Black Dahlia Avenger

Black Dahlia Avenger

A Genius for Murder: The True StoryBy Hodel, Steve
Michael Caine
Listen with Sir Michael Caine™ and 1,000+ voices
Length18h 25m

About this audiobook

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! THIS NEW AND UPDATED EDITION FINALLY PROVES THE SHOCKING IDENTITY OF THE BLACK DAHLIA KILLER—AND THE POLICE CORRUPTION THAT CONCEALED IT FOR SO LONG In 1947, the brutal, sadistic murder of a beautiful young woman named Elizabeth Short led to the largest manhunt in LA history. The killer teased and taunted the police and public for weeks, but his identity stayed a mystery, and the murder remained the most tantalizing unsolved case of the last century. Steve Hodel, a retired LAPD detective, took up the case, reviewing the original evidence and records as well as those of a separate grand jury investigation into a series of murders of single women in LA at the time. The prime suspect had in fact been identified, but never indicted. Why? And who was he? In an account that will remind movie lovers of both LA Confidential and Zodiac, for the corruption it exposes and the insight it offers into a serial killer’s mind, Hodel demonstrates that there was a massive police cover-up. Even more shocking, he proves that the murderer, a true-life Jekyll and Hyde who was a highly respected member of society by day and a psychopathic killer by night, was his own father. This new and updated edition of the book includes an updated introduction from the author as well as new evidence and photographs to once and for all close the case on the Black Dahlia murder.

Audiobook details

Rating★★★★ 3.8 (8.4K)
Includes Goodreads, Amazon, LibraryThing, StoryGraph
GenreTrue Crime
Length18 hrs 25 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateFeb 17, 2015
LanguageEnglish

Table of contents

1Illustration Acknowledgments
21 The Biltmore
32 Jane Doe Number 1
43 A Death in the Family
54 A Voice from Beyond the Grave
Show all chapters
65 Dr. George Hill Hodel Jr., 1907–1999
76 George and Dorero
87 The Hollywood Scandal
98 Gypsies
109 Subic Bay
1110 Kiyo
1211 The Dahlia Witnesses
1312 The LAPD and the Press: The Joint Investigation
1413 The LAPD and the Press: The Avenger Mailings
1514 The “Red Lipstick” Murder
1615 Tamar, Joe Barrett, and Duncan Hodel
1716 Fred Sexton: “Suspect Number 2”
1817 LAPD Secrets and the Marquis de Sade
1918 Elizabeth Short’s “Missing Week”
2019 The Final Connections: Man Ray Thoughtprints
2120 The Franklin House Revisited
2221 The Watch, the Proof-Sheet Papers, the FBI Files, and the Voice
2322 Handwriting Analysis
2423 More 1940s L.A. Murdered Women Cases
2524 The Boomhower—Spangler Kidnap-Murders
2625 Sergeant Stoker, LAPD’s Gangster Squad, and the Abortion Ring
2726 George Hodel: Underworld Roots—The “Hinkies”
2828 The Grand Jury
2929 The Dahlia Myths
3030 The Dahlia Investigation, 2001–2002
3131 Forgotten Victims, 1940s: The Probables
3232 Forgotten Victims, 1950s: The Probables
3333 George Hodel–Elizabeth Short: Reconstructed Timeline
3434 Filing My Case with the District Attorney’s Office
35The Final Thoughtprint
36Epilogue
37The Aftermath (pt. 1)
38The Aftermath (pt. 2)
39New Investigation: Hard Evidence and Forensics (pt. 1)
40New Investigation: Hard Evidence and Forensics (pt. 2)
41Author’s Note: 2015 Edition494
42Bibliography
How to Escape from Prison
How to Escape from PrisonPaul Wood10h 29m4.5 (653)$29 · $0.00
A Thousand Miles From Care: A hunt for a brother's killer - a new compelling Australian true crime story about murder & corruption, WINNER of the Ned Kelly Awards Best True Crime 2025
A Thousand Miles From Care: A hunt for a brother's killer - a new compelling Australian true crime story about murder & corruption, WINNER of the Ned Kelly Awards Best True Crime 2025Steve Johnson10h 14m4.6 (242)$29 · $0.00
Killer Triggers
Killer TriggersJoe Kenda8h 31m4.4 (6K)$20 · $0.00
Boundless
BoundlessNick Kostov, Sean McLain9h 17m4.5 (1.1K)$29 · $0.00
Nine Lives
Nine LivesAimen Dean15h 23m4.4 (3.2K)$23
Deadly Force
Deadly ForceLawrence O'Donnell17h 18m4.5 (342)$40 · $0.00
Walking the Bowl
Walking the BowlChris Lockhart, Daniel Mulilo Chama9h 7m4.4 (1.5K)$29 · $0.00
Trial by Fire
Trial by FireScott James13h 31m4.4 (1.4K)$23
Papillon
PapillonHenri Charriere18h 19m4.3 (90.2K)$40 · $0.00
The Suspect
The SuspectKent Alexander, Kevin Salwen14h 12m4.4 (3K)$23 · $0.00
The Cause of Death
The Cause of DeathCynric Temple-Camp8h 59m4.4 (1.4K)$29 · $0.00
Gangland
GanglandJared Savage9h 21m4.4 (1.4K)$29 · $0.00
Riding with Evil
Riding with EvilKen Croke, Dave Wedge9h 42m4.3 (3.4K)$29 · $0.00
Raven 23
Raven 23Gina Keating8h 16m4.7 (55)$26 · $0.00
The Two FBIs
The Two FBIsNicole Parker10h 8m4.4 (499)$29 · $0.00
I Catch Killers
I Catch KillersGary Jubelin15h 32m4.3 (6.6K)$33 · $0.00
The Redemption Of Bobby Love
The Redemption Of Bobby LoveBobby Love, Cheryl Love9h 13m4.4 (956)$29 · $0.00
The Life We Chose
The Life We ChoseMatt Birkbeck8h 57m4.4 (1K)$29 · $0.00
The Truth About Aaron
The Truth About AaronJonathan Hernandez5h 15m4.3 (2.5K)$24 · $0.00
No Ordinary Bird
No Ordinary BirdArtis Henderson6h 23m4.4 (597)$24 · $0.00

You may also like