Written in Blood by Diane Fanning
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Book Reviews of Written in Blood
Book Review: Not Impressed
Summary: 1 Stars
(Reviewed by Rebecca)
I bought this book after watching the extraordinary and riveting documentary, The Staircase, with the hopes that it would contain some of the evidence and testimony not included in the documentary. What I found was an unnecessarily biased, sensationally written account of events leading up to and including the trial.
Instead of focussing on more compelling evidence like red neurons found in the victim's brain suggesting a much earlier time of death, and broken cartillage in the throat that might suggest an attempted strangulation, the book casts such a jaundiced eye on Peterson that the author would like you to believe he was not only responsible for the death of Kathleen Peterson and Liz Ratliff (which I think is entirely possible), but was responsible for drowning the family dog, probably had something to do with George Ratliff's death, and was indirectly responsible for the death of one of Liz Ratliff's students who later committed suicide.
What's worse is the overly sentimental account of events having little to do with the evidence. For example, Fanning dedicates a chapter to the wind chimes placed by Kathleen's family members in a tree nearby her grave being struck by a sudden and unexplained wind whenever Kathleen's sister visited her grave as if she was trying to tell her something "from beyond". The author writes she too visited Kathleen's grave, "As I reached the foot of her grave, a breeze danced through the air and the sweetest sound I ever heard tinkled through the air. It was almost as if the gracious hostess was welcoming me to her new home."
The book would have been much more interesting and effective if it was less biased and sensationalistic, and presented some of the reasons Peterson may not be guilty, of which there are many. What keeps me thinking about this story is that it is such a complex case. Fanning took out all of the complexity to write her exaggerated account of events, and that's a shame.
Book Review: Written in Hyperbole.
Summary: 1 Stars
This silly book purports to be a true story.
Unfortunately, the author is unable to look at both sides of the case, a necessary part of writing a true crime story.
Michael Peterson gets no votes from me for his innocence, but it's hard to see what an intelligent,high achieving woman like Kathleen saw in him from this presentation. "Written in Blood" belongs to the fairytale style of true crime writing. The perpetrator is very bad, & the victim is very good. Needless to say, this does neither of them any favours & trivializes their real characters & the tragedy that occurred.
Carrying on the fairytale motif, Fanning repeatedly describes the rather plain Kathleen as "beautiful" (would her death be less tragic if she is acknowledged as less than supermodel material in the author's mind?) She also has the gall to relate an unbelievable lot of nonsense regarding windchimes over Kathleen's grave apparently being manipulated by her spirit! Understandable in a bereaved relative, this type of experience is ludicrous when described by someone purporting to be an investigative writer & can only raise further doubts about Fanning's ability for the task.
Poor Kathleen deserves to be seen as a real human being. This travesty of a book does not give us a sense of the vibrant woman who was obviously deeply loved by her family & friends. Fanning is unable to carry out more than a superficial investigation into the couple, & glosses over anything that could be perceived as even slightly negative in the lives of Kathleen & her family of origin. The Petersons are, of course, portrayed very differently.
At least the book isn't as bad as Aphrodite Jones's offering on this case, where the author apparently can read minds & tells us the results. And at least Fanning is very upfront about her bias.
If you want a mushy, sentimental overview of the case, snap this up. Otherwise save your money.
Book Review: An extraordinarily one-sided account
Summary: 1 Stars
If you were thinking of reading this book because you are curious about what could have happened to Kathleen Peterson and wanted an unbiased accounting of the facts in the case, then don't bother.
According to Fanning "Before the trial ended, the verdict was a foregone conclusion in my mind. The medical examiner's report made it murder. The spatter inside the shorts made it Mike. All else was window-dressing." It didn't matter to her that America's foremost expert disagreed with the medical examiner, that Michael Peterson's journalism had upset many in the Durham law and order community, or that there was no convincing weapon or motive presented by the prosecution.
Fanning sets out to prove that Michael Petersen is an evil killer and in doing so she ignores any evidence to the contrary. Her acknowledgments carry thanks only to detractors of Michael Peterson; none from his supporters. She presents one-sided versions and vague recollections as though they were fact. Every character presented for the prosecution is heroic; every supporter of the defence is sadly delusional. When prosecutor Hardin finishes his closing she says "the courtroom was as quiet as a chapel in the aftermath of witnessing a miracle." On the other hand, she describes Peterson's tears for his wife as "caterwauling".
For me such obvious bias shed doubt on every single account she presented in the book. I don't know if Peterson is guilty or not. I wish I could find someone who would present evidence from both sides. But, as Fanning says herself "the legal system is no longer designed to find the truth-it is constructed to decide a winner."
Book Review: Very Disappointing Book
Summary: 1 Stars
I had seen on Court TV about this murder and was looking forward to the book. It is far too vague. I wanted to know more of Kathleen as a person, not just offhand remarks by her stepson alluding to her drinking making it sound like that was a big part of her life and yet I knew it was not. However I wanted that explained more fully in the book. It was interesting to read about an obviously brilliant woman who despite her brilliance made a very bad choice in marrying this man and finding out more and more about him, not getting out before she literally could not.
It happens to so many, many women but I felt so very sad for Kathleen and for the lovely daughter she has left. The book left out so many things
that would have helped us understand Kathleen better.