In Creekstone, Texas, a small, quiet suburb of Houston, football was king and David Temple was a prince. A former high school and college gridiron-star-turned-coach, he had a fairy-tale marriage to bright, vivacious Belinda Lucas, a teacher at the local high school who was so warm and popular her colleagues called her "The Sunshine Girl".
The fairy tale ended savagely on January 11, 1999, when Belinda's lifeless body was discovered in a closet. Her skull had been shattered by a shotgun blast at close range. She was eight months pregnant.
There was no damning evidence directly linking the brutal murder to husband David, who stood by emotionless and dry-eyed as police searched the crime scene. But a dogged eight-year investigation would expose a shocking history of cruelty and domination, infidelity and rage - ultimately resulting in an epic courtroom battle for the ages - as the scandalous truth was revealed about love betrayed and innocent lives shattered.
©2010 Kathryn Casey (P)2012 Tantor
"Kathryn Casey is one of the best true crime writers today." (Ann Rule)
"good, but confusing to me"
for true crime lovers, i recommend it.
not on the edge of my seat at all. somewhat upset at what my fellow human beings are capable of, though.
the narrator was good in that she did not detract or distract from the book. i think that is the most important quality, where the narrator is not the author.
what irritated and confused me about this book is just a couple features. one, in the beginning, it spends what feels like forever, explaining what an absolute ANGEL, a person PERFECT in every way, the victim was. i mean, she had no flaws. she was the true love in everyone's heart, the light in everyone's eyes. none of them could hardly LIVE without her. okay, okay. that could have been said in far fewer chapters, for my taste. i got pretty bored and angry when that line went on and on, and on.the other feature that annoyed me was how the story kept switching back and forth from how the crime and aftermath proceeded, to the background of the characters growing up, their relatives, etc. i had trouble knowing which world i was in, as i would listen and then put it away, and then listen again, etc. it was beginning to drive me nuts. after i was done with the book, i couldnt explain exactly how the story unfolded, i was so confused by all the switching back and forth. there could have been a much clearer way to handle this.
LIBERAL DEMOCRAT.
"a very good story told very well!"
YES! the story was really well told, interesting, and if you like true crime it is a no brainer--this book should be in your library.
that it had a conclusion. some books are written before the whole story plays out and the end of the story is not there. this book was written, researched, and read well. i got a snapshot of what it was like to be belinda temple.
the book was very sad but it had closure.
i am not sure. but she read well. reading an audiobook must be murder (excuse the pun).
several reactions, anger at david, sadness for belinda and her family, satisfaction that david was tried in a court of law and exposed for who he was--a worm.
i felt rage at the way david had a double standard. one for him and one for everyone else.
i will read this again and it is a welcome addition to my growing library.
"Good for this genre"
This was an interesting and captivating story, a good listen for what it is. True crime stories tend to have a sameness and this was true of this book,as well. But it was fascinating despite it's predictability.
"Captivating"
Mystery, Love triangle
Great information about the victim and the killer
I enjoyed listening to her voice, It was soothing, but not monotone, as I was driving home, or catching the bus to work and kept me interested in the story
It did make me sad for the victim throughout the book because of the abusive marriage
Great read. Highly recommend
"Change the narrator!"
I believe this is probably a well-written and interesting story, so I give the 3 stars. However, the narrator was so annoying I finally stopped listening. Authors, are you listening?
"Great book, if true crime can be good."
The author does a great job of telling the story and the narration was good as well. Couldn't stop listening!
"Couldn't stop listening"
Absolutely!
Brought it to life. Good Narrator.
Ann Rule the queen of true crime is correct, Kathryn Casey was very impressive in this book.
"Excellent listen"
Very interesting story that had me checking different sites on the net for more detail. Well researched with very little doubt about the author's thoughts on who was responsible.