Written in Blood by Diane Fanning Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $3.90 You Save: $3.09 (44%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Written in Blood
Book Review: A great page-turner about a "normal looking" psychopath
Summary: 5 Stars
Diane Fanning is to be congratulated on the superb job of reporting and writing in this outstanding example of the true crime genre. Michael Peterson is interesting for some of us because of the sheer tension surrounding the case. Did he really do it? Was a man like this really capable of such a crime?
Ms. Fanning doesn't flinch, nor does she muddy the waters by giving too much play to the outlandish nonsense the defense team tried to use at trial. The crime scene photos, the amount of blood, the setting, and Peterson's own strange double life, all begin to tighten the knot of very solid circumstantial evidence. (In other words, one could also write a book about the OJ case without trying to pursue the "mysterious" drug dealers the defense hinted at but never identified. There was simply no evidence which pointed toward these chimera. Defense lawyers scare up images of "some other person did it" in nearly every high profile murder...they just never name the other party.)
Far and away the best book on the case...and something you must read if you're also going to see either the TV film or the long European documentary. Good job. Great read!
Book Review: A very good book
Summary: 5 Stars
I usually do not read a true crime book so soon after the court trial because by the time the trial is over I am usually burned out on the whole case. This murder, however, is one that I cannot get out of my mind because there is still so much unfinished business. So, I did buy this book as soon as I could find it. I find Ms. Fanning's manner of writing to be very clear and concise and easy to read and understand. The background research on the key characters was complete and it was good to have photographs.
I plan to buy more books by this author.
Book Review: An extraordinarily one-sided account
Summary: 1 Stars
If you were thinking of reading this book because you are curious about what could have happened to Kathleen Peterson and wanted an unbiased accounting of the facts in the case, then don't bother.
According to Fanning "Before the trial ended, the verdict was a foregone conclusion in my mind. The medical examiner's report made it murder. The spatter inside the shorts made it Mike. All else was window-dressing." It didn't matter to her that America's foremost expert disagreed with the medical examiner, that Michael Peterson's journalism had upset many in the Durham law and order community, or that there was no convincing weapon or motive presented by the prosecution.
Fanning sets out to prove that Michael Petersen is an evil killer and in doing so she ignores any evidence to the contrary. Her acknowledgments carry thanks only to detractors of Michael Peterson; none from his supporters. She presents one-sided versions and vague recollections as though they were fact. Every character presented for the prosecution is heroic; every supporter of the defence is sadly delusional. When prosecutor Hardin finishes his closing she says "the courtroom was as quiet as a chapel in the aftermath of witnessing a miracle." On the other hand, she describes Peterson's tears for his wife as "caterwauling".
For me such obvious bias shed doubt on every single account she presented in the book. I don't know if Peterson is guilty or not. I wish I could find someone who would present evidence from both sides. But, as Fanning says herself "the legal system is no longer designed to find the truth-it is constructed to decide a winner."
Book Review: Concise and well written
Summary: 5 Stars
I watched the trial for months trying to sort through the smoke, mirrors, and delays put on by the defense. Facts were hard to verify. This book takes the puzzle pieces, puts them in order, and paints a picture of the Peterson case that is clear and easy to understand. The background information brings clarity to the confusing world of Michael Peterson. If you have questions about the people in this case this is the best book to find the anwers.Book Review: Couldnt Put It Down!
Summary: 5 Stars
I ordered this book from Amazon after reading other books by this Author. I LOVED it,She tells the Story of novelist Michael Peterson who murdered his wife and made it look like she fell down the stairs. Strange thing it had happened 16 years earlier to another women he knew!
The Author did a wonderful job of telling this story her book was straight forward and to the point.It had no annoying filler in it.but,told the whole story.I got my copy in the mail one morning started reading that afternoon and couldnt put it down until I finished!Its an easy read and doesnt flip flop from subject to subject.Its one of the best True Crime books I have read in a while and I read them all! For those of you who watched this case on Court TV I highly recommend that you read this book as it has some facts I didnt see in the trial..For those who didnt watch the trial..Read this book! Its Great!