Book Reviews-Joe McGinnis-"Never Enough" and Ann Rule's "A Fever In the Heart"; The Community Flea Market

Rob Kissel was murdered. Only we know who murdered him; it was that nut of a wife of his. Seems she wanted the local blue collar cable guy who must have been dragging the ground if you get my drift. But who killed Andrew, Rob's brother?

Joe McGinnis dwells on Rob Kissel in this True Crime book "Never Enough". Perhaps McGinnis will regale us True Crime buffs with a book about Andrew Kissel, a loser if ever there was one.

And as you read one "Gabby" Moore burns in agony in the fires of hell. For this man, a nut who actually taught discipline in the form of sports for the young, got himself so obsessed with a woman that all rationality left the man. The result is one death of a father of two, a kind, gentle Morris Blankenberger, as well as the death of Gabby himself. But THAT couldn't have happened to a nicer fellow.

Here's a review of Ann Rule's "A Fever in the Heart".

Finally, just for fun, we visit my community's flea market.

Most remarkable, I sold more of my own books in my own driveway than I ever did in the biggest of venues.

Pic of the Day

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"Never Enough" by Joe McGinniss

It's nice to once in a while turn from my beloved Ann Rule to a different true crime writer. Joe McGinnis is a very good writer with “Fatal Vision”, “Blind Faith” and “Cruel Doubt” to his credit. I’d read at least the novel “Fatal Vision” before but until I opened this novel about the tragic Kissel family I’d forgotten what a good writer McGinniss is.

Rob Kissel and his brother Andrew were wealthy. Only Rob came by his wealth as an investment banker honestly. Brother Andrew’s claim to wealth was more questionable.

Andrew Kissel would not be of much import for this book beyond that of a family member of the victim. Except Andrew Kissel was himself murdered, like his brother Rob. The reader knows who murdered Rob and it was a killer of the most extraordinary loony tunes in-love-with-herself variety of murderess. The reader does not know who killed Rob’s brother Andrew except it wasn’t Rob’s wife Nancy. She was in jail for murdering Rob when Andrew was killed.





Joe Mcginnis knows his stuff about retail banking. Or else he did a whole lot of research on the matter as well as life in Hong Kong.

For Nancy, Rob Kissel and their children lived half their lives in Hong Kong. It seems there’s a somewhat segregated segment of Hong Kong society that consists solely of American men immersed in the world of investment banking, their wives and children. They live in almost pristine American colonies in grandiose high rises that are fully self-contained and require little interaction with the Chinese world outside the complex.

Nancy Kissel lived in this rarified world. She also lived in the United States. Nancy Kissel and her children straddled two cultures and two continents. During a recent stay in her American home, Nancy Kissel fell in love with a trailer park two-bit blue collar cable guy.

Yes. It’s almost like a Lifetime movie ain’t it?

Obviously Nancy Kissel is a dingbat not worthy of freedom from jail again, forever and ever. For this woman cold-bloodedly fed her husband killing poison then sat around and waited for Rob Kissel to die.

The rest of the McGinniss book deals with the custody of Rob’s children, what with Rob dead and the fine, fine Nancy in Hong Kong prison. Andrew’s wife, Hayley, tried to get custody of the children, hoping as much for their millions left to them by their dead father as from any maternal instinct. This was not going to happen as Hayley and Andrew were getting a divorce. Beyond this, Hayley was naught but an in-law aunt to those children.

McGinniss mentions the murder of Rob’s brother Andrew as part of the book but Andrew’s true crime, his murderer and the story behind it was not the subject of “Never Enough”.

Nancy Kissel has only herself to blame for her life in prison. She killed her husband and the father of her children for the cable guy! Now she doesn’t have a husband, the cable guy, her children or her lifestyle of luxury she once enjoyed.

Read this book yon True Crime afficiandos. If nothing else you’ll get a real hoot out of this cable guy who knew a good thing when he saw it and how he got out when the getting out was good.

Readers will shed no tears for Nancy Kissel, the idiot.

”A Fever in the Heart” by Ann Rule

So in the book review above we read the story of one tiny, selfish woman who had a husband who loved her, two healthy children, riches beyond compare but hey, she had to have the cable guy, her stupid ruthless self. So she killed her husband mercilessly and lost it all, even that fabulous cable guy who lived in a trailer park.

This book by Ann Rule, “A Fever in the Heart”, is the story of another very small man with no character who lived for today and his own silly obsessions.

Gabby Moore was a sports coach who was beloved by his students. One such former student was Morris Blankenbaker. Morris Blankenbaker was married to Jerilee and they had two children.





Morris once offered his former coach a place to stay when the coach was going through rough times. Coach Gabby Moore thanked Morris by running off with his wife. Jerilee did divorce Morris to marry Gabby. Only Jerilee realized her mistake soon enough and with a year or her error she left Gabby and went back with Morris.

Gabby Moore never let go of Jerilee.

This true crime is the story of a man obsessed with a woman. A man so obsessed that he murdered a man in cold blood. Only Gabby wasn’t the murderer of Morris Blankenbaker.

No. This thoughtless piece of crap had to further involve those students who loved him by convincing one of them to do the crime. This provided Moore with an alibi when suspicion was cast on him for Blankenbaker’s death.

But it doesn’t stop there.

The student did kill Morris at Gabby’s urging but it wasn’t enough. Jerilee was quite distressed at the death of Morris, her ex-husband and father of her children. So Gabby schemed up this plan to have that same student who shot Morris to shoot him.

Except the plan went awry and Gabby ended up dead. This was not, as one might imagine, the original plan. The original plan as hatched by the evil Gabby, was for his fine self to take a harmless bullet in the upper arm where there would be little harm.

It’s debatable whether Angelo “Tuffy” Pleasant really meant to kill Gabby Moore. All Gabby wanted was a small wound to convince his beloved Jerilee that he had killers out to get him so he could not possibly have been involved in the murder of Morris.

Like I said…right out of Lifetime but true.

Gabby Moore burns in hell even as yon reader peruses this review.

This Rule book is one of her books that includes short stories of other strange and unusual true crimes. There’s a story of a man who pretended to be in college when he was not. Comes the discovery and his wife ends up dead in a faked car crash that almost fooled the police.

There’s a few more intriguing stories, all well told in that Rule way, all mesmerizing, all very sad.

More Book Reviews HERE
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Focus on Book Reviews
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ANN RULE BOOK REVIEWS
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Review Ann Rule's "Every Breath You Take"

Shiela Bellush had quadruplets and, unfortunately, two daughters with Allen Blackthorne.

Blackthorne had everything a man could want. But he didn't have Shiela.

So he murdered her and left her babies toddling all about their mother's body.
Review Ann Rule's "Every Breath You Take"
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Ann Rule's "Heart Full of Lies" and "Bitter Harvest"

Liysa Northon was featured in Rule's "Heart Full of Lies". Liysa was pretty, intelligent and fortunate enough to live in two homes, one in Hawaii and one in Bend, Oregon. She was married to a Hawaiian Airlines pilot, Chris Northon, and was a talented photographer and writer in her own right.

Dr. Debora Green was a physician married to another physician, a Cardiologist, Dr. Mike Farrar. The couple owned a luxury home in Prairie Village, Kansas.

Both women had beautiful children; Liysa had two precocious boys while Debora had a son and two daughters. Both women wanted their husbands dead. One succeeded, the other gave it a try. Debora Green's house burned down and two of her precious children perished in the flames.

Both of these women are crazy as loons.

Ann Rule's "Heart Full of Lies" and "Bitter Harvest"
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Ann Rule's "No Regrets"

A book review as Ann Rule does it again with "No, Regrets".
He piloted mighty boats and lived past 80 years but his own wife ended it all for him.

Ann Rule's "No Regrets"
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Ann Rule-"And Never Let Her Go"

And Never Let Her Go" is the true crime story of Thomas Capano, scion of a wealthy Delaware family, lawyer and political insider. It wasn't that long ago that this case was splashed in all the newspapers in this area and I vowed that when someone wrote the book I would look into it immediately. I was delighted that Ann Rule wrote the book.

Ann Rule-"And Never Let Her Go"

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Ann Rule "Last Dance, Last Chance"

This book by Ann Rule is unique out of all her novels in that Rule actually got to interview the victim who almost died at the hands of the idiot around who the story is based.

Ann Rule-"Last Dance, Last Chance"

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Ann Rule "Kiss Me, Kill Me"

This book is one of Ann's famous true crime "compilations" in that there are several stories compiled into one novel.

The book begins with the story of Sandy Bowman, murdered over 35 years prior to the book's writing. Many of the stories in this book involve crimes that went unsolved for many years to be eventually solved in this era of more modern DNA techniques.

Ann Rule-"Kiss Me, Kill Me"

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Ann Rule "Too Late to Say Goodbye"

This book review involved this Blogger again in a fashion that surprised me. For under my "True Crime" headers I'd written about the very fine Barton Corbin and even received an insightful and thankful email from Jennifer Corbin's father for my blogging activity in helping to keep this story alive.

Because Barton Corbin had the worst luck of most any man on earth.

He fell in love, even married, women who seemed to commit suicide all around him.

By Ann Rule, we review "Too Late to Say Goodbye".

"Too Late to Say Goodbye"


OTHER TRUE CRIME BOOK REVIEWS
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"WITNESS-Amber Frey's story."

She did the right thing in turning in the fine Scott Peterson.

Did anyone ever teach this woman the art of birth control?

"WITNESS-Amber Frey's story."
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"Tainted Roses"

So here you have it. A truly AWFUL true crime book that I'm bothering to write a review on that readers be warned.

A murderer, Paul Mack...alias Sean Lanier, meets up with a recently divorced woman, sweet talks her into romance and marriage, then is exposed on "America's Most Wanted" to his new wife's horror.

Guess who his wife was? Margie Danielsen.

That's right. The book is written by the "victim" of Sean Lanier and so far as I'm concerned, this woman is a certified idiot.

"Tainted Roses"
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The Summer Wind-George Anastasia

Anastasia is a reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer and attended the trial of Capano. His perspective on the reporting is distant and less personal than Rule?s account. If someone held a gun to my head and only had one choice to read about the nefarious Thomas Capano, I'd suggest they go with the Rule version. Maybe it's a woman thing, but Rule always brings that female insight often lacking in the prose of male true-crime writers. Nonetheless, Anastasia did a fine job and his skill as a writer is quite evident.

The Summer Wind-George Anastasia
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"Fatal Analysis" by Dr. Martin Obler and Thomas Clavin

A Book Review of a true crime book "Final Analysis" by Dr. Martin Obler.

It's a good true crime story about a serial killer, his shrink and efforts to stop the killing.

Only thing, although proclaimed to be true, I didn't believe a word of Obler's psychobabble nonsense.

It's almost a sin to classify this book as non-fiction.

"Fatal Analysis" by Dr. Martin Obler and Thomas Clavin
----------------------------------
Shattered" by Debra Puglisi Sharp

Also, a Book Review of a book by an author that promised me an interview but she didn't deliver. I read the book anyway, here's the review but I don't think much of people making promises they don't keep.

She was held hostage by a crack-crazed nut for six days, hog-tied and repeatedly raped and tortured until she finally got to the phone to freedom.

It's a compelling book, this "Shattered" by Debra Puglisi Sharp.

Too bad she's not a woman of her word for all her heroism.

Shattered" by Debra Puglisi Sharp
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"Unspeakable Acts" by Jan Worthington

A True Crime Book Review of "Unspeakable Acts". This book is more accurately a tome. Half of it could have been deleted. For this tale of two hippie doctors eliciting tales of abuse in a daycare center in the hysteria of the mid-80's is almost entirely fiction.

This is a great study of how the Lamestream Media creates a story from thin air.

"Unspeakable Acts" by Jan Worthington
----------------------------------
"Missing Beauty"

A True Crime book review-"Missing Beauty" by Teresa Carpenter, tells the story of a very intelligent scientist who gets caught up in the world of prostitution, drugs...and murder.

"Missing Beauty"
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"Unfinished Murder" by James Neff

A book review, "Unfinished Murder" by James Neff. The book title is indicative of a True Crime that is considered by many to be a killing crime not quite complete. He's a serial rapist and this is a story of his life and how he got caught.

"Unfinished Murder" by James Neff
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2 BOOKS ON JONBENET RAMSEY-PERFECT MURDER, PERFECT TOWN-Lawrence Shiller, JONBENET BY DETECTIVE STEVE THOMAS

It was never my intention to become an expert on the Jonbenet Ramsey case, but given my complete and total absorption in the two books most recently read following the colon, I must say I'm pretty much up to snuff on all the players, suspects and victim: "Jonbenet" by Detective Steve Thomas; "Perfect Murder, Perfect Town" by Lawrence Schiller.

2 BOOKS ON JONBENET RAMSEY
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"Evidence of Love" by John Bloom and Jim Atkinson

I could not put this book down.

For if ever there were two couples so very, very odd while appearing for all the world to be so perfectly normal, it would be the Montgomerys and the Gores of Collin County, Texas.

Then there was the Methodist church and the strange preachers combined with weirdly devoted parishioners and oddball church-sanctioned "marriage counseling" that added to the reader's perception that this book HAD to be fiction; surely churches and normal people don't behave like this.

"Evidence of Love" by John Bloom and Jim Atkinson
----------------------------------
"A Wife's Revenge" by Eric Francis

A rather unique book review here. We've got "A Wife's Revenge" by Eric Francis. Coincidentally as I read this book this story of Susan Wright was featured on CBS' "48 Hours".

Thus we have video of this book's subject, a pretty woman who killed her husband in a most heartless and horrific manner.

"A Wife's Revenge"

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"The Doctor, The Murder, The Mystery" by Barbara Damato

....the true story of Dr. John Branion murder case.

I remember this case vaguely. It occurred back in 1967 and involved a wealthy doctor and the mysterious shooting of his wife.

The doctor was Dr. John Branion, a wealthy doctor married to Donna Branion. Donna was also from a wealthy medical family.

First things first. The contention of this novel is that Dr. Branion was innocent. Right there I have issues.

" The Doctor, The Murder, The Mystery "

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"The Michigan Murders" by Edward Keyes

Here's a True Crime book written in 1976 and it was a bit of a time warp to read a story written so long before the advances in DNA and crime detection that makes investigating murders so much easier in this new century.

Seven women were murdered in Washtenaw county, Michigan, all in the vicinity of the University of Michigan. The perp's name was James Armstrong and he was, like most serial killers, a fellow who looked as all-American as they come.

" The Doctor, The Murder, The Mystery "
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REVIEW TWO BOOKS ON SCOTT PETERSON CASE:

- "A Deadly Game...the untold story of the Scott Peterson Investigation" Catherine Crier
-"For Laci"- Sharon Rocha.

Both of the above books give details about the investigation into Laci Peterson's murder by her husband, Scott Peterson.

Catherine Crier's book, however, is a veritable tome with not much new. Rocha's book has details and an insight into Laci that only a mother can provide.

Review of Crier and Rocha's Books on Scott Peterson Case

----------------------------------
"Murder in the Heartland" by M. William Phelps

This is a very personal, almost painful review. For it was this Blogger who originally was scheduled to write the story of the very troubled Lisa Montgomery, a woman who cold-bloodedly killed a young mother and ripped her unborn baby from her body.

A very handsome and talented M.William Phelps wrote the story instead, with a minimum of help from me. I did, however, know a few members of Lisa Montgomery's family and this gave me an insight into how Phelps wrote the book, the skewed points of view within the book's covers and the very, very wrong title for the book titled "Murder in the Heartland".

"Murder in the Heartland"

Kaitlyn Visits & a Frog Insults Her. Plus the 911 Call for a Distressed Kaitlyn. Movie Review-"Space Chimps"

A frog peed in her hand and Kaitlyn was more insulted than injured.

During our 7/2008 visit, Kaitlyn and I go out on a pirate ship. Kaitlyn was scared of the "bad" pirate but Mom-Mom saved the day.

We also went to the fabulous Delaware State Fair only we ended up calling 911 for a Kaitlyn in physical distress.

Kaitlyn and I saw the movie "Space Chimps" and it was fun, it was neat, it was just the ticket for a hot summer day.

Pic of the Day

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Frogs That Pee, Pirate Ships, Fairs and Heat Exhaustion

We begin with the ride on the pirate ship because Kaitlyn's Mom, my daughter, informed me that Kaitlyn was greatly entertained by the activity.

I live near Lewes, Delaware, home of the famous "ferry" from Lewes, Delaware to Cape May, New Jersey. Lewes also has a plethora of boats, yachts, dinghies and you name it, all ready to take Rehoboth tourists out for a fishing trip.

I chanced upon this "pirate cruise" in a local newspaper. Children, according to the advertisement, reserve a spot on the "cruise". When they come to the dock, the little pirates are dressed in pirate duds, given a special tattoo on their arms (removable, of course) and have their faces painted with mustaches and goatees to better resemble the pirates they are about to be.



Parents are allowed on the boat and there is a special space in the back of the boat for parents to sit and proudly watch their little pirates. The pirates gather at the bow of the boat to hear tales or piracy on the high seas, look out for treasure and scariest of all, look for the "bad pirate". All around the boat are water cannons that will be used to ward of the bad pirate once he makes his move.

Treasure was retrieved from the sea, a happening Limbo dance was performed, magic tricks mesmerized the pirates at the bow and yes, a bad pirate did show up, floating up to the side of the pirate ship on a dinghy.

Kaitlyn was afraid of the bad pirate and I had to hold her sobbing self. She got over that fear real quick, however, when the bad pirate gave her a gold coin for being such a good pirate.

The arrival of the bad pirate launched an all-out "water war" with the mini-pirates shooting him with the water cannons and the bad pirate shooting back with a big water gun of his own. In the special boat alcove for parents, Moms, Dads and grandparents cringed to get away from the shooting waters.

The trip out past the mouth of the Delaware Bay lasted about 70 minutes, a real nice time span to keep them entertained yet not bore their busy little minds.





Kaitlyn, my niece and my wounded self visited the Delaware State Fair on Monday, 7/21/08.

I love the Delaware State Fair. As a child, one of my family's yearly rituals was a visit to the Merryland State Fair. Ladies and gems, Merryland is chump change compared to the mighty Delaware State Fair. Here in Delaware we capture a big tourist crowd who happily visit our fair during the height of the tourist season as opposed to more normal state fair time periods around the harvest.

Only that Monday of our visit it was very hot. Temperatures were up in the 90's.

Since just one ride cost almost five bucks, it made sense to purchase an arm band. For $20.00 one can ride all the rides one wants. I bought one for my niece and Kaitlyn. Myself did buy a few tickets because such as going up, down, around or upside down is not for those recovering from heart surgery.

My niece was a gem, taking Kaitlyn on all the rides requiring parental accompaniment although Kaitlyn got on quite a few rides all by herself.

"Again, Again!" she would shout after finishing a ride she especially enjoyed.

Well what the hell, she had an armband so if she wanted to get on the ride she got on the ride.

It was after jumping around on two of those themed jumping balloon things that Kaitlyn expressed some physical distress.

"I think I'm going to throw up," she said after disembarking from the big gorilla jumping ride. Connie, my niece, and myself quickly took her over next to a trash can that she would have a place to, well, vomit.

Instead of throwing up, Kaitlyn wrapped her elbows over the trash can and used it as a prop to hold her up. Connie told her not to do that as the trash can was dirty. Connie pulled Kaitlyn away from the trash can but as soon as she let Kaitlyn go the child immediately laid down on the ground.

I fretted and complained. "What's wrong with her?" I worried to my niece.

Connie thought Kaitlyn was probably hot and asked the child if she wanted to go on the water ride again. This would cool the child off, as we figured, plus it was a ride that Kaitlyn had expressed a desire to get on all day.

Only once Connie and Kaitlyn got to the water ride, Kaitlyn would not stand on her own. Once again the child laid down on the ground and would not move.

By this time I'm a wreck. Obviously this was not normal behavior. I did suspect Kaitlyn's sickness had something to do with the heat. But this laying around and not moving was scary. I had no idea where to get help.

Connie asked some vendors where we could get help for a sick child but no one knew anything.

In my pocketbook I had a brochure I'd gotten at the main gate. There was no information on what to do in an emergency but there was a number for the ticket booth.

Connie carried Kaitlyn (I could not carry the child, it's a good thing Connie was with me) to a nearby exhibition building that had air conditioning. I settled down on a ledge around an exhibit but again, once I put Kaitlyn down she immediately laid on the ground and closed her eyes. The child was responsive when I called her name but given the chance she would simply lay limp and unmoving.

I called the main ticket booth and told them I had a sick child and needed help.

"Call 911," the lady on the phone told me. "They have a special set-up here at the fair."

"She has heat exhaustion," the paramedic told me.

Well the child did act "exhausted" but I'd never taken the phrase literally. I thought heat exhaustion was when one got so hot that they couldn't move. So okay, Kaitlyn did lie down as if lifting a finger was more than she could do but those times when I called her name in panic she lifted her head up and assured me that she was okay. Then she lay her head down again and remained still.

My own daughter had a childhood fraught with oddball ailments. For a five year period the child fainted every time she hurt real bad, beginning when she was six months old! And yet I don't recall a time she ever suffered from heat exhaustion.

Kaitlyn, Connie and I all had a tractor ride to the Fair's first aid station. After about twenty minutes Kaitlyn recovered nicely. We all went back into the heat although it had cooled down just a bit by then. We avoided the rides and walked through the animal areas. We saw cows, pigs, and sheep. I glanced at Kaitlyn, who did enjoy the animals. I noted a tell-tale flush creeping up her face. I bought the child a SpongeBob Squarepants blow up doll and we decided to walk out of the fair just when everybody else was coming in.

Finally we have the insult of the frog and hey, Kaitlyn needed a bit of humility. For the frogs of Serendipity Shore, which Kaitlyn chases endlessly, tormenting them mercilessly as she captures them and holds them prisoner in her palm. I warn her she should stop, that frogs are people too, that to a frog she is a big giant monster who could end his life with a laugh.

Only one sunny morning a frog plucked from its frog pleasures by an eager Kaitlyn took a long pee in Kaitlyn's hand.

I heard that frogs do this though I'd never experienced or witnessed such a thing.

Later that day a quick call to Kaitlyn's Mom was required to firm up some meeting or another. Kaitlyn told me she wanted to talk to her Mom to tell her "about the frog that peed on me." This phrase she uttered with the disdain required for a talk with one's mother for reassurance that it was, indeed, a major insult for a frog to have peed on Kaitlyn's person like that.

I smiled and hoped she might consider the plight of the frogs the next time she goes looking for fun and games with a living thing. If Kaitlyn hasn't gained a sense of humanity from the incident, well hell, maybe she'll fear having her palm used as a toilet the next time she goes grabbing innocent frogs.

Below, two movies of Kaitlyn enjoying her 2008 Delaware State Fair visit. Both were taken right before she went down with heat exhaustion.




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More Kaitlyn posts HERE
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"Space Chimps"-Entertaining on a Hot Day

On the day BEFORE our Delaware state fair visit the temperatures here in the swamps of Delaware were soaring too. Ah, I thought...an afternoon matinee at the movies. The theatre would not be crowded and, as I figured, child and grandmother would be cool.

"Space Chimps" had premiered the week before.





"Space Chimps" is a movie about monkeys in space, to give a quick synopsis.

Ham III is the grandson of a famous space chimp who was, at the time of the movie's space trip, working at a circus. Ham III's country called and Ham III, the pretty Luna female chimp, and a gorilla type of fellow were launched into space to study some problems in the universe.

This story is a typical animated type of tale. There's good, evil, unlikely heroes, likely heroes and a fast pace to keep little minds following the plot.

Ham III is smitten with pretty Luna. An evil man on a distant planet was using American space equipment to enslave his people. This same evil man captures the chimp space explorers.

The daring space chimps not only had to save the people of the distant planet, but they had to build their own space ship in order to get back on earth.

There was action, romance, comedy and love. Kaitlyn watched the entire movie, spellbound and full of popcorn.

This movie is perfect for folks with children, ages 4 (Kaitlyn's age) to around 10 as I'd estimate. I enjoyed the movie as well but there was nothing outstanding that gave me surprise or shock either at the quality of the animation or the plot line.

Still and so, there's something to smile about a movie of monkeys going into space, true love and defeat of the evil dictator on Planet X.

FOCUS ON MOVIES
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"Brokeback Mountain" was heavily hyped as a homosexual film. Which it was. I found the relationship with one of the film's protagonists and his daughter to be more revealing about the character than any same-sex relationship depicted.

Tom Cruise's love is featured in "First Daughter", a film about, well, a first daughter. Only totally not believable.

"Chicken Little" is an animated film about, well something about a sky falling. Kaitlyn Mae watched this movie six times in one weekend. Read why this movie appeals to children so.

This post features reviews of BOTH "Poseidon" movies. The best one chosen might surprise.

He was born a rat but he wanted to be a chef. Here's a review of a charming animated film that will capture the imagination of both your children and ...YOU! Ratatouille

The bees were mad that humans were harvesting and profiting from sales of their honey and they weren't going to take it anymore. It's a cartoon the kids will love but there's a message in the movie that transcends all eras since the Garden of Eden.The Bee Movie

It was almost forty years ago that a record exploded upon the Pop culture that was sung by, ahem, CHIPMUNKS! Indeed my 4 year old granddaughter could not know that her grandmother listened to the feature song in this movie which brings the tale of the three hapless chipmunks to life as but a young girl her own self.

To Kaitlyn Mae, this was a movie about cute little chipmunks who became singing sensations. The tale involves evil record producers, kind but confused songwriters, and a bit of a love story.

Alvin is still as bad as ever.Alvin and the Chipmunks

Here's a review of a cartoon and a fine children's movie that is not a cartoon. The cartoon is "Kung-Fu Panda" and it's a strange tale of an out-of-shape panda bear who is charged with saving his land by becoming a mighty warrior. The film is by Pixar and has the amazing animation that company is known for.

"Nim's Island" is a story of a little girl who also must save her "land", which is an isolated island in the case of Nim.

Nim and her father live on an island named after Nim. When her father gets lost during a routine trip out to sea, Nim struggles to save the island and survive. Finally the little girl contacts the author of her favorite action hero book to please come and help her out. Kaitlyn was four years old at the time we saw "Nim's Island" and she watched the entire non-cartoon movie without wander.

Gardens-Bunnies and Garden Plots Run Wild; Review of a Product You MUST Have

We take a visit to the gardens during this growing season. We have a pic and a video of a baby rabbit. Okay, so it's not a movie of legend, it is cute.

The gardens grow wonderfully but we have issues with the growth. For a jungle does not a garden make.

I received a most wonderful gift for my recent birthday and I must say, God Bless America. Because with just a tap on the screen I can get anywhere in my care. A great find for the navigationally challenged.

A product review of a TomTom, with pics.

Pic of the Day

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Rabbits are very common in the spring and those rapid reproducers quite enjoy our gardens.

My gardens this year, with me handicapped with surgical wounds that burn and stab, have grown into jungles that cause passersby to mumble in shock.

A bed of fine clover had taken over a wide area in front of my happening gurgling fountain and one cute baby wabbit decided he rather liked this gourmet feast.

Below a movie of this little Peter Cottontail and below that, a pic.





The problem with my gardens this year is basically that everything is in the wrong place. And this year, what with my heart clogged up worse than a Mexican sewer, I could mostly just sit and watch what I thought were perfect plantings.

My gardens are filled increasingly with what is proudly referred to as "native plants". As a certified National wildlife Steward I monitor a local plant sale on behalf of the Delaware Nature Society. The DNS is the NWF's local representative for that group. So while I am not technically a member of the Delaware Nature Society, I am affiliated and certified by the National Wildlife Federation.

I do, of course, purchase a plentiful and varied assortment of native plants. I then must plant the things. This year, due to a little problem with my heart, I was unable to man that native plant sale booth for the DNS but all of my prior years' purchased native plants are happy and growing happy bejeesus in my gardens here in the swamps of Delaware.

The Swamp Mallows produces pretty white flowers that resemble the blooms of a Rose of Sharon. Both of these plants bloom at the same time as well.

Swamp Mallows are taking over my front porch garden and threaten to take over the world.

I don't want plants over six feet tall in my front porch garden because, duh, I sit on the porch and can see nothing with wild and wooly flora and fauna blocking my view of the world. These Swamp Mallows are not the first plant to be fondly placed in my porch garden to grow into a gigantic plant that catches one's breath.

Well hey, they ARE native plants. This means they're not, like oriental lilies or something which are not, as obvious by their name, native plants. Not that there's anything with oriental lilies but they're not plants native to this continent.

So while oriental lilies grow fine in the swamps of Delaware, a native plant, evolved in this area for many years with genes fine-tuned to the breezes and watery land in which they rest, will grow to heights unknown.

This is a good thing.

I got to get those Swamp Mallows out of there, they are driving me nuts.

I have so far filled my front porch garden with Lamb's Ear, which has to be the ugliest plant in the world if it gets wet and please don't forget I live in a swamp. Bumblebees love Lamb's Ear but is having a hive of hungry bees flying around where one wishes to sit and watch the porch TV a really good idea?

I plant annuals of petunias, marigolds, and red salvia every year in that front porch garden and they do a fine job and are perfect for the flowery, well-behaved garden I seek for that area.

A pretty coneflower, a "miniature" one which I purchased specifically for that garden, grows nice alongside butterfly weed which also keeps a low height and looks nice. The Swamp Mallows from hell threaten to overrun everything.



Out in the center lawn garden I planted what is called a Swamp Rose and this thing is too taking over the world. All year I must constantly pull up bits of this plant that insist on growing everywhere. This thing is invasive but it's a native plant so this is fine.

Except I didn't want my entire center lawn garden to be one great big killer Swamp Rose. I am going to have to get that thing out of there next year.

I try to keep small, well-behaved bushes in the center lawn garden. Mostly I've been successful. There's a pretty variegated Wigelia in that garden and for a couple of years it was happy and well-behaved. With a couple of years of roots in the ground this Wigelia is threatening even the Swamp Rose.



The Clematis climbing my obelisk in my container garden is the flower hit of the season. Clematis want cool roots. I planted a Clematis by each leg of a white obelisk. This was last year.

This year, only the second year for this guy, it eagerly climbed that obelisk like one happy native plant. Only a Clematis is not a native plant.

This Clematis loves wrapping its tendrils around that obelisk. By the time those vines reach the top of that obelisk the Clematis leaves shade the ground below. Cool roots makes a happy Clematis.

What I am going to have to do, and I've done it before, is wait till all my heart wounds heal, which will probably be next growing season at the latest, get me a shovel, and completely empty those flower beds.

With a better garden plan, I am going to move the plantings to a more suitable spot. I have a perfect place for the invasive Swamp Rose and where I want to put the bush it can invade all it wants.

Those Swamp Mallows are going over by the fence.

All of these plants are now over six feet tall so digging them up and moving them is quite the job. I'm going to do it though.

Because I can't live happily in a jungle.

Finally, I'd written before about those Brown Thrashers which built a nest in my hedge rose. Goodness those birds even built their own "door" into the hedge rose and I bit my fingers but let the nest remain. I'd seen three little black birds in the nest but soon enough, boom, they were gone.

Below a pic of the nest. One egg, as one can see, did not hatch.



More Gardens and Bird posts HERE


Product Review-TomTom:Hope for the Navigationally Challenged

As these things go, I am a day late and a dollar short.

So when I received the navigational device known as the “TomTom” I phoned everyone I know and told them news.

“You’ll never guess what I got for my birthday/anniversary,” I told my niece. “It’s called a TomTom and all you have to do is key in a location and it will tell you, turn by turn, how to get anywhere!”

Which this TomTom does, in fact, and while I am familiar with Mapquest and the concept of getting directions for going from a specific place to a specific place at the touch of a button, the concept of having the directions said aloud, from turn to turn AS I drive the route was new to me.

“My mother has one of them,” my niece told me.

Well damn. And here I thought I was the first one on the block.

In fact new cars are often equipped with these satellite navigation systems. Such as TomTom’s are extraneous devices that stick on a car window handily.

Already my TomTom has told me a new way to get to church. I haven’t had reason to use the TomTom for a long distance trip but I carry it with me everywhere because when it comes to getting lost, I am a pro.



TOMTOM.com



This device costs around $200 and up. Every year they get cheaper. Soon they will be like a calculator, once costing $100 for a Bomar Brain during my college years but available for just a buck at the dollar store.

Technology…ain’t it grand?

=================

Restaurant-Revisit to Rehoboth's Jake's Seafood; Guest Goes to See the Phantom

Time to get gussied up and go out to celebrate.

Guest writer Michelle regales us with tales of opera phantoms and I give a follow up review on a restaurant I reviewed a couple of years ago.

Well it was a gift from me to my husband and husband, well he likes to stick with the tried and true.

Thus Rehoboth Beach's "Jake's Seafood" gets a repeat visit by my wise reviewing self.

Some things were better. Some things got worse.

No bread with dinner?

Quote of the Day

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Phantom Night

It's been almost a week, and it feels like longer. Phantom of the Opera night was all I'd dreamed it would be, and more, thanks to our chauffeur. For Justin was truly a chauffeur and not just a driver. He helped make the night very special.



Only two things weren't perfect and if I had to do it over again, I'd change them: somehow we lost some time (even though we started the process 10 minutes early) and ended up at the restaurant until 6:55. That made our time at the event grounds less than optimal (7:30 show). The other thing was that I was turned around and sent all my people in row U the wrong direction (9 of the 12 people were in U41 through U49 instead of our usual row). Harry says they had to squeeze by 75 people to reach their seats. Ack!

So, back to last Sunday.

The limousine showed up about fifteen minutes early (Harry said he expected it, while I was dreading that it wouldn't show up at all). Denise was already at the house (she, too, was early, arriving just before 4pm after I'd told Harry of course she wouldn't be that early). We debated a bit about whether to wait for the 4:40pm time I'd told the first stop (Suzanne) or not, but then Harry and Denise talked me into just going for it. We could always wait at one of the houses if necessary.

We were shepherded into the H2 limo by Justin, our driver. He opened the door, and held out his hand for a boost if necessary, without being intrusive or pushy. The limo was beautiful, well-appointed and clean, with running lights of shifting colors in several places. Lines of color framed the small side rails (think headboard, were this a bed), two wide strips occupied either long side of the ceiling and "stars" were sprinkled between them. All these lights shifted from red to blue to purple and back to red, running through the spectrum. The
effect was magnificent. (On the way back, Danny asked for the regular lights to be out so just the colored lights were left on and we finished up our trip to those cycling lights. Beautiful.)

We went to Suzanne's and Justin went up to her door. I hadn't expected him to play escort, but I found it charming and it made me feel like we were special. Suzanne shooed Justin back to the limo so she could move Riley (her big dog) without putting Justin's clothing (a very smart black tux with a white shirt, I believe) at risk. Then she came to the limo and Justin held the door for her.

Next stop was Debra's, where Justin again escorted from the front door to the limo. We soon lost Harry, as he engaged in a lively conversation with Justin most of the trip. Someone got a picture of him leaning into the cab of the H2 from the back (the way he spent most of the drive time) and I hope it came out well and I get a copy.

Then Debbie's, where she was already escorted by two young boys. Nephews, I think, who just wanted to see the limo and scampered away when Justin went out to meet Debbie.

Then Nellie's, and then to Doug and Ejae's (where Justin just stood by the limo since their front yard is very short and Ejae was already escorted by Doug). Then to the ranch, for Danny and Carol, where Danny came and got Doug and both disappeared back into the house for what seemed forever (lost some time here, as I'd given each house about five minutes). Christen had done Carol's hair and it looked very nice.

On to my mom's. A flood of little kids at the corner of her street screamed and ran after the limo as we passed. We'd gotten turned heads along the way, but that was the best exclamation of "How special!" I heard. At my mom's, Justin escorted her to the limo and then she didn't recognize Carol.

Next stop was food, and Harry turned around to tell us that Justin had asked his dispatcher if it was a typo. All these people, dressed up and chauffeured and where do they go? To a buffet.

At the restaurant we must have lost the rest of the time because I think we got there when we were supposed to, roughly. I don't wear a watch and didn't think to check.

At the event center, we had little time but we went up to the member's lounge and had coffee, lemonade or water (tip: don't have the lemonade) and browsed the program a bit. Normally we hit the restroom and head for our seats at about the time we made it to the lounge, so it was a bit disjointed and rushed up there. Instead of escorting to the door as I'd wanted to do, I just sent the crowd with Harry (after giving him the wrong entrance directions and keeping Nellie and Denise with me). It was hard to make those seating decisions. Do I sit with my peeps or do I sit with my husband and mom? Sigh. I wanted to squeeze all twelve of us into my normal three slots.



The show was excellent. The phantom did a great job of acting, especially when he was up on the center top in the set prop with angels. What an emotional performance! Singing was top-notch (Harry says it sounded a lot like the Broadway CD) and the show was all I had hoped for.

Afterward, we tried to call Justin but Harry couldn't get my phone figured out or Justin's number wasn't working or something but the limo was out front anyway so it didn't matter. I passed out water from the ice chest things built into the side of the limo (what cute bottles!) and we drove back home, each person getting out in the reverse of how they came in (last in, first out). I think we made it back to the house around 12:30.

Harry tipped Justin with cash and wine. He really made our evening sing, and I don't think the other limo drivers we've had (I've been in four now: marriage, Harry's dad's funeral, last time's Phantom, and this one) have done anything like it because I think I'd remember. Basically, I think they just drove.

For at least two of our group, it was their first time in a limousine and for a couple it was their first live play. Overall, the evening was again a success, and if you've never seen a crystal chandelier fall from the ceiling, I highly recommend it.
~~~~~~~~~~

Michelle
winebird@winebird.com
The Desk Drawer writer's exercise list

More Guest Writer HERE



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I have re-read my original review of this eatery situated proudly and prominently along Rehoboth Beach's Coastal Highway, review from 2006 HERE.

That visit was also for celebration of our anniversary. I'm betting that I gave my husband choice of the many restaurants close by and in full force because of the ocean resorts. He liked Jake's Seafood after the first visit so he, of course, chose it again.

Jake's Seafood's Web Site HERE

At the 2006 visit husband had an appetizer of fried shrimp with an entrée of a New York strip steak. At the recent 2008 visit, husband had the same thing. Will surprises ever cease?

"I understand restaurants are having a tough time this year with the gas prices," husband said as we pulled into Jake's parking lot. This surprised me because so-called "local" resorts tend to do very well during a fuel shortage as the driving distance is still relatively short.

Thus folks from Baltimore, Philadelphia and Wilmington can still drive down to the Rehoboth beach and Bethany area for just maybe twenty bucks more than last year. Which is the locales of most of the Delmarva's coast's tourists at any rate.

I'm not sure if husband wasn't repeating local gossip as he is firmly immersed in a very local business. Local businessmen are notorious for griping badly about the state of local business.

As before, husband loved his perfectly fried and seasoned crispy shrimp and he ate his entire steak.

I had a cup of Jake's seafood bisque which I'd raved about in that earlier review. I was delighted to find that concoction was still as good as ever.

There were a few signs that Jake's Seafood had geared down a bit, one I favorably received and another I consider ominous.

So okay, a side salad is not included with the meal but that's no big deal. A lot of folks don't like salads so if one area could most effectively cut back it would be Jake's practice of charging a modest price for a salad.

A very good practice, new to me, is this thing Jake's calls a "demi-meal". I often make it a practice to order one or maybe two appetizers instead of a big entrée. Jake's demi-meal gives you one instead of two crab cakes. The smaller meal comes with two side dishes just like a full meal but the protein part of the meal is downsized for smaller eaters.

My side dishes turned out to be a most pleasant surprise of my meal. I had corn on the cob, which in July was the sweet stuff of dreams. My redskin mashed potatoes were the best I’ve had.

Husband had onion rings, made, oddly but not unpleasantly, with RED onions.

My husband had a full and not cheap meal.

So why no bread?

I checked Jake's web site and noted that bread is NOT indicated as part of a large entrée. Yet there were folks around me who had a basket or rolls. I wondered...maybe you have to ask for bread?

In fact my husband does like bread with his meal, such a picky eater he is but bread is all-loving and all-knowing.

Whatever the case with Jake's Seafood, I really think it's chintzy and cheap to eliminate bread with an entrée. I don't eat out all that often so maybe this is a trend of which I am unaware.

Bread is the staff of life, dammit. It doesn't have to be fancy or expensive.

A restaurant that doesn't serve a few rolls with an entrée costing around thirty bucks sets itself up as a cafeteria or a Waffle Haus.

Next year is husband and my twentieth anniversary of wedded bliss. I might again offer to treat him to a meal at a restaurant of his choice. Should he choose Jake's I will demur.

I want a restaurant that includes a few rolls with its entrees.

Or else I will get him a meal at Jake's Seafood to go. He can get his beloved fried shrimp and I can heat up a few cheap rolls in the microwave.

Pshaw.

MORE RESTAURANT REVIEWS HERE

Book Reviews:"Murder in the Heartland" and Ann Rule's "Too Late To Say Goodbye"

Two True Crime book reviews here.
One is a very personal, almost painful review. For it was this Blogger who originally was scheduled to write the story of the very troubled Lisa Montgomery, a woman who cold-bloodedly killed a young mother and ripped her unborn baby from her body.

A very handsome and talented M.William Phelps wrote the story instead, with a minimum of help from me. I did, however, know a few members of Lisa Montgomery’s family and this gave me an insight into how Phelps wrote the book, the skewed points of view within the book’s covers and the very, very wrong title for the book titled “Murder in the Heartland”.

The other book review involved this Blogger again in a fashion that surprised me. For under my “True Crime” headers I’d written about the very fine Barton Corbin and even received an insightful and thankful email from Jennifer Corbin’s father for my blogging activity in helping to keep this story alive.

Because Barton Corbin had the worst luck of most any man on earth.

He fell in love, even married, women who seemed to commit suicide all around him.

By Ann Rule, we review “Too Late to Say Goodbye”.

Web Site Worth the Visit It’s the Season for WATERMELONS! Watermelon Carving Site HERE

 


”Murder In the Heartland” by M. William Phelps

Amazon link for this book.

It was in December of 2004 when I, a relatively new and inexperienced Blogger, chanced to post the first news about the tragic and horrific death of Bobbie Jo Stinnet.

Bobbie Jo was pregnant almost to term when she invited a woman purporting to be interested in purchasing a rat terrier dog into her home. This same woman, Lisa Montgomery using an alias, then proceeded to murder Bobbie Jo then cut out her baby from her womb.

It was a crime that shocked the nation.

Since I was one of the first Bloggers to cover this case, the many, many comments came, HERE, and for a while my Blog was the place to be to discuss the Lisa Montgomery crime.

As time passed much more information came out about the case, all discussed HERE.



In due course, what with all the activity on my Blog, I was contacted by Lisa Montgomery’s ex-husband, Carl Boman. I also chanced to meet, electronically, one of Lisa’s very sweet daughters. Phelps changes the names of Lisa’s children in his book thus I too will not reveal their real names.

There was a discussion about me possibly writing this book but, alas, first, everyone involved in this crime lived in either Missouri or Kansas. Second, the fact of the matter is that I would much rather read a true crime book than actually write one.

Which brings me to the author, M. William Phelps, who has other true crime books to his credit and who did a mostly fine job with the story of Lisa Montgomery and Bobbie Jo Stinnet.

I engaged in a small correspondence with Mr. Phelps. I directed him to my web site and Blog posts on the matter. I had quite a few emails I had received from Carl Boman and Lisa’s daughter but I did not provide these to Phelps because, hey, they were private emails. I agreed to answer any questions Phelps might have but he managed to finish the book just fine without me.

I have some thoughts on Lisa Montgomery’s rather odd family, all accurately documented in the book and I have some issues with the writing contained within the book.

First complaint…this book was entirely too much about Carl Boman and I’m going to admit it right now, I KNEW that Boman would be a problem in trying to pen this novel.

Of course Carl Boman played a very important part in Lisa Montgomery’s life, no doubt. He was, at one point in time, Lisa’s step-brother, his father once married to Lisa’s mother, Judy Shaughnessy. Carl Boman also married Lisa Montgomery not once, but twice. Finally, Lisa and Boman had four children together.

So the input from Carl Boman was valuable indeed in terms of deducing Lisa’s background and the environment in which Lisa began her mad mission of killing a pregnant woman to steal her child right out of her womb.

But this story is NOT about Carl Boman and I give Phelps credit for downplaying Boman’s input as much as possible. However, this story is as much about Jeb Stinnet and Kevin Montgomery as it is about Carl Boman and only bits of information on these two players were provided, necessarily I assume, by Phelps.

For sure Lisa Montgomery sprang from a strange, dysfunctional and convoluted family. Her mother had been married, divorced and remarried so many times that I finally lost track. If one were to hold a gun to my head and tell me how many children Judy Shaughnessy had I’d have to guess and I’d probably be wrong.

Insight into the psyche of Lisa Montgomery was handily provided, by Carl Boman I must suppose. I’d argue that someone needs to lift the top of Kevin Montgomery’s skull and see what mush lies within. Because this is a man who totally believed his wife somehow went into the hospital, gave birth, then phoned him up to meet her and their newborn baby at a nearby Long John Silver drive in.

What the hell…?

Kevin Montgomery had three sons, as Phelps revealed in the book and which I did not know. It’s not like the very, very dumb Kevin didn’t know about childbirth or anything is what I’m saying here.

As for Carl Boman, I did consider him a gentleman and he obviously was totally in love with Lisa and never quite fell out, judging by how he followed the woman around the country. Boman did remarry but forgive me, Carl’s wife should have married Kevin Montgomery that these two airheads should be together till death by stupidity do they part.

It was Carl’s wife Vanessa who allegedly got a job stuffing envelopes at home (ALWAYS a scam) and promised Lisa $45,000 in back child support just as soon as she stuffed enough envelopes. This incident, mentioned prominently in Phelps’ book, might well have launched Lisa Montgomery on her quest to steal an infant because that $45K wasn’t likely to come from Vanessa Boman’s job stuffing envelopes, money it is believed Lisa planned to use to purchase a black market baby.

I was most impressed by Phelps’ listing of source information provided at the back of the book. Phelps researched his subject well. When I looked over the long list of reading material and such that Phelps used to research I was thankful I did not embark on such a task. I admire Phelps for it, however.

Finally, come on Mr. Phelps…you couldn’t have come up with a better title than “Murder in the Heartland”? It sounds like a “48 Hours” show. But maybe that was the intent?

By me, this was the story of a woman so desperate for a baby that she committed a most horrific crime that shocked the nation. Phelps’ title should have captured that part of the story…”Murder for a Newborn”, something like that. As it is, Phelps’ title could have been any murder in Tornado Alley.

Lisa Montgomery, by the way, got the death penalty for her crime.

The REAL book here would be one about, and in conjunction with, one of the following three:
-Lisa Montgomery
-Kevin Montgomery
-Jeb Stinnet

Get me one of those three and maybe I’ll write it.

”Too Late to Say Goodbye” by Ann Rule

Amazon link to this book.

Once again I find myself remotely involved with this book, and/or the crime. For Barton Corbin was also a fellow whose crime made it to my True Crime posts and received comments along with personal notes by those who knew or were related to the victims.

Once again it was a far better, more experienced and much more dedicated True Crime writer who sat down, researched and wrote the story in the form of Ann Rule.

As regards this Blog, we begin HERE, with my thorough analysis of the crime and many comments on same.

We move on to HERE, posted after Corbin pleaded guilty to the murder of BOTH Jennifer Corbin and Dolly Hearn. This post included an interesting comment by a former school chum of Dolly.

We end up HERE with the posting of an email from Jennifer’s father who also announces that Ann Rule is writing a book about this case.

Barton Corbin is a dentist, currently in jail for “most” of the rest of his life (more on this later) for the murder of his wife, Jennifer Corbin and a former girlfriend, Dolly Hearn.





I love Ann Rule but at times I lament she is just too damn nice. Although I’ll allow that she needs access to law enforcement and such for her research. But the case of Dolly Hearn was totally mishandled by Richmond county investigators. Which might be while Scott Peebles took such an earnest interest in the REINVESTIGATION of the death of Dolly Hearn. Because Dolly was murdered in cold blood fourteen years prior by the lovely Bart Corbin. If those Richmond investigators had did their damn job, especially Scott Peebles’ FATHER who was a lead investigator, perhaps Bart Corbin wouldn’t have had the nerve to repeat the same crime on his wife and mother of his two sons.

Rule was kind to the Richmond investigators but never was one reason given, not even the DNA excuse for old cold cases, for why Bart wasn’t arrested for the death of Dolly Hearn. There was a WEALTH of evidence implicating Bart Corbin and by me those Richmond investigators should be embarrassed and ashamed.

In fact, once Jennifer Corbin was discovered dead by a gunshot wound to her head that obviously could not have been delivered by Jennifer, soon enough it was discovered that Barton Corbin, a most unfortunate fellow, had yet another lover who too committed suicide in a manner not humanly possible.

THEN, heh, the Richmond investigators not only re-opened the Dolly Hearn case, they opened it BEFORE the Gwinnet county investigators could gather all the information on Jennifer Corbin’s death.

Ann Rule never mentioned this blatant audacity by the Richmond county investigators who didn’t do their job fourteen years earlier but were only too eager to hone in on the publicity on the Jennifer Corbin murder. Also come on, the whole world was scratching their heads and wondering why those guys didn’t do their job when it mattered, just ask the family of Dolly Hearn for example.

It turned out that Gwinnet county prosecuted the case despite the Richmond county’s total joke of a performance and their outrageous behavior.

In an interesting aside, it turned out that Jennifer Corbin had been having an online dalliance with a fellow, who turned out to be a woman, whose last name was Hearn, all entirely coincidental. Jennifer’s fine husband, Bart, had murdered a woman name Hearn oncit but there was no relation.

Bart Corbin pled guilty to the murders of both Dolly and Jennifer and was given two CONCURRENT life sentences. Which means every day in jail is a day for Dolly and a day for Jennifer’s murder.

It seems unfair but as Rule explains, Corbin will likely be behind bars for a good 28 years and if he should get released he won’t have much of a life left.

As always, Ann Rule did a wonderful job. She did not, as I complained, go into that joke between the two investigative authorities but I sure did on my Blog links.

In the end, justice WAS served, for both Dolly and Jennifer.

I’ll never quite get over how Dolly Hearn’s death was left to get cold until Bart Corbin killed yet ANOTHER woman in his life because hey, he got away with the first one, right?

More Book Reviews HERE
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