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A review by kstaff
A Killer Among Us by Charles Bosworth Jr.
2.0
This was a slog. This is an affront to the True Crime genre. Bosworth is no Truman Capote. Let’s review this book’s crimes against humanity!
1. Entirely too long. This should have been 25% the length. It was repetitive and not interesting enough to span this length.
2. The most heavy handed foreshadowing imaginable. There was a murder. The husband was involved. She was amazing. He was evil. No nuance, no suspense. It became a tedious procedural while it was outlined why he did it, instead of trusting the audience enough to draw their own conclusions.
3. This family (and even the victim) are impossible to root for after while. Did you know they were sooooooo close? Did you know that Elizabeth was perfect? Don’t worry, you’ll be told multiple times in each of the 90+ chapters. They’ll skip over shady stuff the family and victim did to keep this narrative alive. It didn’t come off as a healthy family. It came off as a clan.
4. Rick is exactly where he needs to be, so I’m not defending him at all. But the things Elizabeth’s family and the author got angry at him for really was overkill, and made them look selfish (simultaneously making him appear sympathetic). They got mad because he changed his work schedule after the murder so he could be home when the kids got home from school. Really? He’s taking care of his children, you ignorant putzes! They had the nerve to say the kids shouldn’t spend time with their father’s brother. WTF? IT IS NOT ALL ABOUT YOU! Children have family from each of their parents. How dare they get mad that other family members saw the kids?
So painful.
1. Entirely too long. This should have been 25% the length. It was repetitive and not interesting enough to span this length.
2. The most heavy handed foreshadowing imaginable. There was a murder. The husband was involved. She was amazing. He was evil. No nuance, no suspense. It became a tedious procedural while it was outlined why he did it, instead of trusting the audience enough to draw their own conclusions.
3. This family (and even the victim) are impossible to root for after while. Did you know they were sooooooo close? Did you know that Elizabeth was perfect? Don’t worry, you’ll be told multiple times in each of the 90+ chapters. They’ll skip over shady stuff the family and victim did to keep this narrative alive. It didn’t come off as a healthy family. It came off as a clan.
4. Rick is exactly where he needs to be, so I’m not defending him at all. But the things Elizabeth’s family and the author got angry at him for really was overkill, and made them look selfish (simultaneously making him appear sympathetic). They got mad because he changed his work schedule after the murder so he could be home when the kids got home from school. Really? He’s taking care of his children, you ignorant putzes! They had the nerve to say the kids shouldn’t spend time with their father’s brother. WTF? IT IS NOT ALL ABOUT YOU! Children have family from each of their parents. How dare they get mad that other family members saw the kids?
So painful.