True Crime

The more I read Timothy Egan, the more I like him. The first book of his that I read was The Good Rain. I read it for a geography course in college. It was wonderful. I think sometime last year I read his National Book Award winning book The Worst Hard Time, about the Depression. A week ago, or so, I read Breaking Blue. I loved Breaking Blue and I definitely recommend it.

Breaking Blue is a story of dirty cops in Spokane during the Depression. One detective led a ring of dirty cops. They got in to all kinds of trouble to supplement their income during those hard times. Of course, there was the obvious bribery and free meals kind of thing that almost seems cliched now. They were also involved in real crime, including a black market butter business. Yeah, I know, the idea of butter on the black market sounds silly but, remember, it was the Depression. Hard times make for strange crimes. Anyway, in the process of stealing some butter from a Pend Oreille County creamery, the detective and his cronies killed the county sheriff.

This murder wasn't really a secret. The Spokane Police Department helped the detective keep his actions under wraps for more than 50 years. Finally, in 1989, a Pend Oreille County sheriff solved the case while working on his master's thesis. Justice wasn't ever really served because the perpetrators of the crime were either dead or almost dead. Still, the sheriff's family was glad to finally know the truth. History fans and true crime fans will really enjoy this fantastic story.