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31 reviews for:
The Stranger She Loved: A Mormon Doctor, His Beautiful Wife, and an Almost Perfect Murder
Shanna Hogan
3.79 AVERAGE
31 reviews for:
The Stranger She Loved: A Mormon Doctor, His Beautiful Wife, and an Almost Perfect Murder
Shanna Hogan
3.79 AVERAGE
As always, it's hard to rate a non-fiction book. You have to rely heavily on the research that an author does and hope that they're presenting the facts to you and not letting bias in. I believe Hogan was very a matter-of-fact for the most part, unless it concerned Martin and his lawyers, and I believe this is well-researched, however perhaps not completely well-presented.
The opening was strong and an immediate hook, however then the novel focuses heavily on the further past. I believe the book would have flowed better with the past intermittently put in other places that weren't a chronological lead up to the murder and so on.
The reason I feel this way is that there is a lot of "click bait" in this lead up section for each ending scene:
Page 18: "Only his [deep-seated issues] were more carefully concealed."
Page 29: "No one knew then that his entire career was based on lies."
Page 33: "As time would prove, Martin was, indeed, a talented actor."
Page 39: "Churning behind the deceptive smile was a Martin McNeill the family did not know existed."
Page 41: "It was only after his wife's death that his lies would be exposed."
Page 45: "Their enigmatic bond would ultimately destroy Damian's life."
It's as if Hogan is acknowledging that this part is boring because it's all an information dump, yet she did nothing to remedy it and employed an odd "you'll see later tactic" that tends to turn a reader off. To me, it feels like a few of these sentences nearly have the same meaning, but are just written differently to hide the fact that they're all saying, "he's a liar; don't trust him."
After you get up to where the book basically began, the energy comes back and it's mostly smooth sailing except for a couple of typos by using "childrens" as a strange plural when it already is that and the wrong "into" because this is the preposition needed otherwise you have a floating partial infinitive that asks "to what?" I'm sure there's more I missed, but my job here wasn't to edit the piece so...
Overall, a fascinating and informative read, but not much beyond that. It lacked balance. It gave perhaps too much unnecessary information about unimportant people to the story. It's great you know the police detective went to such and such school, but it's probably not pertinent to the novel.
The opening was strong and an immediate hook, however then the novel focuses heavily on the further past. I believe the book would have flowed better with the past intermittently put in other places that weren't a chronological lead up to the murder and so on.
The reason I feel this way is that there is a lot of "click bait" in this lead up section for each ending scene:
Page 18: "Only his [deep-seated issues] were more carefully concealed."
Page 29: "No one knew then that his entire career was based on lies."
Page 33: "As time would prove, Martin was, indeed, a talented actor."
Page 39: "Churning behind the deceptive smile was a Martin McNeill the family did not know existed."
Page 41: "It was only after his wife's death that his lies would be exposed."
Page 45: "Their enigmatic bond would ultimately destroy Damian's life."
It's as if Hogan is acknowledging that this part is boring because it's all an information dump, yet she did nothing to remedy it and employed an odd "you'll see later tactic" that tends to turn a reader off. To me, it feels like a few of these sentences nearly have the same meaning, but are just written differently to hide the fact that they're all saying, "he's a liar; don't trust him."
After you get up to where the book basically began, the energy comes back and it's mostly smooth sailing except for a couple of typos by using "childrens" as a strange plural when it already is that and the wrong "into" because this is the preposition needed otherwise you have a floating partial infinitive that asks "to what?" I'm sure there's more I missed, but my job here wasn't to edit the piece so...
Overall, a fascinating and informative read, but not much beyond that. It lacked balance. It gave perhaps too much unnecessary information about unimportant people to the story. It's great you know the police detective went to such and such school, but it's probably not pertinent to the novel.
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
I can't resist the true crime shelves at the library. {{Hangs head in shame.}}
The story itself is compelling--sociopath 'doctor' fools nearly everyone for decades, then burns it all to the ground for the love of a fellow sociopath-- named Gypsy, of all things.
I appreciate the research and effort, but the clunky writing made it a slower read than it needed to be. I don't know why true crime is so often like that--as if authors are paid per irrelevant tidbit.
The story itself is compelling--sociopath 'doctor' fools nearly everyone for decades, then burns it all to the ground for the love of a fellow sociopath-- named Gypsy, of all things.
I appreciate the research and effort, but the clunky writing made it a slower read than it needed to be. I don't know why true crime is so often like that--as if authors are paid per irrelevant tidbit.
I don't always like true crime books because they are too dry. This one kept my attention. The author chronicled this case in such a way that although it was a listing of facts it seemed more like a novel. It reminded me of an edition of Dateline. I got really involved with the daughters and felt their frustration. Martin McNeill was a cold calculating egocentric man who hid behind his position in the Mormon church and a doctor. He deserved to spend his life in prison.
It is incredible to learn how this man could deceive so many for so long.
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Listened to on audio.
Guy almost got away with murder. Every part of his life was made up of lies. Got caught in his own web thanks to the persistence of his children and his wife’s family to convict him of the murder of their mother/sister.
Guy almost got away with murder. Every part of his life was made up of lies. Got caught in his own web thanks to the persistence of his children and his wife’s family to convict him of the murder of their mother/sister.
Eh writing, excellent story
Although the story is obviously compelling and chilling, I found the actual writing of the story to be a bit dull. You can tell it reads more like several short articles than one coherent piece. The actual quotes are excellent. I also wish the pictures would have been more towards the middle of the book, even in a digital format.
Although the story is obviously compelling and chilling, I found the actual writing of the story to be a bit dull. You can tell it reads more like several short articles than one coherent piece. The actual quotes are excellent. I also wish the pictures would have been more towards the middle of the book, even in a digital format.
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
dark
informative
medium-paced
3 - liked it
This book tells the story of the murder of Michelle McNeil, and of her family and her husband and murderer, Martin McNeil.
Michelle was found by her young daughter in the bathtub. Her husband acted erratic while emergency workers were at the scene. The coroner deemed her death natural due to heart disease. Weeks after her death, Martin moved his mistress into his family home as the "nanny", and it was then that the majority of the family began to be suspicious. It was 7 years until they'd finally get people on their side about Martin being a murderer and pathological liar.
This book was interesting and chockful of information. However, in a lot of the book, it was just...too much information? Like for example, in hearing about Gypsy's (the mistress) background, we got to hear all about her childhood and her family members, etc. There were a lot of people introduced and given background that wasn't honestly relevant to the case or the story it presented.
No one can say, however, that the author didn't do their research. They did a lot of it, and very thoroughly covered everything related to the case.
This was also an interesting book to me because it occurs in my community (Northern Utah), and I don't often real local true crime.
Overall, enjoyed the read and learning about the case.
This book tells the story of the murder of Michelle McNeil, and of her family and her husband and murderer, Martin McNeil.
Michelle was found by her young daughter in the bathtub. Her husband acted erratic while emergency workers were at the scene. The coroner deemed her death natural due to heart disease. Weeks after her death, Martin moved his mistress into his family home as the "nanny", and it was then that the majority of the family began to be suspicious. It was 7 years until they'd finally get people on their side about Martin being a murderer and pathological liar.
This book was interesting and chockful of information. However, in a lot of the book, it was just...too much information? Like for example, in hearing about Gypsy's (the mistress) background, we got to hear all about her childhood and her family members, etc. There were a lot of people introduced and given background that wasn't honestly relevant to the case or the story it presented.
No one can say, however, that the author didn't do their research. They did a lot of it, and very thoroughly covered everything related to the case.
This was also an interesting book to me because it occurs in my community (Northern Utah), and I don't often real local true crime.
Overall, enjoyed the read and learning about the case.