The Dreams of Ada

true, this whole story reeks of miscarriage of justice, but my review is more focused on the writing style of the author, robert mayer. he is good. really good. he obviously must have had access to most of the participants and just seems to be like a fly on the wall; observing, watching, listening and just taking us through the twists and turns. it is obvious even he does not know where the story is going; what is going to happen next. we experience it as he does. it is almost like a work of fiction. i wish mayer would write more true crime. this is what i look for when i scour the book stores for true crime books.

I read this book well over a decade ago when Tommy told me about it in a letter. I knew both of these men fairly well and spent a great deal of time with them in the year before this crime occurred, particularly Tommy. Karl was a little "different" (mentally slow) but he was always kind to me and Tommy somewhat protected him because of what Karl had been through with his mother's death. They had many opportunities to hurt me as they spent a great deal of time in my apartment and I had been over to Tommy's mothers' home a couple of times and his brother's home on several occasions - I moved away from Ada just a few weeks before Donna (who I did not know) was killed. I also knew (or knew of) most of the other individuals in the book...and if I had to choose who would be most likely to commit a murder, Tommy would have been the last one I would have ever chosen. When I knew Tommy he was one of the gentlest souls I'd ever known - I can still see him talking and playing with his pet bird and how obvious it was that he valued life, even that of a a small creature. I don't believe he did it and I will never believe it. This book will keep your attention...and it will capture your heart as well.

I have read many true crime books in my life. Out of these books I would estimate 10% qualify as truly excellent or great true crime books. This is one of those books. A Book Review should not be debating the guilt or innocence of the suspects mentioned in the book. What the average reader wants to know is will this book keep me up all night turning the pages? The best true crime books are better than their fiction counterparts because the things people do to each other are more unbelieveable than anything a fiction writer could invent. This book qualifies as a book that will keep you up all night and the next day when you try to read it while eating lunch. My sympathies are certainly with the relatives of the victim but nevertheless this is one of the best True Crime books I've ever read. By the way, my secret to finding the best true crime books is to look at the bottom of the outside cover of the book. If the book was a Book of the Month Selection or an Edgar Award Winner or Nominee...buy the book. (This book was an Edgar Award Nominee) You won't be sorry. Here are 5 others that will keep you up all night: 1) Minds of Billy Mulligan 2) Zodiac 3) Unveiling Claudia 4) Zebra 5) Careless Whispers

Thank Heavens I found this again. I have had 4 copies, loaned them out, never to be returned. I had almost given up. Being from Ada and knowing a lot of the people involved really gave me a connection to this book. The author gave his all in descriptions of Ada and the people involved in this grusome story. Even if I wasn't from Ada or knew any of the people, I would still have enjoyed it just as much. Believe me, this copy will not leave my house!

Robert Mayer's The Dreams of Ada is almost in a class by itself. This is a stone-whodunnit, but sensitively written by Mayer. The reader will be left painfully uncertain about just what happened in the little town of Ada, and whether the right men are actually in jail. A must for true-crime buffs looking for a high-quality read. Recommended even for those who don't like true crime but would enjoy a mystery or a tale of the workings of a small town.