Written in Blood Audiobook By Diane Fanning cover art

Written in Blood

A True Story of Murder and a Deadly 16-Year-Old Secret That Tore a Family Apart

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Written in Blood

By: Diane Fanning
Narrated by: Callie Beaulieu
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Buy for $21.65

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Michael Peterson was driven to succeed.

An army brat-turned-marine, he saw combat in Vietnam, and returned a decorated soldier. An avid reader, his dreams of being an acclaimed novelist came true. His desire to find love was fulfilled when he married brilliant executive Kathleen Atwater, the first female student accepted at Duke University's School of Engineering. The Petersons seemed the ideal academic couple - well-respected, prosperous, and happy. 

And compelled to kill. 

All that came crashing down in December of 2001, when Kathleen apparently fell to her death in their secluded home in an exclusive area of Durham, North Carolina. But blood-spattered evidence and a missing fireplace poker suggested calculated, cold-blooded murder. Her trusted husband stood accused. Prosecutors introduced evidence at trial that 16 years earlier, Peterson was one of the last people to see his neighbor alive before she was found dead at the bottom of a staircase in her home in Germany. A dramatic trial followed in the explosive final chapter of a life that no novelist could ever have conceived....

©2005 Diane Fanning (P)2019 Tantor True Crime Murder Biographies & Memoirs Nonfiction True Crime
Complete View • Broader Perspective • Clear Voice • Balanced Content • Excellent Record • Comprehensive Coverage

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The author doesn’t even mention the name of the discredited witness in her short authors note after praising him multiple times in the body of the text. She comes off as inaccurate and that does her reputation a disservice.

Authors note insufficient

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I really appreciated all of the information that was not presented in the documentary. It made it clear to me that he is indeed guilty. 

Informative

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The so-called "documentary" on Netflix was really just an opportunity for a sociopath to put on a performance. This book provides a much broader and more complete view of this tragic story. The book is not biased, in my opinion; I say it's balanced. The author does not make statements about whether MP is guilty, she shares the perspectives and voices of the people who were not heard from in the 13-hour Netflix series. The reader's voice is clear and her inflection is just right.

a more complete story

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I've seen The Staircase and heard the BBC podcast. This adds info about the kids, his sons and especially Margaret and Martha, the people I always found fascinating. Also a great deal about Caitlin and, surprise, Kathleen. She becomes a person and not just an object in this book.

Fills in The Staircase

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He is so guilty. It is crazy that it was even close to any other theory

Excellent

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