A Taste for Murder

By: Burl Barer, Frank C Girardot JR.

Narrated by: Eddie Frierson

Frank Rodriguez, a much-loved counselor of troubled teens, lies dead on the bedroom floor. His wife and step-daughter are in shock, and so is the medical examiner when he performs the autopsy. Aside from being dead, Frank is in perfect health.

Demanding to know the cause of her husband's death, Angie Rodriguez badgers the police, insisting that Frank was murdered. The cops attribute her assertions to overwhelming grief, but soon they too believe that Frank didn't die of natural causes.

When the police enlist their number one suspect to help in the investigation, things spiral out of control until police are dealing with a daring plot to murder Angie's best friend, and allegations of another homicide so evil and perverse that even seasoned LA County detectives are shocked beyond belief...and so are listeners!

©2016 Burl Barer and Frank C. Girardot (P)2016 WildBlue Press

Hilarious and interesting

I purchased this as i love true crime. it was a good true story. Though the case somewhat predictable . I never predicted it to be very very humorous at different parts.
FLORENCE, "scary bitch, evil bitch, Shit..." was one of the funniest statements ever heard in my entire history of listening to audio.. I would have never purchased it, if know it had humor. I don't like my humor mixed w suspense. But this book turned out to be refreshingly different than any I listen too. I recommend it to true crime lovers who want alitte spice in there suspense. yes I didn't think so either.,, But just listen...

Interesting Tale

This book offered some intriguing insights and information about the subject. The story itself was well-written and engaging but the narration was very difficult to listen to. The reader used off-putting accents that were distracting. Unwound have preferred a straight telling of the story without phony accents. It took me out of the tale and let me to wonder if he had heard the people speak or if he was making it up. It sounded unnatural and I enjoyed his normal voice so much that it didn't seem needed.

Not a Thriller, but Real Life Rarely Is

Interesting, factual story told from the point of view of a reporter. Performance was well done. For true crime fans.

A tortured soul

So this book is your typical cut and dry true crime. But I couldn’t help note that there’s a distinct misogynistic tone. There are slurs thrown about freely, that I didn’t care for. Yes, the woman was a calculated murderess. But when you hear her story you couldn’t help ,but feel like she needed psychiatric help and not our criticism. She had been raped and abused most of her childhood,and any protection she thought she vanished tragically. The author of book has no sympathy for her, despite any financial gains this was a disturbed woman.

Senseless Murder With A Side of WOW!

*This book has a few triggers, so consider this your warning*

When a perfectly healthy man drops dead, the police and medical examiner are baffled. What could have caused this man to die? His wife is convinced he was murdered, and she is going to do everything she can to help the police figure out what happened. Get ready for a crime that is going to run you through a gambit of emotions. You will question people that knew the killer, wondering why no one thought to say anything. But you will find a book that is going to grab you from the first page and refuse to let you leave until you have finished the very last word. Pick up A Taste for Murder now!

Book Synopsis:

After the death of Frank Rodriguez, Angie Rodriguez is convinced that someone killed her husband. She is no stranger to death, having lost an infant daughter years earlier (wait till this story is presented in the book), been through several marriages (all divorces), and lived a life that would make most cringe. *First trigger is for the early life of Angie.* She carefully lays out her story, sobbing at all the right moments, helping police along in their investigation. At first, there is nothing suspicious about it, but the longer the medical examiner takes in determining the cause of death, the longer it takes for the insurance payout to happen. With no money, Angie becomes desperate, constantly calling, trying to figure out what is going on, what do they know, have they investigated certain people... really pushing the police along, thinking they are playing right into her hand.
Carefully, she walks them through what happened, pointing out possible people that might have it out for her husband, and then waits. She makes a point to continually keep in touch with the police, wanting to know what is going on — and it is not long before the suspicion of the murder falls onto her — and the police are determined to bring her to justice.

Thus begins a game of cat and mouse, where the mouse is unaware that she is within the sights of the police, until the very end. It was a complicated and carefully thought-out murder. The aftermath was almost as well-orchestrated until Angie overplayed her hand. This is one crime where you are truly rooting for the police and the capture of a person so cold, that they could even THINK about pulling off a crime of this magnitude - without any thought of anyone but themselves.

My Thoughts:

This was a book that is going to keep you riveted from the very beginning. The senselessness of the murder, as well as the absolute disdain of the person who committed it — just leaves you speechless at times. I found that I bounced between pity and anger, horror, and then just complete amazement at the audacity of a killer. What happens on TV is never what happens in real life — and thankfully Angie was caught before she could hurt too many more people.
For the lovers of true crime, this is one story that will not leave you disappointed!

Glibness and one-liners around incest. Ick.

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

This woman is a monster. No doubt. For me, however, she wasn't the most disturbing element of the book. That fell to the occasional moments of "bros elbowing each other" banter between the writers, you can almost feel them high-fiving at their cleverness. These moments generally emerge in scenes of rape and incest. Not exclusively there, not by a long shot, but persistently in that context. Consider this line in author's notes re: disassociative personality disorder resulting from years of incest. The victim turned murdering heartless protagonist is Angie, Victoria is a personality she developed to endure being raped repeatedly for years by her grandfather: Emphasis mine. "Victoria took over...victoria knew all the right moves...it was Victoria who, MORE OUT OF EAGERNESS TO ENGAGE IN THE ACTS THAN ANY DESIRE TO PROTECT ANGIE, shoved Angie out of the way... And soft little Angie never minded letting Victoria fill her shoes...or her panties."Thanks, authors/rape experts. You creep me out.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Moderate nausea. Shock at the depth of the authors' misunderstanding of victim guilt around pleasure experienced in abuse. Kind of also made me take a jog to exorcise the anger. And I don't jog! And I'm not even a survivor! These guys are turkeys. The actual case is colorfully depicted. Who cares.

As though Abbot & Costello wrote a True Crime Book

Just meh. Story could have been riveting if author left out the slurs, glibness, bad puns, middle school jokes, etc. Narration with dumb accents added to the irritation.