Bitter Almonds: The True Story of Mothers, Daughters, and the Seattle Cyanide Murders by Gregg OlsenMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is quite an accomplishment in the true crime canon. Olsen's detailed account of the Seattle Cyanide murders at times reads with scarcely believable behind the scenes dialogue, like a Bob Woodward book. At one point the detail - around the 80th chapter - I felt was too much, this was the role played by the one recalcitrant juror and her possible motives. This came after overly detailed courtroom chapters including quoted testimony which I find in length too banal and tedious to be as compelling as the rest of the book. It is very compelling to read of the walls closing in around product tamperer as witness interviews and technology uncovering fingerprints, library checkouts, algaecide, and more work to bring her down. From crime to post-sentencing fallout that includes reward payout and incriminating discoveries in Stella'a trailer, Olsen brings to life the lives and crimes here in a way that will have me reading more of this work.
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