Cruel Death

If you’re someone like me who likes to see photos pertinent to the crime that can’t easily be found online, don’t be fooled by the publisher’s claim (in bold font!) that the book includes 16 dramatic photos. That aside, I found that this book lacked the depth and factual substance that are hallmarks of Mr. Phelps’ outstanding collection of true crime books. Other than the completely delusional and self-serving statements made by Mitch Grace (father of defendant Erika Sifrit), and the excerpts of statements made at the sentencing hearing by a few family members of the victims, there was no insightful information or background provided by people who knew the defendants or victims. Frankly there was absolutely nothing in the book that drew me in emotionally and made me care on a personal level about how the trials turned out. Of course I wanted justice but I never really connected to any of the people involved in the case because I knew nothing substantive about them. I’m not sure if there was a lack of cooperation across the board or if Mr. Phelps needed to maintain a certain degree of detachment in order to deal with the extraordinarily gruesome and disturbing crime involved (completely understandable). Regardless, the book left me feeling empty, as if the entire story wasn’t told. For example, there was a brief reference to a detective who left the police department for reasons solely related to this case. This was never explored or explained, depriving the reader from learning more about the case and how/why it impacted at least one prominent person who was personally involved in and invested in obtaining justice for the victims of this horrendous crime.

I grew up and graduated in the same town as the perpetrator in this book. Her father was my basketball coach and my grandparents went to the same church so this hit very close to home for me. It was a well written and very informative book def recommend for true crime readers