Rating: Very Good
Source: Publicist
Description: Would you kill for love?
After Alice, a desperate young mother in a gritty Wyoming boomtown, kills her husband in 1974 and dumps his body where it will never be found, she slips away and starts a new life with a new love. But when her new love's ex-wife and two kids start demanding more of him, Alice delivers an ultimatum: Fix the problem or lose her forever. With Alice's help, he "fixes" the problem in an extraordinarily ghastly way ... and they live happily ever after. That is, until 2013, almost forty years later, when somebody finds a dead man's skeleton in a place where Alice thought he'd never be found.
Featuring a femme fatale whose manipulative, cold-blooded character rivals Lady Macbeth, this page-turner by bestselling true-crime author Ron Franscell revisits a shocking cold case that was finally solved just when the murderers thought they'd never be caught.
Genre: Nonfiction - True Crime
Why I Picked This Book: The blurb really caught my attention and I wanted to know how the story played out.
My Impression: Somehow I've never read any true crime. I mean I've watched hours and hours (and hours) of true crime on TV and I've read a few books on Jack the Ripper which is technically true crime but more historical and heavy on the theorizing. There was no real theorizing here. We find out pretty early the ins and outs of at least one of the crimes and the bulk of the book focuses on the investigation.
As someone who has experienced a lot of true crime through television I found this look at the evolution of the investigation. On TV there's a brief mention of previous investigators but here the reader was right next to each investigator hearing there victories and failures, the progress and heartbreaking disappointment. Each and everyone of them knew the whodunnit but the how do we catch them proved a little more elusive and completely fascinating.
The writer's style took a little getting used to. There's an easy familiarity and casualness to his tone that I didn't quite expect but as the book progressed I really came to enjoy it. I ended up being completely hooked by this book even before I realized it. I had meant to split my reading time between this and another book but I found myself really only reading this one.
This was a fascinating read and one that made me want to explore the genre a bit more. I expected it to be all gore and violence but instead found an intriguing look at the progress of an investigation where the evidence is hard to find but the killers are known.
Would I Read More of this Series/Author? I would! I'm intrigued to look into his other books.
Would I Recommend this Book? If you enjoy the story of an investigation than this is definitely worth reading - even if you aren't a reader of true crime.
* I received this book in exchange for an honest review. As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *
I admit it... I've been known to read true crime once in awhile, usually if it's a topic my son (the nonfiction reader) and I have discussed. The trick is sorting through the "trashy, exploitative ones" from the true journalistic ones. Glad you enjoyed this!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds good. I love crime shows, but I've only read a few true crime novels. I should fix that!
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any true crime books, but I do love thrillers and suspense so I might like this too.
ReplyDeleteHoly crap, what a story! While I don't enjoy thrillers all that much, I do enjoy a good true crime book now and then- I'm not a fan of violence for the sake of a story, but I do enjoy reading how a crime is solved and how the victims and their families receive justice. The books I've read from this genre are generally more focused on the investigation, how the perp gets away with it for so long, the aftermath for the family, and the trial. There's usually a section devoted to the actual crime, and sometimes it can be gory in the description, but it's not the sole focus of the book. It's also nice to know that the victims won't be forgotten when they live on in our memories, you know?
ReplyDeleteThat's crazy what people are capable of! Sounds like a good investigative read.
ReplyDeleteOh my word. This would have been something college-me would have been ALL over (criminology major) lol
ReplyDeleteI used to read a lot of true crime when I was younger but don't find the time to read them now. A lot of the books are huge!
ReplyDeleteThat blurb really does grab you, doesn't it? I used to read a lot of true crime, but it got too gritty and gory for me. I'm interested in the psychology behind people's actions and the actual crime investigation/forensics process, but I don't want anything too graphic. This one sounds like it might be right up my alley.
ReplyDeleteI have read a few true crime novels over the years, but admit I never really took to the genre. I am glad you liked this one. The case sounds fascinating!
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