When a true crime book is thoroughly researched and very well written, you become completely engrossed in it. Joe Sharkey has written a fantastic account of the events involved with this case, and it will soon be a major motion picture. This is a bizarre tale of fatal attraction and agonizing guilt. This book is written much like a thriller. Sharkey takes you deep inside the crime and the investigation that ensues. As this is a true crime book, character development is key. At the beginning of the book we are introduced to Susan and given a comprehensive background of her life and the area she lives in, complete with a brief history of the Hatfields and McCoys. Throughout the rest of the book each character is developed very thoroughly. The reader begins to relate to each character's situation and emotions. 

As the story intensifies, Sharkey describes Putnam's thoughts and actions during the time where he knows his days are numbered, how shaken by guilt he was with each agonizing day, and the physical and emotional toll it took on him. Sharkey tells us "The material in this book all comes from my own conversations with the people involved, as well as from police and FBI files, court records, and historical research. There are numerous passages in this book of reconstructed dialogue." This revised and updated edition includes material up to the present day. I'm sure the movie will be good, but I don't think it will compare to the imagery and emotion contained in these pages. 

I recommend this book to fans of true crime and thrillers. I received this as a free ARC from Open Road Integrated Media on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.