Blood Brother: 33 Reasons My Brother Scott Peterson Is Guilty

Loved this view of the Peterson family and Scott and Laci before the murder. Scott’s behavior during the time she was missing - especially during the trip to Disneyland and the time Scott and Anne were hanging out together in San Diego and Berkeley- is very informative. You feel a bit sorry for Anne, so ferociously intent on proving that she didn’t deserve to be “abandoned” by Jackie & defensive about what a great life she had with her adoptive parents but obviously she was better off than she would have been had Jackie kept her, both in terms of finances, a stable home etc. It’s understandable she paints her birth mother in a less than favorable light, considering her hurt feelings that she wasn’t kept by her mom, which is also part of the picture. Bird’s story is the only place you will read that Scott and Laci didn’t get along. Well, unless you read the self published book “I’m sorry I lied to you” by Karen Thomas, Scott’s innocence project lawyer who had quite a lot to say about the Peterson’s relationship based on their chats in San Quentin. But Bird’s has the benefit of being truthful and well written and she gets no glee or revenge out of showing how she arrives at the conclusion that her brother killed his wife, or his basic disinterest in Laci’s whereabouts. Bird has no real evidence as such, but in terms of Scott’s “demeanor” there is plenty to make you go “hm” as you put the puzzle pieces together on this crime. I do feel sorry for her and for her birth mother, to have such a hard beginning to life and then a sorrow like this when you finally find each other again as a family.

This story combined two topics fascinating to me, true crime and siblings raised apart. The author was given up for adoption as an infant. She had loving parents, siblings and extended family. One day a stranger called her, another infant given up. This new found brother encourages her to meet her birth mother and two other siblings raised by their birth mother. She grows especially close to her newly found brother Scott and his wife Laci. Eventually Scott was convicted of killing his wife and unborn child. It was an interesting dynamic with the birth mother and nature versus nurture in the choices we make. Told from a unique perspective journalists just didn't have.

I'd considered reading this but never bought until yesterday when the Petersons screamed at Laci's grieving brother while he was on the stand. I felt like their ongoing denial helped create this soul-less guy and I bought this on the way home from work. This book convinced me of what I already believed. I read it very quickly. I do not fault Anne Bird for writing this book; I do, however, feel sad that her birth family caused her so much anguish and that she was forced to confront that a brother she loved was so evil and that her family life suffered as a result. Her "reasons" were not what compelled me to read this. Understanding the psychology of Scott Peterson's family was, and Anne Bird provided this. Anne, I am glad your adoptive family raised you differently than you would have been raised otherwise. You are not wrong to turn your back on a man who killed a pregnant woman and his near-term baby and those who would defend him at any cost. I, too, am adopted. If being a member of any family requires you to look away from and defend evil, then bless you for not wanting to pay that price of admission.

Ms. Bird has written from the heart. The reader who is looking for irrefutable evidence of Scott's guilt or innocence will be disappointed. However, as a Peterson clan insider, Ms. Bird does buttress the circumstantial case against Scott with her own direct observations. The story is all the more compelling because Ms. Bird initially believed in Scott's innocence. Most admirable, Bird does not use heavy-handed tactics to sway the reader to her view of Scott's guilt. Rather, she lets events and circumstances of which she had first-hand knowledge speak for themselves. The photographs included in the book were helpful. Ms. Bird obviously had deep affection for Laci, and we learn more about Laci, the woman. Bird also offers a theory as to how Scott committed the murder which is quite convincing. The book is not meant to stand as the definitive account of the Laci Peterson murder. Instead, it is the tale of how the tragic events impacted one woman close to the epicenter. It's a human story, and the book accomplishes what it sets out to do. I sincerely hope Ms. Bird is healing from this aftermath of her involvement with her birth family.

As much as I admire Amber Frey, her book added little to what was already known about Scott Peterson and his family. Anne Bird's book, on the other hand, tells us lots we didn't know. I won't give away any details, but Scott's mother, Jackie Peterson, is revealed to be just about as big a sociopath as Scott. A very fast read; I read it in one sitting. If you're a Peterson trial junkie, this is a must read!

Thank you Mrs. Bird for writing this book. You have provided a terrific insight to the Latham/Peterson family dynamic. Your account of events leading up to and after Laci's disappearance is chilling. I was stunned at Scott's self centered, spoiled brat behavior as well as Jackies seemingly mean spirited remarks about Laci. I read this book in less than a day. I could not put it down. May God bless you and your family.

This is an excellent, honest account from a sister who wanted to believe Scott Peterson was innocent. Tremendous read and very heartfelt.