A Season in Purgatory

When young Harrison Burns becomes an accessory to a crime of passion committed by his friend and prep school classmate Constant Bradley, his silence is bought by patriarch Gerald. 'My soul was lost, but my future was bought and paid for'.

In 1975, 15-year-old Martha Moxley, who lived in a wealthy area of Greenwich, Conn., was found beaten to death with a golf club. The prime suspect was the 17-year-old neighbour, Thomas Skakel, a nephew of Ethel Kennedy. "A Season in Purgatory" was designed to parallel the Moxley murder case. There is a theme of power and privilege - as well as the theme that those with the most expensive lawyers win.

"A Season in Purgatory" blends in all the familiar tales of Kennedy damage and damage control. Constant show more Bradley's classy, beautiful wife, Charlotte, is given a million dollars by his father when she threatens to leave him because of his womanizing. A mentally challenged sister is packed off to an insane asylum and never mentioned. People are paid to write school essays and an autobiography for Constant, and his father buys up copies of the book to make sure it is a best seller. The oldest brother, Jerry, who is really supposed to be the great family political hope, has an accident, and the woman with him ends up in a wheelchair. A sister becomes an alcoholic. Gerald Bradley has a stroke.

Dominick Dunne (disclosure: he is one of my favourite authors - I subscribed to Vanity Fair for years just so I could read his column) has taken all the most chilling character flaws of generations of Kennedy's and compressed them into one creepy plot line (which happens to be closer to true than not) - a highly readable tale about the privileged who feel they can make their own rules. show less

Great read. This guy can write! When young Harrison Burns becomes an accessory to a crime of passion committed by his friend and prep school classmate Constant Bradley, his silence is bought by patriarch Gerald. All efforts at a solution are mysteriously stifled; 20 years later Burns, now a successful journalist, decides to unburden himself of his torturous secret. Dunne plunges readers instantly into the thick of things with the book's opening lines: "The jury is in its third day of deliberation"--and, with the exception of a mildly disappointing excursion to Arizona, never relaxes his firm grip. The unforgettable Bradley family, their skeletons (e.g., Agnes, the mad, institutionalized daughter) and peccadillos offer an allure similar show more to a sidelong glance at tabloid headlines, though here told with wit and skill. Their machinations prove both fascinating and appalling--and always hypnotically readable. In addition to his potent characterization and deftly crafted plotting, Dunne again provides an insider's glimpse of this rarified stratum--a world where the highest praise for a character might be "he's marvelous at placement . . . he can seat a dinner party better than anyone I've ever known." This compulsive yarn might well be subtitled Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous--The Dark Side . show less

(Ethel Skakel Kennedy) - fictitious murder in rich Cath. family — covered up for years — good

They were the family with everything. Money. Influence. Glamour. Power. The power to halt a police investigation in its tracks. The power to spin a story, concoct a lie, and believe it was the truth. The power to murder without guilt, without shame, and without ever paying the price. America's royalty, they called the Bradleys. But an outsider refuses to play his part. And now, the day of reckoning has arrived. . . .

A favorite author of mine, as always has written a riveting story of mystery, discovery, with a bit of society gossip.

De pronto cuando te vas acercando al final se convierte en un bestseller, pero aún así fue muy entretenida.

Quite enjoyed this one (we wound up with two copies of this; one hardback & one paperback. I picked up this hardcover for a dollar back in 2005). Donating as I'm clearing my bookshelves for a move.

Had two copies of this book in two different bindings. Loved the story but donating now as clearing bookshelves for move.