Books Read: American Mother: The True Story of a Troubled Family, Greed, and the Cyanide Murders That Shook The World by Gregg Olsen (didn’t finish); The Heiress: A Novel by Rachel Hawkins; Blind Rage: A True Story of Sin, Sex, and Murder in a Small Arkansas Town by Anita Paddock (reviews below)
Books Reading: Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin; Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng; The Wonder by Emma Donoghue
*This is a sad one today, Dear Readers. Please feel free to skip if this is not your bag.*
Within the last ten years there has been a boom in the true crime genre. And when I say boom, I mean a grade-A, universe shaking, cosmos creating, big bang BOOM! About eight years ago now (gosh, has it been that long?!) I was truly introduced and got sucked into the True Crime Wave that has grabbed the attention of many like myself. First it was just background noise to listen to as I walked to classes or was spending hours in the campus library studying and reading hundreds of pages of materials for classes. And then, it turned into a bit of an obsession.
I devoured true crime books (authors Anne Rule, M. William Phelps, and Kathryn Casey are particular favorites of mine); I’ve listened to countless hours of podcasts at work and on road trips; I Google cases to see whether there are any updates.
I am a true crime nut. There, I said it. I love to delve into the creepy, twisted minds of those among us who do the ultimate wrong.
Why? That’s the question I get most often when I say that I am a fan of true crime. “Why?” my father asks when he sees me reading Ann Rule or watching Investigation Discovery. “Why?” my grandparents ask when they see me listening to the latest episode of Morbid or Redhanded. “Why?” friends ask when they catch me wearing my My Favorite Murder tour shirt.
Look, if I could explain my interest, I would. But it’s not as simple as that.
There is a human fascination with the awful things that happen in the world. And, unfortunately, it is a daily occurrence. Because humans are complicated beings with incomprehensible feelings and emotions and situations that cause them to commit heinous acts against each other.
I’m not going to say that I don’t get freaked out or scared or saddened or angry by the things I read, watch, or listen to. Joseph DeAngelo (The Golden State Killer/Visalia Ransacker/Original Night Stalker/East Area Rapist/etc.) is in his late seventies and currently rotting in a California prison until he shuffles off this mortal coil. Doesn’t mean he doesn’t scare me. The nights that I watched HBO’s I’ll Be Gone In The Dark terrified me so much that I triple checked my locks and windows. I breathed a deep sigh of relief when Charles Manson finally keeled over, even though he had been in prison long before I was ever a thought. I don’t like listening or reading anything that involves kids; the deaths of Tylee Ryan and J.J. Vallow at the hands of their mother hit me particularly hard. There was a Dateline episode that I had to switch off because it took place in my hometown. Whenever I hear of cases involving the “less dead” (a tragic, but very real term/phenomena), my heart breaks. How can it not?
There are other crimes that I delve into that don’t always have to do with murder and mutilation. For example, there are two excellent podcasts that I highly recommend. Criminality focuses on the crimes perpetrated by those delightful humans that we (the public) have met through the medium of reality TV. Scamfluencers does the same, but focuses on those individuals who we have mainly met through social media. Both share a snapshot of our times, taking a deep dive into the 21st century phenomena of high tech. They are fun, silly, and usually a bit of a brain break from the doom and gloom of what we face in the day-to-day grind.
And there are days or weeks where it just becomes too much. I need a brain break. That’s when I watch old Looney Tunes or Scooby-Doo or will listen to Taylor Swift on repeat for ten to twenty minutes, minimum (I’m not technically a Swiftie I guess, but her music is soothing to my brain at times). I go outside and feel the sun and touch grass, glad that there are such things as flowers and happily watch the bumblebees as they gather nectar.
I guess that the best way to explain it is that I am a fan, not of the crimes themselves, but of the stories that they create. Of those that make it their life’s mission to seek justice for those that cannot. Of those that document the worst of human nature yet still manage to be in good spirits. Of the indomitable spirit of those who not only survive horrific things, but thrive in their lives afterward.
And that’s why I will stay on the True Crime Wave. At least for the time being.
Until Next Time, Dear Readers
The Texas Book Nerd
Resources:
National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives
SARC: Sexual Assault Resource Center
City of College Station Victim Services
Victim Resources - Brazos County
*Note: these are just a small handful that I have listed. There are myriad others, please consider researching national, state, and local organizations for advocacy and resources. Their work is important*
Book Reviews:
The Heiress: A Novel by Rachel Hawkins
Synopsis: North Carolina’s most notorious (and wealthiest) woman is dead. And no one was particularly unhappy to see her go. The victim of a childhood kidnapping and widowed four times over, Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore occupied the castle on the mountain, a modern queen living the life of luxury. But at what cost?
Ten years after her death, her adopted son Camden wants nothing to do with the nine-figure fortune or the mansion in the mountains that he inherited. He’d much rather stay in Colorado living the life as a high school teacher. But the latest plea from the family is just too pitiful to pass up. What follows is a gothic tale of deceit, murder, and a raging anger that haunts every corner of the house.
Review: Hmm. Not going to lie, this is a toughie to review. I vacillated the whole time between “this was an okay read” to “actually, did I like it?” to “Nope. Hated it.” To be honest, I’m still on the fence. The twists were decent, but there were some that did not pay off. And some that were dropped altogether! But, there were moments when I felt sucked into the plot and desperately wanted to see what would happen next. Solid and quick read with just a soupçon of suspense.
Synopsis: A quiet small town in Arkansas is shattered by a shocking tragedy. Ruie Ann Park was not your typical little old lady. She was mean, sharp, and somewhat entitled. In fact many felt that, sooner or later, she would end up on the wrong end of someone’s wrath. And that’s exactly what happened. Her horrific murder turns the little town of Van Buren against itself as the hunt begins for the person who gave in to their absolute blind rage.
Review: Eek. No matter how many true crime books that I read, podcasts I listen to, no matter what awful thing I hear that someone is done, there always seems to be something worse just below the surface. This is a unique read for me. Typically, true crime books are written by authors who have minimal connection to the crime. Anita Paddock definitely has a connection. I won’t spoil it here, but there is a closeness that the author shares within this story.
I couldn’t help but feel bad for the murderer. Do I condone what they did? Absolutely not. Were there circumstances that lead them to commit the crime? Without a doubt. It’s one of those crimes in which the community became sharply divided, some defending the actions of one while others condemn.
The book itself was a quick read. I don’t think that it was written particularly well, but it wasn’t the worst one I have ever read.
American Mother: The True Story of a Troubled Family, Greed, and the Cyanide Murders That Shook The World by Gregg Olsen
Synopsis: Bruce Nickell was an ordinary guy enjoying his sobriety until he suddenly died. Nobody thought it was anything but a death by natural causes. That is, until there was another death. Susan Snow was an ordinary woman getting ready for her workday. Until she took the Excedrin. What follows is a twisty, turny delving into a shocking mind that did not care who got in the way, as long as they got what they wanted.
Review: I did not finish this book. I love Gregg Olsen as a writer, I do, but boy, this book did not grab my attention. Which is odd, because the case itself is horrifically fascinating.
I made it halfway through to try to give it a fighting chance. And I thought that it would be right up my alley. Unfortunately, not this time. I do recommend his book Starvation Heights about Linda Burfield Hazzard. He is generally a fantastic true crime writer. There was just something about this book that could not hold my attention.