Better Off Dead: A Sordid True Story of Sex, Sin, and Murder

By: Michael Fleeman

Narrated by: Michael Kinzie

Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's Summary

A frustrated, unhappy wife. Her much younger, attentive lover. A husband who degrades and ignores her. The stage is set for a love-triangle murder that shatters family illusions and lays bare a quiet family community's seedy secret world of sex, sin, and swinging.

Better Off Dead, the latest true crime book from New York Times best-selling author Michael Fleeman, strips away the pleasant veneer of the Silver Lakes neighborhood in California's high desert to tell a shocking story about a headline-grabbing crime.

©2018 WildBlue Press (P)2018 WildBlue Press

Narrator never saw the book before...

I don't think this narrator read this book before he began recording. I'll find the verdict on-line. I lasted QUITE a while. The pronunciation of Gullian-Barre as "Gee-lon Berry" syndrome was the end of me.

Okay but I'm spoiled by other True Crime writers

This was an okay book but not nearly as good as Ann Rule, Jack Olsen, or M. William Phelps.
I didn't find it very interesting at all.

A FANTASTIC TRUE CRIME STORY

So far BETTER OFF DEAD is my favorite true crime story published in 2018. I felt as if I knew all the key players personally. Yes, there is such a thing as pure evil. Mix religion into the mix along with sex, this book was impossible for me to stop listening to. I did not want it to end. I felt Jon wanted to protect Sabrina, his lover, from facing charges of murdering her husband...AND HE DID FOR CLOSE TO THREE YEARS! It’s worth more than one credit. I’m convinced you will find this listen as intriguing as I did. Human nature is so strange. Evil is found everywhere, especially if you listen to this book about the human factor that is surrounded by the evil that people are capable of. Loved it. Steve

OK, But Don't Let The Title Fool You

Story 3.5/5
Narration 5/5

If the title had been "Better Off Dead: A Sordid True Story Of <b>Religion</b>, Sin and Murder" I would have rounded this up to 4 stars. 🤣

Interesting story about a couple of religious loonys in a murder conspiracy.

Despite the title, don't expect any racy language.

Recommended, but only because it's weird.

This is a real He said, She said

The story lacked color, no scenes or characters were painted for the reader to become more immersed in the story.... The worst part is the writing was so bad, I’m fairly certain that an 8th grade English teacher would’ve marked off for the numerous times the author repeats “he said”...”she said” I’m talking hundreds (probably thousands) of times (I wanted to scream!) - not sure if this was the author’s first book but it sure read like it.

Narrator was ridiculous

The story is SO WILD, I watched all the trial footage on YouTube and it was riveting. The book had so much potential. But the NARRATOR was like a cartoon character and his voice inflections were over the top and almost offensive (all the women are made to sound like stupid little girls). It was distracting. He also mispronounced words A LOT. Kind of a big deal if your whole job is providing an accurate reading of the material...like a closed captioning transcriber who can’t spell.

Otherwise the story was fascinating. My heart goes out to robert’s family and children. Sabrina Limon is right where she belongs: in prison.

Thoughts on a man read when a woman is part

It was a good book and but I have to tell you that it was completely weird to hear a guy reading a woman’s part in a higher octave, “breathy” sounding voice. 😝
I would have much rather he just read it in his regular reading voice, than trying to pretend to be a woman when he was reading it. Did not like that at all 😝 and it made the hairs in the back of my neck stand up every time he did it.
Disturbing actually.

Deceived

Another wife gone wild. I think she just wanted to have fun. The husband got in the way.

Just couldn't finish it - slow moving

I tried to stay interested & involved, but just couldn't manage to do so. The narrator had a little pronunciation problem from time to time. Only got as far as chapter 8 & had to give up. It was easy to tell from the opening & first chapter after the murder that Sabrina was involved. There was little double in my mind that she was responsible and/or involved. I couldn't imagine listening to another 8 hours to find out the outcome I already knew was coming. Disappointed.

good

not one of those books that you can't put down but definitely a good read