Piggyback

De: Jeffrey Dean Doty

Narrado por: John N Gully

On the evening of December 3rd, 1957, seven-year-old Maria Ridulph and her eight-year-old friend, Kathy Sigman, were playing in the new fallen snow on a street corner in the sleepy town of Sycamore, Illinois. A stranger approached the girls, introduced himself as "Johnny" and offered them piggyback rides. When Kathy Sigman ran home to get her mittens, she left Maria and Johnny behind on the street corner. Little did she know that she would be the last person to see Maria Ridulph alive.

The FBI was called in and the search for Maria and her kidnapper caught the nation's attention. President Eisenhower and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover demanded daily reports from the field agents. Nearly six months later, Maria's remains were discovered in a thicket 100 miles away. The search for Maria's killer went on, but all leads were slowly exhausted and finally the case went cold.

A series of events begun by a mother's deathbed confession led to Jack D. McCullough being convicted for the murder of Maria Ridulph 55 years after the crime, making it the oldest cold case in U.S. history ever to be successfully prosecuted. Follow along with the author as he investigates this historic event to discover if justice was truly served, or was another tragedy piled on top of the first, riding piggyback?

©2014 Jeffrey Dean Doty (P)2016 Jeffrey Dean Doty

Piggyback

What made the experience of listening to Piggyback the most enjoyable?

Doty did a good job walking us through his investigative step and how he ultimately came to his conclusions.

Would you be willing to try another book from Jeffrey Dean Doty? Why or why not?

Yes. This was my first "true crime" book, and he kept my attention until the end.

What three words best describe John N Gully’s voice?

clear, average, monotone

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

The criminal justice system has more power than I realized.

Any additional comments?

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.

Justice Delayed

Fifty Five years after the disappearance and eventual murder of seven year old Maria Ridulph, the very cold case is reopened and brought to trial. This is the oldest cold case in the USA ever brought to trial, and was eventually brought to a conviction. Jack McCullough, who was a suspect in 1957 before being dismissed, was convicted of the crime decades later.

Author Jeffrey Dean Doty opens the book telling the scant details known of the crime and the discovery of the body a few months later. Then jumping forward nearly sixty years he picks up the story at the point where he became interested in it - after the conviction, as a writer wanting to tell the story of justice being brought to a very old cold case. Doty knew, through his work for a newspaper, several of the prosecutors involved so started there. The book is told following Doty's investigation as he interviews the prosecutors, the family of the deceased and the the convicted man. And he starts finding holes and worrying contradictions on both sides of the story. Question start arising: was justice truly done here?

The story is interesting both from a cold case/true crime point of view, but also from a legal point of view, as Doty looks at the proceedings and processes - what as allowed in the evidence and what as not.

I'm generally not big on true crime books, but this one I found to be very interesting. I also think it is an important story, especially when it comes to the legal system and the meaning of justice.

Narration by John N Gully is okay. It's a 3.5 /5, rounded up.

I have listened to other Gully narrated works which I have enjoyed more. He is generally well paced, although the cadence feels a little off to begin with. As he goes on he hits stride and it goes well. He is easy enough to follow and listen to. The book is a whole of back-and-forth in interviews and it would have been good if there was a little more to separate who was speaking - not necessarily accents or voices, because these are real people not characters and thus it can come off a little caricature-ish - but something to make the back and forth clearer.

I was provided a copy of this audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher but it was not in exchange for a review. That was my own choice to do.

Real Life Mystery, still to this day

Would you consider the audio edition of Piggyback to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the book, so can not compare.

I did go online after listening to the book for updates and pictures. What a touching and sad story for the family of Maria, but the wrong man was convicted.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Piggyback?

The whole story of how the they went after Jack years later. What? Why? There were so many obvious lies and he HAD AN ALIBI! What a misuse of justice there. I was happy to find he has since been released.

What about John N Gully’s performance did you like?

He did a great job with this story. I was interested from the start to the finish.

If you could give Piggyback a new subtitle, what would it be?

Justice gone so wrong

Any additional comments?

This audiobook was provided by the author/narrator/publisher free of charge in exchange for an unbiased review.

An important work

Jeff Doty's Piggyback was the only publication, book or article, to get it right. Jack McCullough was convicted of a crime he did not commit. John Gully's narration is wonderful. His pleasing, easy to listen to voice gives us a very worthwhile added value to this true crime expose'.

Not much emotions but excellent research

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I would have liked more introduction into the case as it was new to me

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Emotions toward the victim plus introduction to the case

Did John N Gully do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

In my opinion, the victim was left behind in this book

Could you see Piggyback being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No

Any additional comments?

The author has done an excellent job with his research one can feel how the case has gotten under the skin of the writer I like that. But once again I would have liked more introduction to the case and some emotions toward the victim
This book was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review

All opinions are my own

You can always find my full review on my blog - link in description