Lisa Belkin

A well-written but often muddled book about a terribly sad, but not particularly extraordinary crime. I would often have to stop and go back in the text to understand exactly who was who as there is a plethora of characters here, many of whom also share names (Raizel, Rose, Rosie...). These figures were interesting enough, but I never came to understand what they had to do with anything other than being related to one of the three men involved in the crime. Did they profoundly influence the show more criminal, the doctor, the police officer; it's hard to tell, as the author herself notes that we can never really know whether actions are more about nature or nuture. I particularly didn't like Ms. Beklin's occasional personal insertions into the text (telling us that the "soul of a nation" is reflected into how it treats prisoners, for example). show less

Nice book. I am always attracted to women writing about their mothering experience and I liked that she thinks finding balance is impossible.
The writing was a bit disappointing for a NY times columnist but she states it's because moms can't readfor long stretches of time...duh!!

It took me a while to get into this very detailed account of three families who were all affected by the murder of a policeman in Connecticut in the 1960's. The author makes the point of how seemingly insufficient details and events can completely alter the future.

The author traces the families of the Troys (the policeman who was killed), the Tarlovs (the man who vouched for the release of a prisoner who was the killer), and the DeSalvos (the killer). Going back to the great-grandparents of show more all families; they all were immigrants, worked hard, had huge families, met with discrimination (the Tarlovs were Jewish). That was very confusing because the main three characters weren't established in my mind at that point. I did appreciate the family trees that were given for all.

An interesting crime story with huge sociological overtones about what causes crime. The stories of Leopold and Loeb also figure in the book which was interesting (I knew little about their story). Overall, well written and definitely well researched. Should be of interest to anyone studying crime, sociology, and family relationships. show less

This well written and interesting story historically had way too many characters which made following it daunting. I found the historical pieces engaging - I never knew about the motorcycle races and such. One could probably take any such story and weave in the timelines. It was interesting that the author's stepfather had a role, but it didn't make up for the multitudes of others. That and diving into Leopold an Lobe was just too much.