What's the shovel behind your back for , Grandma?
Written: Nov 06 '00 (Updated Nov 06 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: The appendix , index and toxicology reports
Cons: Might give someone ideas (visine)
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| gamblinfamily's Full Review: Disturbed Ground Books |
Every so often I will read a book based on the cover , this one had a picture of a white haired grandma on the cover. I read the front cover and saw my favorite author Ann Rule called this book ' Brilliant!' So of course that made me buy the book. Since I didn't drive on this trip to Half-Priced books , I was reading this on the way home.
I know that some of these books are older , but I would love to turn some people on to some of the older true crime books...This one is a classic!
What a sweet caring woman
Dorothea Puente was a sweet little old woman according to everyone that knew her. She ran a boarding house out of her home , helping care for the elderly waywards because no one else would. She gave the impression that she was a very caring person truly concerned for those down on their luck. No one suspected that she might not truly be who or what she said she was. Her boarding house was quite like the roach motel, tenants went in , but they didn't come out.
What kept me reading...
Carla Norton wove together a tight book , based on the notion that serial killers just couldn't be little old ladies. No one believed that Mrs. Puente could be capable of killing these people and disposing of them in her yard on her own. We really don't find out exactly who could have been her accomplice(s) , but it is revealed that she was very strong and not the age once thought. She was some 20 years younger than she made herself out to be. Norton also gave us some background info that might shed some light on why Mrs. Puente did what she did.
Why this book went above and beyond
Although we may truly never know WHY Norton gives us tons of maybe. If you read enough true crime books you start to try solving the crime as well during the course of the book.This book was that way. She dropped enough hints out there for us to draw our own conclusions, since the police never quite figured it out either.
The toxicology reports are a added bonus at the end of this book. It helps us to understand what happened to the victims in this book , and explains more than just the few chapters on each victim. The second appendix shows us just how accessible the drugs in each victim were to Mrs. Puente. While the index itself lets us go back and read in which part of the book each drug is mentioned. It is great for cross reference and truly a welcome addition to a true crime book.
Well I've read this title...now what?
I have never really come across a true crime book that cross references so much and is really a good read. Carla Norton has one other book that I have read that was really good as well , though not on this subject. Perfect Victim is a good read and you can get a really good sense of this author's writing style from reading both books. Enjoy...but toss out the visine (you will know why when you read this book) from your medicine cabinet!
Recommended:
Yes
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gamblinfamily
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Member: Just Another Blue Gal
Location: Cypress, TX
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