Crime Stories: The First Six Episodes

This Canadian made-for-TV series is something of a real-life Law & Order, serving up stories that are every bit as fascinating as anything a fiction writer might dream up. These six 2004 episodes from Crime Stories depict—in painstaking detail—the efforts of police investigators and prosecutors to apprehend and convict perpetrators of heinous crimes. Scripter Colin McNeil knows how to imbue these authentic case studies with drama and suspense, and some of the investigations presented here are more bizarre than anything a Hollywood screenwriter could invent. “The Killer Handyman,” for example, describes how serial rapist/murderer William Fyfe managed to elude police for nearly 20 years, only to be tripped up by one simple mistake, while in “The .22 Caliber Killer,” Ronald West, the slayer of two suburban housewives, is brought to justice following the processing of DNA evidence—30 years after the crimes were committed! Also featuring episodes on Allan Legere (“The Monster of the Miramichi”), Terry Driver (“The Abbotsford Killer”), David Snow (“The House Hermit”), and Douglas Worth (“The Pictou Sadist”), Crime Stories is sure to appeal to fans of police-procedural shows like the various L&O and CSI spinoffs. Recommended. (E. Hulse)