The Crime Novelist Who Wrote His Own Death

Eugene Izzi’s unpublished manuscript described a death almost exactly as his own. Did the writer predict his own demise, or was this all an elaborate, attention-getting ruse? [Image] [Image]( The Crime Novelist Who Wrote His Own Death Scene He was a powerfully built man, six feet tall and two hundred pounds, with thick, dark hair, a prominent nose, piercing eyes, and an intensity that electrified some people and intimidated others. On December 7, 1996, he committed suicide in a spectacular fashion, after leaving a trail of clues designed to lead the police and the public to conclude that he’d been murdered by an Indiana militia group. For a while, his colleagues in the midwestern chapter of the Mystery Writers of America—novelists whose minds run in winding channels of plots and conspiracies—bought into his fiction. Within hours after he’d been found hanging out the window of his fourteenth-floor office in Chicago’s Loop, they began issuing statements that Izzi, who had a reputation for taking risks to gather material for his novels, could not have died by his own hand. The ever-competitive Chicago media printed and broadcast these pronouncements, and soon Izzi’s death had become a whodunit, with all the melodramatic elements of the potboilers he wrote. Even Izzi’s closest friend, a man he called his brother, inadvertently fed the wild speculation: “There is no question that Guy [as Izzi’s friends called him] was in the midst of investigating certain individuals at the time of his death—that’s beyond dispute,” Andrew Vachss, a New York lawyer and a crime novelist in his own right, told the Chicago Sun-Times. “You don’t wrap yourself in a Kevlar vest and carry a handgun if you’re relaxed about the environment around you. He was completely sane and dedicated to his craft, which happened to mean digging up dirt.” Izzi was wearing a bulletproof vest when he died and had been carrying a .38-caliber revolver for weeks. The fully loaded gun was found on his office floor when Chicago police and firemen recovered his body. They also discovered other items in his trouser pockets and in the pockets of his blue winter overcoat: brass knuckles, a can of Mace, three computer diskettes, a couple of threatening notes containing the words danger and beware, and the transcript of a phone call that had been left on his voice mail. In the days before his death, Izzi had played the message for anyone whose ear he could grab. At least half a dozen people had heard the halting female voice say that Izzi’s infiltration of the Indiana militia had been discovered; he’d been tried by a kangaroo court and sentenced to die by “a flaming rope.” [Read the Full Story]( [Image] [Image]( 16 Aviator Sunglasses That'll Instantly Upgrade Your Warm-Weather Style Everyone looks cooler in [sunglasses](. That's just a fact of life. And while you could hunt down one of the many, many options on the market that might work for your [face]( and personal style, there's also an easy cheat code for folks who just want a guaranteed good thing: Buy a pair of aviators. They're as classic as they come, with almost century-long history, but they're far from dated. In fact, they've achieved that rare feat and become genuinely timeless. Start with any of the options on this list and you'll be in good shape. [Read the Full Story](  [Image]( These Bags Are Holding My Life Together at Home and On the Road "I’m inveterate overpacker,” writes Style Director Jonathan Evans. “No matter how well-edited I believe my stash of stuff for a weekend away is, it inevitably turns out to be between 30 and 50 percent too much. It is far from becoming a Big Life Problem, but it's a bit of a hassle nonetheless. I also have a lot of stuff. That's what comes from throwing a toddler (and all his stuff) into a Brooklyn apartment already stuffed with overcoats and knitwear and sneakers and jeans, the collections of each of which I just swear I'm going to properly thin down one day. These are my issues; yours may be entirely different. But after a year-plus stuck inside and shopping online, there's a decent chance you, too, are in need of some extra storage. Or maybe you just need a thoroughly trusty travel bag. Maybe both. Thankfully, [Bennett Winch's Cargo Range]( of extra-tough, extra-large bags is out there. And it's proven invaluable in keeping all my stuff in (relative) order at home and on the road.” [Read the Full Story]( [Image]( It's Time to Totally Reconsider the Classic Navy Blazer It’s a funny thing, the navy, gold-buttoned blazer. Once the pillar of sartorial correctness with a definite nod to the Anglo-Saxon, it signaled to certain people that, off-duty, you belonged often to a sporting club as obscure and impenetrable as the first few episodes of Twin Peaks: The Return. Then, everything—in fashion, at least—started to chill. In the past 20 years, things have eased to such a degree in America that even the dressiest clothes have all but lost their elitist signifiers, largely because we pretty much just stopped caring about them. But, at the same time, they’ve lost none of their charm in the interim. Key to inverting the trad blazer, however, is that it only really works if its provenance, its construction, and its proportions are proper in the actual old-school sense. Andy Warhol knew that when he danced in his at Studio 54, while Serge Gainsbourg was a past master at ruffling establishment feathers with his disheveled oui-oui-I-indeed-slept-in-le-hedge take on it. Like with the double-breasted version we are delighted to bring to you today from Ralph Lauren Purple Label, the devil is in the details. Once you’ve established that, then it’s all about the delivery. [Read the Full Story](  [Image]( The Best Movies of 2021 (So Far) Now that the [Academy Awards have (belatedly) handed out their golden statuettes]( to 2020’s finest, cinephiles can finally concentrate all of their attention on 2021, which to date has delivered a wealth of great fiction and [documentary features](. More excellence should be on the immediate horizon, thanks to the fact that theaters across the country are now ramping up their efforts to [reopen their doors in advance of the summer](. Led by Disney’s Cruella, Marvel’s Black Widow and [Universal’s Fast and the Furious 9](, a slew of aspiring blockbusters will soon aim to provide the industry with a potent shot in the arm (pun intended). That can only mean good things for the movies and for moviegoers, who are no doubt itching to return to their favorite multiplexes and art houses to experience these works as they were meant to be seen. Nonetheless, while that coveted future isn’t far off (fingers crossed!), there’s no reason to bemoan the present, since as our current selections for the best movies of 2021 confirm, there’s plenty to celebrate right now. [Read the Full Story]( [Image]( The 29 Best Books of 2021 (So Far) Spring at last. That means outdoor reading season is officially upon us. Whether you prefer to read in a hammock, on a park bench, or on a beach towel, there's nothing like enjoying a great book en plein air. If you're unsure what to pack in your day bag, we've got you covered. 2021 has so much to offer for your literary diet, meaning that even if you’re missing the normal rhythms of social life, you'll have plenty to keep your mind occupied. Our favorite books of the year thus far come from authors both emerging and established, meditating on everything from life online to life in the intersections of identity. Set everywhere from the all-too-real world to the distant past, and even peering into the speculative future, these books offer escape, education, and spiritual enlargement—whatever you’re looking for. Not all of these books have hit shelves yet, but if you see something you like, do yourself a favor and pre-order it. When it lands on your doorstep in mere weeks, consider it a gift from Past You—and don’t waste any time diving in. [Read the Full Story](  Follow Us       [Unsubscribe](  [Privacy Notice](  esquire.com ©2021 Hearst Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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