Death Becomes Them deals with the suicides of 20 brilliant people. We learn about the rise and demise of famous authors, artists, poets, rock stars.

Some of those profiled are Ernest Hemingway (self inflicted gunshot wound), Sylvia Plath (asphyxiation), Sigmund Freud (morphine overdose), Adolph Hitler (gun shot and cyanide poisoning), Virginia Woolf (drowning), Dorothy Dandridge (overdose), Vincent Van Gogh (gunshot), and Abbie Hoffman (overdose of barbiturates).

Each profile is well executed with details describing the intimate moments of these figures, bringing the characters' lives and deaths alive.

Also listed are possible suicides: Judy Garland, Elvis Presley, Jim Morrison...and also attempted suicides: Dorothy Parker, Brigette Bardot, Drew Barrymore, Maria Callas, Walt Disney.

The top three suicide methods (gunshot, suffocation, poisoning) are discussed, but so are the more bizarre.

This is a comprehensive, intriguing and fascinating read. Strauss has presented a compelling work of literary investigation. It is sad that so many who had so much to offer could find no way to fulfill that promise.