Tom Henderson

This is a great example of: If you lie down with dogs you get up with fleas. The majority of this family was a bunch of evil low-lifes. I am being kind by not using more vulgar terms. This crime languished for 18 years because everyone was afraid of these two men. A high number of people who may have known something about the crime either committed suicide or ended up dead by "accident" before the trial. The two hunters who were killed in northern Michigan were drunk, crude in the way they show more treated women, but certainly did not deserve to die. If not for the determined detective and the excellent prosecutor this case would have never seen the light of day. show less

One of the victims was a college professor at the college the year I graduated. I did not know her.

A college professor and later a flight attendant were brutally murdered in different Michigan cities. They are later linked by DNA to the same perpetrator. The book takes you through the backgrounds of the victims and the killer's and the trial. The only drawback, through no fault of the author, is the killer never admitted guilt, so we don't know how he got into where the women were found or show more why he chose those particular victims. This book keeps you on edge of your seat. show less

The disappearance of two hunters in the Michigan Woods in 1985 took 18 years to solve and prosecute. This story was not so much a who-done-it as it was a how-to-prove-it. The break in the case came when one eyewitness to the brutal homicide was eventually persuaded to testify by state policeman Bronco Lesneski. He worked the case every day. He spent many of his off hours tirelessly re-interviewing witnesses. Everybody seemed to have an opinion as to what had happened, but nearly all fingers show more and lines of questioning pointed back to the Duvall brothers. It’s a story straight out of Deliverance. Perhaps the most amazing aspect of this case was that it was successfully prosecuted without a body, without a weapon, and without one iota of physical evidence. The courtroom testimonies are the most fascinating and at many times rather amusing parts of this story. It’s a horrific crime. No doubt about that. And certainly nothing amusing about it either. But the cast of characters is so unbelievable that one can’t help but laugh. And some of the testimonies were beyond belief.

The writing however was sloppy, and the editors missed many an error. The mystery didn’t really carry the story either because early on, the reader had a good idea of what happened and who had done it. What keeps the reader engaged is perhaps one of the same motivators that kept Lesneski plowing away. The reader wants to see justice done and the truth come out.

I’ve read better true crime novels. Ann Rule is hard to compete with in terms of quality of writing and storytelling. However, the courtroom drama in this book makes it worth the read for true crime fans. It leaves the reader shaking his head and wondering if he picked up a work of fiction or non-fiction. There’s a quote attributed to different people that says the difference between fiction and reality is that fiction has to make sense. That’s how I know this crime and these players are real. No one could have made them up in their wildest imaginations. The witness who by his own definition was a recovering amnesiac still has me laughing. The world can be a crazy…and scary…place. show less

Strangely woven tale - worse because it’s real. Some profanity. Satisfactory end is helped by an excellent narrator, good justice, and clearly informative writing.