On November 8, 1965, millions of fans of “What’s My Line?” TV star, Pulitzer Prize nominated columnist, and crack investigative reporter Dorothy Kilgallen were shocked to learn of her mysterious death in her New York City townhome. The autopsy report indicated that she died of an acute ethanol and barbiturate overdose with undetermined circumstances. Despite an obviously staged death scene, no investigation followed. Friends and acquaintances felt she was murdered but were concerned about speaking up.
In The Reporter Who Knew Too Much, former Indianapolis resident and attorney Mark Shaw presents the entire story with new evidence about the death including never before released recorded interviews. This evidence provides new motives as to who might have killed her and why. Suspects include arch enemy Frank Sinatra, those threatened by her 18 month investigation into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and a “mystery man” connected to the Mafia who might have betrayed Kilgallen.
Kilgallen was a fine wordsmith who broke the “glass ceiling” in the world of investigative reporting by succeeding in a man’s world. A true Renaissance woman, Kilgallen was known as “The Most Powerful Voice in America.” She once wrote, “Justice is a big rug; when you pull it out from under one man, a lot of others fall too.” But, as Shaw reveals in his true crime who-done-it mystery, Kilgallen was denied justice. Until now.
As a direct result of reading Shaw’s The Reporter Who Knew Too Much, the New York District Attorney’s office has opened a new investigation into Kilgallen’s death.
Meet Mark Shaw at Bookmamas, 9 Johnson Avenue, on Wednesday, April 5 at 7 p.m.
