Customer Reviews

The Palm Beach Murder (St. Martin's True Crime Library)

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of a miserly man, who instead of paying support and agreeing to divorce terms decides to have his wife killed. It is amazing how this man is finally caught after over 10 years of being a fugitive. You will not be able to put this one down.

The Palm Beach Murder is one of those true crime stories that is almost too good to be true. Wealthy, Irish Jim Sullivan owned a liquor distributorship in Macon, Georgia. He became infatuated with Lita McClinton, who was a member of Atlanta's elite. They soon married and her life turned into a living hell.

Sullivan sold his liquor distributorship and the couple moved into a fabulous mansion on the Atlantic Ocean in Palm Beach. Lita's life was unhappy, however. Jim constantly cheated on her and was a miser, in spite of his millions. Lita filed for divorce and Sullivan worried that she would get half of his fortune. Someone murdered Lita just days before she was to get her divorce from Jim. The Palm Beach Murder is the story of that murder and the attempts of the McClintock family and the police to bring Jim to justice. It would take over 15 years and it would include a manhunt across three continents.

There are a couple of negatives with this book. One is that author Marion Collins tends to use a lot of flowery, amateurish prose. The story is so compelling that the reader probably can overlook this shortcoming. The other problem is that the story stops before Sullivan's final trial; this is a major downer for the reader.

True crime fans will find that The Palm Beach Murder is great reading.

Usually don't read true crime books but since I'm in it I gave it a try. Accurate and a fast read. The subject, James Sullivan, is really a despicable person.