Murder At Yale

I just finished reading Murder At Yale. I applaud Ms. Sands for her thoughtful storytelling of the tragedy, and her superb investigative skills.

In her latest true crime book, Stells Sands has once again done her homework. While some reviewers claim Sands did nothing more than connect the dots of assorted news snippets from various media, I would challenge them to do such a fine job of creating such a highly readable end product. Sands writes sympathetically of Le and her family and non-judgmentally of Clark and his family - which is more than can be said for a lot of the reviewers here, who found Sands guilty of some huge crime based solely on the subject of her book.

These reviews are appalling. In my opinion, the venom is totally uncalled for. Reviewers have admitted to not even reading the book before posting. No legitimate review could possibly be written in that fashion. Now, onto the good stuff: I am in a book club in which we have read all of Stella Sands' work. It is always tasteful, well-researched and compelling. Collectively, we agreed that what this book does best is to summarize a case to present day, provide possible explanations of behavior, and tell a story. In no way does the author attempt to criminalize the suspect or demean Annie Le. In fact, Annie Le is revered in this book, as well she should be. I find the suggestion that the author is capitalizing on a life lost to be unfounded and simply put, nasty. I too have lost someone too soon. Having his story told with this kind of diligence and grace would have been an honor and a privilege. Stella Sands: Keep writing. We can't wait for more.

America held its breath when Annie Le went missing. Just a few days before she was to be married, this young, vivacious, and accomplished graduate student seemed to vanish off the face of the Earth. Was she a runaway bride? Had she been abducted? It took nearly a week for the police to find her and discover the tragic truth about her disappearance. Murder at Yale is a surprisingly sensitive re-creation of what happened over the course of those long and painful days. Stella Sands takes the reader through the police investigation as it morphs from a missing-persons case into a homicide, through the pain and tragedy experienced by Annie Le's family, through the sadness and fear that grips the Yale campus, and through the relentless and sometimes-bizarre media coverage of the case as it unfolds. In the era of YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and 24/7 media coverage, it sometimes seems as if there are no mysteries left, no unknowns. Annie Le and her suspected killer Raymond Clark were two young people who worked in the same laboratory---both of whom had seemingly bright futures, although along very different paths. Now one is dead and the other is in prison facing a murder charge. Inexplicable and unthinkable, the story told in Murder at Yale is simultaneously chilling and heartbreaking. It reminds us that there are still dark corners on which no light ever shines. I found it extremely compelling.

Honestly, if you haven't read the book, DON'T write a review. We don't care what you think -- It's a crime to take your anger out on Stella Sands who is just trying to portray the truth about what happened. As you may or may not know, Sands has written several true crime books - that's her specialty - and she's great at what she does. She isn't trying to make a profit on someones death. She's a writer, just like the newspapers and magazines write about murders all the time. I'm pretty sure the people who are grieving should not be writing reviews about this book. You people are one-sided and out of control. We're sorry for your loss, but taking it out on an innocent person is horrible. YOU should be ashamed of yourselves.