Customer Reviews

Ashes to Ashes

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is a competent enough reporting of the crime, heavy on court transcripts as the source for information. But the author never creates much sympathy for the victims, never provides insight into the killer or his victims and, stangely enough, promises to reveal many things that never even get discussed. We keep getting told certain things, like the kid was always trouble, the adoption agency should have provided support, etc, but the claims are never backed up by actual examples or slices of life. For example, if Bob Coulson was such a troubled youngster, why don't we ever get an example of what he did as a child to cause his mother anguish? There is a single example, only, dealt with in a paragraph. We never get to see or even guess what is going on inside his head, what fueled his anger, what created him as such an amoral person. Then there is the matter of the mother's diary. A big deal is made of it, one character even sits down to read it with much fanfare: yet not a single excerpt from it is used! We don't even get a summary of what's in it. There is also a book jacket refernce to the shocking relationship between Bob Coulson and his youngest sister, but other than the sister wanting to stay at his apartment one night the topic is never even dealt with in the book! Instead, it's just a dry re-telling of the facts and observations by peripheral people. It's not that the book needed juicy, tasteless details; what is lacking is insight into the human beings involved in this crime: who they were, the events that shaped them into being who they were, and what was lost when they died.

This story is based on the horrible murder of 5 members of 1 family. Much of the story apparently is from the journal of the murdered mother Mary Coulson. Perhaps the thing about this book that drove me wild was the inconsistencies in referring to the black sheep son, Bob. He is called Coulson while the rest of the family members are called by their 1st names. Then at other times, he is called Bob. Yes, the author's bias is apparent from the start, but this book needed a stronger editor not only to help pull the story together, but to do some basic proof reading. I also wondered why Bob was seen coming out of his sister's bedroom in the early morning hours.

First off, I had no previous knowledge of this crime, I decided to read this book because the back cover promised a "shocking diary" kept by Bob Coulsons adoptive mother amongst other things.
Well guess what? The diary is mentioned in maybe 2 paragraphs in the whole book. You don't get any insight into the relationships of these people. You only get a quick rundown of the parents. There was a few minor "scandalous" behaviors, like the two sisters getting pregnant before marriage, but other than that, nothing.
There was no in depth bio about who Bob Coulson was, nothing about his past, except that he was adopted at a young age. The only reason he killed his family was for the inheritance. I have no doubt that he did this awful crime but i think there was a lot more behind it. Why couldn't the author have dug a little deeper?
The book was written horribly, at an extremely fast pace, and there were no "shocking photos".

I agree with all the other bad reviews of this book. It is well known that the author of this book is good friends with this "so called" favorite niece of Mary Coulson. This neice, Linda, never spent much time with the Coulson family & acting as if she was Mary Coulson's favorite niece is a farce. "Auntie Mary " indeed!!! The fact that this favorite niece would allow slander of the other children is outrageous. No child is perfect. They all disappoint their parents on occasion but to act as if they were all bad or awful for just being normal children is ridiculous! A third of the book discusses the courtship of Otis & Mary Coulson, their long extended background, etc. Nothing to do with the murder case itself. There are some photo's of the coulsons, the crime scene ect, but what's the purpose of the photo of Linda & her husband Tim? Why not picture's of the Mary's Parents or other relatives she speaks of? Seems Linda enjoys the attention in this case & is milking it for everything she can. She didn't know Bob, she barely new him & never spent much time with him. All of this information came either from the niece or straight from court transcripts. This author did no ivestigating of her own. Only what ever Linda told her. This so called favorite niece loves all the attention & will never get enough. What a joke this book is! It took me all of a day & a half to read this trash. I had to pick at least one star. If they had negatives, I'd pick -100.

The book "Ashes to Ashes" is an under-developed typical true crime book that we are so used to seeing today. Little effort was put into it. I can't recommend the book. It was just OK. You will be disappointed if you buy it.
On a happier note, Bob Coulson was executed for his crimes. He was one mean SOB.

I cannot express how bad this book is. If I could rate it less than a star I would. I knew the people and was close to the case. This is a work of fiction with no regard as to how the deceased peole are being slandered or what effect it might have on those left behind.

Otis and Mary Coulsen were a delightful couple who complimented each other and truly loved each other. Since they were unable to have children, they adopted Sarah as a baby and decided to adopt a three year old Robin and four year old Bob. Robin and Bob's young mother had abandoned them to children's services in Corpus Christi, Texas because she wanted to satisfy her boyfriend whose family would not be able to handle a married mother of two. Even estranged, the couple who bore Robin and Bob divorced. Their father remained in Rhode Island where they were born. The young mother never really recovered from her decision. By then it was too late, Bob and Robin spent 8 months in a loving foster home before being adopted by Mary and Otis, both college graduates, and mature to handle the youngsters. Sadly, they would be their greatest challenge. The girls, Robin, and Sarah, had their own troubles including unplanned pregnancies. Sarah's baby boy was put up for adoption before her murder and Robin was expecting a girl with her husband Rick Wentworth. Every Friday night, the family would gather together and eat out or at home as a family ritual. On this Friday the 13th of November in 1992, Bob Coulsen had done the unthinkable. He had murdered not only his parents, his sisters, and brother-in-law for the inheritance of $600,000. It's unimaginable or unthinkable for such a crime in the first place. Then the house was set ablaze as if to destroy the evidence. It was only a coincidence that it happened on Friday the 13th as Jared, the unwilling accomplice, told authorities. He never imagined his idol would carry out such an act of violence. Bob Coulsen had his share of problems but Mary believed that their love could conquer all. She wanted a large family. I doubt that she ever really regreted the adoptions of Bob or Robin. After all, Robin and Sarah turned out fine despite their problems. Bob had problems from the first day. He never got the psychiatric treatment and it is doubtful that he would have changed. Bob wanted an easy life and never having to work again. He wanted the good life. It's just awful that he went to such attempts to get a meager inheritance. His adoptive parents loved him regardless of his mistakes and errors which he never returned his love and affection simply because he doesn't know how too. He killed his parents, his sisters, and his brother-in-law, and unborn niece without emotion. This book was written years ago and I don't know if he is still on death row.

This is a very interesting and shocking story of what can happen to the "normal household-type" family.