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baileybarnes's review
4.0
I rarely write a review, but I did want anyone reading this to know that this is less true crime and more about what happens to criminals when deemed mentally insane. The crime is mentioned early on, but the majority of the book is what happened to Brian after he was sent to a mental hospital instead of prison. It is a terrifying and painful read at times, but also important for anyone who wants to understand what can happen when the system is broken.
marilynw's review against another edition
4.0
Couple Found Slain: After a Family Murder by Mikita Brottman (Author, Narrator), Christina Delaine (Narrator)
This story deals with a real life crime and the aftermath for the man who killed his parents. True to the title, although we learn of Brian Bechtold's family life, starting from before his parents married all the way until he killed them in the family home, the story's main focus is on Brian's life in the Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center where he has been since the death of his parent in 1992. This story is disturbing on so many levels and I feel in no way competent about choosing sides or making a decision on the right and wrong of Brian's fate. It does seem that if you compare him to others who have been released from the hospital within a few years of their crimes, that Brian should also have been able to fit the requirements for release, either to prison or to living in the outside world.
Brian came from a very dysfunctional family and had already exhibited mental problems for several years before he murdered his mother and father in 1992. After driving from his home, through various states, for almost two weeks, Brian picked up a Bible and started reading. It's then that he feels like he was cured of his mental disorder and he walked into a Florida police station and confessed that he had killed his parents. He was found not criminally responsible for his crime and was sent to Perkins. Unlike the majority of residents at this hospital, who usually are released from the hospital in a few years, Brian has remained there for decades. He does seem to be a changed man from the person he was in his teens and early 20s but according the many of the doctors who have examined him and his records over the years, many of them say that he is even more of a danger to himself and others and that his mental illness is as bad or worse than when he committed his crime.
The author presents us with Brian's history over his years at the hospital. He seems to be caught in a catch-22 black hole. Anything he says or does will be used against him. Anything he doesn't say or do will be used against him. Anything and everything can be used to diagnose him with various illnesses and disorders. Brian has no say over anything in his life and even wanting to make his own decisions is considered more evidence of his mental illness. Through various means Brian has tried to escape the hospital, both legal means and illegal means and he seems more entrenched there than ever.
I'm not in a position to decide what is best for Brian or for society, in regards to Brian. This book is interesting but more than that, it's very disturbing, and will appeal to those who are interested in true crime and/or the fate of those who experience life in a mental hospital and all the bureaucracy and indifference that might entail. I can understand how trapped and helpless patients might feel and I have no answer to their situations. At the same time, I feel for those who are there to care for and help the patients.
Publication: July 6th 2021
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this ARC.
This story deals with a real life crime and the aftermath for the man who killed his parents. True to the title, although we learn of Brian Bechtold's family life, starting from before his parents married all the way until he killed them in the family home, the story's main focus is on Brian's life in the Clifton T. Perkins Hospital Center where he has been since the death of his parent in 1992. This story is disturbing on so many levels and I feel in no way competent about choosing sides or making a decision on the right and wrong of Brian's fate. It does seem that if you compare him to others who have been released from the hospital within a few years of their crimes, that Brian should also have been able to fit the requirements for release, either to prison or to living in the outside world.
Brian came from a very dysfunctional family and had already exhibited mental problems for several years before he murdered his mother and father in 1992. After driving from his home, through various states, for almost two weeks, Brian picked up a Bible and started reading. It's then that he feels like he was cured of his mental disorder and he walked into a Florida police station and confessed that he had killed his parents. He was found not criminally responsible for his crime and was sent to Perkins. Unlike the majority of residents at this hospital, who usually are released from the hospital in a few years, Brian has remained there for decades. He does seem to be a changed man from the person he was in his teens and early 20s but according the many of the doctors who have examined him and his records over the years, many of them say that he is even more of a danger to himself and others and that his mental illness is as bad or worse than when he committed his crime.
The author presents us with Brian's history over his years at the hospital. He seems to be caught in a catch-22 black hole. Anything he says or does will be used against him. Anything he doesn't say or do will be used against him. Anything and everything can be used to diagnose him with various illnesses and disorders. Brian has no say over anything in his life and even wanting to make his own decisions is considered more evidence of his mental illness. Through various means Brian has tried to escape the hospital, both legal means and illegal means and he seems more entrenched there than ever.
I'm not in a position to decide what is best for Brian or for society, in regards to Brian. This book is interesting but more than that, it's very disturbing, and will appeal to those who are interested in true crime and/or the fate of those who experience life in a mental hospital and all the bureaucracy and indifference that might entail. I can understand how trapped and helpless patients might feel and I have no answer to their situations. At the same time, I feel for those who are there to care for and help the patients.
Publication: July 6th 2021
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this ARC.
alittlewrightreading's review
4.0
3.5 stars but rounded up to 4 for Goodreads Couple Found Slain is a true crime story about Brian Brottman who murdered his parents and later turned himself in. Brian’s story starts at his troubled childhood to his time spent at Perkins Hospital.
Couple Found Slain is different than a lot of True Crime books because it takes you past the sentencing and gives you a glimpse of life afterwards. Also, it gives background information on criminally insane defenses and how those people spend their time after the trial ends
I would have liked to see the captions with the pictures at the start of each chapter vs the end of the book. And sometimes stories seemed to on forever and became repetitive.
Definitely recommend this book for any True Crime lover or someone wanting to gain more insight on mental illness.
Thank you Netgalley and Henry Holt & Company for the opportunity to read Couple Found Slain in return for an honest review.
Couple Found Slain is different than a lot of True Crime books because it takes you past the sentencing and gives you a glimpse of life afterwards. Also, it gives background information on criminally insane defenses and how those people spend their time after the trial ends
I would have liked to see the captions with the pictures at the start of each chapter vs the end of the book. And sometimes stories seemed to on forever and became repetitive.
Definitely recommend this book for any True Crime lover or someone wanting to gain more insight on mental illness.
Thank you Netgalley and Henry Holt & Company for the opportunity to read Couple Found Slain in return for an honest review.
erwink54's review against another edition
4.0
Very interesting but made me start feeling a little crazy as I listened. The system was, is, and continues to be so broken, and until we recognize ALL human beings as, well, HUMAN BEINGS, the system will continue to be so very broken. What a horrible life Brian has been subjected to.
angschw's review
3.0
Brian Bechtold was 22 when he confessed to murdering both of his parents. Brian told the police that he had been “possessed by the devil” and was found not criminally responsible for the murders by the courts due to religious ideations and was sent to a maximum-security psychiatric hospital.
This book mainly focuses on what life for Brian looked like during his stay at the psychiatric
hospital. This was a very interesting book and really shed light into the lives of patients that have been accused of and/or diagnosed with psychiatric disorders. During many points of the story, I thought that the authors take on this murder and Brian Bechtold’s story was too subjective. I think the moral of the story really should be that Brian murdered two people, his parents. Should he have been released from the hospital after so many years? Should he have gone to prison instead? I felt that the authors take on this patient was that after years without another psychotic episode or medication that he should have walked free. Yeah, I don’t think so.
Thoughts on the narrator: It took me quite a while to get into this audio narration as the narrator sounded a bit too robotic.
A big thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to an early release copy of this book.
3.5 stars
This book mainly focuses on what life for Brian looked like during his stay at the psychiatric
hospital. This was a very interesting book and really shed light into the lives of patients that have been accused of and/or diagnosed with psychiatric disorders. During many points of the story, I thought that the authors take on this murder and Brian Bechtold’s story was too subjective. I think the moral of the story really should be that Brian murdered two people, his parents. Should he have been released from the hospital after so many years? Should he have gone to prison instead? I felt that the authors take on this patient was that after years without another psychotic episode or medication that he should have walked free. Yeah, I don’t think so.
Thoughts on the narrator: It took me quite a while to get into this audio narration as the narrator sounded a bit too robotic.
A big thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for allowing me to listen to an early release copy of this book.
3.5 stars
hippiechick56's review
2.0
2.5 stars. It was interesting to know what happens after the verdict but it got tangled up in other people's stories and the underfunding, understaffed and abuse to patients and inmates,that does happen in mental institutions run by states.
aznickster's review
4.0
Wow!! I have read many true crime book but I have never read one involving a person sentenced to a state mental hospital. This book left me with several questions about the mental health system as a whole. I really enjoyed the pacing of this book but I was a little thrown off by the ending. It seemed to end abruptly. I was expecting a little bit more. Maybe there really was not much else that could be said. Maybe I was just enjoying the book so much I wanted more. The subject matter really peaked my interest. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning about the mental health system, one experiences, after being sentenced to a state mental hospital.
anomieus's review against another edition
3.0
3.5⭐
Would have given 4 but this did feel a bit one sided. It was good, but I don't think it was very balanced in research.
Would have given 4 but this did feel a bit one sided. It was good, but I don't think it was very balanced in research.
shopthebookworm's review
3.0
I found the story line intriguing. The portrayal of life inside the hospital was shocking and eye-opening for what the residents endured. I often found myself siding with Brian in regards to his conversations with his psychiatrists about his progress and medications.
annieruokayy's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. It’s an account of a brutal crime and the aftermath of the crime. The court cases are very detailed. I love good court coverings. It wasn’t your run of the mill true crime book, as it didn’t just focus on the crime itself.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.