Echoes in the Darkness

By Joseph Wambaugh

On June 25, 1989, the naked corpse of schoolteacher Susan Reinert was found wedged into her hatchback car in a hotel parking lot near Philadelphia's "Main Line."  Her two children had vanished.  The Main Line Murder Case burst upon the headlines--and wasn't resolved for seven years.  Now, master crime writer Joseph Wambaugh reconstructs the case from its roots, recounting the details, drama, players and pawns in this bizarre crime that shocked the nation and tore apart a respectable suburban town.  The massive FBI and state police investigation ultimately centered on two men.  Dr. Jay C. Smith--By day he was principal of Upper Merion High School where Susan Reinert taught.  At night he was a sadist who indulged in porno, drugs, and weapons.  William Bradfield--He was a bearded and charismatic English teacher and classics scholar, but his real genius was for juggling women--three at a time.  One of those women was Susan Reinert.  How these two men are connected, how the brilliant murder was carried off, and how the investigators closed this astounding case makes for Wambaugh's most compelling book yet.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Aug 28, 2013
• ISBN: 9780804150675

Joseph Wambaugh

The son of a policeman, Joseph Wambaugh (b. 1937) began his writing career while a member of the Los Angeles Police Department. He joined the LAPD in 1960 after three years in the Marine Corps, and rose to the rank of detective sergeant before retiring in 1974. His first novel, The New Centurions (1971), was a quick success, drawing praise for its realistic action and intelligent characterization, and was adapted into a feature film starring George C. Scott. He followed it up with The Blue Knight (1972), which was adapted into a mini-series starring William Holden and Lee Remick. Since then Wambaugh has continued writing about the LAPD. He has been credited with a realistic portrayal of police officers, showing them not as superheroes but as men struggling with a difficult job, a depiction taken mainstream by television’s Police Story, which Wambaugh helped create in the mid-1970s. In addition to novels, Wambaugh has written nonfiction, winning a special Edgar Award for 1974’s The Onion Field, an account of the longest criminal trial in California history. His most recent work is the novel Hollywood Moon (2010).

Reviews for Echoes in the Darkness

[paulagalvan-323293 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I would have given this book one star if this were a made-up story. The characters were shallow, stupid, selfish, creepy people, and the plot was all over the place. The fact that this is a true-crime story is downright horrifying, but I think the author did an excellent job laying out the "all-over-the-place" facts. Some of Mr. Wambaugh's humor was inappropriate, but I understand why he couldn't resist while researching and writing about such extreme stupidity. It would be hard not to poke fun even in this tragic murder case.

[dickmanikowski · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A so-so true crime book. By its very nature, this story is fairly tedious, albeit with a fascinating undercurrent of a charismatic teacher manipulating his followers to accept an unbelievable murder plot by another party. But Wambaugh is capable of much better writing than he displays in this book.