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Title: Echoes in the Darkness by Joseph Wambaugh ISBN: 0-553-26932-1 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 September, 1987 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.4 (20 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Unbelievable . . . creepy . . . but true -- very disturbing!
Comment: The tale of Susan Reinert is one of the most riveting true crime books I have ever read. Certainly the story -- details about Bill Bradfield, Dr. Jay Smith, Vince Valaitis, Sue Myers, etc. -- was convoluted . . . and difficult to follow at best. But it just proves Bradfield's manipulation of everyone around him. The story becomes difficult to follow and almost unbelievable because the story itself is practically unbelievable. Bradfield told so many tales and lied to so many people that even he had trouble keeping up with it and remembering what he told and who he told it to. Dr. Smith proves to be a pretty sinister character himself -- someone who did a lot of terrible things (and was possibly involved in the disappearance of his own daughter and her husband! Frightening!). It is hard to believe that these people are real -- that they live(d) and breathe(d) and exist(ed) in Upper Merion -- it certainly makes for an entertaining and unbelievable cast of characters. But they are not just characters in a book -- they are REAL PEOPLE -- and that is the scary thing. It makes you stop and think and look around at your friends and neighbors and coworkers and wonder what is going on in their heads. Creepy!
What is most disturbing is the fact that Reinert's young children were unfortunately involved in this horrible situation, and that their bodies have never been found. Even more frightening is that Susan Reinert's body may have disappeared in much the same way -- except that there was life insurance money to be gained (by Bradfield) and therefore a body had to be found. The sad thing is that everyone seemed to be under someone else's "spell" -- for the most part, all these seemingly intelligent teachers (molding the minds of Upper Merion's youth, no less!) were so enthralled and entrenched in Bradfield's life, so willing to believe him, so willing to participate in his "cloak and dagger" games, so prepared to believe him until too many suspicions and too much evidence mounted against him. And Bradfield! His relationship with Dr. Smith -- whatever the extent of it -- was certainly not on the up-and-up. A frightening look at this disturbed group of people and the lengths someone will go to attain something (in this case, money). All I can say is, you have to read it to believe it. I was too young to remember the case when it happened, so I can't compare the book to any newspaper headlines or stories or actual experiences . . . but I was engrossed in the book, totally interested. Wambaugh does an excellent job pulling the reader into the lives of these people. The situations are chaotic and elaborate -- at times almost ridiculous and laughable, because everyone was so blind to the "charms" of Bradfield and Smith for so long. I only wish there had been pictures of the principle characters, so I could have put faces to the names.
Rating: 3
Summary: It's amazing how clueless and idealistic you can be at 17...
Comment: As a graduate of Upper Merion--with Jay Smith's signature on my diploma and Bill Bradfield's loopy enthusiasm whenever I successfully translated Catullus still ringing in my head--this book was a "must-read." I CAN say that Wambaugh does his usual good job of capturing certain facets of the main characters and presenting the case, particularly from the viewpoint of the investigators, whom he lionizes. (Unfortunately, the intervening years have led to revelations about their mishandling of evidence and own character failings...which tarnishes their victory somewhat.) He also succeeds in pointing out the inverse relationship between intelligence and common sense that often exists among academics, and definitely existed here. I found his description of sociopathic behavior and how it forged the bizarro bond between these two men especially illuminating. However, it's what I usually like best about Wambaugh's books that forms the basis for my only criticism: there's no mistaking the fact he's an ex-cop. That means he forms his judgments about the perpetrators, followers, and even the victim early on and sticks to them. These people weren't quite so black and white. That being said, it's a good read that captures the gothic feel it strives for, and makes me extremely sad for the mother and children who were lost...and angry at people I respected who had so much potential.
Rating: 4
Summary: May be his best book;
Comment: many reviewers have said so. The book is about two sociopathic mass murderers interacting with each other. The first third is about what they do and think. Just when I thought the top of my head was going to come off, focus shifts to detectives who are trying to put the crazies behind bars--good instinct on Wambaugh's part. The book reads like a "Dragnet" script--"just the facts, Ma'am,just the facts"--but in a curious style: "Dragnet" scripted by Phillip Roth or Terry Southern. The eye for detail that Waumbaugh ascribes to one character is his own, and a sharp eye it is, too. References to literature show he's done his reading. Reading this book is like sliding down a razorblade; there's blood all over, but you don't feel a thing.
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Title: The Blooding by Joseph Wambaugh ISBN: 0553282816 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 November, 1989 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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Title: Lines And Shadows by Joseph Wambaugh ISBN: 0553271482 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 November, 1984 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: The Onion Field by JOSEPH WAMBAUGH ISBN: 0440173507 Publisher: Dell Pub. Date: 10 March, 1987 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Fugitive Nights by Joseph Wambaugh ISBN: 0553295780 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 December, 1992 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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Title: The Choirboys by Joseph Wambaugh ISBN: 0440111889 Publisher: Dell Pub. Date: 01 March, 1987 List Price(USD): $7.50 |
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