Principal Suspect

The True Story of Dr. Jay Smith and the Main Line Murders

By: William C. Costopoulos

Narrated by: Danny Campbell

Length: 12 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

Joseph Wambaugh's Echoes in the Darkness and its subsequent TV dramatization have made household words of both Susan Reinert, the murder victim, and Dr. Jay Smith, a high school principal and her accused killer. The naked body of Susan Reinert, a suburban Philadelphia school teacher, was found jammed into the hatchback of a car. Her two young children were missing and never found.

Thus began one of the most prominent murder cases in Pennsylvania history, and one that would grip the nation. Now the defense attorney for the main suspect of the murders - Jay Smith, the principal of the school where Reinert taught - takes you inside the cover-ups and corruption that dramatically affected the outcome of the case. Did Jay Smith do it? Did he deserved the death penalty? It is you who must decide.

Contains mature themes.

©1996, 2014 William C. Costopoulos (P)2021 Tantor

Interesting Story, Very Mediocre Author

The Good: This is an interesting story involving fraudulent behavior by police at trial and how it affected the pursuit of justice.

The Bad: Written by the lawyer for the defense, there are a lot of oratory devices included in the text that probably work well in court but are detrimental to a book (e.g., repetition for dramatic effect).

In another aside, the narrator sounds like he runs out of breath at the end of every few sentences.

The Ugly: If the author had any concern for the murder victims, it got lost in what he calls his own "vindictiveness" at his opposition. (Admittedly, there was definite prosecutorial misconduct.) He also seems oddly fixated on his own image and the images of his associates. discussing their appearances (the author says at various points that he looks like Burt Reynolds and also has 'greek islander good looks'), the cars they drive (blue BMW), and their vacations. I could've done with a lot less of such irrelevant details and more about the possible guilt or innocence of his client.

Too much unnecessary detail

The author was the defense attorney for one of the alleged perpetrators in this case. He seems very impressed that he knew the judge on the case, the prosecutor and others personally and so goes into waaay too much detail about how they all knew each other. There is also too much detail about the legal proceedings. I’m a lawyer and I know what he’s talking about and I still found it dry. The narrator doesn’t add much, but to be fair, he didn’t have a lot to work with. I gave up with 5 hours to go. Waste of a credit.

Interesting case

The narrator was terrible, his voice shook quite a bit. The author sounds all full of himself, his constant physical descriptions of the males in the story was creepy!

Great story!

Interesting. Complex. Intriguing. An honest and in depth look at the justice system. Smart. Funny. Eye opening.

One of the best true crime/courtroom books I have ever listened to

This book was so well written, it captured me with it’s first words. That this case prompted a very ethical and passionate lawyer to take on the state of Pennsylvania and win was amazing. The story behind this case deserves the “truth is stranger than fiction” mantra. When I finished it, I felt uplifted knowing there are still people in the justice system that care passionately about their cases and fight for the truth. Something that is very hard to find in the current system. I hope our democracy survives, and people like this defense lawyer are desperately needed.

Took a long time

Took a long time to get-there, and I wasn't sure about the narration for the first couple of chapters. But, I'm glad I stuck it out, growing on me in the end. Like a fungus.

Principal suspect

One of the best legal books ever. Worth reading. Costopoulos seems to be a tenacious lawyer

Brilliant!

From PA not far from where those things occurred. So enjoyed the detail in this book. It is intelligent, funny, and heartbreaking, all at once. Very well written! Excellent read.

Totally confusing with too much detail

I couldn’t return it and tried listening to it twice but seriously could not keep track even 5 hours in.

Narrator sounds 300 years older

I had to stop and return the book. The narrator sounds like Santa with COPD. He rushes through sentences with a breathy old cartoon voice then is gasping for air. I even slowed the speed down but it’s just too much to tolerate.