Review - Runaway Devil by Robert Remington and Sherri Zickefoose

On April 23, 2006, 12 and a half year old (yes you read that right) and her 23 year old boyfriend (yes, again you read that right) Jeremy Steinke killed JR's mother, father and eight year old brother in cold blood in their home in Medicine Hat, Canada, making JR the youngest person ever accused of familicide. I first learned about JR from listening to the Morbid podcast, which referenced this book and from the second that I heard the case, I was hooked. JR convinces Jeremy that the only way for them to be truly happy was for the family to be killed and so it happened. The couple was very big into the Goth scene, which I think was partially blamed for the death of this family (unfairly so).  

The book itself was very well written - it was very facts laden and not very salacious or gory.   It could have easily been so. The brutality of the crime itself could have been more explicit, but thankfully was not. There is no need to exploit th deaths of a family that, by all accounts, were very happy and caring and hard working. The book itself was informative and attempted to provide as much an explanation as possible for how a twelve year old could deign to commit such horrific acts.  What I particularly found to be fascinating was how Canada treated its juvenile offenders. Because of JR's age, much of her treatment and rehabilitation is sealed - rightfully so. We'll never know what her diagnosis was or how she really faired and perhaps we should never know that.  Additionally, what most people found particularly shocking is that JR served a very short period of time and is out and about in the community now.  Her records have been sealed/expunged so no one will ever see that she was convicted of three counts of homicide if they run a background check on her.

This book was, in addition, to being extremely well researched, was a very quick and accessible read. It's short and sweet and to the point.  A must read for any true crime addict. 

REVIEW: Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

 

What a way to come back - a 500+ masterpiece that is a joyride by an author that continues to really impress me.  This book focuses on the story of three 18 year olds - Emmett, Duchess and Woolly - who met at a juvenile reform school in 1954ish and Emmett's 8 year old brother Billy.  We meet them when Emmett returns to Nebraska, having been released early from the farm (literally) when his and Billy's father has died. The book follows the boys over a vast geographical area - they go from Nebraska to New York City to upstate New York utilizing a variety of different methods of travel (including jumping onto a train) and meeting a variety of different people.  The novel itself spans the time period of only 10 days, but its compulsive readability led me to tear through it in much less time. I think I finished the book in like 3 days.  

What I loved about this book is how it explored various themes related to the human condition. It really looks at themes of kindness and what it means to actually choose kindness and selflessness as opposed to, say, selfishness or self centeredness. It also explicitly looks at writing and coming up with a narrative. Billy is an aspiring writer and really considers how to construct a story - does he start at the middle, the beginning or the end?  There are also questions of justice - what is it?  What does it look like? What does it mean to settle a debt and make things right?  

This book is amazing.  Would recommend and I am so glad that I purchased this novel to add to my bookshelf. 

It's been a while

 I know, I know, I know. It's been forever. But I'm back.  And will drop a review hopefully in the next few days - one at least!

Killers of the Flower Moon review

 

The first David Grann book I read was The Lost City of Z, which was an odd story but still very, very well written and good. I am currently on a true crime kick and I am looking to learn more about the history of the indigenous people in the US so this book was right up my alley.

This book details the conspiracy against the Osage Nation in Oklahoma, a group of people whose land was wealthy with oil deposits. He specifically focuses on a family that dies in ones in twos, by poisonings, gun shots and bombs and is a true story set in the early 1900's. These efforts weren't limited to this particular family however.  Other members of the Osage nation were experiencing similar issues. Years pass without the murders being solved and the rest of America started to take notice. The Osage were well known on the national level - their oil had made them wealthy but the US government didn't think that they were capable of managing their own wealth so a law was passed requiring them to have guardians. They were also targeted by outlaws and theives who wanted to steal their land and wealth. The headrights were also extremely valuable and their existence is what led to the murders of the Osage, in the hope that they would then be passed on.

The FBI actually became involved in the case, helping to investigate and declare victory in the murders. In so declaring victory, the magnitude of the headright killings was obscured at worst, and minimized at best. Scholars think that the number that the FBI declared (24) was actually quite low. I loved this book and it is a necessary and intriguing read.  You can find the book here (amazon link).

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno - Garcia

 This book was my Book of the Month Club selection (if you're interested in a membership, please do me a favor and sign up on this link , thank you!).  I had heard rumblings of it in other places, all good, so I opted for it and it was totally worth it.

Noemi is the main character and her cousin, Catalina, has written a strange letter to their family from her home, where she has gone to live after marrying. She claims to see ghosts, that the walls of the house are alive and that her husband, Virgil, is poisoning her. Noemi leaves Mexico City, where she is enjoying wealth and attention, to go to the countryside, still suffering an economic depression after the collapse of the local economy (specifically a mine owned by Virgil's family). Noemi meets the Doyles, Virgil's family, and learns that they are so "Anglo" they brought over earth and people from England based upon the mistaken belife that it will make them successful. There is nastiness, rot, mold and mushrooms everywhere and slime seems to ooze from the walls, Ghostbuster style. Noemi is prohibited from talking to Catalina a whole lot, and is not allowed trips into town or to talk at dinner.  It's utterly bizarre.

As Noemi spends more time at the house, her dreams become odd too - she dreams of a woman with a gold face, a scary Virgil and dread.  The dread never really goes away.  

This novel touches on everything from race, to class and gender. There are interesting conversations related to eugenics and inbreeding and economics. There are issues related to loss of agency as well.  And we're always wondering what is lurking in the spaces. Definitely a must read.

Hell in the Heartland by Jax Miller

 

For what I do for work, some may be very surprised to learn that I'm a True Crime addict.  But I am. I'm fascinated.  I picked up this book, in continuing my trend of reading books about unsolved or fascinating cases. Jax Miller didn't start out as a true crime writer - in fact, she wrote fiction before this book. 

In December of 1999, two 16 year old girls - Ashley Freeman and Lauria Bible - were having a sleepover at Ashley's home in rural Oklahoma. The next morning, the two girls were missing, the Freeman trailer was in flames and the bodies of Ashle's parents, the only other two people in the trailer apart from the girls, were found at the site. Lauria and Ashley haven't been seen since. Jax heard about this cold case in 2015 and travelled to Oklahoma in an effort to see if she could assist in solving the cold case and helping to find the girls. 

This story isn't just about two missing girls - it's about policing and the drug crisis (specifically methamphetamine use, cooking and dealing - think Breaking Bad).  There were two prevailing theories that came out quite clearly in the book and Jax does a great job presenting both theories. Ultimately, Lauria and Ashley (or their bodies) are still missing and we still don't really know what happened to them or why. The rural community that they disappeared from is also a major player in this book and is very, very grimly painted by Jax. Ashley's older brother, Shane, was killed by local law enforcement and her father was involved in the drug trade.  Meth use and cooking had taken a strong hold of the area and showed no sign of letting up. People worked extremely hard and were still subject to poverty and struggles in making ends meet. Jax also treats the case with compassion and kindness and empathy. It would have been extremely easy to be coldly distant in describing what happened and what was going on with the case, but she didn't.  She was warm and compassionate and that earned her a lot of trust with the families and people that she was dealing with.

This is a great book and highly recommended.

Jumping on the bandwagon

 There are so many beginning of the year posts every year a t this time and I love them all.  I think that this year, the hopefulness of them is perhaps more important than in any other year.  I, like many, have goals that I want to accomplish this year.  These are some:

1. Although my Goodreads 2021 list says 75 books for the year, I would like to read 100.  That's like two a week.  Totally doable for me. I think. At the very least, it's something to aim for.

2. I would like to hike four more 4 thousand footers this year: Tecumseh, Garfield and "Fliberty" AKA Flume/Liberty.  

3. In keeping with number two, I am going to start running more consistently.  I run about 3 times a week but aiming for 5 times a week is my ideal. AT the very least, I will be training 6-7 days a week in some way by doing a combo of running and HIIT workouts at home.  I may even invest in a Peloton.

4. Journalling everyday.  It would be a good stress relief for  me.

What are your resolutions or goals this year?