A Checklist for Murder [Paperback]

Anthony Flacco (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1995

The Peernocks cast the impression of being a very well-to-do and content family evenl after the separation of Richard and his wife. But madness was contained inside their house and one night Richard Peemock came to kill his wife and daughter, brutally beating them, force feeding them alcohol and placing them together in a car which he let drive into a wall so that it would seem like a drunk driving accident.

What Richard Peernock didn't forsee was his daughter's survival and her willingness for the first time to describe, in detail, her father's psychosis and his manipulative personality.

Once a successful whistleblower, Peernock denied his involvement in the murder, claiming a conspiracy against him on all levels. Confounding the justice system, hiring and firing lawyers, representing himself, saying everyone was against him. After numerous tense trials, Peernock was finally sentenced to life in prison, though those close to him still live in fear.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

The Peernocks cast the impression of being a very well-to-do and content family evenl after the separation of Richard and his wife. But madness was contained inside their house and one night Richard Peemock came to kill his wife and daughter, brutally beating them, force feeding them alcohol and placing them together in a car which he let drive into a wall so that it would seem like a drunk driving accident.

What Richard Peernock didn't forsee was his daughter's survival and her willingness for the first time to describe, in detail, her father's psychosis and his manipulative personality.

Once a successful whistleblower, Peernock denied his involvement in the murder, claiming a conspiracy against him on all levels. Confounding the justice system, hiring and firing lawyers, representing himself, saying everyone was against him. After numerous tense trials, Peernock was finally sentenced to life in prison, though those close to him still live in fear.

From the Inside Flap

The Peernocks cast the impression of being a very well-to-do and content family evenl after the separation of Richard and his wife. But madness was contained inside their house and one night Richard Peemock came to kill his wife and daughter, brutally beating them, force feeding them alcohol and placing them together in a car which he let drive into a wall so that it would seem like a drunk driving accident.

What Richard Peernock didn't forsee was his daughter's survival and her willingness for the first time to describe, in detail, her father's psychosis and his manipulative personality.

Once a successful whistleblower, Peernock denied his involvement in the murder, claiming a conspiracy against him on all levels. Confounding the justice system, hiring and firing lawyers, representing himself, saying everyone was against him. After numerous tense trials, Peernock was finally sentenced to life in prison, though those close to him still live in fear.

Product Details

• Paperback: 408 pages
• Publisher: Dell (August 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440217903
• ISBN-13: 978-0440217909
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 1.1 x 4.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #557,090 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Anthony was born in Oklahoma and grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado, one of four brothers. Their father was an Air Force pilot and mother was a talented artist and painter.

His background as a trained stage actor with over 2,000 performances under his Actors Equity membership provides the primary basis for his critically acclaimed ability to empathize with a wide cross-section of personalities. He moved into screenwriting when he was selected for the prestigious American Film Institute fellowship in Screenwriting, and received his MFA in screenwriting there in 1990 after winning AFI's Paramount Studios Fellowship Award for his film script, The Frog's Legacy. He was then selected out of 2,000 entrants for the Walt Disney Studios Screenwriting Fellowship, and spent a year writing for the Touchstone Pictures division.

His screenwriting experience drives narrative stories that are visually compelling, whether for a movie theater or the screen of a reader's imagination.

In 1994, his first nonfiction book, A Checklist for Murder, was acquired in auction by Dell Books as a mass market paperback and turned in solid sales.

Anthony then adapted his book into a screenplay for a two-hour television movie script and sold it to NBC Studios for a movie of the week. For the next several years, he worked as a freelance script doctor and story editor.

During that time, Anthony was hired by the Discovery Channel to write a two-hour documentary entitled Deadly Spree, and his true crime writing was also featured on a one-hour episode of The Prosecutors for Court TV.

In 2003, Anthony served as a national Judge for the Illinois Arts Council, writing individual evaluations for over 100 screenplays for their 2003 Writing Awards.

In 2005, with the publication of his nonfiction book Tiny Dancer (St. Martin's Press) the book was selected by Reader's Digest as their Editor's Choice for August, 2005 -- which was their 1,000th Commemorative Issue. The book has been internationally acclaimed, and the Kansas City Star named Tiny Dancer "one of the 100 Most Noteworthy Books of 2005." In 2007, the book received Best Seller status in Italy and continues to be popular there.

Back in the U.S., his first two novels of historical fiction are from Mortalis Books at Random House. The first book, The Last Nightingale, was released in June of 2007 and was one of five nominees for "Best Original Paperback" from the International Thriller Writers Association. The second book, The Hidden Man, published in June of 2008 and created widespread interest in his historical writing within the publishing community.

In November of 2009 his historical true crime book was released by Sterling Publishing -- The Road Out Of Hell: The True Story of Sanford Clark and the Wineville Murders. It won the USA NEWS 2009 Best True Crime Book of the Year.

Publish Your Nonfiction Book (Writer's Digest Books), which Anthony co-authored with literary manager, Sharlene Martin, was also published in 2009.

He is an experienced public speaker and frequently gives seminars on crime writing, and is a featured speaker on writing for writers conferences and clubs.

For more information, see www.AnthonyFlacco.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Laid Plans..., January 12, 2000

By 

Ted Green (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Checklist for Murder (Paperback)

It isn't often that an author can get so completly into the mind of the person he's writing about. But in this case Flacco did just that. The reader gets to know Peernock over time and it isn't long before he begins to ask how can one man be so callous, so uncaring? Flacco does an excellent job in answering those questions even though there really isn't any good answer. To probe the mind of a man like Peernock is an overwhelming task but Anthony Falcco was up the job, we got to know Peernock. At the same time, throughout the book the reader is compelled to scream at Claire and Natasha to run, as far and as fast as they can! More Anthony, we want more!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hard to believe this could have happened,but it did!, July 17, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: A Checklist for Murder (Paperback)

As a juror on this trial,I just found out about this book!Ordered it.Read it.Felt the emotion & pain for Natasha & Claire all over again.The facts were written very clearly & precise.I compared many of them to my notes I took during the trial.Incredible!Although some parts of the book were rather "over dramatized",it still held fast to the reality of the facts.To someone else,they might think "No way could this have happened like this.It's too unbelievable".Robert was an evil man-not insane, but greedy,rotten & evil-knew what he wanted-would kill to get it!

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Our creative retreat centered around this book- 5 stars!!!!, August 9, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Cherry Hill, NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Checklist for Murder (Paperback)

A brilliantly written mystery of a disturbing father/daughter "relationship." These intricatly woven characters left us feeling unsettled and looking over our shoulders. Robert Peernock doesn't expect his daughter to fight back- I rooted for her throughout. I only wish this story weren't true! Kudos to the author!