Unthinkable

Who Kills Their Grandmother?
This is a very sad story which took place in East Dundee Illinois in 2014, when a beloved mother, grandmother, and neighbour 85-year-old Mildred Darrington was viciously murdered by someone who crept quietly into her bedroom while she slept and put a pillow over her face and slit her throat and watched her bleed to death in less than a minute.
This was a horrific murder and when Dodie as she was called did not turn up for her hair appointment the hairdresser who was also a friend new this was so out of character, so she popped over to check that Dodie was ok. What she found was shocking and she quickly left the home and rang the police.
Nothing was disturbed or taken in the house, so this was either a stranger or more personal somebody who Dodie new. What unfolds was how the grandson Rich Schelzer who was adored and a trusted family member whose motivation was based on money, prostitutes, and greed decided to murder his grandmother.
Rich was married and had four daughters and to everybody had a great life as they went to top restaurants had good jobs a lovely home and nice cars. But all is not what it seems as Rich lived a double life and lived way beyond his means. Without giving to much away you will read a well-documented story on how this senseless killing to inherit his grandmother’s estate takes you through the violent and vicious crime. How the polices thorough investigation which led to the collection of evidence in Texas and Illinois then led them their prime suspect. Following the arrest of Rich his trial commences followed by a conviction.
Sadly, the hardest part of this book is the family’s of this senseless murder of Mildred Darrington as Rich Schelzer parents, sister, wife, children, and niece read their victim impact stories. It is heart wrenching to hear their story of the ongoing effects that this has had on everyone and how completely senseless this murder was, plus the ongoing struggle the family’s are going through as their lives are completely turned upside down and changed forever.
This is the first book I have read by James W. Marquart and it is well researched and written and I highly recommend to true crime readers. Thanks to NetGalley and to the publishers of this book for giving me a free advance copy of the book to preview and I am leaving this review voluntarily

Unthinkable by James W. Marquart, PhD.
Who Kills Their Grandmother?
It was a warm, still, July summer night in 2014, when an 85-year-old woman, a beloved grandmother and neighbor, was viciously murdered by someone who slipped quietly into her bedroom and slit her throat and watched her bleed to death in less than a minute.
Who committed this awful murder, how, and why? The perpetrator of this horrible crime was the woman’s own grandson, an adored and trusted family member. He was married and also had four children of his own. James W. Marquart walks us through the investigation involving the collection of evidence in Texas and in Illinois, the arrest, trial, conviction, and the punishment of the killer who committed this crime for money and pure lust. Punch your ticket to a front row seat and see how murder cases unfold and murderers are caught and punished.
A really interesting read. I loved the illustrations it made it more real as I could now picture what he looked like in my head. 5*.

I found this to be a well written page turner that takes you through the crime in a thought-out manner. Lots of detail here. Done by an experienced writer on criminal justice. From the crime to the court case and sentence, this book gets it done quite well.

Fantastic book! I read it in just 3 days and it kept my interest the entire time. Who murders their 85 year old grandmother for money and doesn't expect to get caught? Rich was certainly full of himself. My heart bleeds for his family. I'm sure his four daughters have no use for him. I'm sure he spends his days telling anyone who will listen how he is innocent. Riiight. Close the jail cell door and let him rot for the next 45 years.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.

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.

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.