The story of a true psychopath

I always listen to audiobooks while cleaning the house and I found myself looking for extra chores to do so that I could continue listening to this story. From start to finish this book had so many shocking , unbelievable parts that it seems impossible it could be non-fiction. But it is !
If you enjoy shows such as Dateline and 48hours you will thoroughly enjoy this author's in depth telling of this tale .

17 people found this helpful

Unfortunately This is True!

This was a VERY interesting true crime book. I personally had never heard of this prior to reading reviews. A novelist could not have come up with a better plot. It is terrifying to know this story exists. The key to this story was the red flags that the wife ignored even before marrying. As well, the husband was a very smart man. Too bad he used his genius for evil. I wonder if a move was ever made. After reading this, I Googled all the family members and some of their outcomes were so tragic. The saga this man created is like a curse. Very sad!

9 people found this helpful

Good story bad reading

Story is captivating and sad. The voice of reader is annoying and irritating. Almost sounds like a computer

8 people found this helpful

Shocking story!

This story is a perfect example of how you never, EVER, really know someone. This story brings out so many emotions... Anger, sorrow, disgust, shock, sadness, empathy and compassion just to name a few. It's astonishing that, after being married this long to a man (and I use this term lightly) who could do the unthinkable to his devoted wife who wanted nothing more than to please her husband and, be the best mother she possibly could be... And for what?... Another woman and his own greed and selfishness.

This story also goes to show how, even the most seemingly perfect family can be highly dissfunctional behind closed doors. Another reason this story is so tragic is the fact that her and her daughter were aware that this psychopath was trying to kill her and, just days before she died, her and her daughter were convinced, rightfully so, that he had already tried once to kill her by overdose and she was very near death in that attempt. If only her daughter would have been able to be by her side at all times and never have to leave her alone with this pathetic excuse for a human being. Had she been able to, she might still be alive today. It taught me that your gut instinct is your best weapon against this sort of situation... It's better to be safe than dead!

6 people found this helpful

All around: Great!

Engaging story, great narrator, highly recommend. It's a much deeper story than I ever imagined.

4 people found this helpful

Sad story

I didn't know about this recent crime. I'm glad the family pursued him. It always amazes me of what human beings are capable of. What a shame

3 people found this helpful

True crime addicts - do not miss this one!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I'd strongly recommend this to all true crime lovers. It has all the normal stuff, i.e., nutty husband gets infatuated with nutty girlfriend, then needs to get wife out of his way - on the cheap. A divorce would cost too much by way of money, property, reputation. He decides on a do-it-yourself hit job, and he seemingly has the credentials to pull it off flawlessly.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Stranger She Loved?

The part that snagged my undivided attention was the listing of the findings of the extensive investigation that was done, late in the game, on this guy's past. It was nothing short of astonishing that he got away with all kinds of fraud - medical school, medical license, law school, Morman church official, and many, many more shady deals. Most people might get away with one or two of the deals this guy pulled, but not dozens of them, including having a felony record early on, yet that never caused a ripple in all the fraud that followed. I found this litany of con jobs just incredible. All of the information on all of this stuff was readily available in public records and could easily have been uncovered anywhere along the line.

He was the typical psychopath - totally charming some of the time and totally, deadly insane at other times. But to sail through scheme after scheme as he did, starting at a young age and continuing until he was finally caught for killing his wife in his 50's, well, this is the most outlandish tale of this kind that I have ever known about.

I have to ask myself - could ALL of our public (and private) institutions in this country be THAT derelict in their jobs that one person could sail through life taking whatever he wanted, with no repercussions, building one scam on the other for decades, to reach the stature that he did in the community and the country, really. Morman bishop, widely known and respected doctor, all-around good guy. It positively sends chills down my spine to contemplate this.

And to top it all off, he VERY NEARLY got cleanly away with murdering his wife, as well. If it weren't for the dogged determination of the children of this murdered woman, acting and pushing against every authority involved, for years and years, this guy was home free with everything intact - his properties, his money, his dead wife's insurance payout, his reputation, his job as a high ranking doctor. He hadn't lost anything through it all, except for what he considered excess baggage - his faithful wife of 30 years, mother to 8 children,

I have to wonder how many nuts like this one are out there right now gaming the various systems, taking from others, ruining lives, while the legal systems sleep on the job. Not every victim's family has the wherewithal to see something like this through to the end that this family did, in spite of their also having to wrestle with issues caused by this guy's so-called fatherhood. The guy was a pedophile, in addition to his other attributes, and there were younger children left to be raised, and the older kids fought to get control of them, wrest them away from the guy and give them a good and wholesome completion of their childhoods. But a single victim acting alone would hardly ever be able to muster the resources to do what these siblings did.

Which character – as performed by Pam Ward – was your favorite?

Alexis - the oldest of the murderer's children. She was blessed with the strength and intuition to recognize the situation early, and to stay focused, and keep the others focused, year after year, on getting justice for their mother. It is a very sad commentary that they had to push against the tidal wave that they did, when the legal system failed miserably to even consider the VICTIM through it all. It was all about "fairness" for the perpetrator, and illustrates well the weakness of the bureaucracy.

It also highlights the general sloppiness and lack of dedication to the job at the very heart of our public life here in America - the fact that no one bothered to so much as Google this sicko before entrusting him with lives and property. So many authorities, public and private, were involved along the way of this man's life, yet no one did basic vetting. VERY basic vetting. This ought to scare every one of us.

Any additional comments?

Additional comment - This audiobook, like perhaps the last 15 or more I have purchased, was chock full of the defect I have been complaining about, that being that prior to each new chapter, the last several sentences, or paragraph, is repeated before the new chapter begins. I am going to keep track from now on and note this in my reviews until something is done about this. It is most irritating and needs to be fixed. Leaving this to annoy customers is cutting corners too far.

6 people found this helpful

Really Good True Crime Book

I read a lot of true crime books. This is one of the better ones.

2 people found this helpful

Frustrating Story

The real mystery here is why Michele stayed with husband Martin. He was a bully, a pathological liar, a fraud, a serial philanderer. When she eventually came to the realization that he was probably plotting her murder, she offered no more resistance to this dreadful possibility than a weak rejoinder to daughter Alexis that if she should be found dead, Alexis should make sure that Martin hadn't done it. What was she thinking?
Narrator Pam Ward's strident, barking delivery is annoying in the extreme. Her voicing of the various characters hovers between irritating and risible.

2 people found this helpful

A Lot Like Ann Rule

I enjoyed this story & felt it was well written, much like an Ann Rule book.

2 people found this helpful