Murder in Little Egypt

De: Darcy O'Brien

Narrado por: Perry Daniels

New York Times best seller: The "fascinating" true story of John Dale Cavaness, a much-admired Illinois doctor - and the cold-blooded killer of his own son (The Washington Post).

Fusing the narrative power of an award-winning novelist and the detailed research of an experienced investigator, author Darcy O'Brien unfolds the story of Dr. John Dale Cavaness, the southern Illinois physician and surgeon charged with the murder of his son Sean in December 1984.

Outraged by the arrest of the skilled medical practitioner who selflessly attended to their needs, the people of Little Egypt, as the natives call their region, rose to his defense. But during the subsequent trial, a radically different, disquieting portrait of Dr. Cavaness would emerge.

Throughout the three decades that he enjoyed the admiration and respect of his community, Cavaness was privately terrorizing his family, abusing his employees, and making disastrous financial investments. As more and more grisly details of the Cavaness case come to stark Midwestern light in O'Brien's chilling account, so too does the hidden gothic underside of rural America and its heritage of violence and blood.

©1989 Darcy O'Brien (P)2020 Tantor

Sad / Fascinating

This books is sad but fascinating. Great story for fans of true crime. Performance is great. Readers voice is perfect for the story.

WHEN SATAN IS YOUR FATHER

I’m from St. Louis, but did not live in town during this time. Thanks to family in law and order in St. Louis, I was able to verify and get more of the story. As one put it, “You could feel the temperature drop when Dale entered the room.” Another said,” In all my years I have never met anyone so evil.”

Cold-Blooded

This is a tale of cold-blooded murder. That Dr. John Dale Cavaness was surely deranged is an unavoidable conclusion.
Author O'Brien's comprehensive description of the doctor's descent into madness is chronicled in his description of the killer from his earliest days as a seemingly normal but utterly determined youngster.
Narration is slightly dead-pan but compelling, with excellent renditions of the various characters.

Engrossing story

Interesting story and the narrator was excellent. Often times, when I’m deciding to purchase an audible book, the narration makes or breaks my decision. This had both, good story and narration. Highly recommend.

Brilliant Story. Super Narration.

Loved it. Story was well constructed and researched and the narration was brilliant. Worth the credit.

easy listen after having trouble with other books

I'd been having a hard time finding an audio book that I could pay attention to and follow while working at home. This one was very clear and the narrator was easy to understand and just engaging enough while not sounding grating. The story was interesting enough for me to want to finish the whole thing,

Not Typical 'True Crime,'

This is not a T.V. show novel- This is a deep; very detailed description of what happens wayyyyy before the murder- It is a slower-paced book so be prepared to break it up into sections and not feel like you will forget what happened- Luckily there are not a lot of 'characters' to keep track of-

EXCELLENT READ

One of THE BEST true crime books I have ever read! And I’ve read a lot!

Best True Crime Read

I heard about this case from an episode ofHeartland Homicide. After the episode, I needed more details and found this book. I consumed the audible book and couldn’t stop listening. While I acknowledge that artistic license by the author took place, that’s what made this true crime case read like a movie script. Mr. O’Brien is a talented story teller who kept my interest for the entire 13 hours and 12 minutes. Not once was I bored and I never thought the story dragged. The detail was vivid and I could see El Dorado, Illinois in my mind. I could picture all the people. And as the story proceeded, I felt deep frustration with the people of that backward, ignorant small town in southern Illinois. This story is an interesting look into a secluded, ill-educated, low-information, and one might suggest, fairly low I.Q. group of disassociated people of a town forgotten by the rest of the State. This is the best true crime book I’ve read to date, and I highly recommend it.

thoughtful and moving

thorough and thoughtful look at the free pass given to a doctor in rural America