Tacoma Confidential: A True Story of Murder, Suicide, and a Police Chief's Secret Life (48 Hours Mystery) | 
|  | | | Title: | Tacoma Confidential: A True Story of Murder, Suicide, and a Police Chief's Secret Life (48 Hours Mystery) | | Author: | Paul LaRosa | | Publisher: | Signet | | Type: | Book / Paperback | | Publication Date: | 03 January, 2006 | | ISBN / ISBN-13: | 0451217268 / 9780451217264 | | List Price: | $7.99 | | Amazon Price: | $7.99 | |
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| Editorial Review / Publisher's Information:
Product Description
Gig Harbor, Washington, a quiet Tacoma suburb, knew little of tragedy and scandal-until April 26, 2003. On that day, David Brame, distraught over his impending divorce, shot his wife to death in a busy public parking lot. Then, with the couple's two children only feet away, he turned the gun on himself. It was a horrific event, but Tacoma residents had special reason to be shocked. Brame was, after all, the chief of police.
But as the investigation unfolded, a bizarre and depraved side of Brame and his marriage came to light. Here, in chilling detail, is the full story of one of Gig Harbor's most violent and disturbing crimes.
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Customer Reviews:
• A Must-read True Crime Tale 20 September, 2007
Paul LaRosa, talented writer and excellent researcher, makes great use of both talents in 'Tacoma Confidential'.
Fairly presented without bias, LaRosa's detailed and insightful look into the tragic outcome of the troubled marriage of a dangerously flawed police chief and its impact on a major U.S. city is a riveting story that will keep the reader turning the pages at a furious pace.
The disintegration of a marriage and of the mind of a law enforcement officer is chronicled in such fine detail one has the sensation of actually 'being there' as the story unfolds. Despite never having met the major victims of this crime, the author's highly-honed research skills and evenhanded writing allow the reader to become intimately familiar with Chief David Brame and his wife, Crystal, and their families and acquaintances.
That Mr. LaRosa did ultimately meet so many others involved and their willingness to share such a wealth of personal information is certainly a credit to his ability to convey understanding and compassion. The same traits were excellently utilized to document this tragedy in an absorbing and compelling manner.
True writing skill prevents the far-reaching political implications of this case, both citywide and within the police department, from becoming muddled, confusing or boring. Instead, they are recognized as mind-boggling, somewhat amazing, and certainly always thoroughly interesting.
There was a moment of confusion for me when the author injected his personal input into the story via 'first-person' writing. Many writers accomplish this with irritating and insulting heavy handed innuendo that severely colors the facts. An astute reader recognizes immediately the efforts to force the reader to accept the writer's beliefs. The refreshing openness of this author's writing style; presenting the facts and trusting the reader to reach their own conclusion, certainly makes for a more enjoyable reading experience.
True true-crime fans are well aware of how this genre has fallen prey to a bevy of poor writers publishing weak books that read like sleazy dime-store novels. Readers have to continually be on their toes to search out first-class, well-written, great reads. If any of you fans missed this one, you need to remedy that mistake straight away because.....
'Tacoma Confidential Is A Winner'!
- Reviewed by customer ID: A3INMIZIYJ9BQ4
• Horrible 23 August, 2007
I'm surprised (shocked, actually) this book has received so many good reviews on Amazon. I found it horrible. It contains many contradictions -- for example, on one page LaRosa says every single journalist criticized the bartender-blogger who broke the case, and a few pages later, he quotes an editor complementing the same guy--, in lieu of facts he provides he says/she says ("Crystal said she only got $100 every two weeks, David's family says she got much more" -- well, who is telling the truth? Isn't LaRosa's job to find out and tell us?) and his writing is mediocre at best. I have read very few true-crime books in my life, but if this is one of the better ones, then the genre sucks.
- Reviewed by customer ID: ADW1HTWOHWSBH
• What's The Big Deal? 12 September, 2007
The big secret life of the Chief of Police is simply not that interesting. It is very difficult to care about the victims. The wife is a spoiled brat and the husband is a retarded lech. These people were raising damaged children further traumatized by this violent, selfish turn of events. The parents do get high marks for lousy parenting. If you want to learn how not to behave, buy this book.
The writing is average and redundant. It is clear that much "filler" was put in to make it a full book. The author simply should have chosen a more interesting subject. On the surface, I can imagine he thought it was. A closer look is just another pathetic ugly divorce.
- Reviewed by customer ID: AUK9BH35CQ4G7
• The Darker Side Of Those Sworn To Serve & Protect 24 August, 2007
I really should learn to never judge a book by it's cover...but that is what I did with this book for many months. The cover, the title, they just didn't grab my attention. But once I opened the book and started reading...it had my fullest attention.
Paul LaRosa does an excellent job of relaying the story of Tacoma Police Chief David Brame who, in 2006, shot his estranged wife in a RiteAid parking lot before turning the gun on himself. And, sadly enough, this occured while the couple's children were just a few feet away.
This book is a riveting tale of sex, scandals, and attempted cover-up by many of Tacoma's high ranking officials. It is a definite must read for any true crime fan!
- Reviewed by customer ID: A1X8BQQGCEHQ1V
• Excellent True Crime 24 September, 2007
So many reviews of TACOMA CONFIDENTIAL, almost all of them positive, have already been posted, that I normally would not write another one. But I believe that Paul LaRosa has created a true crime book that is so outstanding that I feel the need to pile on. The subject of the book, the pending divorce between David Brame, the Tacoma, WA, Chief of Police and his wife Crystal - and the tragic outcome - is interesting and must have given Tacoma residents gossip material for months. But what elevates the book to the top echelon of true crime is the outstanding work by Mr. LaRosa.
TACOMA CONFIDENTIAL is written reportorially, straight-forwardly, and without the melodrama to which this story would readily lend itself in the hands of a lazy or less-competent writer. The research is remarkably thorough, and the reader has a sense, due to LaRosa's powerful narrative, of being at the center of the Tacoma Police Department's maelstrom of innuendo, sorrow, disavowance of responsibility, and just great gossip.
The most impressive single aspect of LaRosa's work, however, is his even-handedness. David Brame was apparently a cold, selfish, manipulative, and abusive man; and Crystal, while seemingly a nicer and more pleasant person than David, had her own share of negatives, coming across as compulsive, mildly hysterical, and as one of those people who shares their life's most personal details with strangers who probably would rather not hear them. La Rosa presents both of the Brames, warts and all -and there are plenty of warts - in a non-biased fashion, letting the reader come to his own conclusions.
This is excellent true crime, and I thank my friend in Lubbock for recommending it to me.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A1CNXVJ4KWIOTY
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