Closing Time

A True Story of Robbery and Double Murder

De: Anita Paddock

Narrado por: Perry Daniels

Kenneth Staton was the well-respected owner of a jewelry store in Van Buren, Arkansas. Although crippled with rheumatoid arthritis and unable to walk without crutches, he had built his business through excellent watch repair work, fine quality jewelry sold at fair prices, and a dedication to his customers that surpassed all other merchants. He was the quintessential gentleman in all aspects of his life, and a beloved father.

Unknown to him, two men - a seasoned criminal with a propensity for violence and a younger man, handsome but broke and with an obsessive thirst for alcohol - plotted to rob the jewelry store at closing time on September 10, 1980. The thugs had only met each other days before, and it was the younger one's first venture into armed robbery.

When Staton and his daughter, Suzanne, didn't show up for supper, his other two daughters became alarmed and went to the store. There they found the bodies of their father and youngest sister lying in pools of blood, gagged, hogtied, and shot twice in the head. Close to $100,000 dollars in diamonds and other jewelry had been stolen.

This senseless, bloody crime rocked the town of Van Buren and set its lawmen, sworn to find the killers, on a fiercely determined hunt that led from Rogers, Arkansas, to Jacksonville, Florida, and all the way to Vancouver, Canada.

©2017 Anita Paddock (P)2020 Tantor

My compliments to the author for a story well told, interesting throughout. I enjoyed it.

Unfortunately, my enjoyment of the book was hampered by what can only be described as incredibly sloppy production of the audio performance. The narrator frequently referred to Sheriff Ball as Bell. That’s inexcusable for a professional production. Additionally, the narrator mispronounces the name of the neighboring city of Alma. It’s Al-Muh, not Ahl-muh. That’s inexcusable. The narrator also gives a roadway in Oklahoma a non-existant name: the Muskeegee Turnpkie. That’s laughable.

I have no doubt the author, given her ties to the community and western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma, had all the details right in the original publication. However, the producers of the audio performance and the narrator get a massively failing grade their frequent and egregious, yet easily avoidable, mistakes.

I plan to download and listen to the author’s other titles. I hope material got better treatment.

Was the author allowed to give approval first?

After listening to both this and Cold Blooded I wonder if the author was allowed to listen before these were released to give her final approval.

The voice actor generally does a good job but there are so many names and locations that are mispronounced; most egregious is the mispronunciation of the name Staton. Completely unacceptable.

Additionally, the accents are off. I feel that the author, who is from this area, could easily have pointed that out as well.

I’m an avid audible listener. However, this is one that I wish I’d read the print version.