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About The Book
New York Times bestselling author of Tinseltown and Bogart offers the first definitive account of the Black Dahlia murder—the most famous unsolved true crime case in American history.
The brutal murder of Elizabeth Short—better known as the Black Dahlia—in 1947 has been in the public consciousness for nearly eighty years, yet no serious study of the crime has ever been published.
Short has been mischaracterized as a wayward sex worker or vagabond, and—like the seductive femme fatales of film noir—responsible for and perhaps deserving of her fate. William J. Mann, however, is interested in the truth.
In his masterful, critically acclaimed biography, Mann humanizes Elizabeth Short like never before. Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as “a meticulous and thorough retelling, five years in the making, that resists the sensationalism of the infamous crime to restore dignity back to this young woman’s image,” The Black Dahlia is the definitive study about the most famous unsolved case in American history.
The brutal murder of Elizabeth Short—better known as the Black Dahlia—in 1947 has been in the public consciousness for nearly eighty years, yet no serious study of the crime has ever been published.
Short has been mischaracterized as a wayward sex worker or vagabond, and—like the seductive femme fatales of film noir—responsible for and perhaps deserving of her fate. William J. Mann, however, is interested in the truth.
In his masterful, critically acclaimed biography, Mann humanizes Elizabeth Short like never before. Hailed by the Los Angeles Times as “a meticulous and thorough retelling, five years in the making, that resists the sensationalism of the infamous crime to restore dignity back to this young woman’s image,” The Black Dahlia is the definitive study about the most famous unsolved case in American history.
About The Author
Photograph by William J. Mann
William J. Mann is a New York Times bestselling author of The Contender: The Story of Marlon Brando, for which he was granted access to Brando’s private estate archive, as well as Kate: The Woman Who Was Hepburn (named a Notable Book of the Year by the Times); Hello Gorgeous: Becoming Barbra Streisand (praised by USA Today for its “meticulous research and insightful analysis”); Edge of Midnight: The Life of John Schlesinger, for which he worked closely with the Oscar-winning director; and The Black Dahlia: Murder, Monsters, and Madness in Midcentury America. His book Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood won the Edgar Allan Poe Award. Mann is a professor of film and popular culture at Central Connecticut State University.
About The Reader
Product Details
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio (January 27, 2026)
- Runtime: 15 hours and 24 minutes
- ISBN13: 9781668118818
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Raves and Reviews
"This audiobook examines the 1947 murder and dismemberment of Elizabeth Short, known as the Black Dahlia, and shares new information. Narrator Michael Bower gives a deep-voiced, intense presentation that humanizes Short. He gently traces her youthful experiences in Hollywood that culminate in her death. Despite the growing list of suspects, Bower expresses author Mann’s frustrations as all are dismissed for lack of evidence. Listeners will appreciate the newscaster-style delivery, which is clear and distinct even as the number of suspects grows. The author states he intended to separate fact from fiction."
– —Kirkus
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