Deadly Greed

The Riveting True Story of the Stuart Murder Case

By: Joe Sharkey

Narrated by: Stephen Bowlby

Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

From the author of Above Suspicion: the “riveting” true story of Charles Stuart, who murdered his pregnant wife and pinned the crime on a Black man in 1980s Boston (Kirkus Reviews).

On October 23, 1989, affluent businessman Charles Stuart made a frantic 911 call from his car to report that he and his seven-months-pregnant wife, Carol, a lawyer, had been robbed and shot by a Black male in the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston. By the time police arrived, Carol was dead, and the baby was soon lost as well. The attack incited a furor during a time of heightened racial tension in the community.

Even more appalling, while the injuries were real, Stuart’s story was a hoax: He was the true killer. But the tragedy would continue with the arrest of Willie Bennett, a young man Stuart identified in a line-up. Stuart’s deception would be exposed only after a shocking revelation from his brother and, finally, his suicide, when he jumped into the freezing waters of the Mystic River.

As the story unraveled, police would put together the disturbing pieces of a puzzle that included Stuart’s distress over his wife’s pregnancy, his romantic interest in a coworker, and life insurance fraud. In an account that “builds and grips like a novel” (Kirkus Reviews), New York Times journalist Joe Sharkey delivers “a picture of a man consumed by naked ambition, unwilling to let anyone or anything get in his way” (Library Journal). Revised and updated, this book also includes a new epilogue by the author.

©1991 Joe Sharkey (P)2019 Audible, Inc.

Well Told TRUE CRIME

A very well-known case at the time, this book tells what happened and how the truth became known. Obviously well-researched and well-written, excellent narration, well worth the time!

Blame it on the Black man

I’m not sure which was more disgusting: the accurate historical details of white privilege leading to another white male sociopath “good Christian business and family man” literally getting away with murder by blaming it on a black man - whom the media, judicial and law enforcement of Boston were salivating to lock up anyway - or the way intimate partner violence like what happened to Carol Stuart happens frequently still today and society still blames it on the black man.

Overall author did a good job keeping the pace and narrative along with chronology and descriptive character depth based on source material and the narrator was top notch.

A few tangents we could have done with out however including the lengthy description of the competing journalistic ventures in Boston at the time.

Great true crime book!

I really liked this book. The back stories were interesting because nothing happens in a vacuum. The racism that was portrayed was a great opportunity for a person like Charles Stuart. And the racism by the police department was appalling.
Black people have been here way before the Irish and Italians--don't see how integration was a problem. Especially seeing how the Irish and Italians were treated when they first came here!

Carol's father saw right through Chuck. What an awful human being. I don't see how Carol stayed with him so long! He showed all the signs of a narcissist. Great book!

The Best Book I've Heard In A Long Time

I could not stop listening to this book...to say it is riveting is an understatement. The narration was superb!

Gave me the chills

The author did an amazing job putting all the pieces together leading up to the murder and the attempt to cover it up. I enjoyed the details up to a point. Too much time was spent on family history that didn't have much relevance to the story. However, the first-hand accounts of Chucky made the story riveting and kept me interested. Really, it is a sad and tragic story. Definitely worth reading to keep Carol Stuart in all of our hearts. A beautiful woman whose life was cut too short.

Riveting

Fascinating case , well researched and thorough in its investigation and storytelling. A pleasure to listen to as well .

putting riveting in the subtitle takes a lot of ..

Takes a lot of nerve to put such false claims as "riveting" in this subtitle. The author spent 3/4 of this book explaining mynute things in detail. I fast-forwarded 7 chapters. Just horrible writing. I think because he had to fill up the pages with something. Put so much emphasis on details about things that did not matter or have a thing to do with the outcome of this boring story!