Portraits of Guilt

A well written, riveting account of real life mysteries and murders. Jeanne provides a compassionate, objective view into the inner workings of the legal system, law inforcement, and national tragedies. Very thought provoking. Great reading!

This book is a winner! Very riveting. It tells stories of the underground world that I never knew existed. Jeanne has a terrifying yet compelling tale of the stories she has lived. I am sure she continues to live the lives and tales of her clients over and over daily. I feel like I have become a part of her as she recreates the gruesome and sad stories she has been such a large part. Her psychic ability to interview and delve into the lives of the charachters and come up with a picture is uncanny. I cannot wait to see the book as a movie!

As a parent and an educator, I followed the Polly Klass kidnapping in the news. My son was her age... it was the unthinkable. At the time, I was not aware of Jeanne Boylan's prominent role in the ensuing case. After reading "Portraits of Guilt", I have a great appreciation for the compassion and God-given skill that brought Ms. Boylan to the forefront of the Klass case, as well as others, such as that of the Unabomer and the Oklahoma City tragedy. This is a riveting account of one woman who has been able to gradually set in motion crime-solving procedures which will eventually make the system more efficient and effective.

This is a book that is hard to put down. Ms Boylan's recounting of some of the most infamous crimes in recent history from her own unique perspective is fascinating, to say the least. Have you ever happened across a crime scene strung all round with 'do not cross' police tape, and wondered with morbid curiosity what was going on the other side? Ms. Boylan lifts the tape and allows us to follow her into the closed-off, tightly controlled world of criminal investigation. It is a compelling, riveting, and heartbreaking journey. There is a thread that runs through this story that knocks you flat in the end.

If you want to consider yourself well informed about what goes on behind the headlines, you must read this book. The author was involved in the biggest crime stories of the decade, from the tragic Polly Klaas case, through the Unibomber and the Oklahoma City bombing. She brings an insiders knowledge of how law enforcement works (or doesn't work) to her book, but thats just the tip of the iceberg. Portraits of Guilt succeeds on many levels. Its a true story of a woman with a unique talent who is often forced to fight an entrenched system, and who pays a personal price for her convictions. Many people suffer when a violent crime occurs...not only the victim. I found the events surrounding the Polly Klaas investigation particularly heartbreaking and at the same time inspiring. She was there for Oklahoma City and she did the Unibomber picture that made headlines around the world and led to his eventual identification and capture. The way Ms. Boylan got her witnesses to re-live what they saw brings a strong psychological angle to the story, and challenges the "by the book" method most law enforcement agencies use. Through it all, the author never loses her courage and sense of purpose. She pays a high price for her dedication and confronts the ghosts of her own past as well. The stories about the less "high profile" cases are equally involving. An amazing story. Well written and multi-dimensional. I could not put it down.