Online - December 10, 2007

Stranger Than Fiction

True Crime Diary

“What? Stabler, that guy is so not your perp! Wake up and smell the precinct, dude!”

Frustrated by how much smarter you are than your TV? You’re not alone.

L.A. screenwriter Michelle McNamara got so tired of subpar crime reporting that she created True Crime Diary, a compulsively readable website devoted to smartly written true-crime stories, many unsolved, that have escaped the attention of the Natalee-obsessed news networks.

McNamara combines police reports with her own research and reader comments to create a true crime-lover’s dream. And it’s not just amateurs who have noticed: Numerous police departments are using her as a resource, and her investigations have landed her in the pages of the Los Angeles Times.

So give it a read — and feel free to share your thoughts. McNamara is very receptive to feedback.

Which is more than we can say for your flat-screen.

Available online at truecrimediary.com.