Written in Blood by Diane Fanning Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Written in Blood
Book Review: Witness for the prosecution
Summary: 4 Stars
I come to this book after having watched the riveting documentary "The Staircase" (available for rent at netflix) fascinated by Michael Peterson but looking for the other side of the story. For as fascinating as the documantary is, it is told from the defense perspective. This book sets out the facts, many glossed over or omitted from the documenary, along with a critical but not unfair view of the accused. If you have seen the film and are looking for more information on the case, this is the book to read; it is much more factual and informative than Aphrodite Jones's much more emotional and biased account. After reading this book, I lost my conviction that Peterson was wrongly convicted, but saddened that a man of so much talent and intelligence could be capable of such violence.Book Review: Written in Hyperbole.
Summary: 1 Stars
This silly book purports to be a true story.
Unfortunately, the author is unable to look at both sides of the case, a necessary part of writing a true crime story.
Michael Peterson gets no votes from me for his innocence, but it's hard to see what an intelligent,high achieving woman like Kathleen saw in him from this presentation. "Written in Blood" belongs to the fairytale style of true crime writing. The perpetrator is very bad, & the victim is very good. Needless to say, this does neither of them any favours & trivializes their real characters & the tragedy that occurred.
Carrying on the fairytale motif, Fanning repeatedly describes the rather plain Kathleen as "beautiful" (would her death be less tragic if she is acknowledged as less than supermodel material in the author's mind?) She also has the gall to relate an unbelievable lot of nonsense regarding windchimes over Kathleen's grave apparently being manipulated by her spirit! Understandable in a bereaved relative, this type of experience is ludicrous when described by someone purporting to be an investigative writer & can only raise further doubts about Fanning's ability for the task.
Poor Kathleen deserves to be seen as a real human being. This travesty of a book does not give us a sense of the vibrant woman who was obviously deeply loved by her family & friends. Fanning is unable to carry out more than a superficial investigation into the couple, & glosses over anything that could be perceived as even slightly negative in the lives of Kathleen & her family of origin. The Petersons are, of course, portrayed very differently.
At least the book isn't as bad as Aphrodite Jones's offering on this case, where the author apparently can read minds & tells us the results. And at least Fanning is very upfront about her bias.
If you want a mushy, sentimental overview of the case, snap this up. Otherwise save your money.
Book Review: in defense...
Summary: 5 Stars
RE: biased and inaccurate, May 7, 2005
Reviewer: Anna Sanders-bonelli - See all my reviews
"...Michael Peterson or her opinion that he is and has always been an inherently dishonest, manipulative, abusive, evil man. "
" Even issues unrelated to the case are portrayed in this manner. ... except, of course, Michael Peterson who comes across as a negligent and self-serving father "
Hey, you know...what can you do? If it (M Peterson) looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck. It is not biased to look at all the self serving things MP has done hie entire adult life and make an assessment. Besides, I don't recall anything in the preface saying it was going to be impartial... Every human being who encountered this trial started with the idea that they HOPED the guy was innocent because of all the kids involved, so it stands to reason that Diane Fanning did too. Maybe she should have waited til the last page of the book and then noted: BTW... MP is a selfish guy... ?
I have researched thousands of pages and read 2 books on this case, watched the joke of a docu-drama and WIB is by far the most in-depth source of information in one place that I have found. I bought 2 copies. one to study and notate, and one for the shelf. It is clear that she has had very close contact with the family members in this hoorid real-life story.
I loved it. It was the book for me....twice.
Book Review: page-turner
Summary: 5 Stars
This is my second Fanning book and I couldn't put it down. I didn't read any other books (or see the film) on the case but I did watch some Court TV coverage. How many staircases does it take to see the pattern of a cold-blooded killer? Typos aside, I thought it was very well written and it held my interest.