Beyond the Blotter
With "What Kind of Person Does a Thing Like That," Susan Clairmont of The Hamilton Spectator in Ontario, Canada, takes an arrest that would appear as a brief police blotter story in most newspapers and turns it into a compelling narrative. Clairmont's story follows a series of burglaries from the shock of the victims through the investigative work of the detectives to the climactic arrest of the suspect. The result reads like a good, quick detective yarn. I think the genius of this story lies in how Clairmont recognized the human drama in these basic (and disgusting) crimes and went beyond the basic facts to create a narrative thread. Warning: For the second time in a week, I'm featuring a story that veers toward the scatological. It's a bit gross, I admit, and I'll try to clean up my act.
Do you know of any other crime stories that you'd like to recommend? If so, let us know about it in a comment.