This was a tough read but one i wanted to read because of the psychological aspect behind it. As a major in psychology, i wonder why people do the things they do, and while we may sometimes get "answers" from factual reasoning, I still have a hard time believing people can carry out such heinous acts, especially on people they love.

I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher, in return for an honest review. This review is based entirely on my own thoughts and feelings.

Overall Rating: 3*
Writing : 4*
Information : 3*
Uniqueness : 2*

This was a quick read about a murder I'd never previously heard about. It wasn't a particularly interesting case (compared to others, at least) and I found myself a bit bored for a lot of it. Information was repeated quite a bit. We heard about the story at the start and most of the details, these were then repeated in the trail, and again in the statements from the family members and the accused himself. It just was all a bit repetitive.
The information however was given in a concise way, and easy to understand.
If you've exhausted all other true-crime books, podcasts, and shows, then this may appeal to you.

This case was fascinating to learn about. I am surprised that I haven’t heard a podcast on it before. Having the victim impact statements included was something I don’t recall seeing in a true crime book before and made the retelling of the case very powerful while giving a unique perspective that was slightly different from other true crime books. The one downside I noticed to this book is that the authors academic background showed at the beginning when some words were introduced and immediately defined. I could all but see the word being golden and almost felt the need to make notecards knowing those words would be on a test before reminding myself I wasn’t reading a textbook. However I either adjusted to the writing or it smoothed out about 20%-25% into the book. I will also caution other readers that if you are really into true crime, you will find some of the intro a bit boring since you will be familiar with most of the concepts introduced. Again this seems to smooth out a bit into the book. However, I felt this book was worth the read regardless for the insight into this particularly fascinating case. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Such a sad story, not the best-written crime book, but a good account of a horrendous crime.

There is crime in every area of the world, but there is something particularly disturbing, UNTHINKABLE, perhaps about a grandson murdering his grandmother.

In this true crime novel, you’ll dive into the mystery of why a grandson murdered his grandmother, how he tried to cover it up, and how the investigators put the pieces together to solve the case.

I absolutely love crime thrillers and I thought this true crime novel was fantastically written. I give it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.

Love true crime novels and this was excellent. Superb writing from this author, a very eye catching cover, this book will go far, 5 stars. Blindingly excellent ... These books should come with a disclaimer as once you start reading you aren’t going to want to walk away.

I am a huge true crime reader and was really interested in this read. That being said, I did not care for this at all. The writing was repetitive and just not enjoyable. The crime and story itself are fascinating but this was just not very well written.

Extremely well written and with an appropriate focus on the victim, this book is an excellent true crime account. I found the level of detail and the breadth of perspectives very useful as I read, noting I was not familiar with this tragic case. The author has created one of the better true crime accounts here.

Accomplished..
An accomplished and intricate true crime account of an unsettling murder. Following an interesting foreword, , the reader is progressively taken through this appalling crime - from the situation itself, the investigation, the arrest, the trial, the conviction and, not least, the impact upon family and friends. Throughout, the account is well detailed, well researched and conveyed in an intelligent and forthright manner. Compelling.

I was a little turned off by the Forward & Preface that begins the book. It shares the author’s background in criminal justice and how he came to be interested in the crime. It felt like it was written to tell the reader how much more important this author is in comparison with other true crime authors/experts. It’s important to be proud of the work you put forth in the world but it just rang a little too “this is why I’m better.” It made me respect but also dislike the author. He then goes on to say by reading this book the reader will have a “street-level degree in American justice” and be “educated” enough in future true crime to “know where the case stands at any moment and why.” Those are some really big promises. Does the author deliver on those statements? I don’t think so. Any person who enjoys a true crime book or show would already know most of the procedures documented in this book.

Parts of the book are written like a thesis paper, dry, technical and lacking a significant voice. Other parts are written as though it were meant to be read by a child, insulting the reader’s intelligence. Parts of the book were reiterated constantly. I think the author told us The Capital Grille restaurant was an upscale steak house at least seven times. The author also kept stating this was a “career case” for the investigators but I’d hardly agree when you look at other high profile cases that books have been written about. I also felt the author left out some key pieces that he briefly mentioned during the trial that would have painted an even clearer picture for the prosecution.

The crime of killing one’s 85 year old
Grandmother in order to inherit her money and get out of debt is genuinely unthinkable and awful. This case was particularly interesting because there wasn’t any physical dna found at the scene, no eyewitnesses and the accused never confessed. The trial was well documented in the book but there were claims made in the victim and defense statements that weren’t touched upon by the author. I think if he had dived into all aspects of the case it would have painted a fuller picture of the crime. The victim impact statements were particularly difficult to read and it’s hard to digest them knowing they didn’t want the author writing this book.

Thank you to Atmosphere Press for this ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
This isn't the most well written book but it was interesting to read about this murder case. The fact that the murderer was convicted based on only circumstantial evidence is fascinating. I can honestly see both sides of the story but had I been on the jury, I feel like I would've convicted him too. The author's opinion is that the prisoner has told himself he is innocent for so long that it's his reality is an interesting point.

Truly unthinkable. Crazy story. Really enjoyed this book.
Thanks to author, publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

Rich Schmelzer was convicted of killing his grandmother in 2017. Eighty-five-year-old Dodie had her throat slit to the spinal cord. It's an interesting crime but not an interesting book.

My first issue? The victim's family wanted nothing to do with the author or his book. Not an ounce of respect was paid by the author in that regard. And to make this worse, the author goes on to put down the victim in various ways. Not to mention the way he spoke to Dodie's family and friends--disgusting!

My second issue? The book has no point. The writing is all over the place and yet repetitive. In one part it's in criminology jargon not many can easily understand while over explaining every detail in another. It was heavy writing without any destination.

My third issue? A good portion of this book is the author throwing out their academic and career accolades and accomplishments like some twisted ego boost show off. A horrendous true crime book is not the appropriate place to wax on about how totally awesome you are.

This book needs an editor but aside from the writing aspect it needs some morals.

Being a fan of true crime I really enjoyed this book. It’s about the horrific murder of Mildred “Doris” Harrington. And the suspect was her own grandson Rich. Such an unbelievable, but true story!
The book goes over the murder, investigation and trial. The story is well investigated and is very detailed. It was a great read.
Thank you

A very interesting topic of true crime but... It looks like the book was written by two different people. The first half is hard to digest due to a very simple and not experienced writing person. There are many explanations of simple and well-known words but lack of explanation of Miranda Rights. The other half of the book is well-written. However, some facts are not well researched such as... monthly payments for Rich's car (Mercedes) were $689, not $400; he went to Illinois to meet his friend in a park on the night of the murder, and much more.

The synopsis pretty much tells you what the book is about so I won’t rehash it. Super sad story about greed & realizing that no matter who you are, there is always someone willing to betray you, even family.

I’m knocking off stars for the fact that the author tried??? to act as if he felt sorry for writing about the murder even after the family had told him they wanted nothing to do with it.
In my opinion, if you were truly sorry you wouldn’t go on to write a book and make money off the back of their grief then try to excuse yourself in the book with a “sorry”.

I hadn’t heard of this crime before so I’m thankful I got to read about it but including his multiple accolades and accomplishments within the book threw me off as well. Are you trying to tell a story or convince us you’re accomplished?

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

This author is filled with contempt for both the victim and the victims friends. The way he talks to her friends husband who found her body was disgusting. The way he poked fun of her order and knickknacks was cruel. She is an 85 yr old murder victim and the author pokes fun of her decorating style?

The true crime event depicted in this book was interesting enough to be in chapter in a book, perhaps one about crimes against family members, but there was simply not enough information to fill an entire book. Consequently, there was a lot of repetition of information and simply extraneous information that added nothing to it. You have to wade through all of this to follow along with the story. At the very beginning there is a word for word retelling of a phone conversation with someone where he was asking to speak to someone else regarding the case and never got through! This is pages of text devoted to an event that was completely useless, both to the author and the reader.

I love this intense, climactic thriller. I was incredibly invested in the characters and plot. Readers are going to love this incredible novel.

This was a very well written true crime novel. I was hooked from the beginning. It told the story in ways that are easy to understand, and that made me want to read more. It followed the perpetrator's life and every step during the police investigation also. We got to hear from his family members, and know what the judge and lawyers said in the trial. I liked this book and will now look for others by this author.