1 comments about The Chaparral Murders: Dollar Store Justice.

1. Margaret M. Stoddart's The Chaparral Murders chronicles the true story of Rusty Phillips, who was arrested and charged with the 1982 murders of Glenn Roberts and his son Timmy in the rural town of Parsons West Virginia and how he was eventually convicted of one of the charges-the murder of Timmy (the murder of Glenn was never solved).
   
   Today, after twenty-five years of a sentence of life imprisonment, there still remains, according to Stoddart, a great deal of doubt if in fact Phillips was the murderer or if a murder did actually occur rather than an accidental death.
   
   Stoddart is the stepdaughter of Edith Roberts, the mother of Timmy and the widow of Glenn. In the Preface to The Chaparral Murders, Stoddart states that she had written her book in order to document a series of horrific events in the life of Edith that began in 1982. As we read The Chaparral Murders, a composite picture slowly emerges that not only recounts the tragic deaths of Glenn and Timmy Roberts but also the seemingly unjustified conviction of Rusty Phillips that is reflective of a pattern similar to hundreds of other cases of wrongful conviction that have transpired over the years in the USA. It should be mentioned that every year many poor souls have been wrongfully convicted of a crime they didn't commit because they were either pressured to accept guilty pleas or were poorly represented by incompetent and unprepared attorneys. In most instances, the convicted are unable to afford costly attorneys and thus are left with little choice than to accept whatever attorneys are assigned to them. In addition, many of these attorneys are often overworked with little funds at their disposal to prepare an adequate defence. Was this the case with Rusty Phillips?
   
   As our narrative unfolds, we immediately notice that Stoddart has produced an extensive and exhaustive portrait of Rusty Phillips, his socio-economic environment as well as all of the various characters that played a role in his conviction.
   
   
   Beginning with the opening chapter we are introduced to Tucker County West Virginia that Stoddard describes as a close parochial community with a strong religious backbone and a family focus.
   
   There were very few major crimes in the county and thus you can well imagine the reaction of the town's people when sixteen-year old Terry Roberts discovered the dead body of his father Glenn Roberts in the family's trailer home.
   
   Apparently, the fatal shot that killed Glenn Roberts was fired at a very close range. When the law authorities questioned Terry, he indicated that his brother Timmy never returned home the night of his father's murder. The police contacted various relatives in an effort to locate Timmy who at the time was a prime suspect in the apparent murder of his father Glenn. After several days Timmy's body was found in a wooded area about one hundred feet from a truck that belonged to Glenn Roberts-"mud, water, brush, flies, and maggots nearly obscured the corpse."
   
   At the time as the deaths of Glenn and Timmy Roberts, Rusty Phillips was twenty-three years old and had just been released from the Randolph County Jail. Phillips was never exactly a model citizen and did have a few convictions beginning when the time he was a minor and continuing when he was an adult. And as Stoddart mentions, "his colorful past gave him a unique appeal to the teens."
   
   Stoddart meticulously presents her readers with the investigation of the murders of Glenn and Timmy as well as providing background material as to who Rusty Phillips was and his upbringing.
   
   In addition, there is considerable ink devoted to the break ins of the Veterans of Foreign Wars building as well a house trailer wherein both seemed to point to Rusty Phillips as being the culprit and the unifying thread was always to get Rusty, the diabolical criminal terrorizing Tucker County. However, as we more fully delve into the findings of Stoddart, we are likewise left with the conclusion, as is stated in the narrative, that the conviction of Rusty Phillips for first-degree murder is based solely upon mere shreds of circumstantial evidence and a botched up and inconclusive investigation.
   
   The Chaparral Murders has many strong points particularly its impressive and comprehensive research considering that Stoddart began from scratch in amassing her information, and although it will probably will not receive as much attention as it deserves, it certainly merits reading. It is detailed but never dull, methodical but never hair-splitting with events that are recounted in retrospect, offering the reader a vivid description of what may have occurred when Glenn and Timmy Roberts lost their lives. Moreover, the book is not a bland exposition of a criminal trial but rather constant question that haunts every page of the book: did Rusty Phillips murder Timmy Roberts and did he receive a fair trial?
   
   This is a timely book for a society that seems to lightly punish celebrities for some of their indiscretions yet ignore the indigent who are equally entitled to competent representation, particularly when it comes to the crime of murder where often we witness a miscarriage of justice. As Stoddart concludes: "a 2004 report by the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants concluded that wrongful convictions in the United States may be as high as ten thousand annually. The poor are at constant risk of wrongful conviction due to prosecutorial misconduct and unqualified incompetent, and underpaid defence lawyers."
   
   Norm Goldman, Publisher & Editor of Bookpleasures

1 comments about Trial of the Century: People of the State of California vs. Orenthal James Simpson.

1. Without a doubt, Schmalleger's "Trial of the Century: People of the State of California vs. Orenthal James Simpson" is the best book ever written about this trial. Two essential points must be made.

   First, the intended audience of this monograph is criminal justice students. Schmalleger thought that students could learn court and legal concepts by employing the Simpson trial. This is a brilliant strategy. For example, students will learn and will not forget concepts such as "evidence," "direct evidence" and "circumstantial evidence."

   Second, when one is finished reading this book, one will understand why OJ was found not guilty. The reason is simple, but not obvious. Much of the book includes court transcripts. We actually read the exact words of the lawyers and the judge. This is the real eye-opener. OJ did NOT win because of the "race card." He won because his lawyers (F. Lee Bailey, Johnnie Cochran, Robert Shapiro, Alan Derchowitz, Carl Douglas, Peter Neufeld, Barry Scheck, and Gerald Uelmen) were much more competent than the prosecutors (Gill Garcetti, Marcia Clark, Christopher Darden, and Hank Goldberg).

   Reading the transcript is much better than hearing the words. With the written word, the reader has an opportunity to analyze the sentence structure and understand the power of the words being used. Simply stated the defense were better orators than the prosecutors. The defense had command of the English language and the prosecutors did not.

   My conclusion from reading this book: If OJ had an all white OBJECTIVE jury, he would have been acquitted. It was not the evidence; it was the manner in which the evidence was presented. Evidence was presented within the context of the spoken word and the prosecutors -- particularly Christopher Darden and Marcia Clark -- were seriously lacking.

   There are many other books written about the OJ Trial. These include "Without a Doubt" by Marcia Clark and "In Contempt" by Christopher Darden. The central theme of these publications is "blaming." Neither Clark nor Darden would take responsibility for their incompetence as prosecutors.

   Another book by Vincent Bugliosi is entitled "Outrage: The Five Reasons Why O.J. Simpson Got Away With Murder." Bugliosi also includes transcript pieces, but interjects his opinion. Schmalleger has an opinion but does NOT share it with the reader. He forces the reader to come to his or her own conclusion: OJ didn't win, Clark and Darden lost.

5 comments about Born to Be Wild.

1. I have known many Warlocks over many years and have never known them to be any thing but Honorable and rigtheous Men. They are the last of the free souls who just want to left to them selfs and have a family like community. This book was written by cut and paste from news paper. I hope people will read this as an intersting fiction and not believe this to be the Men of the Warlocks I have known and trust for so many years. Mr. Bowe it seems just wrote a stero-typical account of what the public see as bikers and to make money. I assure you that bikers are good people who just want to ridw and be left alone



2. I have known the Warlocks for years, and they all have chivalry, they are just like everyone else. They have honor, respect, trust this....there are no drug addicts and they just want to be left alone and ride.
   They bother no one. If anyone investigates one of this authors claims, they will see that he wrote this book on rumors.
   They are professional, hard working, family men and this book made me sick. I'm not trying to tell people bikers are angels. I'm trying to tell people that in this books his facts are not facts. You know in every group of people ex:police, priests, teachers etc....there are good and bad. In my blood family there are good and bad, just like everyone else's families. I just hate the fact that he wrote this to make the whole club look bad. People who dont know bikers, fear bikers because of the movies and rumors but they, as a whole are caring people who really try to help. Thats what runs are about, raising money to help the sick, the needy and mostly kids.
   Mr. Bowe, come on tell everyone this is not a factual book.



3. [...] ,if you like fictional stories go ahead and waste your money ,I to lived this book and saw how these lies effected me and other familys ,Thank God I didn t waste my money on this trash you call a book ,my copy was passed down by some idiot who bought it ,and now I want to hold a book burning party,just to show Barry Bowie how I exactly feel about the trash fiction he wrote ,what gave this guy the right to trash peoples lives and were you even thinking about us the kids who now we refer ourselfs to either products of or biker bratz ,you think you know but you have no clue ,could it be this guy was a wanna be ,.Born Free and proud to be .The Kidd 66



4. People who glorify criminals obviously have never been victimized by them. The Warlocks of the 70's were hardly chivalrous, at least to any law-abiding citizen. No one with any common sense who lived west of Springfield ventured eastward past dusk unless absolutely necessary. To this day the Warlocks, along with friendly neighborhood accomplices and the LCN, destroy our youth and communities by peddling meth and cocaine. Robert Nauss (robber, rapist, murderer, and drug dealer) was just unlucky to be caught, but his crimes are legendary and representative of the era. This book tells the truth about a vicious, greedy, out-of-control group in Delaware County and is worth reading if only to prevent history from repeating itself.



5. very interesting story. The Warlocks MC in Philly have a long history, and this chapter of their history is great to read about.
   However, it's poorly written and seems to be not much more then a summary of information that could have been collected through old newspapers stories and internet searches. I doubt the author interviewed any of the principal characters in the book. Hence, I question how accurate it is.

No comments about Cooking with a Serial Killer Recipes From Dorothea Puente.

5 comments about Mean Justice: A Town's Terror, a Prosecutor's Power, a Betrayal of Innocence.

1. It's been a while since I've read the book, but I wanted to share some of the general impressions that I had of this book when I read it. By showing the example of inadequate police work in one community, the author is able to raise many questions about the legal system in America. Plenty of evidence is given in this book which shows that a person was convicted for murder and likely sits in prison unjustly. Anyone who believes that justice is always served in our court systems should read this book to learn how various factors can come together to work against possibly innocent persons. This book is important, intriguing, and difficult to put down.



2. I couldn't wait to read this book. I thoroughly enjoyed Mr. Humes' earlier work, "No Matter How Loud I Shout." I found NMHLIS to be balanced and thoughtful. Interested in reading more from this engaging author, and as a Southern California transplant originally from Bakersfield, I was immediately drawn to this book. Unfortunately, in "Mean Justice" Mr. Humes appears to have lost the reasoned approach that provided NMHLIS a ring of credibility.

   "Mean Justice" presents an overtly biased perspective of the Kern County Sheriff's Dept/D.A.'s office. The tendency of the author to portray evidence indicative of Dunn's guilt as "unfortunate setbacks" to the defense case is hypocritical; especially since any minor inconsistency between prosecution witnesses' accounts are depicted as some blatant attempt to railroad an innocent man.

   What a disappointment this book proved to be! There was a great deal of repetition as Humes attempts to bully the reader into accepting his flawed perspective of things. I think the truth is probably somewhere between the two extremes represented in "Mean Justice," but we will never know the truth from this book. Humes zealously advocates for his version of the "truth" in this biased presentation of "evidence".

   Mr. Humes is a gifted storyteller, and I found the book engaging as pure entertainment; however, Mr. Humes' trustworthiness as a reporter of the facts was delivered a fatal blow by "Mean Justice."

   Enjoy the story, but read this book with a critical eye for its inherent bias.




3. Ed Jagels is a crooked person. It is about time someone told what he is like.



4. I've been interested in issues of criminal justice, particularly those of the witch hunts of the last several years. You know, there was the McMartin trial, a joke of astronomical proportions. Then there were "recovered memory" cases, and those of the alleged Satanic conspiracies. It seems the Prince of Darkness has emissaries here on earth abducting our kids, eating those he's forced us to abort, and on and on and on. Trouble is, as even senior FBI investigators have admitted, there's no evidence to suggest that these atrocities ever took place. No bodies, no dark rooms, no blood. Hmm. Makes a guy wonder.

   Then I talked with an acquaintance who's interested in some of the same subject matter. After our discussion, I looked at Amazon.com and found this volume.

   First, allow me to confess that I nearly gave the book four stars. I did so only because there is so much detail as to be almost overwhelming. But then I had to give it five (or more, if it were possible!) The detail is more than necessary for reasons which follow.

   The text is ostensibly about the trial of Pat Dunn. He was a former high school principal whose wife died under mysterious circumstances. The prosecutors in Kern County, California, were so zealous that they performed what was the TRUE subject of the book: prosecutorial misconduct. That is, indeed, where the subject digressed from merely Pat Dunn. It seems the law enforcement apparatus of that county has a reputation for being "tough on crime." So tough, alas, that there were countless people going to jail. First that was the massive--yes, Satanic Conspiracy trial. Hundreds were sent to jail for a long, long time. The prosecution used dubious questioning tactics of children, social workers who should have been in the local home for the bewildered--again, on and on. Then a young black athlete was convicted under equally dubious circumstances. Then others. I could get tired of putting, "on and on" here so assume it's a phrase I'd use more if I even had to.

   By the way, most of those convictions had been overturned; all, so far, except Pat Dunn's, despite the lack of any evidence to convince a sane court of his guilt.

   Then there's the issue(s) of the convicted criminals whom the prosecutors made deals with to convict the accused--while the prosecutors kept details of such deals out of views of the defense and the juries. (I add something the book barely mentioned: if there are obviously innocent people in prison because of prosecutors more intent on winning then on finding the truth, then there are the guilty who are still among us! That alone is a criminal offense for which the prosecutors should be prosecuted!)

   Among the conclusions of the book is that such misconduct seems to be happening all over the US. Indeed, the accused are losing their right to appeal; in G.W. Bush's Texas, the state with the greatest number of executions, exculpatory evidence was not permitted after a limited time so that evidence enough to free a convicted murderer could no longer be presented as evidence. So an obviously innocent men was put to death.

   There's so much in the book I'm not even sure where to go with it. The text certainly affirms my acquaintance's observation that probably 15 percent in prison haven't done anything. (That proportion is suggested by the book too to apply to the death penalty. Many on death row have been freed over the last few years due to the misconduct of the prosecutors and the courts. And that doesn't even include the many whom the state has put to death who were not guilty.)

   Who is criminal given those stats?

   The second of the book's appendices consists of several pages of convictions obtained through the prosecutorial misconduct that is the real subject of the book. That itself is an eye-opener. (The first appendix, incidentally, is a list of the convictions and how many are still in prison after retrials or the cases having been thrown out in Kern County itself--many after the accused have spent incredible times in prison after bogus convictions. That information alone should cause the impeachment or resignation, and conviction of those parties to the courts of that county!)

   The author concludes that the system is rigged to sustain itself. Try to find courts who've overturned convictions even when the prosecutor was exposed as a fraud who should have been jailed for his/her performance in the trial. They exist but they're few and far between.

   To me the point of the book is that there MUST be a price to pay for the prosecutors and even judges for the sort of misconduct the book so amply demonstrates. I mean, these people are supposed to be public servants. Instead, they're public menaces, making a sham out of anything remotely "just." (Ironically, the Kern County DA, who claims to be a Republican, is more akin to a Soviet bureaucrat than most in positions such as his!) I think, in fact, that the most severe punishments should be reserved for those who abuse their authority like those described by the book.

   Read this important book and make your own decisions as to how to punish these criminals, who are more a "lead" in the book than Pat Dunn. But be prepared to have your assumptions of American criminal "justice" challenged.




5. There are early parts of this book that can seem comically one-sided. By the end, the reader is persuaded by the overwhelming evidence that Dunn cannot possibly be guilty. But in the opening pages, Dunn's behavior is so bizarre, so eccentric, so plain weird, that it seems perfectly understandable that the police consider him a suspect. And when Humes tries to explain away Dunn's behavior as ordinary and natural, it diminishes his credibility throughout the rest of the book.
   However, I'm a great admirer of Humes. His writing is amazing and his books are smart and readable. Like 'Mississippi Mud,' this one cries for an update. Check his Web site if you want to read more.
   This is also a good jumping-off point for reading further about some of the shameful Bakersfield scandals of the '80s and '90s.

5 comments about Evidence Dismissed.

1. The Final Verdict

   For OJ to be guilty, you must believe that he quickly disposed of the bloody clothes, shoes, and knives so they would NEVER be found, yet brought the socks and glove back to his home! And then smeared blood all over the console!

   The coroner who did the autopsies testified "the forensic evidence says the murders occurred after 11PM". The limousine driver testified he brought OJ to the airport at that time. When you read this book, note how they avoid discussing these facts.




2. What an outrage....if this case intrigued you, then I suggest you read this book and read the "evidence dismissed". Well written, and fast paced, I couldn't put the book down. It really puts a cast of doubt on the justice system. And to know this man is still out there walking around free, while two people are not, is unbelievable. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves true crime!



3. All that this book does is confirm what everyone, (except a large proportion of the black population) knows - that Simpson butchered two people and got away with it.

   If it had not been for the blatant naked racism of the jury, Simpson would by now, hopefully, be rotting in hell where he belongs.




4. I read this book when it first came out and concluded there was too many questionable points that are hard to explain such as the gloves, the blood and 'his Bronco' leaving the scene etc. Since I am not a forensics expert, I will not attempt to decide guilt or innocence, evidence is there to prove the case, just too many questions. I am glad I was not on the jury.



5. This book should be titled America Dismissed, because the due process of law that was guaranteed under our constitution was totally neglected by the Defense Team and Jury. It's very tragic that this monster went free, and two great policemen had their integrity questioned by a bunch of money and fame hungry attorney's that turned this horrific crime into a racial issue. The only racist parts of this entire process were the defense portion of the trial and the jury verdict. Mark Furman's racist views (real or imagined) had absolutely nothing to do with anything here.

5 comments about Charlatan: America's Most Dangerous Huckster, the Man Who Pursued Him, and the Age of Flimflam.

1. By the end of the book, I really didn't know what to think of John Brinkley. This is a great biography and case study of a man who was viewed as the greatest medical doctor, a man ahead of his time, a genius, a charlatan, a people's man, an innovative politician, and a mass murderer. Who he was depends on who you ask.
   
   Back in the early 1900s snake oil doctors were common. People flocked to such doctors for all kinds of remedies, and had faith in the cures they were given. Most if not all such cures did not work. If some worked, it was the result of the `placebo' effect. In other words, when a person believes that a medicine given to him will work, in some instances the patient's belief alone makes him feel better.
   
   Dr. John Brinkley noticed that goats were very sexually active. He therefore concluded that if goat testicles were implanted in humans, humans will turn into sexual beasts. In other words, goat testicles would be a cure for all sexual ailments, such as impotency. Without ever publishing his findings or doing serious research, he started implanting goat testicles in his patients. As later court testimony would show, in most cases he simply put the goat testicles in his patients without grafting them surgically. Many of his patients died as a result of this procedure, and many others were maimed for the remainder of their life. But nobody could stop John Brinkley for years, not even the government or the medical board. He became a multi-millionaire as a result of this bogus procedure, and lived a lavish life with a private yacht and a private aircraft. Remember this was the early 1900s!
   
   The book reads like a John Grisham novel. The book starts off with John Brinkley's life as a youth, and what motivated him to become a charlatan. It describes all of his medical procedures, and the fortune he amassed as a result. It describes his stint as a candidate for governorship, and how he changed the face of voting. He actually invented the strategies used today by running candidates. This chapter was very interesting and captivating.
   
   In order to have his ideas widespread, Brinkley built his own radio station in 1923. When this was closed by the government, he went across the border to Mexico and opened a radio station there. He was a very stubborn man, but very intuitive. He easily surmounted challenges, and was not afraid of the US government. The chapters on his radio stations were interesting and funny, and made for excellent reading.
   
   The book then goes on relating the court cases that finally exposed Brinkley as a fraud. As a result, his former patients sue him, and he is ruined. The medical board removes his license, and the government charges him with manslaughter. He soon dies thereafter, having never appeared in court to answer the manslaughter charges.
   
   This book will captivate you. Snake oil doctors are still among us today, and many of us still fall for their folly. The actor Steve McQueen believed that a Mexican healer had the power to cure his cancer that he flew to him to Mexico. Many today use the power of Shamans and other sorcerers to cure their ailments. Some of these cures work. But do they work because they are genuine cures or because of the `placebo' effect? In reality, no one knows.
   
   How many of us buy beauty products thinking they would actually rejuvenate us? Do all those supplemental vitamins work? The vitamin industry is a multi-billion dollar industry, but many doctors today would tell you that supplemental vitamins do very little good, and at times, might in fact be very harmful. Our vitamins should derive from a balanced diet, and not from the intake of pills. But by in-taking pills, we make many people very rich!
   
   This is a great case study of a character still very alive today! And our folly is still as alive!



2. I got this book after seeing the author on C-SPAN II's "About Books", and as an amateur medical historian, decided to purchase it when the library didn't have it. It seems that all the factors came together to make John Brinkley a rich and famous (and later broken) man, and that he introduced the Western Hemisphere to some fabulous music didn't hurt his cause either.
   
   I was completely surprised to read that the respected surgeon Max Thorek, who now has a hospital in Chicago named after him, was a participant in this scam! But unlike Brinkley, he knew what he was doing, surgically, and abandoned this project when it proved worse than useless.
   
   His wife's story appears to be at least as interesting as his, too.



3. John R. Brinkley is the man of the title, who was one of a handful of pseudo-scientists and medical hucksters who laid the groundwork for Viagra and its competitors by experimenting with methods to improve male potency. Operating in the 1920s through the 1940s in small towns like Greenville, South Carolina, Mitford, Kansas and Del Rio, Texas, Brinkley was basically a small-time hustler who stumbled on sexual dysfunction as fertile ground for his talents.
   
   So he began operating on the fringes of medicine, with a small smattering of training and dubious degrees from what we would now call "alternative" sources (alternative to the now much stronger American Medical Association, which derived much of its current cache and strength from battles with Brinkley and his compatriots on the fringe). Among other methods, he implanted goat testicles! Fringe medicine, indeed; without specific numbers (the true totals are probably unknown), Brock cites Brinkley as one of if not the most prolific of American serial killers based on the death rate from untested and insane techniques like these.
   
   Pressed by the AMA, Brinkley expanded into mass marketing, politics, franchising of pharmaceuticals (at least one of which was found to be pure water with a tiny amount of coloring) and the fledgling field of radio. Brinkley's downfall, as Brock describes in a rather abrupt coda, came at the hands of a civil court when he sued Morris Fishbein, the AMA's head huckster hunter, for libel, and lost, finally (for the unsuspecting public) and disastrously (for him) exposing himself as the fraud the AMA claimed.
   
   While the book was an enjoyable and easy-to-read introduction to this bizarre character (proof, yet again, of the truth-stranger-than-fiction axiom), I am only giving the book three stars for these two reasons: First, while a few primary sources are cited in the bibliography, the notes rely most heavily on a small handful of secondary sources, which makes me wonder if these earlier secondary sources may tell a more complete picture of the era. Two of the secondary sources cited:
   
   The roguish world of Doctor Brinkley
   The Bizarre Careers of John R. Brinkley.(Book Review): An article from: Journal of Southern History
   
   And secondly, while the truth indeed is strange here, Brock sometimes seems afraid to let the story tell itself, and tries too hard to pump it up with purple prose and overdone dramatics.
   
   Enjoy Brock's book, but if you are really interested in mining the details of Brinkley and his era, use the bibliography and notes as a reading list for digging deeper.



4. Very timely and funny. I read it in one sitting. Could not put it down.



5. Great fun. Highly informative. Terrific read. Although the story is set in the early part of the 20th century, it's relevant today - shockingly and amusingly so. People haven't changed. The scams haven't changed much either. Where there is a buck to made off the plight of some poor soul, there is always a line to fleece them. Dr. Brinkley was at the front of the line for almost 20 years, not only fleecing, but often butchering or killing his patients in the process. Dr. Fishbein, a man on a mission, to stop Brinkley from practicing, pursued him for decades. He finally had his day in court. Along the way, Brinkley's innovations in radio, marketing and political campaigning, are going strong today. A truly wonderful book.

5 comments about The Basement.

1. Having lived just a mile south of Miss Likens' parents and 5 minutes away from the home where she was killed, I was stunned at the attempt made to tell Sylvia's story. I lived it, read it in the news and still know members of the family.
   While this is a perfect feminist attempt at explaining things that went on in the house on New York Street, I feel most of Sylvia's story was used to propegate a soap box issue and it made some of the book a difficult read.
   Tiny bits and pieces of fact (find foot notes and need to look them up elsewhere)are tossed in with commentary so often that the story is not well told beyond the opinions of the author.
   Still, since John Dean's book is hard to find, I think anyone who wishes to explore one of Indiana's most horrible crimes against humanity, should read "Meditations..."



2. I read The Basement many years ago in hardcover and passed it along to all my friends, who were all equally hooked by Millett's masterful style. She doesn't simply tell the story, she goes into the mind of victim and perpetrators, taking you with her for a haunting, unforgettable ride.



3. I read this book years ago, and although I still have it, I haven't read it again, not because it wasn't worth reading but because Millet did her job too well. Her reconstruction of the events in that Indianapolis house is searing and unforgettable. No other book that I've read as an adult has given me the nightmares that this one did. (I don't have the stomach to read another book about Sylvia Likens, so can't compare Millet's book to Dean's.) I didn't see any strong feminist agenda in Millet's description of the torture, sexual abuse and eventual killing of a teenage girl by people who knew her (at least two of whom were women). Millet seems to be trying to make sense of the collective evil that allowed this to happen. She doesn't quite get there, but perhaps no one could. The questions that she asks need to be thought about, even if they can't be answered.



4. I was fortunate enough to find the virtual bible of the Sylvia Likens case, John Dean's "The Indiana Torture Slaying", last year. However, if you are unable to locate it, this book is a suitable substitute. The only real difference is that Ms. Millett uses deliberate speculation in the form of prose, as well as the facts of the case. (much of which she got from Mr. Dean's original book) Still, I think that Kate Millett did quite well in retelling a most horrific crime. This is one of those special true crime books that you'll have to put down to make your head stop spinning. Not only do we get the sickening facts of the case, (including a few new things that I hadn't read in any other retelling) but also the mindset of Gertrude Baniszewski and Sylvia Likens during the four-month long torture period. The possible thoughts of both women (the evil Gertrude and the ever-passive Sylvia) are realistic enough to make even the most stoic person's stomach churn. Take caution when reading this one; it will stay with you for a long time.



5. Millet's 1979 true crime case study bills itself honestly--the book consists of medications on a situation, and the reader is left to sort through the meditations for the structure. The topic at hand is the brutal slaying of teenaged Sylvia Likens by her foster mother and a gang of her foster mom's children and neighborhood boys. Sylvia was tortured for months in the basement of her foster home before one incident went too far and led to her demise (after defecating on herself, suffering burns, and being crudely branded on the abdomen with the words "I am a prostitute and proud of it.") Depraved matriarch Gertrude convinced her gang of torturers to cover up the crime, but after Sylvia's blood sister confessed, the truth spilled out from the other children.
   
   Part One consists of meditations on the crime, on the motivations of the abusers, and on the motivations of Sylvia in not seeking help. The section meanders and circles around to the same events, reading like an unedited magazine piece. The book really takes off in Part Two, when Gertrude and her one loyal child commit glaringly obvious perjury on the stand. The third and final section is a first person account of the abuse from the perspectives of Gertrude and Sylvia. Of course, neither told their story, but author Kate Millet constructs it from the testimony of the numerous eye-witnesses to the crimes.

5 comments about Whisper to the Black Candle: Voodoo, Murder, And the Case of Anjette Lyles.

1. Poisoners are always premeditated killers.

   The act of poisoning another person, particularly over a long period of time, bespeaks of what the law describes as a "malignant heart." The idea of watching one's handwork slowly overtake and painfully kill a victim is almost too cruel for imagination. But when the victims include her own young daughter, then the murderess may be assured of permanent infamy.

   In 1958 Anjette Lyles went on trial for killing her nine-year-old daughter, as well as a couple of husbands and a mother-in-law using Terro ant killer, which as we learn is 94% arsenic. This happened in Macon Georgia, not far from the rural middle Georgia town I spent my summers as a child. Anjette ran a restaurant, a courthouse kind of place, where she fed the very judges, prosecutors and even some of the jurors who would later condemn her to Georgia's electric chair. Being taking to the big city as a boy always meant that her restaurant would be pointed out and the tale of her perfidy retold.

   My complaint about this book is that it doesn't tell enough. Spared execution because she was supposedly too insane to be put to death, Anjette spent the remainder of her life at the Central State Hospital in Milledgeville.

   The author failed to come to grips with the fact that in 1972 capital punishment was effectively (though temporarily) outlawed when the United States Supreme Court decided Furman v. Georgia. And while Ms White makes a good case of psychiatric malingering, the fact remains that Anjette Lyles remained in Milledgeville even after she no longer faced execution in the event she was determined to be restored to sanity. Further the degree of insanity necessary to avoid the death penalty being imposed is quite high. Essentially a condemned must not be able to understand that he or she faced execution , the reasons for it, and the consequences of it. Anjette seemed to be qualified in every way for the ultimate punishment, even if she was an obvious sociopath.

   This will not be the definitive book about Anjette Lyles, though it is a good start. The definitive book has yet to be written, but when it is, Anjette Lyles will be assured of her proper place among the serial killers of the twentieth century.




2. I never knew much about the book til I seen it in the library where I used to live. The title alone was what brought me to pick it up. It was odd for a title. Yet, once I read the inside sleeve..I knew I had to read this book. Checking it out at the library, I immediately got into reading it and couldn't put it down. Neither will you. It's a book about Voodoo, Arsenic, and a woman named Anjette Lyles. Definitely worth checking out if you're into true crime books.......



3. This book is definitely an enjoyable read. The case of Anjette Lyles is indeed an interesting story.

   If the title of the book was "The Trial of Anjette Lyles," then I would give this book a 5-star review. What's in the book is fine. It is well written and very factual. But what is not covered in the book is what leaves you wanting more.

   The book picks up Anjette's story with her marriage. Not much of Anjette's childhood and teenage years is covered. You can't help but wonder about her upbringing. Could the insights of her childhood friends and school classmates of Anjettes's have provided a better understanding of Anjette. How did Anjette get involved in black magic? What was she trying to influence with her candles and voodoo? These questions are never really addressed in the book

   From a secular viewpoint, was Anjette mentally competent? She clearly knew right from wrong. And no doubt, she knew how to manipulate the psychiatrists. Did she descend into madness or was her act a total sham?

   From spiritual viewpoint, Anjette professed to be a good Christian woman. Yet she dappled in the occult and seemed to put her trust in black magic. Was her Bible toting a sham?

   Yes, this is a good book. Read it, but then wonder: "What's the rest of the story?"




4. This book, covering the 1950's case of Anjette Lyles who was convicted of the murder of four people including her own 9 yr. old daughter, was a good read but far from what I would call a "must" read true crime book. Although it was fascinating to read about Georgia society and courtroom procedures during the late '50's (I can't believe the prosecutor would read the jury's verdict to the accused at the end of the trial- but it was true!)this book relied heavily on court transcripts it appears since many of the principles are now not alive. It lacks the "shock" value you read in many good true crime books of current days but does do a nice job of setting the "facts" down for the reader and convincing you that the jury reached a just verdict. A good book but not one you would read more than once.



5. "Whisper to the Black Candle" is the story of Anjette Lyles, who fatally poisoned 2 husbands, a daughter and a mother in law. The scene is Macon, Georgia in the late 1950s. There is fine local color here as the author skillfully retraces that Old South era and milieu. Readers will be drawn quickly into the flow of the story. There is little suspense here- the hardcover book jacket and previous reviews have touched upon the hot spots. Yet what would be a detriment in most True Crime tales does not hold here. The case and the cast of characters are so refreshingly authentic-and offbeat-that an aura of suspense is not required. Also, authoress White has performed a superb job of researching Anjettes' crimes, illuminating her considerable personality, recreating the segregated Macon of the 1950s and relating the prosecution and trial. A previous reviewer has stated it well: `There is no shock value... but the facts are straight'. And the facts-and the story- can stand on their own. This reviewer's only complaint concerns that misleading title; voodoo is only marginally involved here. The curious are forewarned. That aside, "Whisper to the Black Candle" is definitely recommended to True Crime fans, especially the more curious/adventurous. Folks from Georgia should pounce. They should appreciate the local, halcyon setting. Tundra will be glad to know that the "Ann Rule rule" is suspended! Those centerfold photos actually enhance rather than merely divulge.

5 comments about Midnight Assassin: A Murder in America's Heartland (Bur Oak Book).

1. This is a well-written book that casts the reader back into the lives of prairie farmers at the beginning of the 20th century. It shows the dark side of Little House on the Prairie.
   
   It is especially good at introducing the reader to the plight of many farm wives in that era. Through the trial of Margaret Hossack for the ax murder of her husband, we get a feel for the isolation and desperation of these women. The man a woman married was her whole lot in life. It was strictly the luck of the draw for her. If a husband turned out to be cold and abusive, as it seems Mr. Hossack was, his wife had little recourse but to suffer through it to the end. Although Margaret may not have suffered in complete silence, since there was ample evidence of how often she had rushed to her neighbors to complain of her husband's foul, dangerous moods - there was little anyone else could or would do to help. As this book keenly points out, the code of being a good housewife and a "lady" constrained women to their places and prevented others from interceding too effectively. The book poses the question - Did Mrs. Hossack ultimately engage in self help?
   
   The book's other purpose is to juxtapose the lives of two women situated very differently in 1900. On the one hand, there is Mrs. Hossack, confined to her meager, loveless life on the prairie. On the other hand, there is Susan Glaspell, the liberated young reporter who covered Mrs. Hossack's first trial. I would have liked to have read more details about Glaspell's early career as a crime reporter in a man's world. But perhaps that would have been spreading the content of this book too thin. The author does circle back at the end of Midnight Assassin to provide a follow-up on Glaspell's writing career. Trifles, the play Glaspell eventually wrote, based loosely on the Hawkin's trial, has a heart-wrenching conclusion. It's worthwhile reading this book for that dramatic take on the caged lives of these farm women alone.



2. Excellent story told here, with a mix of history of farming life in the midwest in early 1900s, law, civil rights and the mystery of the murder. It keeps your interest with the who-done-it story line and the tease of incomplete information coming from crime scene research and from the witnesses at the trial. I recommend it.



3. This book was of extreme interest from beginning to end. I love true crime stories, so the legal and moral aspects were the reason I purchased this book, but I found a secondary reason as soon as I started reading it. I am also interested in genealogy and my ancestors came to Iowa the same time as the Hossacks and they lived less than 45 miles apart. The authors' descriptions and stories of their lives and the everyday living of the farmers of the area were amazing. I felt like I was there, experiencing their lives, and their trials. Whenever a book can make me feel as if I am actually there, while it is happening, it is well worth the read.



4. I bought this book because of my love of true crime. What I came away with was much more than a story of an ax murder in 1900 Iowa. The author's paint a vivid picture of the dismal life and the hardships of the wive's of farmers during this era, and the farmer's themselves, as they weave their story with true accounts of the actual investigation and trial.
   
   Midnight Assassin is an easy read and real page turner. What I wasn't expecting was the portrait of desperation, fear and isolation that made this book so much more than a true crime story. "Little House on the Praire" this was not and is a must read!



5. I am not much for history, but I really loved this book. It's a very interesting mystery, but it's also interesting to see how much the criminal justice process has evolved over the past 100 years. For example, in this case the closing arguments took longer than the presentation of all the evidence. The defendant held her granddaughter on her lap during the entire trial. The newspapers concluded she committed the murder because she didn't act "feminine". I love true crime books, and this was a really good one as well as a change of pace due to the historical nature of it. I would recommend this book to anyone.