Interesting but repetitive

Overall I felt this book was interesting and very informative regarding the life of Dorothy Kilgallen. By the end, I felt a lot of respect for the professional she was and her achievements in her life.

The huge downside to the novel, however, was the author’s writing style. The narrative often feels like a school report written by someone who is trying to meet a minimum word count requirement. The repetition became infuriating to me about midway through. The author’s use of “recall”, followed by a verbatim quote of one or more lines from a few chapters prior becomes ridiculous.

Basically....I’m glad I made it through this book because Dorothy Kilgallen is a woman who deserves more recognition and this book is the only reason I now know about her. However, I will never pick another book by this author strictly because of his writing style.

30 people found this helpful

You are the Jury

I remember listening to “What’s My Line” on radio in the early 1950s and then watching it on T.V. This book is primarily about Dorothy Kilgallen’s (1913-1965) death but Shaw does give a brief summary of her life. While I was reading this book, I stopped and looked up information about the author to help me determine how much belief I should put into the information. Mark Shaw is a criminal attorney and is a media legal analyst. At the time of the writing of the book, he worked for ABC, CNN and USA Today.

The book is well written and meticulously researched. To me, the research and method of presenting his argument is more in the style of an attorney than a journalist. One key item he presents is the medical examiner’s office has changed the case from accidental overdose to murder by persons unknown. This adds more weight to Shaw’s claims. Shaw’s basic claim is that Kilgallen was murdered by Mafia Don Carlos Marcello to stop her from revealing information she uncovered about Jack Ruby. Kilgallen covered the Ruby trial and in her newspaper column she states that she felt Ruby was not getting a fair trial. She was in the process of finishing one book entitled “Murder One” and it was published after her death. This book was about the various famous murder trials she had reported on. She was negotiating another book when she died. It was unclear if she was going to include information about Ruby in “Murder One” or if the new book would be about the Ruby trial. Kilgallen claimed she had information that would “blow the lid off the Ruby trial”. The manuscript and all her notes and documents disappeared at the time of her death. She was seen with the information hours before her death. Shaw goes through the suspects one by one and builds a case against each one. Shaw claims Kilgallen was the best crime reporter of her day. This is one of those book that each reader will need to weight the evidence and make up their own mind as to who did it.

The book is ten hours. Gabra Zackman does a good job narrating the book. Zackman is an actress, writer and audiobook narrator.

27 people found this helpful

Great book! Well organized, great narration

What made the experience of listening to The Reporter Who Knew Too Much the most enjoyable?

I must confess I chose to read (well, listen to) it because of the JFK Conspiracy connection--but it was a fabulous book on it's own, no matter what you believe or what your interest level in the assassination is. This is not a book about what happened to JFK, but what happened to a brilliant reporter who wanted to find the truth. I would say, though, that's it is an essential book to read if you are trying to arm-chair detective your way through Dallas that day in November 1962, and a very interesting, entertaining book, even if you don't know or care about that day. You will care about Dorothy, I'm pretty sure. I'm so glad I read it--there are so many books, so little time. This one was worth every minute. .

63 people found this helpful

Absolutely FASCINATING!

What made the experience of listening to The Reporter Who Knew Too Much the most enjoyable?

This true life story reads like a cold war spy novel... cuz it kinda is! Sparkling 1950's Manhattan society set piece, with all the ingredients, sex, booze, media, conspiracy theories. Marvelous stuff. And the author makes a deeply compelling case that Ms. Kilgallen was indeed murdered, and quite possibly for what she knew, or some thread of what she knew.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

The author pulls you into her world and into a compelling plot with ease.

45 people found this helpful

too wordy

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

It was way too wordy. This book would have been good if he cut it in half. Too much repeating

Did The Reporter Who Knew Too Much inspire you to do anything?

no

10 people found this helpful

An interesting story, buried in flunky adoration

What would have made The Reporter Who Knew Too Much better?

There probably was an interesting story, and for all I know a legitimate case to be made. But the incessant hero worship by the author, repeatedly referring to Kilgallen as shrewd, unrivalled, reporter extraordinaire, courageous, brave, etc., started to wear thin.

In addition, the number of times the author uses terms like *logic dictates* or *common sense tells you* begin to lose meaning as they are used in the vaguest of scenarios, where logic and common sense really don't hold any sway. And the usage of 3rd person about himself, so and so told this author such and such, made me start to wonder if he was actually talking about another author and I had just missed the reference. In short, it's sloppy presentation, dismissing anything the author doesn't like and demanding acceptance of his own vast (often mutually exclusive) conspiracy theories.

I get that it's a piece meant to reclaim a legacy of a woman wronged and perhaps killed for her dogged investigation, but the author would have been better served letting the story do that for him.

Would you recommend The Reporter Who Knew Too Much to your friends? Why or why not?

I'm not sure that I would recommend it, but anyone in the tinfoil brigade will enjoy the flights of hyperbolic fancy. The best is his case against on of the suspects (I'll not state the name). when the author hopes someone close will give evidence of guilt. "If this happens, he will finally be held responsible for silencing his longtime nemesis, the courageous reporter who sought to expose the truth about (Mr.X's) diabolical ways" If it were just that, it'd be fine, but the author accuses a half dozen other celebrities and associates. Often as not, with just as much rabid certainty.

Which character – as performed by Gabra Zackman – was your favorite?

The performance was okay. The usual number of mispronunciations, but nothing overly noteworthy.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Reporter Who Knew Too Much?

No particular section, but as mentioned earlier, perhaps editing out a couple dozen of the over-the-top adjectives of adulation may have allowed for a more skilful presentation.

Any additional comments?

After writing the majority of this review, I have revised the star rating to reflect the fact that I realize that I actually did enjoy the book! In that awful, train wreck, what silly thing is he going to say next, kind of way. I think there is some merit in the story somewhere. Unfortunately, it needed a more objective telling to give it more credence.

23 people found this helpful

Disappointed

The story of Dorothy Kilgallen is interesting and, based on the author’s research, her death deserved more investigation. However the book could have been half its length. There was way too much repetition of the same points throughout the story.

6 people found this helpful

I couldn't finish it.

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Nothing. This story just didn't deliver what it promised.

What do you think your next listen will be?

I'm listening to fiction.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Yes, the performance couldn't save this story.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment.

Any additional comments?

The content kept repeating itself. Quotes (there were tons of quotes, much of which was just hearsay) were repeated over and over again. I got the feeling the author struggled with enough content to justify the book.

6 people found this helpful

A slog if ever there was one

This book could have been half as long had the author not spent so much of it plugging himself and his website. The recaps of information just presented were so boring and unnecessary. Because of other reviews I forced myself to keep listening, hoping it would improve but alas it was not to be. Save yourself the time and get something else.

6 people found this helpful

bookgirl

A most excellent and thought provoking book. The writing and research are superb; the narration is perfection. This is a story that could have changed history if it had been told as it unfolded. What a crime that Kilgallen was killed, and it is obvious that she was, for endeavoring to bring to light the truth about JKF's assassination. The book entertained as well as informed.

6 people found this helpful