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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
As with most true crime, I found myself eyeballs deep in a rabbit-hole of my own research which made this short book seem to take forever to finish. And while the crimes committed were, how do I say.. not exactly exotic in nature, I found its slow unraveling to be really engaging and interesting. The psychology is fascinating, as is the Alford plea and various other things that had me running to Google. Interesting stuff.
I found at least one or two surprising twists in this tale, but this true story is a fairly straightforward accounting of an unprecedented string of arsons in Accomac County on the Eastern Shore of Virginia during 2012-2013. I lived in the Baltimore/Washington area for a few years, and I remember when going to the Eastern Shore of Maryland it felt like I was stepping back in time at least 25 years (and that was in the mid-1990s). Arson is not the crime I would have suspected as being the focus of a love story. I'm still not sure I understand why it happened, although it all makes sense to them. This is not a mastermind's crime spree, and the fact that they eluded a massive police effort to stop their crimes and commit 70 arsons is perplexing. That may be one of the strongest points in the book. The author also has a lot to say about rural decline and depopulation, open and abandoned countryside, and the effects of limited prospects and perspectives. Monica Hesse presents a journalistic account that is fair to all the principals, up to the point where they stopped talking with her (or kept talking...). I thought that the courtroom accounts and legal details dragged by comparison with the rest of the book, but overall I would recommend the book for its characters, setting, and underlying questions.
4-. hesse's writing is so clear and logical--was not surprised to learn this originated as a post article. usually i'm bummed when the whodunit of a mystery is known to the reader at the outset, but it turned out to be smart--i was really invested in how the legal proceedings unfolded, whereas i don't think i would have been had the big reveal been that it was charlie and tonya. some meandering parts--about arson, criminal couples, profiling--where i thought "damn this is a really good college paper"--but they still were relevant.
It was interesting, but I didn't love it. I kept hoping for more.
Excellent! Book recommendation for summer reading challenge. Thanks, Miranda.
2.5 stars. I find whatever-would-be-the-crime-equivalent of folie à deux deeply compelling; this is an antidote to that. The unusual, criminal ways in which a relationship develops or evidences itself does not necessarily make that relationship interesting, lasting, or even unusual. This is small, petty, a little embarrassing, a little boring--pointedly so, but that doesn't alter the tone. Worth reading for me personally, but I wouldn't recommend it.
An interesting read. At the time of the fires, my office was in the county just north of Accomack, and we often traveled into Accomack on our route as large animal vets. It was a pretty terrifying time for the locals, and yes, we talked about it every day, sometimes all day long.
I felt like the author tried to be very respectful, and while admittedly I winced at some of the grammar displayed by the locals, that's truly how it works on the peninsula. I'm not embarrassed by them, but rather painfully aware that it makes them seem like funny yokels to outsiders. That can't be helped, I suppose, but my protective streak comes out when I see the risk of such exposure resulting in mocking... Thankfully the author never once comes across as mocking. I will say the telling presents the story as more titillating than I recall, but I think we were all busy being scared, while the rest of the country found it an interesting nightly news story.
There are interesting history tidbits throughout. The author attempts to give a real view of the area, and does a decent job. Overall an enjoyable look at Accomack, for this "born here," from a county just north. (And yes, she has it absolutely right. If you aren't born here, you are never a local. Don't even try it.) Definitely fun to see local names and places in a book, but as my father (a Delaware born-here, basically Delmarva is a law onto itself) likes to say: you know if you see us in the news, something's gone wrong.
I felt like the author tried to be very respectful, and while admittedly I winced at some of the grammar displayed by the locals, that's truly how it works on the peninsula. I'm not embarrassed by them, but rather painfully aware that it makes them seem like funny yokels to outsiders. That can't be helped, I suppose, but my protective streak comes out when I see the risk of such exposure resulting in mocking... Thankfully the author never once comes across as mocking. I will say the telling presents the story as more titillating than I recall, but I think we were all busy being scared, while the rest of the country found it an interesting nightly news story.
There are interesting history tidbits throughout. The author attempts to give a real view of the area, and does a decent job. Overall an enjoyable look at Accomack, for this "born here," from a county just north. (And yes, she has it absolutely right. If you aren't born here, you are never a local. Don't even try it.) Definitely fun to see local names and places in a book, but as my father (a Delaware born-here, basically Delmarva is a law onto itself) likes to say: you know if you see us in the news, something's gone wrong.
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
This started strong but the end just kept going and going. I also wasn’t keen on how the author didn’t divulge relationship dynamics of Tanya and Charlie until after the arrest. The structure just felt odd.