Breaking Blue
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In 1935, the Spokane police regularly extorted sex, food, and money from the reluctant hobos (many of them displaced farmers who had fled the midwestern dust bowls), robbed dairies, and engaged in all manner of nefarious crimes, including murder. This history was suppressed until 1989, when former logger, Vietnam vet, and Spokane cop Tony Bamonte discovered a strange 1955 deathbed confession while researching a thesis on local law enforcement history. Bamonte began to probe what had every appearance of widespread police crime and a massive cover-up whose highlight was the unsolved murder of Town Marshall George Conff. The fact that many of those involved, now in their 80s and 90s, were still alive made it imperative that Bamonte unravel this mystery. The result is Breaking Blue, a white-knuckle ride through institutional corruption and cover-up that vividly documents Depression-era Spokane and an extraordinary case that few believed would ever be brought to light.
Liked Breaking Blue? Here’s where I’d start.
These suit anyone who liked Breaking Blue. Sign in and mark a few books for picks shaped around your own taste.
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The Last Good Heist: The Inside Story of the Biggest Single Payday in the Criminal History of the Northeast Shares nonfiction, true crime, history -
Big Trouble: A Murder in a Small Western Town Sets off a Struggle for the Soul of America Shares nonfiction, true crime, history -
Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34 Shares nonfiction, true crime, history -
The Most Evil Women in History Shares nonfiction, true crime, history
“People who read Breaking Blue tend to reach for these next.”
“If you want more of the same (history about mental health), start with these.”
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The Boy Who Shot the Sheriff: The Redemption of Herbert Niccolls Jr.
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Starvation Heights: A True Story of Murder and Malice in the Woods of the Pacific Northwest
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The Riverman: Ted Bundy and I Hunt for the Green River Killer
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The Challenge of Rainier: A Record of the Explorations and Ascents, Triumphs and Tragedies on One of North America's Greatest Mountains
