Bitter Blood

A True Story of Southern Family Pride, Madness, and Multiple Murder

By: Jerry Bledsoe

Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell

Length: 20 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

In this unrelenting real-life drama of three wealthy families connected by marriage and murder, Bledsoe recounts the shocking events, obsessive love, and bitter custody battles that led toward the bloody climax that took nine lives.

©1988 Jerry Bledsoe (P)2015 ListenUp Production, LLC

This is crazy... This is crazy... This is crazy...

Fritz Klenner was batsh*t crazy. His 1st cousin Susie Newsom was right behind him. Together they were a paranoid force that single-handedly snuffed out 3 generations of their OWN family.

The Newsom, Lynch and Sharp families are dissected down to their cores in this book and I feel I know their familial flowcharts better than they do, thanks to this book. Esteem, prominence and prosperity couldn't save any of them from this depravity. I don't want to spoil the contents of this MAGNIFICENTLY put together, complete, book, so... I won't.

If you ever had a slight interest in True Crime - this book is on your bucket list. Jerry Bedsoe clearly poured every ounce of his heart into investigating and retelling this roller coaster of a story. I used to live in the area where this "situation" occurred and was extremely appreciative of the author's details, down to street names - I could see where they were, when they were, and that added a extra level of hit-over-the-head reality for me.

Be prepared for a lenghty, detail-filled journey. If you're into knowing it all, you're going to love this.

Extremely well done. Don't hesitate.

PS - Kevin Stillwell the PERFECT voice for this book.

PSS - Tom Lynch - you have my deepest sympathies.

Truth is stranger than fiction

Interesting read, how do folks get so crazy and drag others along with them?

Enjoyed this listen

Unbelievable but true story

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

No. I really enjoyed the story but where did you get this narrator? He was so hard to listen to because he almost always had the emphasis on the wrong words which was very annoying. I would recommend that the reader read the book rather than trying to listen to this difficult narration.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Bitter Blood?

One of the most memorable moments for me was when young Ian discovers that he has been duped and involved in the horrific murders.

How could the performance have been better?

It could have been far better with any other narrator. His continual emphasis on the wrong words in nearly every sentence made it difficult to follow the story.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

My extreme reaction was anger at the spoiled daughter, Susie, who destroyed the lives of two innocent little boys.

Read it before

What did you like best about Bitter Blood? What did you like least?

ok

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

pk

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

pk

Could you see Bitter Blood being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

nope...or it may already be

Any additional comments?

This is a book I read many years ago.

Tedious, but worth it

It talked about a lot of people that I didn't think was relevant. I stuck with it; and when the story finally pulled it all together, I was glad that I stuck with it. There is a whole lot of crazy out there.

Interesting story

I really enjoyed this once it got going. The first 1/3 of the book is the backstory and history of the families involved. And it is incredibly dry and boring. Once that got laid out and I understood who everyone was it was easier to follow. But I wasn't really hooked until about halfway through. Ultimately the story is fascinating if you can wade through the first half of the book. The narrator did a wonderful job.

intriguing story

I love this story it was very intriguing to learn about the family, I became engrossed and couldn't stop listening.

Surprisingly Great!

I didn't know what to expect from this book, I chose it because of its length mostly. I was extremely pleasantly surprised how suspenseful this story is and shocked that I'd never heard of it before. Great book, great story, great reading!

Pseudo Southern Pronunciations Distracting

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, the story was riveting with a lot of twists and turns.

What didn’t you like about Kevin Stillwell’s performance?

Poo lece (Police) and other similar problematic pronunciations were very distracting.

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

Emotional and Intellectual intelligence do not necessarily occur in the same person.

So many twists!

Loved this book!
Great listen for any true crime lover.
Total page turner (for lack of better words)
A MUST BUY!