes Short. He gently traces her youthful experiences in Hollywood that culminate in her death. Despite the growing list of suspects, Bower expresses author Mann’s frustrations as all are dismissed for lack of evidence. Listeners will appreciate the newscaster-style delivery, which is clear and distinct even as the number of suspects grows. The author states he intended to separate fact from fiction."

Exceptional

Finally, a truly comprehensive look into one of our Country's most gruesome and saddest events.

Fantastic Account of Horrifying Unsolved Murder

William Mann has long been one of my favorite writers. Few others do deep-dive research as he does. As a true crime aficionado, I've read most every article and book written about the sad, unsolved murder case of Elizabeth Short, and I've visited the spot where her remains were deposited many times because it's a story that's too horrifying to digest. Mann sheds new light into the case and does the very decent thing of making Short into a relatable human being. I can't recommend this book highly enough. *****

Excellent review of the facts

This book is thoughtful and well-written, and it’s an intense examination of the FACTS. Worth the read if you are interested in the case

Truth about The Black Dalia

The book was done very well. It plainly discusses (and separates) the facts from the fiction about the case.
It leaves the reader wanting to discover more - although we probably never will know.

Well-researched book

I wanted to love this book As I had enjoyed Mann’s books on the Roosevelts and the history of Hollywood. I liked the social history of what WWII had done to American society. The part about Elizabeth was boring to me; she was not interesting enough and by the end I didn’t care who killed her. The writing is good and the narrator does a great job but it just wasn’t worth a credit. I’m hoping Mann goes back to history and not celebrities because I like his writing.