Written in Blood

A True Story of Murder and a Deadly 16-Year-Old Secret That Tore a Family Apart

By: Diane Fanning

Narrated by: Callie Beaulieu

Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

Michael Peterson was driven to succeed.

An army brat-turned-marine, he saw combat in Vietnam, and returned a decorated soldier. An avid reader, his dreams of being an acclaimed novelist came true. His desire to find love was fulfilled when he married brilliant executive Kathleen Atwater, the first female student accepted at Duke University's School of Engineering. The Petersons seemed the ideal academic couple - well-respected, prosperous, and happy.

And compelled to kill.

All that came crashing down in December of 2001, when Kathleen apparently fell to her death in their secluded home in an exclusive area of Durham, North Carolina. But blood-spattered evidence and a missing fireplace poker suggested calculated, cold-blooded murder. Her trusted husband stood accused. Prosecutors introduced evidence at trial that 16 years earlier, Peterson was one of the last people to see his neighbor alive before she was found dead at the bottom of a staircase in her home in Germany. A dramatic trial followed in the explosive final chapter of a life that no novelist could ever have conceived....

©2005 Diane Fanning (P)2019 Tantor

Authors note insufficient

The author doesn’t even mention the name of the discredited witness in her short authors note after praising him multiple times in the body of the text. She comes off as inaccurate and that does her reputation a disservice.

Informative

I really appreciated all of the information that was not presented in the documentary. It made it clear to me that he is indeed guilty. 

a more complete story

The so-called "documentary" on Netflix was really just an opportunity for a sociopath to put on a performance. This book provides a much broader and more complete view of this tragic story. The book is not biased, in my opinion; I say it's balanced. The author does not make statements about whether MP is guilty, she shares the perspectives and voices of the people who were not heard from in the 13-hour Netflix series. The reader's voice is clear and her inflection is just right.

Enjoyable Listen

A good story to listen to, but lacked some real evidence for a verdict IMHO, at-least as written. Good narration

Detailed & Captivating

It was a nice read, but overwhelmed with details at times it was hard to follow.

Fills in The Staircase

I've seen The Staircase and heard the BBC podcast. This adds info about the kids, his sons and especially Margaret and Martha, the people I always found fascinating. Also a great deal about Caitlin and, surprise, Kathleen. She becomes a person and not just an object in this book.

Excellent

He is so guilty. It is crazy that it was even close to any other theory

Could not be more biased

This book is as one sided as it could possibly be. It places halos on the heads of the prosecution including Deaver who has since been fired and completely discredited. I don’t know if Michael Peterson killed his wife. But I know that this book does nothing to shed any light on the mystery. The performance of the reader is good, so that’s the reason for three stars.

Better than most true crime

I was concerned that. during the book not a good word was said about Peterson. In the afterwards it is said that even his supporters had nothing good to say. No concern is shown for Clayton and Todd who certainly have faced a great tragedy as did the three daughters

One of the BEST TRUE CRIME Audiobooks

An excellent audiobook, with an excellent record of this crime by an excellent author! She covers the story with an excellent balance of the story itself and the court record---and a very good narration!