She's Gone: Five Mysterious Twentieth-Century Cold Cases

Title: She's Gone : Five Mysterious Twentieth-Century Cold Cases
Author: Kathleen Brunelle
Publisher: Prometheus
Release Date: May 21, 2004
Page Count: Unknown
Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Read book blurb here

In this compilation of true crime cases, the author delves into five unsolved murders, ranging from 1910 to 1977. I had heard of some of the cases (Dorothy Arnold and Jean Spangler) but the other cases were unfamiliar to me. 

In each case, the author does an excellent job in creating a narrative that gives us the facts of the case, a good understanding of the time and setting, and insight into how the murders affected their families and loved ones. The bibliography shows the extensive job done in researching the cases and interviewing family members.

Dorothy Arnold was an attractive young woman from a wealthy family, who disappeared in New York City mid-December 1910. 

Anna Locascio was married at 15, had four children, and a husband who disapproved of her working outside the home. Anna disappeared in 1918, and after a very casual investigation by the police, her husband was tried, resulting in a hung jury. Anna's body was never found. 

Agnes Tofverson was an amazing woman - a well-respected corporate lawyer with a substantial amount of money earned by her hard work. At age 42, she falls madly in love and marries a man who claims to be a millionaire, who wants to take her to India for a honeymoon, then to live in England. Agnes is never seen again after December 20, 1933. 

Jean Spangler was a Hollywood bit actress and dancer slowly working her way into movie roles. A devoted mother of five-year old Christine, Jean leaves Christine with her sister-in-law before heading out supposedly to a meeting and then work. Jean's disappearance on October 7, 1949 has never been solved. 

The final brief case involves Simone Ridinger, a 17-year-old just on the cusp of her adult life, who disappears while hitchhiking to Martha's Vineyard in 1977. 

In each of these tragic cases, the women were never found. There was no body and no closure for the family. Kathleen Brunelle tells their stories no matter their status or celebrity and her narrative is so well done and insightful, although I thought the chapter on Agnes Tofverson was a bit too long and unnecessarily detailed. I think anyone interested in true crime would find the stories particularly interesting and moving. 4 stars.

I received an ARC from the Publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Down the Hill : My Descent into the Double Murder in Delphi

Title: Down the Hill: My Descent into the Double Murder in Delphi
Author: Susan Hendricks
Publisher: Hachette Books
Release Date: September 18, 2023
Page Count: 288
Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Read book blurb here

I was not very familiar with the particulars of this horrendous case involving the murders of Libby German and Abby Williams in tiny Delphi, Indiana - a town so small it doesn't have a motel, and where everyone knows everyone. And that's the real horror of this story - someone in this town murdered these two teenagers. 

If you're looking for the traditional "true crime" book, this is not it. Instead, Susan Hendricks gives us a nuanced story of the effect such a crime has on the community, on the family, on law enforcement and on social media. Delphi's murder rate was virtually nonexistent and as such, Delphi's law enforcement was relatively untried. But they had heart and truly cared about the families and solving this crime. Hendricks spent time with LE over the years she covered the case and knew how deeply they cared about this case and how much it affected them. 

Hendricks very carefully shares how social media in particular can be a two-edged sword. As she notes "But what happens when the ask for a tip from law enforcement and family members turns into or perpetuates the public's desire to solve the crime no matter the cost? Can that desire lead to an online witch hunt? The short answer is yes." And especially in this case, where virtually no information was released from LE and details on possible murderer(s) was vague and inconsistent, social media "influencers" posted speculation about many members of the community and family, not considering how deeply their careless conjectures could wound. As Libby's grandmother said "The best revenge is none. Heal more, move on. Don't become like those who hurt you." 

As the book ends, a suspect has been arrested and a new phase of the case begins. It leaves the families in new territory, not setting their grief aside, but entering into a new and different stage of grief. 4 stars for this very insightful and heart-rendering account.

I received an ARC from the Publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Tangled Vines : Power, Privilege and the Murdaugh Family Murders

Title: Tangled Vines;  Power, Privilege and the Murdaugh Family Murders
Author: John Glatt
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: August 8, 2023
Page Count: 310
Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Read book blurb here

In Tangled Vines, John Glatt does an excellent job of delving into the Murdaugh family dynamic, giving us behind-the-scene details of this Southern Gothic "crime family." It begins with a history of the past 110 years or so of the Murdaugh family; it's a bit hard to follow, given that almost every male of the past several generations had been named either Randolph or Buster. But once we finally get to the current generation, we have a good understanding of the tight network of judges, lawyers, and law enforcement that enabled the Murdaugh family's stranglehold on the judicial system in their part of the South Carolina Lowcountry.

 It's all a heady mix of murder, white-collar fraud, misappropriation of funds (almost $9 million dollars from personal injury clients), money laundering, forgery, drug manufacture and trafficking and more. It's hard to feel any kind of sympathy for the truly deplorable Murdaugh family. As one of Alex Murdaugh's victim said "I know Mr. Murdaugh as my attorney ... A very nice man and very cordial. I never had any issues and would communicate with him on a regular basis. Now here's the problem. He treated me that nice and he stole every dime I had from the injury I incurred." 

Perhaps because the scope of all the crimes is so huge, it's hard to get a sense of wife Maggie's personality, and sons Paul and Buster - other than spoiled sons of parents who encouraged and abetted their violent fits of anger, underage drinking, vehicular manslaughter (Paul's drunken boat accident that killed Mallory Beach), the mysterious death of Steven Smith, and the mysterious death of Gloria Satterfield. 

At four years old they cussed like sailors [...] and Maggie thought it was funny. [She] instilled in them from a very young age that they were better than anyone else because they were Mardaughts. The same rules didn't apply to you that apply to these other people. 'You're a Murdaugh! You're a Murdaugh.' 

As the book was, for the most part completed in late 2022 and early 2023, the advance-reading copy did not include trial updates and developments. It is my understanding that the final version does contain trial information. 

If you are looking for a great over-all examination of the Murdaugh family and their numerous crimes in the context of the Southern Lowcountry where they "ruled" for over a hundred years, you won't do better than Glatt's account. The book is a bit light on specific details on the actual murders of Paul and Maggie, and Paul's drunken boat accident is skimmed over, but then again there is so much crime, murder, corruption, fraud and the like that a true accounting could be almost endless. 4 stars.

I received an ARC from the Publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Deliberate Cruelty : Truman Capote, the Millionaire's Wife, and the Murder of the Century

Title: Deliberate Cruelty: Truman Capote, the Millionaire's Wife, and the Murder of the Century
Author: Roseanne Montillo
Publisher: Atria Books
Release Date: November 1, 2022
Page Count: 320
Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Read book blurb here

Roseanne Montillo compares and contrasts the lives of Ann Woodward and Truman Capote; each came from broken small-town families and viewed New York City as their salvation, but for each it ultimately brought tragedy, 

The phrase "More tears are shed over answered prayers than unanswered ones" is central to both Ann and Truman's lives. Montillo carefully lays out Ann Woodward's dirt-poor life in Kansas and her heroic efforts to move to New York City, improve herself with acting lessons, vocal lessons to strip away her midwestern accent, and to do whatever was needed to land a rich husband. Ann succeeded beyond her dreams, marrying old money Billy Woodward in 1943.  But Ann soon realizes she  is despised by her mother-in-law and ridiculed by the society women she envies - she will never be enough, and no one will let her forget this.

Truman grew up in a small southern town, unwanted by his parents and raised by his maiden aunts and assorted relatives. Truman's mother Lille Mae viewed New York City as her salvation and soon found a new husband, bringing Truman to live with them when he was 10. Small, determined, profoundly cruel (Truman once said about himself, "I am about as tall as a shotgun, and just as nasty")  Truman worked hard for his fame, first known as an exceptional short-story writer, and writing Other Voices, Other Rooms, Breakfast at Tiffanys and the classic In Cold Blood, the first true crime non-fictional novel.

And at the pinnacle of his fame, Capote famously releases one chapter of his long-awaited novel Answered Prayers - a gossipy, nasty chapter entitled La Côte Basque 1965.  Ann Woodward commits suicide rather than be subjected to yet another round of hatred, and Truman Capote commits social suicide, effectively shunned by the whole of  NY society. 

Where the book drags a bit is in the telling of Ann's story.  Much is left to speculation (it is mentioned numerous times that Ann and Billy Woodward's father may have had an affair and that Billy was bisexual but this is left unexplored) and one never really gains any insight into Ann, beyond the superficial and shallow.  Overall, 4 stars for an enjoyable read.  

I received an ARC from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Golden Boy : A Murder Among the Manhattan Elite

Title: Golden Boy
Author: John Glatt
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: July 20, 2021
Page Count: 320
Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Read book blurb here

Buckley, Deerfield, Princeton, Maidstone, East Hampton. Tommy Gilbert, Jr. had it all - model good looks, a great education, a loving family - and yet he is now serving 30 years to life for murdering his father by firing a bullet through his brain.

Tommy had been blessed with both hands, yet it was this very thing that prevented him getting any sort of real help.  As a few friends said:

Nobody thought this handsome, well-educated, privileged Princeton man was capable of violence [...] if Tommy looked like me, people would have thought he was an insane person fairly quickly.

I must admit that I really struggled with this book because while I feel that Tommy's mental illness (paranoid schizophrenia) was absolutely the major factor in the murder, time and again Tommy was given a second, third, fourth, ad nauseum chances at redemption solely because of his looks and his background.  

And in a sense, this is the same struggle that the court faced with this case. It took four years to bring the case to trial because of the difficulty in determining if Tommy was sane enough to stand trial. He refused to speak with medical personnel tasked with determining his mental state, he refused to take any medication, he refused to participate in his defense.  Yet he also carefully planned to murder his father - purchasing the Glock he used, sending his mother out of the townhouse on an errand, carefully walking away from the scene, etc. 

The author had access to Tommy's mother, Sheila Gilbert, and others close to him, including his attorney Arnold Levine. There's plenty here showing that Tommy's parents were in denial about his mental illness - "They appeared more concerned about their reputation than their son's highly dangerous mental state" -  and that their status and wealth had protected him in the past from consequences.  And Sheila strongly advocated for her son getting "as light a sentence as possible" while, IMHO, failing to advocate for her murdered husband. But again, this entire case is a horrific Sophie's choice that far too many families are dealing with every day. 

At times, the narrative dragged with far too many parties and events described in great detail, but overall Glatt clearly lays out a dilemma to which there is no clear answer. 4 stars. 

I received an ARC from the Publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Death on Ocean Boulevard : Inside the Coronado Mansion Case

Title: Death on Ocean Boulevard : Inside the Coronado Mansion Case 

Author: Caitlin Rother 

Publisher: Citadel Press 

Release Date: April 27, 2021 

Genre(s): Unsolved murder, hanging

Page Count: 368 

Rating: 4 stars out of 5 

Read book blurb here

The image of the Spreckels Mansion is an apt metaphor for this true crime story of death and terrifying loss. At first glance the historic mansion looks impressive, but inside there is mold on the bathtubs, the carpet is in need of replacement, the decor is somewhat dated - appearances can be deceiving.

On the surface, Rebecca Zahau was living the good life with her millionaire boyfriend Jonah and his teenage kids, as well as sweet adorable six-year-old Max. But on July 11, 2011, Max falls face-first from a second story staircase onto the floor below and is taken to the hospital in critical condition. Two days later, Rebecca is found dead .... nude, bound in red rope, hanging from an exterior balcony. Max dies of his injuries on July 16, 2011, having never regained consciousness. 

What happened those summer days in Coronado have never been fully solved, despite a jury in a civil case finding Jonah's brother Adam responsible for Rebecca's death, and the San Diego Sheriff's department declaring Rebecca's death a suicide.  And ... Max may have simply tripped and fell over the bannister, although a trauma doctor believes he was suffocated prior to his fall. 

Caitlin Rother begins by sharing her husband's 1999 death by suicide, as well as some unsettling events from Rebecca's past which creates a framework of sorts for the larger mystery. As Dr. House would say, "everybody lies" and with that unsteady foundation in place, we move on to investigate the case. 

Rother's narrative at times is a bit unclear and while she gives us brief sketches of the major players, at times I found myself trying to remember exactly who some of those players were.  There is also a lot of repetition along the way. But then again, there are a lot of details about the case, most of which are still highly disputed.  As Sheriff Gore stated: "Sometimes family members hear what they want to hear" or as Rother says:

"What comes out in a trial is not a single truth. Each side tries to win its case by presenting witnesses who offer conflicting interpretations of the same evidence [...]. I came away convinced that the whole truth had not come out - from either side."

Rother's book provides some new information and theories of the case and overall, I felt she did a good job of balancing all the various "truths" about what happened those summer days in 2011. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the case and anyone seeking to learn more about the inner workings of investigation and analysis.  4 stars. 

I recieved an ARC from the Publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Deadly American Beauty

Title: Deadly American Beauty
Author: John Glatt
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Release Date: March 13, 2004
Page Count: 304
Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Read book blurb here

A true crime story of Kristin Rossum, a toxicologist with the San Diego ME's office, who murdered her husband Greg DeVillers with fentanyl, and then placed red rose petals on his bed,

Rossum had a lovely childhood and wanted to be a ballerina, but ended up addicted to meth, had an affair with her immediate boss in the toxicology department, lied to almost everyone she met, stole drugs from the ME's office and murdered her husband by drugging him with a massive dose of fentanyl and vainly attempted to cover up her crime.

 In comparing and contrasting John Glatt's Deadly American Beauty and Caitlin Rother's Poisoned Love, I would say Glatt's book is the clear winner. He gives a much clearer overview of the criminal case and the trial and provides more details about Greg's personality and family life. I found his writing interesting and engaging and liked how he had a good balance between providing the overview of the case, and well as providing smaller telling details. 4 stars.

Written In Blood

Title: Written in Blood
Author: Diane Fanning
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: February 1, 2005
Page Count: 416
Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Read book blurb here

Having just re-watched "The Staircase" on Netflix and done a bit of reading here and there on various forums about the Michael Peterson case, I was pleasantly surprised by all the additional information I learned from Diane Fanning's book about the Kathleen Peterson murder case.

Although Ms. Fanning is definitely very much on the side of the prosecution and very sympathetic to Kathleen's family, she presents a lot of details I have never read elsewhere. "The Staircase" focuses so much on the blood evidence and the blow poke to the exclusion of anything else. But Fanning gives us details about Michael Peterson's temper (it says somethng about character or lack thereof based on the horrible way he treats his dogs), his stealing and lying about his military service, how he forged documents to give himself the Ratliff estate, and the way he treated the Ratliff girls as cash cows.

I do believe Michael Peterson killed Kathleen, and left her to suffer a painful death. Fanning makes an interesting point that Peterson probably has Narcissistic personality disorder, which Wikipedia describes as a "personality disorder with a long-term pattern of abnormal behavior characterized by exaggerated feelings of self-importance, excessive need for admiration, and a lack of empathy."

In rewatching "The Staircase," you can't help but see Peterson's disregard for anyone but himself. 4 stars.