In Cold Blood

Amazon.com

"Until one morning in mid-November of 1959, few Americans--in fact, few Kansans--had ever heard of Holcomb. Like the waters of the river, like the motorists on the highway, and like the yellow trains streaking down the Santa Fe tracks, drama, in the shape of exceptional happenings, had never stopped there." If all Truman Capote did was invent a new genre--journalism written with the language and structure of literature--this "nonfiction novel" about the brutal slaying of the Clutter family by two would-be robbers would be remembered as a trail-blazing experiment that has influenced countless writers. But Capote achieved more than that. He wrote a true masterpiece of creative nonfiction. The images of this tale continue to resonate in our minds: 16-year-old Nancy Clutter teaching a friend how to bake a cherry pie, Dick Hickock's black '49 Chevrolet sedan, Perry Smith's Gibson guitar and his dreams of gold in a tropical paradise--the blood on the walls and the final "thud-snap" of the rope-broken necks.

Book Description

On November 15, 1959, in the small town of Holcomb, Kansas, four members of the Clutter family were savagely murdered by blasts from a shotgun held a few inches from their faces. There was no apparent motive for the crime, and there were almost no clues.

As Truman Capote reconstructs the murder and the investigation that led to the capture, trial, and execution of the killers, he generates both mesmerizing suspense and astonishing empathy. In Cold Blood is a work that transcends its moment, yielding poignant insights into the nature of American violence.

Download Description

With the publication of this book, Capote permanently ripped through the barrier separating crime reportage from serious literature. As he reconstructs the 1959 murder of a Kansas farm family and the investigation that led to the capture, trial, and execution of the killers, Capote generates suspense and empathy.

Customer Reviews:

Quite Cold, Indeed.......2007-10-06

It is a testament to Truman Capote's ability that he was able to take a small yet disturbing blurb in the New York Times and not only write a compelling book about it, but create a new literary form, the nonfiction novel, and also turn the story into an American classic. IN COLD BLOOD fully deserves the accolades that have been heaped upon it since its publication.

That newspaper blurb, of course, was about the mysterious murders of the Clutter family (father Herbert, mother Bonnie, and teenagers Nancy and Kenyon) in the small, isolated town of Holcomb, Kansas. At first, it was unclear why the family had been slaughtered and it was thought to be the work of a psychopathic killer. That such psychopathy flared up in America's heartland made the story all the more disturbing. After all, everyone knows all the weirdos and lunatics were supposed to live in New York or San Francisco. To think that they were right in our midst...

Capote's detailed (and controversial!) studies of the murders take us so deep into the story it is like we were really there. Using the techniques of fiction and applying them to a non-fiction story, Capote brings the real life tragedy to life a second time around. This is particularly disturbing with respect to the two men who committed the crime, Dick Hickock and Perry Smith. IN COLD BLOOD probably is the first book of its kind to give the readers such an accurate portrait into the minds and personalities of such brutal killers.

What strikes the reader hard is that, of the two criminals, it is the actual trigger man, Perry Smith, who is the more tender and emotionally vulnerable. That Dick Hickock seems, by every measure imaginable, to be a harsher person than his compatriot is juxtaposed powerfully with Hickock's own complaints that he is the only person on death row who did not actually kill anyone. We now know, of course, that Capote developed some type of emotional relationship with Perry Smith while researching the book and so it is up to the reader to determine how much this might have clouded Capote's judgment and writings on him.

Despite the bleakness of the story, IN COLD BLOOD is written in a very feminine and flowery style. If Capote's homosexuality were not widely known, one could almost assume as much by this. Again, this creates a jarring juxtaposition for the reader, as he is confronted with the darkest corners of depravity.

Anyone who visits the true crime section of a bookstore is confronted with books basically reeking of schlock. A good writer, however, can turn the average, or even below average, subject and elevate it to new heights. This is what Truman Capote did. IN COLD BLOOD is very cold, indeed.

Read the book before the movie!.......2007-10-05

This was a wonderful book, but I made the mistake of seeing the movie and then I had a biased. I enjoyed this.

Capote's Masterpiece Is Full Of Thrills, Suspense, And Incredible Prose.......2007-09-24

When Truman Capote's "In Cold Blood" was published in 1966, it became an international bestseller and was lauded by the critics. Now, over forty years later, "In Cold Blood" remains the crowning achievemt of Capote's career as a writer. Capote's skill as a journalist and natural talent as a writer combine to create the definitive American true crime book. Whether you prefer nonfiction or fiction, Capote's true account of mass murder and it's consequences is sure to please!

As Good as it Gets.......2007-09-19

In Cold Blood is incredibly well written. Unlike many of his short stories, the prose is clean and not overly adorned. Without moralizing, he simply tells the story of one of the most random and nonsensical murders of his time. In my opinion, Capote wrote one great book, and this is it.

A compelling read.......2007-08-23

Because I practice criminal law, I walk around in a world with stories like this one everyday. So I didn't really see the big deal until I finished reading Capote's In Cold Blood. Capote makes a nonfiction account read like fiction. That may not sound like much, but it impressed the hell out of me. Usually nonfiction has a dull feel to it. It just doesn't pop like fiction does. But Capote is able to cut right through that and make this story every bit as compelling as fiction without giving it a corny, Court-TV "true-crime" feel.

Brian Jones Straight From The Heart: The Rolling Stones Murder

Average customer rating:

BRIAN JONES...ANOTHER JFK?
Lonesome Dove
WHAT A RIDE!
CONNECT THE DOTS.....
STEWED & KEEFED

Brian Jones Straight From The Heart: The Rolling Stones Murder
Gloria Shepherd
Manufacturer: BookSurge Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Entertainers | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0974209368
Release Date: 2007-03-15

Book Description

Brian Jones life was a David vs. Goliath. Young, petite, and naïve, his Goliath was the Rolling Stones money machine. Unlike the Bible, Brian lost his life. This book levels the battlefield by telling what happened to the band’s founder. Written from Brian’s POV, the Stones rise to stardom is chronicled, ending with British authorities lack to properly investigate the bi-sexual bandleader’s death at 27.

Brian recalls being an incest victim, homeless at age 16 and forced into prostitution. Regardless, with extreme talent, sexuality, and imagination he led the band he picked, taught and named to glory. His vision was to bring world music to the Stones catalog; the band declined—content to crank out mundane sounds as long as records sold.

After a fight over musical direction Brian left the band planning to start anew and take the Rolling Stones name with him. Three weeks later he drowned in his swimming pool. Brian’s tale of death threats and witness accounts recount what actually happened.

Customer Reviews:

BRIAN JONES...ANOTHER JFK?.......2007-09-20

I just read a grand review of this book that appears on Vintage Rock www.vintagerock.com.bjones_book.aspx in which the reviewer compares Brian's killing to the conspiracy behind JFK's assassination. What I find most interesting is the complete quiet we hear coming from the British Isles when so many are currently presenting clues and evidence surrounding Brian's death.

Even though Ms. Shepherd's book offers compelling facts relating to his death, she leaves out another suspicious death--that of Graham Bond who would've made a fantastic witness to talk about the threatening phone call Brian received at his "hideaway" only two days before his death. While the author does a dramatic job of re-enacting the events of Bond accepting the phone threat on Brian's behalf, she fails to mention that Bond "accidentally" fell under a train not long thereafter. Before he could personally testify about what he knew. Just as with witnesses who were willing to testify about JFK's assassination, many who were willing to testify about Brian's death also either suddenly disappeared or suddenly died! Coincidence? Think about it.

Lonesome Dove.......2007-09-16

Since I learned this book is supposed to be written from Brian's POV I don't understand why some complain that the author only focuses on Brian's good qualities and doesn't put him down for all the horrible deeds and nasty pranks he was known to have committed against others. I got it right off. Since Brian is talking about himself here, he like any of us wouldn't be sitting down (or standing up LOL) talking badly about himself.

He probably couldn't see all his faults especially since those nasty pranks were mostly committed during his up's and down's mood swings, when he didn't have much control over what he was doing. None of us sees ourselves as others do, and Brian was hurting over losing the friendship and camaraderie of his band mates but he couldn't understand where he had turned them off. Also none of them believed his many ailments that caused him to miss performances and rehearsals. The other Stones thought he was just being a cry baby or lazy but he gave it his best shot. It just wasn't good enough for the healthy ones who couldn't sympathize with his predicament.

In reading this story I got to thinking of Brian Jones as a beautiful Lonesome Dove, bleeding from the inside and not knowing how to get the help and unquestioning love he so badly needed.

WHAT A RIDE!.......2007-09-06

I'm part of a R&B band myself and got to meet Mick and the rest back in the day. So I try making time to read memoirs and such when I get the time. I've not written any reviews before but this story really caught me up. The book took so many twists and turns different than the rest out there that sometimes all stumble on each other with the same info.

I only wish this book would've gone into the story and testimony of Brian's murder earlier. That was the part that fascinated me. Not to say I want to believe it. But it for sure has more proof than anything I've seen before. All the facts come together and I hate to say that even though I don't want to believe what this story says happened, I can't find anything to prove it didn't happen.

I got to talking with others about this who say they heard similar storys for years but never saw it all laid out so totally. We'd like to see this turned into a film. Not like Stoned that is whitewash, but if this book is made into a movie as its written then we'd have something to watch for sure.

I only wonder why the Brits don't want to open the case. There's to much out there to ignore but hey that's on their heads.

CONNECT THE DOTS............2007-09-05

I usually enjoy a good old fashioned murder mystery and decided upon this story for my next unsolved whodunit. I wasn't interested in the history of the Rolling Stones or their music per se but found the idea, that one of their own had been possibly murdered at the behest of some of their own, intriguing to say the least.
Any reader interested in true crime will find the lady author's last 3 chapters plus 3 part epilogue very enlightening; somewhat reminiscent of Agatha Christie. As I read her results, I began to do research myself into each aspect of the crime that was brought up. Amazingly I found there is much evidence out there if one takes the time to actually look for it in press releases, actual testimony plus word-of-mouth tales swapped as to what actually happened to Mr. Jones at the time of his death and shortly thereafter.
It is mind-boggling that British authorities did not and still have not seriously investigated what was flagrantly a murder for hire. I located old magazine articles (and some fairly new) that corroborate a majority of what Ms. Shepherd attests to in her book. I found interesting also the fact that fans of Brian Jones have so viciously attacked her regarding claims of his not-so-well hidden sexual preference and drug use. All that pales in comparison to the fact he was obviously murdered in a most heinous manner by those laughingly hired to protect him!
I cannot understand why more focus isn't placed on what the meat `n potatoes of this book actually is: proof positive that Brian was purposely done away with and afterwards his prized possessions either callously burned in a bonfire (which again British authorities apparently turned a blind eye into investigating) or hauled off by both his band mates and his killers. That's where the reader needs to focus and not on who kissed whom, male or female, or whether Brian was still heavily imbibing drugs and alcohol at the time of his drowning.
I highly recommend this book to all who enjoy connecting the dots and seeing for themselves that the murder of Brian Jones remains mainly a major unrecognized and overlooked cold case crime. For anyone who likes to see justice served we should ban together and demand a complete, honest investigation into this killing.

STEWED & KEEFED.......2007-08-31

The honeymoon between Sir Mick and Keith apparently is at its end. Fragile nerves and high tensions have reached their peak and Keef is lashing out indiscriminately. His latest target is once again Brian Jones-the 63 year old Stone finds the band's former leader easy prey since the dead are hardly ever known to fight back. He believes he'll have a better chance of winning the battle of words against a ghost rather than take Mick on full force.

Oddly the open wound growing between Mick and Keith comes at a time when the author of Straight from the Heart is ready to announce the release of Brian's audiotapes. Word is she's finally received permission from the "keeper of the flame" for all these many years-who's mainly led a reclusive lifestyle since Brian's murder.

As part of the British rock scene during the late Sixties to early Seventies, I'd heard rumors flying that Brian had a hidden stash of tapes he'd recorded. We all figured they were only of music he'd put together during his stay at Cotchford. Now it appears that not only music was being composed while he lived the life of a solitary man, but that he had recorded his memoirs. Quite a feat for someone whom the Stones insisted was too incapacitated due to drugs and drinking to play guitar.

In my humble opinion I believe the author did a gargantuan job in re-enacting Brian's life in such an authentic and often tongue-in-cheek manner.

Cold Blooded (St. Martin's True Crime Library)

Average customer rating:

Lots of potential but...
No Babble, No Boring Trial - Just The Facts of People & Places
A Winner
Excellent Read
Remember "Blood Simple?"

Cold Blooded (St. Martin's True Crime Library)
Carlton Smith
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0312994060
Release Date: 2004-11-30

Book Description

California attorney Larry McNabney was a wealthy and well-connected legal ace and the proud owner of a champion show horse. When his wife Elisa reported him missing in September, 2001, she claimed he abandoned her after a heated argument and joined a cult.

When Larry's body was found in a shallow grave three months later, Elisa was gone. Driving a red convertible Jaguar, her brown hair bleached blonde, Mrs. McNabney was already speeding toward a new life in Florida-and a new identity.

Who was Elisa McNabney? She was a female fugitive wanted in the murder of her trusting husband. She was an insinuating beauty with 38 aliases, and a rap sheet 113 pages long whose criminal career was about to come undone. But in the wake of Elisa's stunning confession and conviction, there was one more shocking surprise yet to come from the poisonous black widow...

Customer Reviews:

Lots of potential but..........2007-09-05

This book was just okay. The storyline is excellent for true crime, but the author's presentation is bland. I had a constant feeling of "the book is gonna get really good now", and while it is good, it never drew me in to where I couldn't put it down.

No Babble, No Boring Trial - Just The Facts of People & Places.......2007-06-01

Typically I am not much of a Carlton Smith true crime fan; however, I found Cold Blooded to be a tremendous piece of writing for the true crime genre. Most often writers are prone to present a bit of background, followed or preceeded by the known details of the crime and then the remainder of the book is generally the trial and sentencing of the accused; and, more often than not, is written almost word for word from trial transcripts.

Not so in Cold Blooded! There is NEVER a dull moment in this book! The life and doings of Laren (aka Elisa) Jordan/McNabeney is better than any beauty salon gossip any day! And Carlton Smith details these events in a fast paced, attention gripping style that makes putting this book down difficult!

Highly, highly recommended for true crime fans!

A Winner.......2007-03-25

Reviewer Jim Greenhill's analogy with the Coen brothers Blood Simple, a modern film noir was excellent. The thing great about this is that it's real. Much sadness and heartbreak but I thought this was a very well written book and I've read a lot of true crime. I firmly believe the saying "Truth is stranger than fiction," and this is once again confirmation on that point. The book and characters are unbelivable and twisted but most are frighteningly unaware that they are so. Even the main character is a person who seems driven to do what she does. It brings questions to mind about hereditary factors, brain chemistry or maybe the idea that there may or may not be good and evil

Excellent Read.......2006-05-28

This book was written almost perfectly. As a true crime reader I go through many books and find the Author stays on one situation to long or goes over and over again on it and then the suspense leaves and/or I have to skip a few pages here and there because they drag out the history of the town and then drag out the trial. This Book did neither. The Author did a wonderful job. It was a horrible story of Murder and greed and you will not be able to put down the book.

P.S. I have to correct the poster "Rick Eeee".She posted that the Victims wife was a Lawyer. This is not true Elisa was not a Lawyer.

Remember "Blood Simple?".......2005-02-07

At the risk of being callous--since this book recounts a true story that brought death & pain to real people--the most astonishing thing about Carlton Smith's outstanding "Cold-Blooded" is that it turns out sometimes the consequences even of murder are just downright funny.
The last half of the book takes on the quality of the classic noir film "Blood Simple," with a murder victim who just won't die & a couple of murderers caught up in a waking nightmare, trundling their would-be victim around in a wheelchair, preventing searches of the trunk of their car only as a last-second afterthought, surrounded by hundreds of witnesses, improvising their way through an appalling crime.
"Cold-Blooded" is very well done. The three key characters are Larry McNabney (murder victim), Elisa McNabney (grifter) & Sarah Dutra (grifter's apprentice). Smith gives life to all three for us. He takes a complicated series of crimes--those involving financial dealings at a law office could've been particularly distracting--& handles them brilliantly, not bogging the reader down or allowing the narrative to be distracted by some of the potentially fascinating but ultimately dead-end subplots.
This should be a movie. Cast correctly, with a good screenplay, it would be excellent.
Until you've read the book, you're maybe not going to understand how there could be humor in the story. Safe to say that all three main characters' stories resolved in exactly the ways that the three people had been living their lives. They made their choices, and they resulted in predictable outcomes. It's hard to feel too much sympathy for any of them.
I always grapple with Amazon's rating system when it comes to true crime, because there are the true classics of the genre ("In Cold Blood," etc.) & then everything else & it seems so unfair to judge all on the same scale. However, I have no hesitation giving Smith's book five stars. It's an excellent piece of writing that takes voluminous research & parses it into an extraordinary, compelling story. Well done!

The Virgin of Small Plains: A Novel of Suspense

Average customer rating:

Suspense
Excellent read, but some major lapses of reality.
A Strong Mystery
Loved Every Second!
A Enjoyable Romantic Mystery

The Virgin of Small Plains: A Novel of Suspense
Nancy Pickard
Manufacturer: Ballantine Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0345470990
Release Date: 2006-04-18

Book Description

Small Plains, Kansas, January 23, 1987: In the midst of a deadly blizzard, eighteen-year-old Rex Shellenberger scours his father’s pasture, looking for helpless newborn calves. Then he makes a shocking discovery: the naked, frozen body of a teenage girl, her skin as white as the snow around her. Even dead, she is the most beautiful girl he’s ever seen. It is a moment that will forever change his life and the lives of everyone around him. The mysterious dead girl–the “Virgin of Small Plains”–inspires local reverence. In the two decades following her death, strange miracles visit those who faithfully tend to her grave; some even believe that her spirit can cure deadly illnesses. Slowly, word of the legend spreads.

But what really happened in that snow-covered field? Why did young Mitch Newquist disappear the day after the Virgin’s body was found, leaving behind his distraught girlfriend, Abby Reynolds? Why do the town’s three most powerful men–Dr. Quentin Reynolds, former sheriff Nathan Shellenberger, and Judge, Tom Newquist–all seem to be hiding the details of that night?

Seventeen years later, when Mitch suddenly returns to Small Plains, simmering tensions come to a head, ghosts that had long slumbered whisper anew, and the secrets that some wish would stay buried rise again from the grave of the Virgin. Abby–never having resolved her feelings for Mitch–is now determined to uncover exactly what happened so many years ago to tear their lives apart.

Three families and three friends, their worlds inexorably altered in the course of one night, must confront the ever-unfolding consequences in award-winning author Nancy Pickard’s remarkable novel of suspense. Wonderfully written and utterly absorbing, The Virgin of Small Plains is about the loss of faith, trust, and innocence . . . and the possibility of redemption.

Customer Reviews:

Suspense.......2007-10-04

I could not put this book down. It grabs you right from the start where they find The Virgin that winter night. What unfolds next is unbelievable!
I was extemely surprised at the ending- Who would have ever guessed
who did it?

Excellent read, but some major lapses of reality........2007-10-04

The cover and frontspiece had glowing reviews of this book. So I bought it. I found the characters compelling, with three strong protagonists -- Abby, Mitch and Rex. The mystery developed in a natural way, and the love story between Abby and Mitch was beautiful, as was the involvement of her beloved birds. I pressed on to find out who killed the girl, Sarah, and why. And why Mitch's parents were so afraid they sent him away, and why Rex's mother, Verna, was so terrified when the truth might have been about to surface.

The book was a wonderful read -- right up to the end, which was a major disappointment. First, I wasn't ever sure who actually murdered Sarah, or why she had to be murdered in the first place. If they were going to murder her, why did they wait so long? It wasn't clear how she was killed either. The only one who had a credible motive to kill her really, was Nadine, out of jealousy. On the other hand, why then would she want to adopt a baby that reminded her of the past she was trying to erase? The story also dropped the ball on Rex and Patrick, for whom there was no closure, and never established where Patrick was the day of the murder.

But the biggest flaw was that the doctor, Quentin, would have gone along with the coverup the way he did, or at all. It simply makes no sense. It is put forth that he did it so life as usual could go on for him and his friends, but I refuse to believe that it could be that simple. Quentin Reynolds is portrayed as a compassionate, honest doctor and I just can't see him doing this to protect his despicable friends.

I can understand, sort of, that the sheriff was involved in the cover-up to protect his friend, and that's why there was no forensic investigation. And even though DNA evidence wasn't available in 1987, fingerprints were that would have matched a driver's license. It wasn't explained why no one else in the town had any interest in looking into the girl's death. In short, the ending of the book didn't live up to its promise, and left me with the feeling of being let down by the author.

A Strong Mystery.......2007-09-23

A mystery with a solid arc that pays homage to the story's emotional centerpiece from the first to the last page. Characters react to events at two critical points in their lives, and their core values are put to the test in light of their maturity. Though I figured a few things out early on, the road to get confirmation was filled with doubt, as twists kept plopping down on the page like debris from a twister. It is a story of considerable power dealing with the choices people make throughout their lives, how they justify those choices, and how they reach for redemption later on. The few quibbles about coincidences are insignificant. Highest praises...5 out of 5.

Loved Every Second!.......2007-08-21

I couldn't put this book down...in fact, I didn't! Read it all in one setting, it was so good! Although predictable in the end, it was one of those books that you HAVE To finish!

A Enjoyable Romantic Mystery.......2007-08-13

This book exceded my expectations. I didn't expect to like it but I ended up loving it, in fact I could hardly put it down. I was continually reminded of my own high school sweetheart and the time he left town for college and never came back. I could totally relate to Abby and her feelings for Mitch. The murder mystery was good, even though I figured out a few important pieces early in the book, but I enjoy solving the mystery before the book ends. This would make an excellent movie so I hope a producer gets ahold of it as I would love to see it on the big screen. Read it! You won't be disappointed.

Average customer rating:

You won't believe her behavior
Very good

Will to Murder, 2nd Edition
Gail Feichtinger
Manufacturer: X-communication
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1887317279
Release Date: 2005-06-01

Product Description

Packed with details found nowhere else, Will to Murder has been hailed as "the definitive book, the story behind the story of the Congdon-Pietila murders" by the Duluth News Tribune. Third Edition: Updated and expanded with the latest news.

Customer Reviews:

You won't believe her behavior.......2006-12-07

As a life-long resident of Minnesota and a frequent visitor of Duluth, home of the famous Congdon mansion (aka Glensheen), I grew up with a vague idea of the murders that happened in that house. The story was that one of the adopted children of the elderly Ms. Congdon killed the poor woman for money. After reading this book, I see how very, very little I really knew--about the murder AND about Marjorie Congdon. As it turns out, being associated with the vicious murder of her own mother is virtually just part of a "normal" day for Marjorie. I was absolutely floored by her outrageous behavior--all in the name of attention and extreme greed. She literally stopped at nothing to get her way, and if opposed she exacted calculated revenge to very scary degrees. I've loaned my copy of this book to several people and have recommended it to many. In fact, while on a second tour of Glensheen recently, I stood in the gift store and pointed it out to patrons. There are many books about Marjorie, but I doubt any of them is as comprehensive as this one. It's written by the journalist who covered much of Marjorie's court drama and who became well acquainted with the lawyer from whose point of view the story is often told. It's far more than "just the facts." It's written like a novel with richly-drawn human characters. (Truly, it seems fictional sometimes, because I've never known anyone who pulled off what Marjorie does.) The book also includes a good selection of photographs and provides an up-to-date account of Marjorie's latest status. In conclusion, you don't need to be from Minnesota or even the Midwest to appreciate this book. It's an American tragedy, quite certainly. And you'll find yourself recommending it often.

Very good .......2006-07-19

I just finished reading Will to Murder and I couldn't put it down until I was done with it. I read the first few chapters then toured Glensheen. It was very helpful knowing some of the history of the house and the murders and knowing exactly which rooms they happened in. The tour guide was asked how the University got the mansion and the tour guide said Elizabeth passed away. She didn't once say anything about the murders. The daughter has a lot of problems.

Worth More Dead: And Other True Cases (Ann Rule's Crime Files, Vol. 10)

Average customer rating:

Ann Rule is the Master!
Not as Good as Others
Yeah! Another Ann Rule Anthology!
Reviewing a book
great product/fast delivery

Worth More Dead: And Other True Cases (Ann Rule's Crime Files, Vol. 10)
Ann Rule
Manufacturer: Pocket
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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Too Late to Say Goodbye: A True Story of Murder and Betrayal

ASIN: 074344874X

Book Description

Why would a man kill his lover's husband and then his wife, the woman who fought successfully to have him paroled from prison? Why would he risk arrest by kidnapping the child of another woman who adored him?

Because they were...

Worth More Dead

A cold case reopened -- and solved -- with dogged police work and new evidence. One of the shocking true crimes of passion and greed from Ann Rule's Crime Files.

Former Marine sergeant and judo instructor Roland Pitre Jr. claimed it was all an elaborate plan to win back his wife's love -- it wasn't supposed to end with her dead body in the trunk of a car. Nearly twenty years later, he acknowledged that he had hired someone to kill his estranged wife in 1988, though his alleged excuse for why a monstrous "mistake" happened is as shocking and convoluted as the crime itself. Eventually, he was charged with first-degree murder in the long-unsolved death of Cheryl Pitre, after a mysterious witness betrayed Pitre to save his own skin. Tracing back the dark and bloody path of Pitre's life, two generations of detectives found a chain of brutal and terrifying crimes by a man who manipulated the courts and prisons to walk free.

Download Description

"A cold case reopened -- and solved -- with dogged police work and new evidence. One of the shocking true crimes of passion and greed from Ann Rule's Crime Files. Former Marine sergeant and judo instructor Roland Pitre Jr. claimed it was all an elaborate plan to win back his wife's love -- it wasn't supposed to end with her dead body in the trunk of a car. Nearly twenty years later, he acknowledged that he had hired someone to kill his estranged wife in 1988, though his alleged excuse for why a monstrous "mistake" happened is as shocking and convoluted as the crime itself. Eventually, he was charged with first-degree murder in the long-unsolved death of Cheryl Pitre, after a mysterious witness betrayed Pitre to save his own skin. Tracing back the dark and bloody path of Pitre's life, two generations of detectives found a chain of brutal and terrifying crimes by a man who manipulated the courts and prisons to walk free.

Customer Reviews:

Ann Rule is the Master!.......2007-03-21

Ann Rule is fabulous. This book is no different then her others, it captures you in the beggining and keeps you turning the pages amazed at what goes on in the world around you.

Not as Good as Others.......2007-03-14

I am a big fan of Ann Rule. I buy every book she writes, just because her name is on it. And I've never been disappointed until now. I thought her main crime story, "Worth More Dead", was lacking in the usual excitement and juicy details she always weaves her stories with. Ms. Rule has seemed to stop writing at length about the police officers' lives, and that is a big plus. I've noticed it in her last few books. It seems like "Worth More Dead" is a long story that doesn't have enough oomph for the main case story. This might have been better off used as one of her other, shorter case files in this or another book. The other, briefer cases she writes of in this book are excellent. Good old Ann Rule tightness, page-turning excitement with incredible cases - hard to put down. Rule fans should not overlook this book.

Yeah! Another Ann Rule Anthology! .......2006-12-31

I must admit I was giddy when I saw this at the grocery store. I so love Ann's work, that I'd read just about anything she's written. This Crime File was a great one. The first story is the more detailed of the bunch and centers on a man that got away with quite a bit in his criminal lifetime. I think the last story however, was the most personal for Rule; you can feel her empathy through the pages. "Desperate Housewife" cronicles a woman's struggle to leave an unhappy marriage and her ultimate demise by the hands of her husband.
I learn so much about the Seattle area in her books...I think I could probably visit one day and know my way around.
If you're a true crime buff, you know Rule's work and certainly don't need to be told to buy this book. If you're new to the genre and want to read a master, here she is!

Reviewing a book.......2006-11-10

I have just started reading Ann Rule's book titled, "Worth More Dead:And Other True Cases (Ann Rule's Crime Files, Vol 10) but I can rate it five stars because I have read all of her books to date and have never found one I didn't like. After all, they are all true crime stories.

great product/fast delivery.......2006-11-03

Product was delivered in fast time and it was as described in the sellers notes, would use seller again in the future.

Average customer rating:

Alan Gregory assists the Locard organization
Well written and dreadfully dull
good mystery
Falls Apart in the End
Overly too long

Cold Case
Stephen White
Manufacturer: Signet
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Critical Conditions: An Alan Gregory Thriller (Alan Gregory)
Remote Control (Alan Gregory)
Harm's Way
The Program
Warning Signs

ASIN: 0451201558
Release Date: 2001-02-06

Book Description

In this classic, early novel from the popular Alan Gregory series, a cold case gets hot as the crime-solving psychologist investigates a decade-old double homicide that will threaten the guilty-and endanger the innocent.

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"It was a cold caseâ?¦ The unsolved double murder of two teenage girls. They vanished on a crisp autumn night more than decade ago. Their mutilated bodies were found the following spring beneath the melting snow of the Colorado Rockies. Now--at the request of their families--this cold case is being reopened. Clinical psychologist Alan Gregory has been asked to compile a psychological profile of the two girls. To probe their deepest secrets. To uncover the darkest truth. Even if it condemns the innocent as well as the guiltyâ?¦ "

Customer Reviews:

Alan Gregory assists the Locard organization.......2007-06-13

In this, the eighth Alan Gregory thriller, the Colorado-based clinical psychologist and his wife, Boulder Assistant District Attorney Lauren Crowder, are asked to assist a private organization known as Locard. Comprised of former and current prosecutors, federal law enforcement agents, and forensic specialists, the group (named after the legendary 19th-century French detective Edmond Locard) specializes in providing assistance to local police in solving "cold cases," i. e., unsolved cases that have been open for an especially long time.

In this instance, Locard is investigating the murder of teenagers Tamara Franklin and Mariko Hamamoto, two close friends who disappeared from their homes in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, one cold November evening in 1988. The girls' bodies were discovered a few months later when the springtime thaw melted the snowbank in which their killer had hidden their corpses. Because the bodies had been mutilated (Tami's body was found sans a hand, Mariko's was missing the toes of one foot), local police sought an opportunistic killer, either a serial killer or a drifter, an approach that proved unsuccessful.

Asked to perform a "psychological autopsy," Gregory conducts interviews with several people connected to the case, including the girls' parents, siblings, and friends. His inquiries also bring him into contact with Mariko's psychologist, Dr. Raymond Welle. Welle has also known tragedy: Four years after the girls' disappearance, Welle's wife Gloria was apparently murdered by another of his patients, the severely depressed Brian Sample. The crime drew national headlines and propelled Welle into the public eye, first gaining him a syndicated talk show, then a Senate seat. Suspecting that Welle knows more about the case than he lets on, Gregory doggedly pursues the Senator.

Gregory's odyssey into the past affects him in varying ways. Of course, there's the thrill of the hunt, the intellectual challenge, and the satisfaction of bringing a criminal to justice. But that's not all, as Gregory becomes involved on a very personal level. His many interviews bring home a hard fact to the psychologist, namely that human beings inflict great damage on each other every day. He's reminded that murder has a ripple effect, irrevocably changing the lives of both survivors and victims. Gregory's personal life is also impacted by the investigation, as he becomes the target of forces anxious to conceal the truth. Touchingly, his thoughts in moments of peril always turn to his pregnant wife, and how he now has even more to live for than before.

If you had to choose one word to describe this novel, that word would probably be "intimate," in the sense that the reader's involvement in the narrative increases as Gregory digs deeper in his search for the truth. Of course, White pays a lot of attention to Gregory and Lauren Crowder; after eight novels, they feel like old friends. But White also lavishes a great deal of attention on the rest of his cast -- supporting characters are given sufficient substance to keep them interesting, from Kimber Lister, the somewhat pompous, agoraphobic leader of Locard, to family friend A. J. Simes, a retired FBI psychologist who, like Crowder, suffers from multiple sclerosis.

That's not to say that everything's perfect, however. For instance, the answer to the riddle Gregory faces is so complex that, once the perpetrators are revealed, it takes page upon page of exposition to explain their actions and motivations, causing one to wonder why they don't just shoot Gregory and be done with it. This is only a minor criticism, however, rendered inconsequential by the air of intimacy and immediacy White creates.

Well written and dreadfully dull.......2007-03-25

I appreciate good writing, I really do. This novel delivers that; White brings the characters alive quite well and weaves a good narrative that ties them all together naturally with very believable encounters. The trouble is, there's nothing interesting about them. It's a dull story, and that's really disappointing. I don't think I'm going to give up on White as an author, maybe I just chose the book to get acquainted with him.

good mystery.......2006-04-07

The plot is good, the characters do act reasonably enough, there is some thrill, the location is well described, what else one would ask for?

And I liked the part where a pacticing clinical psychologist married to an ADA thinks that somebody else but not him is rich (in political sense).

It is too graphic for my modest tastes, though.

Falls Apart in the End.......2006-02-08

COLD CASE - Stephen White - Audio book read by Scott Brick

This is another case of a series novel that just doesn't stand up well under scrutiny. I know I've been overly harsh on this sort of work lately, but I can't help myself. The series cannot take precedence over the plot or the book itself. If it can't stand up on its own spine and support the pages it will flop, and for me, that's just what "Cold Case" did - particularly near the end. While it's nice to "know" the characters, their lives and things unrelated to the plot should always take the back seat.

Two girls were brutally murdered, body parts removed, and they were left in snowdrifts in the Colorado mountains. The case was never solved, but now Alan Gregory and his wife Lauren have been drawn into the case by a group known as Locard, named after a famous French forensic expert. They have been asked to look into the killings by the family of one of the girls. The book starts well enough, unraveling the details of the killing, introducing characters one by one, but eventually it begins to die of its own complexity. Everyone is guilty of something. Everyone is hiding something, and apparently the only one who can figure it all out (despite the fact the reader does so in most cases well ahead of him) is Alan Gregory. Alan himself isn't much of a hero - he freezes nearly every time any sort of violence comes along, and he and his wife are so goody-goody (not to mention a little snooty) that it sometimes borders on the ridiculous.

Still, the book was entertaining right up until near the end. It should have ended about a hundred pages before it did, and this is the major flaw of this book. Characters start acting out of character. They do things you can't imagine them doing. At one point a murderer is just let go while Alan and the leader of Locar, Mr. Lister, head off to trespass at the scene of the original crime. No one mentions him again at all until later in the book - but I think in real life they'd be concerned where the man who almost helped kill them, concealed the fact his wife was a murderer, and set her up to die might be headed off to. At the very least you'd think Dr. Gregory, who is trained in grief therapy, would consider the man a suicide risk. The ending is warped horribly to make it fit the mold of the "perfect ending" the author seems to have envisioned, and it feels hurried. This, unfortunately, was the end of the book and that was the impression I was left with.

Scott Brick did a good job of portraying the characters, but good narration wasn't enough, for me, to draw the weak threads together. I don't think I'll be reading any further novels about Alan Gregory.

DNW

Overly too long.......2005-10-13

This book has too many pages that doesn't say anything at all. Each chapter has an introduction of how is the weather that is just boring. And at the end why the bad guys just confessed their felonies?
When you know who was the bad guy and why you'll drop the book of this nonsense story. Definitely are much better books than this one because this one is not even a thriller, is a waste of time.

The Restless Sleep : Inside New York City's Cold Case Squad

Average customer rating:

Couldn't put it down!
Best Read Book
Thrilling and Heartbreaking
Riveting. Scary. (in a good way)
INTERESTING STORIES, BUT WRITING STYLE BLAH...

The Restless Sleep : Inside New York City's Cold Case Squad
Stacy Horn
Manufacturer: Amazon Remainders Account
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: B000EPFVP0

Book Description

There is no statute of limitations on murder. Homicide is one crime you pay for—but first you must be caught. In New York City, thousands of murders remain unsolved. Where does the police department begin after an unsolved case has gone cold? In this fascinating, in-depth narrative, a writer uses her unprecedented access to chronicle the inner workings of the elite unit of homicide detectives charged with the overwhelming task of solving cold cases going back as far as 1951.

As the popularity of police television series such as Law & Order, CSI, and Cold Case makes plain, the public's interest in police work is immense and growing. The Restless Sleep tells of a real-life subculture of crime solving and of the talented, indefatigable, ill-at-ease detectives who lock on to a case, sift through decades-old case files, and chase down seemingly exhausted leads—trying to see what others have missed. Following four cases from inception to resolution, Horn depicts the world of the victims and their murderers “who thought they'd gotten away with it,” along with the scientific advancements that don't always yield hoped- for answers, and the harrowing politics and tangled history of the infamous NYPD. A completely addictive read as admiring of the successes as it is critical of the bureaucracy, The Restless Sleep promises to become a true-crime favorite.

Customer Reviews:

Couldn't put it down!.......2007-05-05

I read this book in one night! However, I also agree with some of the other "reviewers", the author jumped around a bit. Explaining the Rico Act had nothing to do with the story about the young off-duty cop that was killed. I have a deep respect for the men and women who try to solve these cold-cases. They help bring peace to the victims and their families. If you enjoy true crime and good detective work, this book is for you.

Best Read Book.......2007-03-10

I really enjoyed reading this book. While I was reading it was able to place myself in the book which is good cause I am able to catch the stories better as I read. The only thing that I didn't like was that I was kept in suspense cause not all the cases were solved.

Thrilling and Heartbreaking .......2006-02-15

I couldn't put this book down. Horn writes with great feeling, knowledge and insight about the victims, suspects and police investigators involved in each of the real life cold case stories she tells. She expertly navigates the complex web that connects all of the participants to create a rich experience that reads like the best fiction.

Riveting. Scary. (in a good way).......2006-02-14

I couldn't put this book down! Horn keeps the suspense going among the cold cases she follows. Her descriptions of the detectives involved are colorful and put you inside of their heads and their lives.

I had to put the book down at times because I was so into the horror of the cases. But it was worth it. Highly recommended true crime!!!

INTERESTING STORIES, BUT WRITING STYLE BLAH..........2006-02-14

The author does a great job of introducing us to some of New York's finest, but her writing style is a bit hard to follow. She writes like she's some type of tough New York city cop herself, rather than objectively. I got the feeling that she had her own political agenda throughout the text. Great idea for a book but writing could have been much, much better.

Average customer rating:

REALLY poor!!
Too bad...
Poor and disappointing
Very poor
Not worth the price!

At Risk
Patricia Cornwell
Manufacturer: Penguin Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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Predator (Kay Scarpetta Mysteries)
Judge & Jury
Dead Watch
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Beach Road

ASIN: 0143058738

Book Description

From America's #1 bestselling crime writer, an electrifying new thriller-with a twist.

Unabridged CDs - 4 CDs, 4 hours

Customer Reviews:

REALLY poor!! .......2007-09-01

The absolute WORST book that I have wasted time, and a lot of money on
in a LONG time!! Very disapointed!!

Too bad..........2007-08-30

Patricia Cornwell's early work was top-notch, but most everything she's written lately has been sloppy, disjointed and feels like something she did while she was busy thinking about something else. I was hoping this one would be different since it was written as a series of magazine serials. But, this one was even worse.

This book has so many plot holes and barely introduced characters that flit in and flit out again that it feels like the work of an amateur rather than the work of an author of more than 20 books. The main characters are just sketches, rather than being fleshed out. Is she such a commodity that her editors can't edit her any more?

Poor and disappointing.......2007-08-24

Winston Garano, a forensic investigator who is given an assignment that has been in the cold case bucket for 20 years thinks his talents are being wasted on a stupid, old investigation.
"AT RISK" is a new program in the anti-crime program that District Attorney, Monique Lamont has her greedy hands on. Winston is working his knuckles to the bone on the coldcase, while Winston wants to further her program---she wonders if there will be interferance from Winston.
There is no Scarpetta or Lucy in this novel which to me is Cornwell's bread and butter for mystery writing. The plot is boring, flat and downright bad. I was disappointed.

Very poor.......2007-08-22

I've read all of Cornwell's Kay Scarpetta books and liked the first three or four quite a bit. The series declined markedly in quality after that. At Risk is Cornwell's worst yet and illustrates exactly why I did not enjoy the later Kay Scarpetta books very much.

The problem is that, rather than showing us what the characters are feeling, Cornwell simply tells us. That's just lazy.

If a character is fearful, we should be able to infer that from the plot itself, without Cornwell having to tell us, "Suzie is afraid here, because she in a dangerous situation, which I'm not going to bother describing."

If that happened once or twice, that would be mildly irritating. Unfortunately, it happens over and over. Cornwell tells us that Suzie is fearful when her alarm clock goes off in the morning; Suzie feels a shiver of terror when she puts cream in her coffee; a nameless dread comes over Suzie as she puts her shoes on; she grits her teeth in frustration as she dunks her donut in her coffee; her heart turns cold with fear as she pets her dog; etc., etc. The endless, overwrought emotions in routine situations get very tiresome very quickly.

I hope Cornwell can make a comeback, but she's had four or five weak efforts in a row now. Sad.

Not worth the price!.......2007-08-15

With the exception of "Preditor", I have read and enjoyed read Cornwell's books. This books was boring and uninteresting.

I purchased the paperback and paid a normal price. However, the print was larger then a normal book and contained more blank pages. If, the print was small like other books and didn't have the blank pages, instead of 289 pages, it would be about 189 pages.

I'm just glad I didn't pay for a hardcover version.

Next Stop Hollywood: Short Stories Bound for the Screen

Average customer rating:

next stop hollywood
About short stories that become movies
Digging Dirk!
Glasser is a master at his craft
Perry Glasser -- rising star in the literary firmament

Next Stop Hollywood: Short Stories Bound for the Screen
Steve Cohen
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Griffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0312357893
Release Date: 2007-05-29

Book Description

For much of Hollywoods history, short stories have been a major source of ideas for successful and significant films. Today, however, not as many short stories are being used as muses for major motion pictures. The reason is simple: the vast majority of magazines that published popular short storiesThe Saturday Evening Post, Look, Mademoiselleare gone. The outlets for commercial short fiction have evaporated and with them a wealth of inspiring movie material. This book picks up where those magazines left off: these terrific, thought-provoking short stories have been selected from more than 600 entries by an editorial board of authors, screenwriters, directors, and producers. These very same stories may be at a theater near you in the near future.

Customer Reviews:

next stop hollywood.......2007-09-14

an excellent collection of short stories that will make wonderful movies. standouts :gone to mum's
dirk snigby
some pig
waltzing matilda.
sit back with a long cool drink and enjoy.

About short stories that become movies.......2007-07-13

_The Hustler, It Happened One Night, High Noon, Minority Report_ and _All About Eve._ Quite an impressive list, but what do these movies all have in common? Give up? They all started as a short story.

Next Stop Hollywood is the brainchild of Steve Cohen and Jonathan Davis. Each year they partner with St. Martin's Press to publish original short stories that are judged by a panel of Hollywood insiders via an international contest, with winning entries compiled into the anthology. Their criteria? Finding stories that would make a great movie or TV project. More than 600 entries were submitted and narrowed down to a mere 15.

Using the same judging criteria, I chose three stories from Next Stop Hollywood to highlight.

Perry Glasser's "An Age of Marvels and Wonders," tells the story of a lonely old man slowly going blind and the young woman who comes into his life. Raylene is a walking hard luck story--with two kids, no money and an abusive ex-husband. Is it any wonder she's skeptical of an offer of help? Bob may slowly be going blind, but he sees far more than mere eyesight allows.

"Gone to Mum's" by Barry Simiana is a richly detailed and poignant story of missed chances, stolen moments, heartbreak and redemption. Simiana's narrator takes readers along on his journey of self-discovery amid the rugged backdrop of Australia. The author paints emotion on his canvas, stunning the reader with the simplicity and honesty of his prose.

"The Good Kid" by Brian Richmond, is a clever tale of deception. Marty is a bank robber on the run with nowhere to go. The kid is more than willing to help. But is he helping himself or Marty? O. Henry would have approved.

With Hollywood scrambling for fresh ideas, it's nice to know that the art of the short story is not completely forgotten.

Armchair Interviews says: Kudos to Cohen and Davis for their part in reviving an endangered genre.

Digging Dirk!.......2007-06-23

I thoroughly enjoyed these short stories, especially "Dirk Snigby's Guide to the Afterlife". Dirk and the devil would be a hit on the silver screen!

Glasser is a master at his craft.......2007-06-17

Perry Glasser is a wonderful writer and an inspiration in my own writing. His forthright yet crafty style will leave you complete. You won't be disappointed!

Perry Glasser -- rising star in the literary firmament.......2007-06-12

So far, I've read only the novella-length "An Age of Marvels and Wonders" and "Mexico," both by Perry Glasser. These two stories alone would justify the purchase of the anthology.

Perry has a narrative style and mastery of dialogue as smooth as the best of 'em. His characters come right off the page and into the reader's mind within a matter of paragraphs, and words (as challenge rather than as facilitator to the sheer enjoyment of the story) disappear within seconds. Higher praise I couldn't pay to any writer worth his nom or his plume.

If Perry's stories are any indication of the general tenor of the book, I very much look forward to reading the rest of it.

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