Fatal Romance

I have read this book over and over, and I love it. The portrait of Nancy is not always flattering, but the book shows that she was raised in a very different world from the average American, and her priorities were a bit skewed. She grew up with servants, but couldn't afford her own. She went to private schools, but couldn't afford the same for her own children. She and Jeremy were hounded by bill collectors, yet she filled her home with expensive items and only wore Laura Ashley dresses. She struggled, as an adult, to re-create the privileged world she grew up in, only to fall short of her own expectations. She had to beg for help from her parents to pay her children's tuition. She could be snobbish and vain, and her flaws made her a somewhat less than sympathetic, but still very human, victim. Jeremy, her betrayed husband,killed her in a jealous rage. He committed a hideous crime in front of his children, but Nancy seems almost to have driven him to it. His wife abandoned him for a truck driver young enough to be her son, then shack up with the truck driver right down the street from the home she shared with her family. Nancy accused Jeremy of physical abuse, yet she left their young children with him when she left. Her claims of abuse are obviously attempts to excuse what she has done, and to gain sympathy. Nancy fights for custody of her abandoned children, yet she is living in a one-bedroom basement apartment with her boyfriend. What I like so much about this book is that the killer and the victim are 3-dimensional characters, with strengths as well as flaws. Nobody is all good, and nobody is all evil, which makes them more interesting.

To reviewers like Diane, I would like to say thank you. First, for taking the time to try a new author, and second for sharing your honest feedback. All feedback, both positive and negative, helps new authors to understand their readers and hone their writing to please their audiences. I invite you to pick up a copy of my next book, Murder in Paradise, and let me know if you find it more palpable.

This books grabs you and pulls you into the terrible real-life murder of a romance novelist and mom. Pulitzer puts us on the phone with the calm killer, a scene light years away from the romantic books written by the victim - one that puts a cold hand on your spine. Like all good storytellers, the authors brings us back to the beginning and the roots of violence. If you are a woman or have ever loved one, read this book. It will keep you up at night.

Lisa Pulitzer has done it again! Having read "A Woman Scorned" a year ago (and being SO very intrigued by it), I couldn't wait to read Ms. Pulitzer's latest effort. Well, it was worth the wait -- and -- you can't beat the price of these paperback true-crime stories. This is a quick read of an often disturbing tale. I whole-heartedly recommend this book.

I was pleased to see that the author reported the story in a fair and objective manner. This is a sad, but fascinating story of what can wrong in a relationship between two people.