...A definitive S.F. true-crime book. —Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle, Sunday Datebook, May 16, 2021

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Bob Calhoun's The Murders That Made Us reveals that even the most violent aspects of San Francisco's history are as colorful and fascinating as the city itself. This is a book both for true crime buffs and any readers who enjoy top-notch storytelling. —Jeff Guinn, New York Times bestselling author of Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson and The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple

 

Whether culling obscure crimes from neighborhood police blotters or rehashing tragedies that made international news, Calhoun finds fresh angles to explore, making this essential reading for newcomers and lifers alike. The moral of this story? Wear flowers in your hair if you must—but carry mace.
—Alia Volz, Author of Home Baked: My Mom, Marijuana, and the Stoning of San Francisco

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Enjoy this book in short sips—there is much to savor here for both  true crime fans and lovers of San Francisco.  Hand this title to those who appreciated David Talbot’s Season of the Witch: Enchantment, Terror, and Deliverance in the City of Love.—Library Journal

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...What makes this book essential are cases that have rarely, if ever, found their way into books. The chapter on the Penny Bjorkland murder (for which Mr. Calhoun's mother was briefly suspected!!!) alone is worth the price. Toss in chapters on the never-captured Doodler, the River's Edge murder, the last TWO California lynchings, and shorter pieces on local hucksters, mobsters, suicide spots, and that enigmatic severed penis found on the train tracks in West Oakland and you have a book no true crime aficionado can live without.—John Marr, Murder Can Be Fun

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Calhoun's wry, slightly perverse wit applied to SF's truly spectacular history of homicides has produced an extremely diverting book.—Alvin Orloff, author of Disasterama! Adventures in the Queer Underground 1977-1997

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I couldn't put the book down once I started it! You can quote me.—Mike Royer, legendary DC, Marvel and Gold Key Comics artist known for The Eternals, Captain America, and The New Gods

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There are as many insightful and provocative moments in (The Murders That Made Us) as there are humorous and sarcastic ones. This is a balance not easily or often struck within the genre of true crime, and it makes Calhoun’s book a stand-out in the genre.—Jesyka Traynor, True Crime Index, May 14, 2021

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A must read for true crime fans and those of us not afraid to uncover more lurid or gruesome history of the city we love. Mr. Calhoun's conversational tone makes these cases fascinating, yet he is respectful, never sensationalistic.—Chris H., Books Inc. Marina