Recently--as I've noted--the NYT listed all fifty states, and then paired a true-crime classic with each of the states. I remain obsessed with this list. A few additional notes: * California is truly a star. The Times chose "American Heiress"--a wonderful Jeffrey Toobin story about Patty Hearst. Can't go wrong with that. (Great crime writing should have an aura of mystery--so it's as if you're looking at the Mona Lisa, wondering, exactly what is happening here? The unsolved mystery in "American Heiress": to what extent, if any, did Hearst really "convert" to the evil side, the side of her captors?) Fine, fine, fine. But I'd like to point out that Toobin's "The Run of His Life"--another California saga, a story of OJ Simpson, and one of the most gripping books I've ever read--could *also* win the California crime crown. Additionally, "I'll Be Gone in the Dark" would work: That's the recent tale of ...