This is the book to read if you are looking for a comprehensive book on the Menendez killings.

Jose and Kitty Menendez were horrifically slaughtered on August 21, 1989. The investigation into the deaths dragged on for months without any leads. Was it a mafia hit? Had Jose's difficult personality caused him to become a target of someone he had business dealings with? The case was running cold when detectives suddenly arrested Lyle and Erik Menendez, the 21 and 18 year old sons of Jose and Kitty. Suddenly, the case was everywhere. The question on everyone's minds--what would induce two young men, who seemingly had everything, to murder their parents in cold blood?

Bob Rand was a journalist in LA who covered the case from the very start. He has interviewed Lyle and Erik numerous times, including well before they became suspects in the case. The public couldn't get enough of these golden boys, and once their case eventually went to trial, Rand was there daily to watch the proceedings unfold.

True crime can get stale sometimes due to the monotony of the rehashing of the trial. It's the same old formula every time--opening arguments, prosecution's case, defense's case, closing arguments, jury deliberations, verdict(s).I can't tell you how often my eyes glaze over when I read about yet another trial. The Menendez Murders was different though. You have one trial with two juries, a defense attorney that's unafraid to open her mouth and is whip smart (Leslie Abramson, counsel for Erik), two hung juries, and quite a few other procedural and trial circumstances that you very rarely see.

I went into this knowing very little about the Menendez brothers, and came out of this book with VERY strong opinions about the case and the final results. I have since fallen down a rabbit hole where I find myself searching for trial bits on YouTube and seeking out podcasts relating to this case (I HIGHLY recommend Getting Off With Jessa & Nick. They have done a handful of episodes on the Menendez case.)

Even if you were around to watch this story unfold, reading this book will give you a lot of great insights into these two fascinated, but overly pampered rich boys.

The Menendez Murders by Robert Rand was well written, researched, informative and compelling, all that a good true crime book should be. Learn some details that had been unknown before. The courtroom testimony was very interesting.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

I received this book in advanced for my honest review. Thank You Netgalley.

I've always loved reading True Crime. This case has held my interest for years. Robert Rand didn't disappoint. The book was well written and the Author has done his investigative work. Its clear in the details that he gives. I learned a few details that I didn't know before. As I was reading it I felt like I was sitting right there in the courtroom. He tells both the prosecution and the defense side fairly. I highly recommend this book.

This case has held my interest since it first happened. There is so much more to the case than what was presented. I think this author has done his investigative work. There is no doubt that they killed their parents, but what underlying problems were there in this family. So many hidden things, secrets and mysteries. If it happened this day and time, maybe the decision would be different or not. There is no way to know. It is well written and gives you simply think about.I received this book from Net Galley and BenBella Books for a honest review and no compensation otherwise.

Thank you Net Gallery and BenBella Publishing for this read.

I am very impressed by the writing and blown away by the court proceedings. I truly felt like the Author was on the brothers side. No doubt they did it. No I don't believe the sexual abuse which this book focused a lot on, a little too much. I did not know all this time what the father did for a living, thought he was in real estate. That's a shame these two brothers committed this crime, no matter what their parents did and didn't do to them, couldn't they just move? They were of legal age..MOVE, say bye bye...get a job..be like normal people. They complain about prison life...hello you savagely, coldly murdered your parents. Enjoy prison. How is your lives now? Better than before? I hope they never get out.

thanks again for the advanced copy of The Menendez Murders by Robert Rand. This book will be published September 4th 2018. May their parents rest in peace.

Robert Rand, the author of The Menendez Murders, is an Emmy award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in many prestigious publications. According to advance publicity for the book, he has "uncovered extraordinary details that certainly would have changed the fate of the brothers' first-degree murder conviction and sentencing to life without parole."

Rand's book did not convince me that an unjust verdict was reached. According to LA County Deputy District Attorney Pam Bozanich, who was the prosecutor in the first trial, the brothers made up the story of abuse that led them to kill their parents. They were, from all accounts, privileged rich kids who often lied and even stole jewels and cash from neighbors' houses. Their allegations of abuse seemed to surface only when their very lives were at stake. Rand writes several scenes in which their parents, Jose and Kitty, speak to their sons. He wasn't there, so if the reported dialogue came from Erik or Lyle--how do we know it's trustworthy?

At least Rand doesn't refer to these young men, who were 21 and 18 when they committed these cold-blooded killings, as "boys," as their attorney often did. They were not boys--they were men who could've left their home and earned their own livings if they were truly in danger.

The book is well-written and will appeal to true-crime fans, but i didn't find much that was new in it, and I believe the Menendez brothers got the justice they deserved.

Let me first off my saying that I have been fascinated with the Menendez brothers for years. I am still unsure after everything I have read and watched if they were sexually abused but I have no doubt in my mind they were abused mentally. I also think they have served their time and not everything was brought up in the second trial..If things went differently and everything was heard in that trial Lyle and Eric would be out by now. This book was just a refresher on a prior book but with alot more about the sexual abuse.. I already knew everything in this book except for a few key points. This book is highly recommended for people who want to know all there is to know about the Mendendez brothers...