Book Review: Finding Judge Crater by Stephen J. Riegel

“On the night of August 6, 1930, Joseph Force Crater, a newly appointed judge and prominent figure in many circles of Manhattan, hailed a taxi in the heart of Broadway and vanished into thin air. Despite a decades-long international manhunt led by the New York Police Department’s esteemed Missing Persons Bureau, the reason for Crater’s disappearance remains a confounding mystery…”

Goodreads blurb for Finding Judge Crater

Review:

I somehow had never heard of Judge Crater until recently, at least not consciously. After watching the History’s Greatest Mysteries episode on his disappearance, I immediately started looking up books. Surprisingly, I didn’t find many (at least on Audible). 

How does a prominent New York City judge get into a cab and disappear? Where did he go? Decades later, there’s still no answer. This book serves as both a biography of the life of Judge Joseph Crater and a speculation on the most probable theories. Intertwined is the culture of New York City elites of the era. 

Although the book did tend to drift into other topics and people, it succeeded in painting a vivid portrait of the time. It also presented the popular theories well, each example sounding more plausible than the last. It will be interesting to see if the case will ever be resolved. 

Likes & Dislikes:

What I liked:

• Paid good attention to details and created a vivid picture of the time and place.
• Open-minded. The author didn’t lock into one theory and dismiss the rest.

What I didn’t like:

• There was a large section of the book where there felt like little to no mention of Judge Crater, and I began to wonder if it was changing gears. Fortunately, it eventually refocused on Crater.

Afterthoughts:

If anyone has any, I would love book recommendations for further reading!

Where to buy the book: