2 comments about Playing With Fire: The True Story of a Nurse, Her Husband, and a Marriage Turned Fatal.

1. John Glatt has written another intriguing true crime book. Shelly Michael is possibly the most calculating killer that I've ever read about and she almost got away with it! This excellent page turner kept me up several nights as I followed the riveting investigation by arson detectives that finally lead to her downfall. I highly recommend this book.



2. which makes a nice change, as so many are horribly written with terrible grammar, etc...and the story is well-told as well.
   There is a lot more to the story than was seen in 48 Hrs or other such shows. Adultry, divorce, child beating, pre-marital pregnancies...and these just refer to the victim and the convicted killer. Jimmy Michaels is portrayed as a religious zealot, which is apparently the norm in W. Va.; yet he marries Michelle after cheating on his wife (who he married when she became pregnant) after leaving his wife and children...and Michelle does the same, leaving her husband. So lots of hypocrisy in this tale, though Jimmy is certainly an innocent victim as Michelle plots to be rid of him when his new business isn't generating the kind of money/lifestyle she had anticipated and when her new lover, a friend of her husband, is more exciting than her overweight hubby. She is constantly touted as having an uncommonly high IQ, yet she never thought that a large hospital would have security cameras to pick her out as she fled for home to restart the fire; didn't think that an autopsy might be done, and lied and lied to police.
   One thing about this town (Morgantown, W. VA) if the author is telling it accurately is that it seems nearly every citizen could not wait to rush to police HQ to tell their tales of Shelly Michaels, what a horrible person she is, how terrible the marraige was, etc...friends, family and strangers seemed to make a beeline to get their two cents in. Even if she was innocent I think she would have been convicted. And every other person in town was related to chief of police or mayor or fire chief, etc...would hate to get in trouble in this town where everyone claims to know your business and can't wait to tell it.
   But that said, very hard to have any sympathy for Michelle Michael. Usual claim of abuse as a child that we always hear once someone is in trouble. But really, she is simply mercenary, did not want to work although she wanted to be seen as highly educated and was. But working in a job required having to deal with someone telling you what to do and this she could not endure.

5 comments about In Cold Blood.

1. Truman Capote 9/30/24 to 8/25/84 author
   
   Herb Clutter 48yrs old--Kenyon 15yrs old,
   Nancy 16 and Bonnie 45yrs old.-Victims
   
   Perry Smith and Dick Hickcock-killers. Hanged.
   Dreadful excuses for human beings.
   
   In 1959 parolees Perry and Dick killed the Clutters on their
   Kansas farm. It was brutal and would shock the nation.
   
   Truman Capote spent 4 yrs gathering information on the case
   and would become close to the killers. Some say too close.
   It is whispered that he had an affair with Perry.
   
   Truman says the book is the TRUE STORY but much of it
   has been fictionalized. No mater what..it is an excellent book
   and made history.
   
   Truman was at the height of his writing powers at this time.
   After wards he went into decline. Drugs and Liquor. The book
   sold 6 million copies. Published 1965.
   
   The book is a must read and it is a must for your true crime
   library. I have had several copies over the years and have
   lent them out and never get them back so I keep buying it
   over and over again. The price is so good on Amazon that I
   can afford to do it.
   
   This last book I bought has no pictures. I am sure that books
   I have had before have had photos. I have a bio of Truman
   and there are KS photos in it.



2. After seeing the movie i wanted to read the book. Thought it was a great pair. Loved the book and his work!



3. Seeing the film 'Capote' on a plane triggered the book's purchase. I had never before read anything by him.
   
   There are over 450 reviews of 'In Cold Blood' on Amazon, the great majority of which are positive.
   
   However those who dislike it have a number of complaints. Either it's no more than a liberal's campaigning tract against the death penalty or is deformed by Capote's affection for / identification with one the of the killers, Perry Smith. (The film makes much of Capote's connection to Smith but the book doesn't support this interpretation). Others find its narrative descriptions far too meticulous and detailed to the point of dullness.
   
   None of these criticisms sticks.
   
   It's a fine book which reports a tragedy in plain, almost astringent, English.
   Capote describes each of the principal characters - victims, killers, investigators, even Kansas itself - with great care, thereby allowing us to understand each of them thoroughly. The events are described carefully and without hyperbole. Nothing is glamourised or magnified. Moral judgement is left to the reader.
   
   Because he interviewed the killers their voices and stories come through powerfully. This is not bias. We can't know why Herb Clutter did not react aggressively when Hickock and Smith entered his home on the night of the murders. Capote could not ask him. But he could ask Smith why he did it. If there is pathos it is for Smith's miserable life not for his crimes.
   
   Capote has written a moving book about a terrible subject, a tragedy. He did so as a reporter, not as a campaigner, with his opinions and emotions in check. The result is a great book.



4. In Cold Blood has to be one of the most vivid books I have ever read. You can literally picture the whole book like a movie because of the details and amount of information given. It is a gripping story, made that much more so because it is factual. I found the more I learned about the Clutter case from research, along with watching Capote, I liked this book more. It is amazing how much fact Capote was able to use to make a book that reads like a novel. In Cold Blood felt very epic to me. I have never read anything like it. I was taken over by the story. I knew how it ended and basically many things about the case; that didn't change or effect anything about how great this book was. It is not a book written for shocks or for gore. It lays out facts and gives stories and accounts of what happened.
   
   This is not the type of book where you relate to the characters, so if you're looking for something relatable I would not recommend this. Or if you hate gore you probably should avoid this, as it lays out the bloody facts of multiple murders. The beginning and very end are a little slow, but they are worth it because they give In Cold Blood a strong start and finish. If you find the first few pages boring definitely keep reading.



5. In Cold Blood Review
   
   By Sagaree Jain
   
   It was the title that first attracted me to In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote. It made me think of murder and intrigue and dank prison walls.
   In Cold Blood.
   At first, there was no blood anywhere. The book starts off slow, painfully rehashing each detail of the Clutter families lives in little Holcomb, Kansas and heavily foreshadowing that the happy, average family would die. Right on the cover the book, Capote told the reader. "The true story of a multiple murder and its consequences," it said.
   The explosive end of the Clutter family's day was predictable, but still satisfactorily shocking. Each Clutter died with a shotgun against their head, and the story began.
   Capote wove a well researched tale of the two criminals, Dick Hickock and Perry Smith, and their mad trip across the country, into Mexico, and then into the clutches of the law enforcement. He wrote of the detectives story, the estate sale, the combined grief of Holcomb, everything from individual prison cells to the audience at the trial. From 8,000 pages of notes, Capote draws 343 pages of focused information. He is carefully aware of the possible dryness of his nonfiction, punctuating his story with eyewitness accounts and playful or quirky scenes.
   But above all the miscellany and details, one character becomes the story. Perry Smith, the abused, disturbed murderer, is the subject of at least 30 pages of character development. Perry is the opposite of cold. From a childhood of neglect and bitterness, he becomes strange contradiction. From different perspectives, he is scary, polite, pretentious, and, as described in a 3 page long report, psychologically fractured. Capote tells his life story, starting all the way back from when his parents messy separation left him with no money or education.
   As Perry sits in a cell being character developed, the book also follows the storyline of the trial and eventual conviction. There is no suspense, not even a vague wondering about the outcome, but the beauty of Capote's storyline is in the telling. He has that quality common in classics, where each sentence is not crafted to propel you to the next one, but to be a beauty in itself, to provide insight and new feeling into a tale that is going to be read for years and years to come.
   And it has been years and years. The Clutter family was murdered 1959, over 50 years ago, but the theme of criminal psychology is still very relevant. Perry Smith could be the man you heard about in Ohio a few months ago, or the newest criminal on Texas's death row. Capote doesn't truly write about the murder, he writes about the murderer.
   When the trap door falls and Perry breaks his neck, no one can help feeling something. Even murderers feel, and these murderers were ones we grew to know, love, and hate in almost equal quantities. Even murderers don't deserve to die in cold blood.

5 comments about The Darkest Night: Two Sisters, a Brutal Murder, and the Loss of Innocence in a Small Town.

1. I read so many true crime books and consider myself a true crime addict. Most are ok books but a bit boring. This books kept me enthralled. It is written with warmth and consideration of the two girls who were brutalized. I think this book is one of the best books I have read in my many years of reading true crime books. I will definately keep an eye on this author. Jacki Warren in Albany, OR



2. Loved it, prompt, fast service and notified of tracking of book.
   Would use this seller again.



3. When someone who doesn't read true crime asks me why I'm devoted to a genre made up of quickie exploitation tales about serial killers I point them in the direction of one of the classics. Like any genre true crime has bad books, good books and some that are truly great which not only transcend the genre, they ennoble it. The Darkest Night has become one of those books that I recommend to anyone who thinks true crime is a wasteland.
   
   The story itself is haunting. Two young sisters are kidnapped and thrown off the Fremont Canyon Bridge. One is killed instantly but the other survives to bring her attackers to justice. The survivor never entirely escapes that horrible night though. It must be counted among whatever small good fortune Amy Burridge and Becky Thomson could claim that Ron Franscell is the writer who told their story.
   
   Franscell is simply an excellent writer. His four page description of what it was like to grow up in Caspar Wyoming is reason enough to buy this book. The empathy and compassion with which he tells Amy and Becky's story balances perfectly with his clear, reportorial style. Somehow Franscell manages to extend his compassion to the lowlifes, Ronald Kennedy and Jerry Jenkins, responsible for the crime. He tells their story as completely and honestly as he tells of their victims. The contrast between the bleak lives that created such pathetic monsters as Kennedy and Jenkins with the ordinary and seemingly safe lives of their victims is all the more breathtaking for taking place in the same town.
   
   Easily one best true crime books of the last decade. Highly recommended to all and essential reading for true crime fans. A big thanks to Dan Bogaty for pointing me to this great book.
   
   Note: Also published as Fall: The Rape and Murder of Innocence in a Small Town.



4. (Originally published at Basil & Spice online)
   
   By Wyoming standards, the horrifying 1973 murder of 11-year-old Amy Burridge and the rape of her older half-sister still looms as a contender for crime of the century. As a subject for traditional, in-depth true-crime treatment, however, the case pales beside more complex and gruesome events. It remained a mysterious "who-dunnit?" for just eight hours and the resulting trial unfolded as a slam-dunk conviction complicated only by a half-baked, desperate attempt at an insanity plea in which the defense doctors even failed to declare the defendant insane.
   
   In the hands of Texas journalist Ron Franscell, however, this case transcends the true crime genre to become a powerful exploration of good, bad and ugly. In The Darkest Night, Franscell nails the good of the two sisters, the bad of two criminals and takes a stab at the hardest part of the literary equation: the ugly that is easy to see but hard to explain. He delivers two kinds of ugly: the tragic ugly of a girl who died twice and the pathetic ugly of her tormentor's disgusting survival. The result is a book that deserves its awards and stellar reviews.
   
   The girl who died twice was Burridge's 18-year-old sister, Becky Thomson. The two girls were kidnapped from a Casper convenience store by a pair of local punks, Jerry Jenkins and Ronald Kennedy, who took them to a spot near the Fremont Canyon Bridge. After tossing Burridge over the bridge into the North Platte River to her death 100 feet below, they raped Thomson and pitched her over the rails as well. Although Thomson survived to identify her rapists and send them to prison, she never recovered from the emotional shock of the event and committed suicide 19 years later by leaping from the bridge at the same spot.
   
   Franscell paints a stark contrast between the guilt-wracked post-crime life of Thomson as a victim and the unrepentant existence of the rapists, particularly Kennedy, who became a trusty, enjoyed conjugal visits and even penned a ludicrous, cowardly memoir accusing Thomson of stalking him. Although obviously a fairy tale about his youth as a legendary pre-teen reincarnation of both Robin Hood and Lothario in 1950s Casper, Kennedy's memoir actually sheds more light on the mental state of a psychopath than a dozen psychiatric reports could do. Franscell offers a literary MRI of Kennedy's twisted brain by summarizing the memoir while dodging the temptation for editorial pot shots. He recognizes that some jokes require no punchline. Franscell even goes the extra mile by investigating some of Kennedy's outrageous historical claims, providing a few flakes of fact that add more perspective to Kennedy's blizzard of bull.
   
   Although he now lives in Texas, Franscell is able to add another dimension to his narrative from the perspective of his past--growing up in Casper at the time of the crime. He had no direct involvement but still manages to inject a personal perspective without overreaching to give the reader an insider feel for the events. He describes the book as a memoir of his personal quest for understanding what had been an influential episode in his development.
   
   In the end, of course, Franscell finds no complete answer to the question of evil's origins. But The Darkest Night does provide an entertaining and thought-provoking portrait of his search.



5. There is no doubt whatsoever: "The Darkest Night" is one of the saddest, grimmest tales this reviewer has ever read. Set in Casper, Wyoming it deals with an horrific 1973 crime. Two girls were lured from a parking lot by a pair of quiffs who promised to help fix their flat tire. Driven to a remote canyon, both are thrown over a bridge into a canyon, one after being raped. Amy, the younger lady, is killed. Becky, the eldest, survives and "The Darkest Night" becomes her story. Becky pulls herself-somehow-out of the abyss alive! Readers may anticipate that poor Becky will survive her ordeal. One has to root for such an obviously nice and plucky young lady. Since a good review should not divulge resolutions, this one won't. But the resolution is not pretty, it fact it almost drove this reviewer to tears! This is a tough one, bordering on horrifying.
   
   Author Francell deserves credit for doing his homework. He absolutely researched this crime as well as any author before him. But, it says here, he got way too close to Mr. Kennedy, the prime perp. Far too much of the story, herein is Kennedy's and not that of Amy or Becky. Also, much of Kennedy's "biography" is fictional. It's unknown if the publisher required filler or not, but the net effect is to downgrade a rating for DN by at least a star. This reviewer has referred to the "Ann Rule Rule" is previous posts. It is absolutely in effect. The back cover reveals manifestly too much, as do the centerfold photos. Skip over those! That stated, this is first rate, heart tugging true crime. Becky is the queen of undeserving victims. A final note: Many true crime tales encompass local color into the story line. Not here! Wyoming is portrayed as a stark, brooding, dark and hostile place. That only adds to the general fog of gloom that pervades "The Darkest Night". For all the foregoing, DN is still recommended for the stout of heart.

2 comments about Death Trap.

1. I read a lot of books, including true crime, but I have never read a book that gave me the chills the way this did. This book is about good versus evil. Alan Bates loved his children, and they were his first priority. Jessica Mc Cord, willingly and knowingly used her children as pawns. Terra Bates was willing to stand behind her husband, as he attempted to do what was in the best interest of his children. I am left with a feeling that our court system played a large role in the deaths of 2 wonderful people, Alan and Terra Bates. The courts gave Jessica too many chances to right wrongs, and by doing so, she continually was in the driver's seat. Jeff Mc Cord was a man who had sworn to protect and defend, yet he failed. Jeff's stupidity is astonishing. Jessica used everyone in her life. Some people are incapable of love, and I fully believe Jessica Mc Cord is one such person. This is a very interesting book, yet one of the saddest book's I have ever read.



2. There are some crimes that you hear about and they are so evil and disturbing that you can't stop thinking about them. What happened to Tera and Allan is one of those crimes. I found myself wishing I could go back in time and change what happened. M. William Phelps is one of my favorite true crime authors and as usual he did a super job with this one. It was hard to put down and hard to read(because it was so sad) at the same time. I have read a lot of true crime books, but never have I thought of writing a "hate letter" to the killer. Jessica is the most heartless cruel person that there could possibly be. She probably will never understand that though. She is probably sitting in prison right now, fuming over how it is someone else's fault that she is there. I don't know how someone could like with themselves after doing what she and Jeff did. My heart goes out to the Bates family and to tera's family. I am so sorry this terrible thing happened to them. They both sound like they were beautiful people.

5 comments about Monster.

1. The plot in monster is clear and believable, what makes it clear and believable is that the plot is easy to follow and the situation could happen in real life. I believe that the story does start too soon it should start a little before the robbery and the kidnapping so that we can have some background information on all the characters. There was enough information about the robbery itself, but there could have been more background information on the characters. Steve did resolve all his conflicts in that he was found not guilty and gets to live out his youth and not spend it in jail. The subplots advance the story in giving us background information about story and the robbery itself.
   Yes the pacing match of the story fit the genre of the story. The story moved at a good speed for me. The story does hold my attention it was hard to put the book down while reading it.
   The story Monster does bring me to the court room where they are while reading it. The description of the settings just unfolds as story unfolds. The actions and vocabulary of the characters in the book Monster fit the time period and the type of setting that they were in. The order of events is not consistent though out the book they keep going back and forth from present to past.
   The characters seem real in the book, they do have some stereotyping in there but I don't think that was what they were based on. I think that they were made to be real people not just stereotypes. We don't really get the background of most the characters, the ones we do get are small bits and pieces.Yes, Steve does change though out the story. He changes in a good direction neer the end of the book which is better than him changing in the bad direction. The characters actions are for the most part consistent, because the book takes place over only a week. The only characters actions that I would say have changed would have to be Steve's when he is released from jail he is a better person, because of the time he did spend in jail. Yes, Steve does change though out the story. He changes in a good direction neer the end of the book which is better than him changing in the bad direction. We don't really get the background of most the characters, the ones we do get are small bits and pieces.
   Yes, the language of the story matches the time frame of the story nicely. Yes, the dialogue matches very good with the conflict in the novel. Yes, every character does have a different pattern of speech, they are all from different parts of the city so there dialogue would be different. There is little to no profanity used in the book at all. No heavy accents or other dialogue issues that were in the book.
   The novel stays with Steve's point of view as if he was seeing it as a movie, so the n



2. 
   
   FADE IN:
   
   INT. JAIL CELL - DAY
   
   STEVE HARMON, 16, a young, black boy on trial for felony murder, sits with his pencil between his fingers writing a screenplay titled MONSTER.
   
   The plot of the novel Monster, written by Walter Dean Myers is about Steve Harmon, a young, black, boy on trial for felony murder. An interesting part of the book is that it's written like a script, except when it's Steve's notes, which is his point of view of how his case is going. I feel that the plot is clear and believable. Right from the start of the book, you get an idea of how the rest of the book will be, which is very slow moving. The story starts right when the case begins, which I think is a perfect starting point for the novel. The story ends with the verdict. The author used flashbacks before and after the robbery and murder to show details of the crime and background on Steve's life. There were no real subplots in the book, the story focused on Steve's case and Steve's life in prison during his trial. In addition, I think the pacing of the book is perfect. The story maintained my attention, and it moves nice and slow, adding drama and suspense, which is perfect because Monster is a dramatic novel. Moving on to the setting of the novel, I was made to feel like I was sitting in a courtroom on a hot July day. The descriptions of the setting gave me a good idea about where the story took place. The author does a great job keeping the dialogue authentic and order of events consistent. The characters from the projects talk like they are from the projects and the lawyers know lawyer lingo. Furthermore, characterization plays a key role in the novel Monster. The characters actions make the book more believable without promoting stereotypes. Both young kids in the projects and white lawyers really do act like that in real life, like how they are portrayed in the novel. Steve learns a bit more about society, the government, and racism throughout the story. Most of the time during the novel a character's background is given all at once. Another important part of Monster is the dialogue. All of the dialogue takes place in the form of characters lines in a script, which I feel engages the reader even more. The novel doesn't tell you when it takes place but you get the idea that it takes place in the present, and all of the language is correct with a present time frame. One character in particular, Osvaldo Cruz might have a bit of a heavy New York accent, but that definitely works with his character. Every character displays their own unique emotions and pattern of speech. Some characters feel differently than others and act differently than others would. I think there is a diverse bunch of characters with their own sense of being. The dialogue matches the conflicts and intensity of the novel. Everyone is nervous and anxious to see Steve's verdict whether he is guilty or not. Finally, the novel is written with two points of view. When the novel is written like a script, it's in third person, but when you are reading Steve's notes, the book is written in Steve's point of view, which is first person. Overall, the novel Monster is a great novel which enlightened me about racism within the criminal justice system.
   
   FADE TO BLACK:



3. The book, Monster by Walter Dean Myers is a book about a sixteen-year-old boy on trial for murder. It is written in a combination of journal entries and movie scrip format. The boy, Steve, is struggling to find the answers to the questions he ponders in the jail cell about what "being guilty" truly means.
   The plot is told partially from Steve's journal entries which are windows into his mind and thoughts. The rest is told in a movie script format. It is not always clear because the movie jumps from scene to scene. There is constant symbolism that Steve uses and it is sometimes difficult to follow. Also, because the reader has to act as the jury to decide whether or not Steve is guilty there is very little information on the crime that Steve gives himself. All the reader knows is what the witnesses say and because most of the witnesses are criminals, it is difficult to know whether or not they are lying. More information in this area would have benefited the story and plot. The plot is crafted very well, however, despite any flaws and it truly draws the reader in from the very beginning. The reader gets attached to Steve and, from the very beginning, needs to know what the verdict will be.
   The book is quickly paced, perhaps at times too quickly paced which can lead to confusion on the reader's part but it draws the reader in and leaves them hanging on to every word, and unable to put it down until the very end. The pace matches the plot of the story which is a beneficial aspect and it moves through the court case quickly so the reader does not become bored with the constant questioning of witnesses and court procedure. Walter Dean Myers does not linger on unimportant details that would slow the pacing of the novel and possibly bore the reader.
   The prison the setting contributes to the dramatic effect of the novel the most of all the different settings. The reader gets a look into the lives of those in prison and witness things, through the movie script and the journal entries, that they may not want to witness but which are reality. By using this setting Myers explains the desperation that Steve experiences because it shows what he has to go through on a regular basis. If Steve was content with where he was then the story would have a very different feel. It is the desperation that he experiences that makes the story so intense. The setting helps that novel greatly. Because the reader is like the jury only bits and pieces of information are given at a time, through the witnesses, there is not a sudden large amount of information that is given at any point in the book. This is a good thing because the story in itself can get confusing and if there was an onslaught on information it could leave the reader very confused. This way of giving information is good because it keeps the reader's attention but also lets them think about new information before having to process more. Further more the "jury" method that Myers uses makes a very interesting and entertaining read. Myers is consistent with the time period setting throughout the novel besides flashbacks and so this makes the book a bit easier to follow.
   Most of the characters that Myers created are realistic. Steve, for example, for the most part doesn't go along with the stereotypes generally associated with the group of people that he is associated with. All the characters are consistent in their actions throughout the book which also leads to more realistic characters. One weak point with the characters is that you get into no one's head but Steve's. If the story was from more then one point of view then the reader would gain a more in-depth understanding of the characters.
   The dialogue in the story is consistent with the setting. The gang members use their "hood lingo" and the judge and lawyers use a more formal speech. This is consistent with the setting because, in life that is most likely how those two groups of people would speak. There is not too much profanity which could offend readers and there are not heavy accents which could be confusing to decipher. The dialogue matches the conflicts and the characters of the story.
   Because of the point of view of the novel the reader gets the information in bits and pieces. This can be a good thing and a bad thing. Because the setting of the novel jumps around a bit having the point of view stay the same is beneficial because this way the reader always knows who is talking. Another good point is that this way you do not have a biased opinion of everything. Because you do not know any of the character's reactions to the courtroom proceedings you make your own opinions and are not affected by the opinions of the narrator. It is a bad thing because this way you only get inside the head of one person and so you do not truly understand the motivations and thoughts of the other characters. There is also a reason why the point of view is not beneficial to the story, because the reader does not process the information through a narrator it could be easy to become confused. When you are processing information with another, even if that other is simply a character it is helpful because they may be able to assist the reader in processing information by having their own thoughts revealed to the person reading the novel.



4. Monster, by Walter Dean Myers, is an incredibly captivating novel about a 16 year old boy, Steve Harmon, from Harlem on trial for murder. This story is written in both first person, with journal entries from Steve's point of view, and in third person limited with a factual movie script written by Steve as well. As the plot unfolds, the reader is left to make assumptions as to how the trial be concluded.
   
   Myers incorporates many of the elements which are vital to a great story. These include plot, characterization, pacing, setting, dialogue, and points of view. His writing is strong as his story is entrancing and moves extremely fast, yet sometimes his exchange between points of view can be confusing. As the story is for the most part written in a movie script form, the dialogue adds a great deal to the plot line. We see through each character's voice their diversity, personality, and characteristics, as well as the origin of each character. The dialogue of the suspects reflects the setting in Harlem in New York through the language they use and the structure of their speaking. Because the plot contains a trial, Myers introduces vital information through the witnesses here and there. This makes the plot very unclear. However, this obscurity is good in a sense; it allows the reader to make their own assumptions without being biased towards what the main character thinks.



5. This book was fairly easy to read had an interesting plot. I liked the mystery aspect of being given the same infomation as the jury, almost like I was part of the book. The first person journal entries were also a nice touch. They made it so the reader sees Chris as a person, not just someone on trial for murder. It really made me think about how we think about people and what they're really like. Some pointds in the story got a little slow, but it picked up again quickly enough that I read it through easily. I feel like this would be a great book for high-school aged kids since it really made me think about what's important, something many people that age should do.

5 comments about But I Trusted You: Ann Rule's Crime Files #14.

1. I love true crime reading and this was the best by Ann Rule. Also, I received the book way before I thought I would.



2. Among true crime fans there are those who love Ann Rule and those who don't. I'm proud to let my Ann-Rule-fan-flag fly. She's written some truly great books (Small Sacrifices and Bitter Harvest, to name two) and some that are merely better than most in the genre. Rule does have a tendency to over praise the dead - the "beautiful wife and mother", etc - but I'm willing to overlook that. I see it as part of Rule's determination to keep the victim front and center, to avoid lavishing undeserved attention on the killer. Ann Rule wants to understand the forces that make a killer and how we as a society deal with those who commit the worst crimes.
   
   Her "Crimes Files" series doesn't allow for much space to deal with either question at any length nor to demonstrate her flair for original reporting. This is only my second book from the series and while I'm getting used to the limitations, I'm also beginning to appreciate these books for what they are. By telling a series of stories, Rule can paint a broader picture. Rule is as fascinated as ever with how normal, how plausible killers can be every other area of their lives. But I Trusted You is packed with failures of the criminal justice system. Case after case show sociopaths freed from prisoner to commit more heinous crimes. Most of the cases are from the 1970s - the land before DNA - and several are either unsolved or unresolved. Time moves on, Rule shows us, but the questions are never answered. Two (The Voyage of the Spellbound and Dark Forest) are truly haunting in their lack of answers.
   
   If you're an Ann Rule fan, this book will tide you over until her new book is released this fall. It's not her best but it's better than most of the St. Martins True Crime Library. If you're new to Rule, start with one of her classics (I'm partial to Small Sacrifices as a starting point) to see what a true crime master can do.



3. Item was as described or better, arrived very quickly, professionally packed. Recommended. Graham Green, a serious writer of literature, also wrote what he called "entertainments," crime and suspense books. And of course they are very highly regarded. In the same vein are the crime books of Ludavich Kennedy. More Recently are the totally excellent "fiction," but very close to true crime books, of James Ellery of Los Angeles. (He wrote L.A. Confidential for you non readers).
   
   Anne Rule is a somewhat pedestrian writer compared to these luminaries. She tends to see things two dimensionally, in black and white - as one would expect from someone who had once been on the police force, especially in the US.
   
   But she does have a formula, which works pretty well, and she is good at finding interesting crime stories, generally, and the northwest is blessed with having no shortage of sick murderers, so she rarely has to go out of town. Green River was just a great serial killer story. How can you lose with 42 corpses? Plus she got very lucky to actually be working with Ted Bundy and know the guy. So I read all her books, and they are pretty good entertainment.



4. I enjoyed Ann Rule's new book, perhaps not as much as her past books; but, it still kept me reading. Many have suggested they wished there was more information on the story, Death in Paradise. You can go to [...] to read more about the Spellbound and the alleged murder of Jody and Loren Edwards. Hopefully her next book will be more thorough.



5. Most of Ann Rule's books could be utilized by any theological group as a hand-book for "The Seven Deadly Sins". With "BUT I TRUSTED YOU" most of the crimes committed in the seven stories covered seem to focus on the evils of GREED and LUST coupled with too much trust.
   
   If this book is any indication, it would appear that Washington state is not a good place to reside if you hope to live a long and fruitful life since most of the victims are (or should I say were) from that locale. (Perhaps it's just a case of boredom precipitated by all the rain and grey days that is driving people to commit unspeakable crimes, who knows?)
   
   This is definitely not the best of Ann Rule's offerings. I much preferred her novels The Stranger Beside Me, Too Late to Say Goodbye, Small Sacrifices and Dead by Sunset where she focused on just one case and really led the reader into the chilling sociopathic deviousness of the killer's mind. BUT I TRUSTED YOU does not have the depth of these novels and appears to be a "quickie" written to fulfill a commitment to her publisher. For this reason 2 ½ stars.

5 comments about The Innocent Man.

1. This was a great book as it was based on a true story. It was an eye opener to how people with mental illness need to get diagnosed without stigma. In the end there is hope.



2. The important story, well told as you would expect from Mr. Grisham, warrants five stars. The writer's all too obvious agenda and bias are only worth one star.
   
   If you read this book, be sure to also read district attorney Bill Peterson's account of the same events at [...]: it is as well written and valuable as The Innocent Man, and brings to harsh light many of the faults of the book.



3. Debbie Carter-killed 12/82.
   
   Ada PD & OSBI sloppy police work.
   
   District attorney-Bill Peterson-denied
   Williamson justice.
   
   The state prison- poor health care as Ron
   went slowly insane.
   
   Jude Frank Seay-justice granted.
   
   Ronald Keith Williamson- 2/3/53 to 12/4/04
   mental patient, druggie, drunk, strong survivor,
   wrongly convicted in 1988 & exonerated 4/15/99.
   
   ****
   Grisham says if you believe in innocent until proven
   guilty and if you believe the criminal justice system
   is fair...this book will infuriate you.
   
   This book is a good read. Grisham proves he can
   write true crime as well as top notch fiction. It is not
   a 5 star book but its close.
   
   Read this book and see if he tells you who the actual
   killer was or if they even know.
   
   When you are finished you will want to read DREAMS
   OF ADA.
   
   NOTE-DA Peterson tired to sue Grisham in 2007 for libel
   and it was thrown out of court.



4. The Innocent Man is John Grisham's first venture into non-fiction, and it is not clear that he really understands the difference between fiction and non-fiction. All in all, it is a good book. I can see how Grisham was attracted to Williamson's story, a small town Oklahoma star baseball athlete who washed out in the low minors and then went into freefall.
   
   Williamson spent years on death row convicted of rape and murder, finally exonerated by DNA evidence and set free, living a few years until a young death from the effects of his earlier drugs and drinking. The evidence that sent him to prison was weak in the first place, mostly jail house snitches, dream confessions, and unreliable hair analysis. It is hard to imagine a jury finding a peer guilty on this but people need closure and Williamson had previous rape arrests and was serving time for forgery.
   
   All of this is a typical story of wrongly convicted man eventually exonerated by new evidence. What makes the Williamson case more interesting is the high profile nature with this book shining a strong light on the town of Ada, Oklahoma. Since the publishing there have been nasty public letters and lawsuits between Grisham and the locals in Ada. If you read the DA's web site, he is pretty effective in refuting and explaining a lot of Grisham's claims. I am not a lawyer, but the DA points out that Grisham has not been a lawyer in many years and may not understand the finer points of the Oklahoma rules. Even more remarkable is that in addition to Williamson, several others were convicted in Ada with similar approaches, some exonerated and some not.



5. I think one of the things I missed most about this book was the John Grisham charm. He still added his touches to the story, but you could tell it wasn't his story.
   
   Still, I am shocked and saddened at what happened in this story. Not only the inhumane treatment that Ron suffered at the hands of the guards at McAlester, but just in general that he and Dennis sat in jail and on Death Row for almost twelve years before they were proven innocent. I was outraged everytime I saw Bill Peterson's name, knowing that he surely had screwed something else up. I can't believe he's still the District Attorney in Ada! I was shocked everytime Judge Jones made yet another bad ruling. From not pointing out that maybe Ron wasn't mentally competent, all the way to the ridiculous ruling he made on the Brady issue. What a disaster! And then for two Appeals Courts to uphold the death sentence was incredible. What pleadings where they reading? Obviously not the same ones as Judge Seay's office, since they saw the incredible injustice.
   
   I am glad that Greg Wilhoit got back on his feet, as did Dennis Fritz. It saddened me to hear that Ron never really found his way after baseball. And I am still deeply disturbed by the fact that Tommy Ward and Karl Fontenot are still serving life prisons as I sit here typing this. The entire story, I was actually more caught up in their ordeal and though John Grisham said early on that when Tommy went into the police station for his lie detector test, it was the last time he'd be a free man, I still read the entire story thinking that must have been a typo. Surely he and Karl would be freed as well. :( That whole town appears to be a disaster. I know it's not just Ada, it's just that this time they had the spotlight on them. Bill Peterson surely isn't helping matters. His name alone makes me angry.
   
   I still can't believe how many people still believed that Ron and Dennis were guilty even when DNA evidence proved their innocence. Some people are so set in their ways that they can't look at the obvious. I hope in today's time, with DNA being used so often, that they now know how definite the proof is, and that they know finally that these two are innocent. Of course Peterson ranting and raving about how they were still suspects surely make it harder for the townspeople to believe that they were innocent. I look at that photo of Ron and Dennis when they were set free, and indeed you can see the hatred and the anger in the faces of the people in the courtroom. It's very sad.
   
   Overall, a good book, one worth reading, though I thought it was a little slow moving. Too much time spent on Ron and Dennis' lives growing up and not enough time spent on the trial. And hears hoping one day by some miracle, Ward and Fontenot are released.

5 comments about Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

1. We took this book on a long car trip, and it kept us entertained all the way to Savannah. It also prepared us to enjoy Savannah more once we got there. The reader distinguished character voices very well, and the story itself is amazing. The interview with the John Berent adds value also. Savannah is so much more than Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil though. If you go, allow yourself the pleasure of everything the city has to offer rather than focusing on the "literary" tour.



2. though slow at times (hence the 4 stars) but the writing is effortless and seductive and the writer really captured the rich mystery of the south (what I know of it, I've only driven through a few times but that is how this part of the US feels)
   
   The characters he writes about are almost unbelievable, but he does it so well (I had a visceral reaction to almost every character, almost hated a couple of them)
   I laughed, I gasped ( I rolled my eyes a couple of times too) I gritted my teeth - bland is not a word that could be used to describe this book.
   
   It was a great read on the absurdities of humanity and I hope I find another book that's just as absorbing.



3. Heard so much about the movie and wanted to read the book. Could not get through the first chapter



4. The audio book arrived in perfectMidnight in the Garden of Good and Evil condition and we enjoyed listening to it.



5. 
   I still can't fathom why this particular book spent over a year on the bestseller list. It's moderately good and would be especially interesting if you're visiting Savannah.
   It starts off rather slowly with a description by the author of his fascination with Savannah and with character sketches of people he meets there. They are defined by their obvious eccentricities rather than any psychological depth or unusual talents. One of those he meets is Jim Williams, who is successful in dealing in real estate and high end antiques but whose other trade is rough. The character sketches and glamorized descriptions of the tradition-bound and the flamboyant drag (no pun intended) on until almost halfway thought the book, when Williams kills a delinquent hustler and is charged with murder. The accounts of his four trials are well done, and at that point I found myself page-turning, although it's not up to Capote or Mailer or McGinnis. There are fascinating descriptions of voodoo rituals being used to influence the trial.
   I suppose it does contain a lot of bestseller ingredients, glitz, Faberge jewelry, Jacqueline Onassis, Southern Gothic, true crime, transvestism, weird sex, black magic, cooking, courtroom drama etc. but at the end I suspected that Berendt may have used some voodoo spells to influence all those people to buy it.

5 comments about Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith.

1. Anyone who accepts this book as fact should read the review available at [...]. This review points out errors and biases that are more than "small errors (as one reviewer stated)."
   
   Krakauer, who may have some strengths as a author, states his biases in the introduction. Why would I accept as fact a book written about a group by someone who has an axe to grind about that group? If those seeking reliable information about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints read only this book, they are being about as fair and objective as learning about general Christianity from Richard Dawkins. You might, in forming an opinion, touch on Dawkins, but you wouldn't want to form conclusions on Christianity from Dawkins alone. That wouldn't be honest. Krakauer missed badly in this one.



2. In no-nonsense manner, Krakauer puts to the written page everything you ever wanted and didn't want to know about the Mormon religion. Though, I never wanted to know anything about Mormons before, this book told me more than I could ever have imagined. Evidently, a great deal of research went into this work.
   The setting:Imagine brutally killing someone- a relative, including one that is a baby and then saying you did it because God wanted you to. This is what the book is about. Two brothers, grown men walked into their younger brother's home and brutally murdered his wife and young daughter.
   Krakauer looks at the violent history that spanned over more than a hundred years and finally led to the murder. Many religions, not all have a violent histroy, but none so much as Mormonism. I couldn't help but be appalled by their actions throughout history and claiming it was all God's will. This is a great example of a religion gone wild and in reality, a cult hiding under the guise of a religion. Mormons claim to be Christians. However, the Book of Mormon they claim to come from God doesn't follow the Bible nor mention it in any way. In fact, they follow something entirely different.
   This book will more than open your eyes to the dangers of Mormonisn. You'll surely be more cautious when you see two young Mormon missionaries at your door in the future. I know I certainly will. Sadly, as in all regigions, I'm sure there are a number of people that are sincere in their beliefs, yet are misguided. As everywhere, the fanatics ride herd over everyone else.
   Forget the dangers of Muslim terrrorism. Mormons are homegrown terrorists. They counsel their followers to go on welfare under the guise of "bleeding the beast." They get away with not paying taxes, etc, all under the guise of following God's will. If this is what doing God's will means, I'd rather be an athesist.



3. Following is what I imagine Krakauer's thought process was when considering writing this book:
   
   "I could write a book about the history of Mormonism but those are already a dime-a-dozen. So, going that route won't make me a bundle of cash. Oooh. Oooh. I've got! I'll write a book about a couple of murders that are connected to Mormonism and in it I'll burn a bunch of pages recounting the history of the church. Awesome! Cha-Ching! Where's my laptop?"
   
   
   That's the kind of feel I got while reading this book. The murders that all the pre-press leads you to believe are the focus of this book are really just a back story. The real meat of this book is in the play-by-play history of the Mormon Church and religion. Truth be told the murders are really mundane by today's standards and Krakauer does nothing to spice them up. There is no mystery, there is no drama, and those involved are happy to tell anyone who will listen any detail. Hardly enough there on which to base a book...unless, of course, you've got something else in mind. Krakauer must have recognized that too because the murders take up about 20% of the book while the history of the church is covered in the rest.
   
   But, that's okay. Until I read this book I knew nothing - besides the name Brigham Young and that Mormons practiced polygamy - about Mormons, their church, their religion, their anything. So, for me, the fact that the majority of Banner is written like a Freshman intro to Mormonism course was not much of an issue. I was cool with reading where it started, who started it, how it evolved, the key players, the key events and a smattering of commentary.
   
   As evidenced by my 4-star rating, I liked this book. I was interested in learning about the roots of Mormonism and how it evolved. For a neophyte (me) it made for some very interesting reading.
   
   For someone already in the know however, you'll not likely find anything new here. Or if compelling true crime stories are what turn you on then this one will leave you still looking for a fix.
   
   What I didn't like was feeling like I'd been baited and switched and Krakauer's sometimes very overt opinions creeping into the writing from time to time (I wish I had saved an example, because sometimes it was like a wtf moment).



4. Under the Banner of Heaven written by Jon Krakauer is a book about Mormons. It uses a terrible crime from 1984 (the murder of Brenda and Erica Lafferty) as a platform to study Fundamentalist Mormons and the bad side of religion in general. The reason this murders are used to highlight the bad side of religion is that the killers, Dan and Ron Lafferty, believe that God told them to kill Brenda and Erica. Dan in fact is remorseless and completely calm in jail and in every interview, he really believes it was a revelation from God.
   
   This book explains how the Mormon church came to be, giving us a short biography of Joseph Smith, detailing how the Church kept looking for a settlement and how it was growing around the charm of Smith. Smith's downfall was his polygamy as outsiders hated it and Mormons disliked it (throughout his life, Joseph Smith denied in public that he had multiple wives, even though evidence shows he had more than 20, several of them 14 when married to him). He was murdered. The next leader was Brigham Young, who made polygamy official in the religion after their long pilgrimage to Utah. After so many years together in the pilgrimage, the followers were willing to follow this decree that had grossed them out before.
   
   During Brigham Young's tenure, the Mountain Meadows Massacre occurred, a terrible massacre performed by the Mormons on a wagon from Arkansas. What really bothered me was how they agreed to let the wagon pass if they gave their weapons away, but then killed them all (except children under 5). It was a terrible crime, which has been very well documented.
   
   The book also gives some history behind the Fundamentalist Mormons, where they settled, how they live their lives. It is incredible how backward these civilizations are, infringing on human rights. A settlement where incest and rape run rampant. I was surprised to find out that the Mormon group in Chihuahua (my home state) is actually a fundamentalist sect (although maybe there are more Mormon colonies in Chihuahua, but at least one of them is Fundamentalist). After reading these details, I understood a little better why Texas tried to take all the children away the YFZ Ranch.
   
   It was interesting to read reasons about why the religion survives and what makes it appealing. I think one of the keys is that they believe in a very personal relationship with God, one that makes people believe they can have revelations and such. This would also explain why there are many splinter groups (although Christianity also has many splinter groups, so the one on one belief is not the only factor).
   
   It was surprising to me to find out that Joseph Smith didn't make the polygamy aspect public and that polygamy was close to dying with him as most people were against it and their were prophet candidates that were against it. I was also surprised that polygamy in Utah lasted for a long time, essentially until 1890 officially and about 30 years more unofficially.
   
   The Lafferty case is tragic. The more I would read about the case, the more frustrated I would get. It is just so wrong that people can do this evil and then use God as a shield to explain their actions. Ron Lafferty clearly was wishing their deaths and then felt bogus revelations (although, within my belief system, a revelation is bogus by definition) to kill his sister-in-law and niece. It was crazy to find out that Allen (Brenda's husband) found out about the revelation, yet didn't tell Brenda or the police. Allen's knowledge of the "revelation" is disputed, however there is strong evidence that Ron's mother knew about it the day before and a group of Fundamentalists actually heard the revelation in their group, one of the people notarizing that he felt Ron was going to kill four people, yet never telling the police.
   
   From time to time I've switched between being anti-religion or just someone who doesn't follow any religion. This book shows me that I should be anti-fundamentalist. The main problem with religion is believing in it literally, above human compassion. I am okay with people following a religion as long as they are not fundamentalists, people that believe they can talk to God, that God speaks to them directly, that they have revelations, etc. This people are a danger to mankind.
   
   A sad book, that made me think a lot about religion and taught me some history. I recommend it.



5. The cover of this book states that the book will focus on the murder of a woman and her infant daughter in 1984 by "two brothers who believed they were ordered to kill by God." In fact, the 372 pages barely talk about this murder. Rather, it is a long and totally exhaustive history of the Mormon religion--starting with a young Joseph Smith up to conversations with contemporary members and former members of this religion.
   
   Contrary to what others have said in reviews, I don't think that Krakauer attacks this religion at all. He even states in his author's remarks that "I was irresistibly drawn to write about Latter-day Saints not only because I already knew something about their theology, and admired much about their culture..." Readers may feel this way because, though there were times of major religious opression for LDS, there were also some pretty disturbing things going on within the walls of some portions of this religion from the perspective of those who do not believe in plural marriage or marrying children. It inevitably makes mormonism seem very cult-like. Further, the Laffery brothers are at the heart of this novel and they were the extreme and completely different from what the current LDS seems to stand for (according to other members interviewed). The author includes interviews from people that were negatively impacted by some of these disturbing events as well.
   
   If I had known it would be page after page of the history of the religion, I wouldn't have read it. It does go back to the Lafferty boys several times, but ultimately it wasn't a story about them or about Brenda Lafferty (the murdered young mother that I thought this would be focused on). In fact, there were so many names that it became confusing and impossible to keep track of all of the people that Krakauer writes about.
   
   If this book had been cut in half, I wouldn't have given it one star. But - it was so very exhaustive that there were times that I thought that I just couldn't finish it.

5 comments about The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America.

1. I did not receive the book I ordered. When I contacted Thrifit they responded very quickly and refunded my money immediately. Based on their customer service, I would give them another try.



2. This book alternated between the construction of the Chicago World's Fair and the story of H.H. Holmes a serial killer operating in Chicago at the same time.
   
   I was a lot more interested in the serial killer story line than the World's Fair construction story line. It brought back my high school days when I read true crime almost exclusively. Because the serial killer part was less than half of the book, I didn't feel like it was developed as it could have been.
   
   Architecture buffs will like the construction story line more than I did I'm sure. I had trouble keeping all of the different men who were involved straight and some of the more technical references went over my head.



3. I expected to like the serial killer aspect of this work the best. However, I found myself totally captivated instead by all the details of getting the World's Fair of 1893 underway in Chicago. The Ferris Wheel was invented for this fair as American engineers vied to come up with something at least as good as the Eiffel Tower, made for the Paris Expo (by Ferris of Pittsburg). Bill Cody had his Wild West show next door to the fair and it was wildly successful. The planning for the fair was incredible. The difficulties were enormous. Health problems affected the project on every level. On one hand, there were constant worries about protecting against typhus and cholera outbreaks. On another level, the men in their 50s and 60s in charge of the fair had medical problems which couldn't be fixed so they just suffered or, even worse, one of them would just die upon getting anything the least serious. One pivotal person was knocked out just by needing an appendectomy. It killed him. Although the city was covered in grime from coal and gas lamps, electricity was brought to the world's fair. That alone made everything look spectacular. I would love to get into a time capsule, see the fair for a day or two, get right back in and come back to modern life. This is because the fair is super intriguing and it would be quite an experience. However, we would find the privations of living back then unendurable for more than that. There is a serial killer with his own hotel adjacent to the World's Fair. He's pretty interesting but not really necessary to the outstanding detail of the World's Fair.



4. Set in the chaos of late nineteenth century Chicago, Devil in the White City is one of the most meticulously researched and engrossing books I've read in years. It's a page turner. I would be reading on a week night and look up to find it was 4 am. The book hones in on two fascinating events of the late 1800s: architect Daniel Burnham and the construction of the World's Fair, and the notorious serial killer H.H. Holmes. Chicago at the time was full of dualities, simultaneously a place of wild possibility and total despair. Burnham (and many others, including Olmsted, who designed Central Park) set out to achieve the impossible against all odds, creating a "white city" set against the backdrop of a dark and rough metropolis. Concurrently, Holmes preys on naive young women coming to the city seeking adventure and opportunity, constructing a "murder castle" in which he would slowly lure in his victims and murder them.
   
   Recommendation: This book encompasses so many interesting facts and subjects, it's got something for everyone. Highly recommended.



5. My wife's book club thought this was a winner. It cascaded to me after she read it. It is a gripping story for both men and women. Not a light read. It teaches lessons about about building things and human nature. After reading the book you will want to talk about it with friends or your spouse. Any city who builds for an event, World's Fair or the Olympics, can be put in perspective by this book. Times may have changed but human strengths and weaknesses are timeless.