Black Dahlia, Red Rose: The Crime, Corruption, and Cover-Up of America's Greatest Unsolved Murder

Written by Piu Eatwell

Narrated by Robertson Dean

The gruesome murder of hopeful starlet Elizabeth Short, in the noir-tinged Los Angeles of 1947, has a permanent place in American lore as one of the most inscrutable of true-crime mysteries. Now, Piu Eatwell—relentless legal sleuth and atmospheric stylist—cracks the case after seventy years. With recently unredacted FBI files, newly released sections of the LAPD files, and explosive new interviews, Eatwell has unprecedented access to primary evidence and a persuasive culprit. She layers her findings into a gritty, cinematic retelling of the case from the corrupt LAPD and the take-no-prisoners press to the seedy underworld of would-be actresses and the men who preyed on them. In mesmerizing prose, Black Dahlia, Red Rose is a panorama of 1940s Hollywood, a definitive account of one of the biggest unsolved murders of American legal history.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Highbridge Company
• Release date: Oct 10, 2017
• ISBN: 9781681688282

Piu Eatwell

Piu Eatwell is the author of BLACK DAHLIA, RED ROSE and The Dead Duke, His Secret Wife, and the Missing Corpse and has produced and researched historical documentaries for the BBC and other channels, including the widely acclaimed film Charles Manson: The Man Who Killed the Sixties. She divides her time between Paris and London with her husband and three children.

Reviews for Black Dahlia, Red Rose

[JoKehr · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An excellently researched book - rounding off Ellroy's account, however I was missing the discussion of the "murder" weapon, i.e. to perform this kind of mutilation you do need more than having volunteered in a morgue - where did he get the "tool" and how did he get rid of
it ?

[aliceanna-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Wow! Just wow. Meticulously researched and very compelling. I was shocked by the police corruption; it was just so in-your-face. The author did a terrific job putting this to bed. It will never officially be closed because the LAPD destroyed too much of the evidence, but if I was on a jury, I would find her arguments to be beyond a reasonable doubt. Very well written.

[selsha-180011 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

While there's nothing particularly "new," it's still a great book if you're unfamiliar with the Black Dahlia case. The narrative style makes it easier to digest and a great read.

However, if you're already familiar with the case, there are numerous podcasts and books exploring various theories. This book presents just another perspective while going through ALL of the gruesome details.

The research and format are excellent, but personally, I found it a bit lengthy for information I already knew.

[george_stokoe-600529 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

On the same subject as James Ellroy's gripping pulp novel, Black Dahlia (a fictional reworking of the 1947 murder of Elizabeth Short, in Los Angeles), but non-fiction. Piu Eatwell's book is a true crime account, based on unredacted FBI and police files and new interviews, but it's no less of a page-turner.

"In the following pages I tell the story of this extraordinary case. However, despite its narrative form, this is not a work of fiction. Anything written between quotation marks comes from a letter, memoir, or other written document. If I describe the weather on a particular day, it is because I checked the contemporary weather reports. " (from the preface)

I won't give spoilers, but Eatwell makes a very convincing case for the suspect she fancies as the killer.

It's a plot so thick you could stand a spoon up in it. But events are gone over several times, from different angles, which makes it easier to understand.

Psychopathic bellhops, dodgy nightclub owners, pornographers,cynical chain - smoking journalists, cops who run protection rackets (extorting the gangsters), girls arriving on the bus hoping to make it in the movies (Ann Toth, a friend of the victim,later had a bit part in the film Smash-Up - you can still see this today, on DVD) --they're all in this book.
There's even one suspect who was a physician,who was suspected of murdering his secretary, as well as the Black Dahlia. He ran an illegal abortion clinic, was into surrealist art, and was even suspected by the police of having Communist sympathies. (He escaped to the Philippines.)
One of the gangster suspects gets shot in the back with a twenty-five-caliber automatic pistol, by his dancer girlfriend, accusing him of being a "goddam cop lover". She wound up in a lunatic asylum.

The books a great read, and a real window on a previous era. Even the chapter titles are in an atmospheric art deco typeface.
Highly recommended!

[loraineo_8 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Well researched re examination of the well known black dahlia murder mystery. I 've read numerous books on this case and was able to still learn more . I got a real feel of 1947 LA.

[sarahebear · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The brutal murder of Elizabeth Short (Black Dahlia) has fascinated crime aficionados since it occurred in the late 1940s. There have been many theories, books and movies made on the topic. "Black Dahlia, Red Rose" by Piu Eatwell offers a thoroughly researched account of the available evidence in the case. Her conclusions (I won't give them away) are, on the balance of probability, likely to be correct. The piece offers a comprehensive examination of the functioning (or lack there of) of the police investigation, interference (and withholding of information) by the press, and difficulty gathering evidence from the less than cooperative members of the dregs of LA society. The book is over referenced, and is full of unnecessary facts and back stories - but this may just be an irritation for me. I'm a "just the facts ma'am" sort of a gal, when it comes to true crime.

[janarose1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In 1947, the body of Elizabeth Short was found neatly bisected at the torso. The gruesomeness of the murder caused media sensation, as the police scrambled to solve the crime. This book offers a theory of the crime, one that focuses on Leslie Dillon, a suspect interviewed in detail and ultimately released. Well written and researched, it was well organized and offered just the right amount of details. Overall, an interesting read.

[linda.marsheells · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Meticulously researched with newly opened FBI files, interviews and incredible detective work.....this book about Elizabeth Short was unique among all others.
I've read others, watched the documentaries and movies, so of course my interest was piqued.
She was a beautiful woman from the east hoping to make it big in Hollywood, like thousands of others. Her desires, her needs, were no different than anyone elses, particularly at the time. Fame....love.....the need to make something of herself.....all made her human. Not just some dissected corpse named Dahlia.
Eatwells findings shifted my views and thoughts, read it and see what YOU think!