This is discouraging, if only because bad books and bad authors need to be called out for what and who they are — in the best interests of everyone. In my chosen field, true crime, credible journalists who write well-researched books are competing for sales — with a growing number of hacks who stitch together court transcripts, police reports, media accounts and maybe some Google searches and call it a day. The former books are rich in character, motivation, nuance and detail; the latter kind are less interested in getting to know people than in reveling in the forensic details of their crimes, without context or perspective. Some even make up details for dramatic effect.

My mentor, Jack Olsen (who died in 2002) was known as "The Dean Of True Crime" in his day and used his status and industry clout to call out the bottom-feeders. Nobody else has the stones or the security, it seems, to step in and take his place.

Now, having read this blog, I have another reason to want to succeed — so I can use my prominence as a pulpit to rail against and run out the legions of hacks that poison the pool for all of us.