Missy's Murder
by Karen Kingsbury
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From a New York Times-bestselling author and former Los Angeles Times reporter, two teens kill their friend, then befriend the girl's family to avoid suspicion. On a beautiful October day in the San Fernando Valley, teenager Missy Avila was lured into the woods, beaten, tortured, and drowned. Missy's best friend, Karen Severson, publicly vowed to find the killer and even moved in with Missy's family to help. Three years later, a surprise witness exposed the murderers as Missy's two best show more friends-one of whom was Karen. New York Times-bestselling author Karen Kingsbury delivers a story full of twists, turns, betrayals, and confessions. Missy's Murder is a shocking tale of one of the most notorious murder trials of the eighties, and a startling debut novel from Kingsbury, who now has over twenty-five million books in print. show lessTags
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**SPOILER ALERT** I read this book a few years after it was published in the 90s, and of all the true crime I read as a teenager, this is the only one I can remember. At the time, I thought the writing was uneven, but the subject matter was very compelling--a friendship undermined by jealousy, unchecked mental illness, and the inherent Machiavellian qualities of angry teenaged girls. It is this last topic, the teenaged girl element, that makes this book particularly chilling. Girls at this age are volatile and hyper-focused on hierarchy, appearances, and behavior, and they are especially sensitive to any threat--perceived or imagined--that may undermine social status or self-esteem. They tend to run in packs--just like the characters in show more Mean Girls and Heathers--and they feed off each other's insecurities. If you haven't seen a girl squad in action, its much worse than in the movies because girls employ complete psychological arsenals against their targets, taking cues from each other to up the ante. It's frightening to watch and even more frightening to be a recipient. I once earned the ire of a girl group in high school, and the abuse, while never violent, was constant.
I remember thinking at the time that if a girl was willing to harass a person with the distinct purpose of causing mental breakdown, she was probably capable of even more sinister behavior. My fears that such a thing was possible were confirmed when I read Missy's Murder. In this book, Kingsbury not only examines a murder perpetuated by teenaged girls, but she explains the context--the time period (mid 80s) and the setting (a middling California neighborhood).
Into this mix, she introduces Michele Avila, the "Missy" of the title, and her best friend Karen Severson. Missy is pretty and popular. She has a close family and significant freedom, and she moves effortlessly through this confined world, enjoying the attention of her peers. She brings her best friend, Karen, along for the ride, but life isn't as easy for her as it is for Missy. Karen is adopted, an only child, and she is overweight, acting out sexually for attention. She has a child at fourteen, and she has to attend an alternative high school, an event that further contributes to her negative sense of self.
I completely understand that Karen is resentful of Missy, that she wants something of her very own devoid of her friend, but instead of simply ending the relationship as she should, she enjoys her friend's adoration too much. Missy genuinely cares for Karen, and Karen enjoys the privileges this connection affords. She has access to the Avila family, unconditional support, and she appreciates vicarious popularity. Behind the scenes though, Karen actively manipulates situations to damage Missy's reputation, even sparking an incident of violence. She is so obsessed with Missy's sexuality that she pursues one of Missy's former partners. When that boy displays his preference for Missy, Karen is threatened. She cannot abide this slight, interpreting the evidence as an intrusion.
Kingsbury successfully unpacks this troubled friendship on the page so well that Missy's murder seems inevitable. Karen, along with another Missy hater, Laura Doyle, lure Missy into a remote wooded area where they encourage each other to engage in cruelty, working in tandem to humiliate their victim. They accuse her of promiscuity, and they catalogue her alleged predatory behavior, holding her responsible for numerous wrongs. This is a very female way of enacting revenge--provoking embarrassment, particularly sexual embarrassment--and they cut Missy's long hair, a source of pride, to demean and demoralize her. Then they torture her, striking her before forcing her facedown into a puddle of water six-to-eight inches deep. In a blatant instance of overkill, the two girls then place a log across Missy's back, needlessly ensuring that she won't get up.
This murder is so very personal, so hateful, that even now, I wonder at the investigators' initial confusion over the details. Karen was so visible after the event, moving in with the Avilas, sleeping in Missy's bed, collecting newspaper articles of the murder, and even leading informal tours to the murder site that she seems the most obvious suspect, yet it wasn't until an eyewitness provided indisputable details of the event--the hair cutting--that Karen was really scrutinized.
That these details are still very clear to me decades after my initial read, speaks to the clarity of Kingsbury's writing. Her prose isn't art, but it is adequate in portraying this crime and the subsequent fallout. This book is also dark--as is most true crime--and I'm not sure how it holds up to more current offerings in the genre as my preferences tend in other directions. But it is a quick read--I read it during a road trip across Texas--and it doesn't demand a lot of effort. Readers not familiar with the existence of female violence may recoil at the ugliness here, but Kingsbury's portrait of Karen's malignant personality is still apt, especially considering that she wrote her own version of the events after she was paroled in 2011.
There was understandable backlash. Readers protested the book's publication across several platforms, and a law was passed because of it. show less
I remember thinking at the time that if a girl was willing to harass a person with the distinct purpose of causing mental breakdown, she was probably capable of even more sinister behavior. My fears that such a thing was possible were confirmed when I read Missy's Murder. In this book, Kingsbury not only examines a murder perpetuated by teenaged girls, but she explains the context--the time period (mid 80s) and the setting (a middling California neighborhood).
Into this mix, she introduces Michele Avila, the "Missy" of the title, and her best friend Karen Severson. Missy is pretty and popular. She has a close family and significant freedom, and she moves effortlessly through this confined world, enjoying the attention of her peers. She brings her best friend, Karen, along for the ride, but life isn't as easy for her as it is for Missy. Karen is adopted, an only child, and she is overweight, acting out sexually for attention. She has a child at fourteen, and she has to attend an alternative high school, an event that further contributes to her negative sense of self.
I completely understand that Karen is resentful of Missy, that she wants something of her very own devoid of her friend, but instead of simply ending the relationship as she should, she enjoys her friend's adoration too much. Missy genuinely cares for Karen, and Karen enjoys the privileges this connection affords. She has access to the Avila family, unconditional support, and she appreciates vicarious popularity. Behind the scenes though, Karen actively manipulates situations to damage Missy's reputation, even sparking an incident of violence. She is so obsessed with Missy's sexuality that she pursues one of Missy's former partners. When that boy displays his preference for Missy, Karen is threatened. She cannot abide this slight, interpreting the evidence as an intrusion.
Kingsbury successfully unpacks this troubled friendship on the page so well that Missy's murder seems inevitable. Karen, along with another Missy hater, Laura Doyle, lure Missy into a remote wooded area where they encourage each other to engage in cruelty, working in tandem to humiliate their victim. They accuse her of promiscuity, and they catalogue her alleged predatory behavior, holding her responsible for numerous wrongs. This is a very female way of enacting revenge--provoking embarrassment, particularly sexual embarrassment--and they cut Missy's long hair, a source of pride, to demean and demoralize her. Then they torture her, striking her before forcing her facedown into a puddle of water six-to-eight inches deep. In a blatant instance of overkill, the two girls then place a log across Missy's back, needlessly ensuring that she won't get up.
This murder is so very personal, so hateful, that even now, I wonder at the investigators' initial confusion over the details. Karen was so visible after the event, moving in with the Avilas, sleeping in Missy's bed, collecting newspaper articles of the murder, and even leading informal tours to the murder site that she seems the most obvious suspect, yet it wasn't until an eyewitness provided indisputable details of the event--the hair cutting--that Karen was really scrutinized.
That these details are still very clear to me decades after my initial read, speaks to the clarity of Kingsbury's writing. Her prose isn't art, but it is adequate in portraying this crime and the subsequent fallout. This book is also dark--as is most true crime--and I'm not sure how it holds up to more current offerings in the genre as my preferences tend in other directions. But it is a quick read--I read it during a road trip across Texas--and it doesn't demand a lot of effort. Readers not familiar with the existence of female violence may recoil at the ugliness here, but Kingsbury's portrait of Karen's malignant personality is still apt, especially considering that she wrote her own version of the events after she was paroled in 2011.
There was understandable backlash. Readers protested the book's publication across several platforms, and a law was passed because of it. show less
This is a story that will stick with you for some time. The book could've been better written, however, the story is so compelling, you'll want to keep reading and find out what happens. For anyone interested in the case, a lot of questions will be answered.. and a lot of questions will still be left.
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Author Information
214+ Works 64,865 Members
Karen Kingsbury was born in Fairfax, Virginia on June 8, 1963. She received a B.A. in journalism from California State University, Northridge in 1986. After graduation, she became a full-time reporter for the Los Angeles Times. Her first book, Missy's Murder, was published in 1992. She wrote three more true crime novels and four collections of show more answered prayers and miracle stories before transitioning to inspirational fiction in 1998. Her first inspirational fiction novel was Where Yesterday Lives. Popular series she has penned include the Redemption, Firstborn, Sunrise, and Angels Walking series, and she has also written the nonfiction Miracle Books collection, gift books, and children's books. She has won several Retailer's Choice Awards, plus 2005 and 2007 Gold Medallions for Oceans Apart and Ever After, respectively. Her other books include Longing, Coming Home - The Baxter Family: A Story of Undying Hope, Fiteen Minutes, The Family of Jesus, The Friends of Jesus, In This Moment, and To The Moon and Back. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Missy's Murder
- Original publication date
- 1991-11-03
- People/Characters
- Missy Avila; Victor Amaya; Karen Severson; Laura Doyle; Irene Avila; Ernie Avila, Sr (show all 12); Mark Avila; Savaun Avila; Chris Avila; Ernie Avila, Jr; Judge Jack Tso; Tamia Hope (prosecutor)
- Important places
- Mission High School; San Gabriel Mountains, California, USA; Arleta, California, USA
- Dedication
- DEDICATED TO
My loving husband, who has been my best friend ever since we met. Thank you for changing my life and being proud of me.
My dad, who encouraged me and believed I would accomplish my dreams.
M... (show all)y mom, whose excitement and enthusiasm has kept me going throughout this project
My precious daughter, who inspired me to pursue the impossible.
And especially my Heavenly Father: Thank you for answered prayers. - First words
- The Santa Ana winds started blowing in the San Fernando Valley on October 1, 1985.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)By killing Missy they immortalized her, and that was the last thing they wanted to do when they held her facedown in eight inches of water that October day.
- Original language
- English
Classifications
- Genre
- Teen
- DDC/MDS
- 364.1523 — Society, government, & culture Social problems and social services Crime Criminal offenses Offenses against the person Homicide Murder
- LCC
- HV6533 .C2 .K564 — Social sciences Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology Crimes and offenses
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 59
- Popularity
- 523,596
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.85)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 4
- ASINs
- 4
