Blood Games

A True Account of Family Murder

By: Jerry Bledsoe

Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell

Length: 18 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

A true story detailing the events surrounding the murder of wealthy North Carolinian Lieth von Stein. The case seemed cold until police followed a trail leading to von Stein's stepson, a smart young man who was obsessed with Dungeons and Dragons and wrapped up in drugs.

©1991 Jerry Bledsoe (P)2015 ListenUp Production, LLC

Author & Narrator were both PHENOMENAL!!

Jerry Bledsoe is an amazing author. It take BOTH Author AND Narrator to both be outstanding. Bledsoe & Stillwell hit that mark. I can so easily be drawn into their lives as if I were a fly on the wall......

Interesting . . . but Forgettable

Not the author's fault. The story was an extremely difficult one to tell. Our lives are complex and getting more complex every year, so to tell a story of crimes and resolutions in a fantasy world as removed as this one is extra hard. I did enjoy listening to it, and I'm glad the one kid got off relatively lightly. But I can't even remember how it ended . . .

Narrator!

I will never listen to another Audible book by this narrator. He has a bizarre cadence and mispronounces words often. He has some kind of southern accent that is mostly faint except when he has to say the word “police”. He pronounced it Poe-lease. I wanted to finish the book, so I trudged through. If it isn’t narrated by Kevin Pierce, I’m not listening.

The crime was something I was not familiar with so I was interested and liked the background information on the boys and their families. But, oh, the narration was a struggle. I have a vision disability so I cannot read the text in books. I rely heavily on falling into a story with a good narrator. If you can, read the actual book.

Ok book ,story seems good

Would you try another book from Jerry Bledsoe and/or Kevin Stillwell?

Jerry Bledsoe yes Kevin stillwell ,no.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The plot did ,but I really don't need to know about the way the town was in the 1800s. I wish someone could give basic outlines for these true crime stories without telling me about the Great Great Great Great Grandparents

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator must believe that Southerners are IDIOTS he made me dislike listening to the book by pronouncing the word "Police" as "Poe-lease" he tried to come across as having a "southern" accent but it was really badly done. I am a southerner and I do not say "Poe-lease" nor do I say " tabacca"

Was Blood Games worth the listening time?

If it wasn't for the rambling history and narrator ,yes.

Great book

Really well written and very interesting w/ excellent storytelling and the narration is excellent. Highly recommend.

Keep scrolling, I am a grammar nazi

Great story, but Kevin Stilwell needs to pronounce words correctly. It's OcTOber, not OCtober. poLICE, instead of POlice.

Blood games

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Very well written, keeps your interest. I have read another book about this murder but not in this detail. He delves into the lives of all the people involved and really tells the story behind this plot.

Love the author; perturbed with the narrator

What made the experience of listening to Blood Games the most enjoyable?

Having read several of Jerry Bledsoe's books in print, I was excited to see Blood Games in audio format. I like Bledsoe's meticulous detail in presenting the investigation of the murder, especially since this one involved settings in Raleigh, North Carolina.

What other book might you compare Blood Games to and why?

Blood Games is similar in its topic to Bledsoe's Bitter Blood.

What does Kevin Stillwell bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I had listened to Bitter Blood before Blood Games, and Kevin Stillwell narrated both. He has an easy, semi-southern drawl that works for the regions examined in both books. The most annoying quirk about Stillwell is his pronunciation of the word "police." He pronounces it "PO-lees," with a long "o" sound and the accent on the first syllable. Since both books involved cases in which the law enforcement played vital roles, this annoying pronunciation continued ad infinitum, much to my chagrin. In addition, there were several mistakes in pronunciation of places in Raleigh and in North Carolina. Ex: Bragaw Dormitory was consistently mispronounced "Burgaw." Burgaw is a town in North Carolina, but it not the name of the dormitory. In my opinion, a savvy editor should have caught this kind of mistake; of course, I am assuming that Bledsoe spelled it correctly in the book. Because the skill of the narrator can make or break an audio book experience for me, I am not sure that I would listen to another book narrated by Stillwell.

Another Jerry Bledsoe success

This is not the most exciting true crime book I've ever read but it has all the characteristics of a compelling read and I spent more time listening than I really should have. What makes it different from many true crime stories is the contrast between the potential of the young men involved and the road they chose. Academically they could have succeeded in any number of rewarding careers and contributed to society in so many ways, but while still in their teens they left the 'straight and narrow' and headed down the path to disaster. I'm left wondering why the discrepancy between reported events and the victim's stomach contents was never followed up - it seemed like a really important piece of evidence. As for Kevin Stillwell's narration, my only acquaintance with US accents is from the occasional TV program so I can't comment on its authenticity, but to me it suited the subject matter perfectly and I found the accent, voice, and presentation very pleasant to listen to.

Terrific true crime!

I read Jerry Bledsoe's books several years ago, and was thrilled to find them on Audible recenetly.

This book described the brutal murder of a stepfather and attempted murder of the mother of a young man who, seemingly, had everything going for him. He wanted their money, and his friends wanted their money, and one life ended and another would never be the same.

The book seems to jump around a bit, describing the main participants in this plot... particularly from Chris' upbringing to Bart's. Occasionally, it drags unnecessarily and leaves some loose ends hanging. But bledsoe is a terrific researcher and reporter, and Stilwell is a smooth-toned narrator, which allows one to overlook some of these flaws.

If you are looking for good true crime, you can't get much better than Bledsoe; Stilwell's rich smooth tones and pronunciation of "poh-lease" stand him apart as a narrator for Bledsoe's southern true crime bookes.

Well worth the time and credit.