The Black Dahlia: Shattered Dreams by Brenda Haugen

While processing a stack of books I recently received for the library, I came across this title.  While I was familiar with the name "Black Dahlia" and the fact that it was a gruesome, unsolved mystery from the 1940's, I didn't know much else.  Unsolved mysteries have always fascinated me, so I decided to give it a read.

"The Black Dahlia" was a woman named Elizabeth "Betty" Short who she had moved to California in the hopes of becoming a famous actress and becomes the most famous murder victim of the 1940s.  The book details her young life in Massachusetts and then follows her to California to pursue her dreams.  Betty was popular with men at the clubs and earned herself the nickname of Black Dahlia soon after the movie The Blue Dahlia came out in 1946 because of her dark hair and the fact that she typically sported form-fitting black clothing.  She never seemed to have a job and was often secretive with those around her.

Betty's murder was very gruesome, causing even seasoned crime reporter, Aggie Underwood, to blanch at the sight of Betty's mutilated body.  Even though the police interviewed hundreds of people, no suspect was ever charged with her murder.  To this day, The Black Dahlia remains a cold case in the annals of the Los Angeles Police Department.

photo credit: AP.  

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/06/02/newser-black-dahlia/9865397/