Justice Waits: The Uc Davis Sweetheart Murders

I'm not usually a reader of crime-books, but, having gone to Davis, I wanted to give this one a try. Once I started, I dragged it around from the kitchen sink to the car to the sidewalk outside of my kids' school because I didn't want to put it down! It's terribly gut-wrenching and made my heart ache for the Riggins Gonzales' families; but it also provides an important reminder of how vulnerable our justice system truly is.

I have never read a True Crime Story before, but had gone to UC Davis and wanted to learn more about this tragic story. I loved the book. Once I picked it up, it was hard for me to put it down. Joel Davis did a wonderful job of presenting the facts and giving the reader all the information they needed to get a feel for the time surrounding the murders as well as the events that have taken place during the last 24 years. I would definitely recommend (and already have) the book to a friend.

This is unlike any true crime book that I've ever read. I got to know Sabrina and John, the murder victims, and their families. This book honors them without making them too good to be true. The criminals are not sensationalized. The innocence of Davis, California appealed to my longing for the safety and security of the past. The case was very complex, but the Who's Who and Chronology at the end of the book helped me keep it straight. The book was intriguing, and I felt compelled to read it until it was finished.

This account of an apparently random murder of two college freshmen sweehtearts is riveting reading as police take detour after detour in trying to untangle facts and theories over more than 24 years. A year younger than the male victim, the author grew up in the same little town and attended the same high school. His personal interest enriches the book and his persistence in following the case even after the police had seemingly reached a dead end influenced the reopening of the case. A good read with a surprise in the conclusion.

Grabs you with a building sense of shocking tragedy, and the years of mystery that followed. Takes the reader to a dark moment in an otherwise brighter and more innocent time. Well worth the read for true-crime aficionados and anyone wanting the inside story on this grim chapter in the history of Davis and its Central Valley environs, written by someone who was actually there.