In a Child's Name: The Legacy of a Mother's Murder [Hardcover]

Peter Maas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1990

in a child's name by peter maas, a novel

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 1984 Ken Taylor, a dentist in Marion, Ind., cracked open the skull of his third wife, Teresa, with a dumbbell. Driving her body halfway across the country, he dumped it along a Pennsylvania road, then went to visit an ex-wife in Pittsburgh. Apprehended, Taylor, a calm, eerily confident wife-beater, philanderer and heavy user of marijuana and amphetamines, pleaded self-defense. He put forth a bizarre story that Teresa had been a drug addict and that he had caught her performing oral sex on their five-month-old son, Philip. In a taut, chilling voyage into the mind of a sociopath, Maas ( Serpico ) highlights the regional, religious and ethnic passions unleashed by a case that extended from the Midwestern Bible Belt to New Jersey, from Mexico to Staten Island, N.Y. As dramatic as the trial itself was the custody battle over Philip; his paternal grandparents temporarily adopted him after snatching him away from Teresa's sister, who had won custody. The grandparents' scheme, according to Maas, was directed by the convicted murderer from his cell. Photos. $100,000 ad/promo; author tour.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Kenneth Taylor, a dentist, brutally beat to death his third wife, Teresa, thereby orphaning their infant son, who became the focus of a bitter custody battle between Taylor's Indiana parents and Teresa's New Jersey relatives. Despite Taylor's absurd claim that Teresa sexually abused their son, there was no motive for the murder, but then there was none for his vicious attack on Teresa during their honeymoon (blamed on "intruders") or a similar assault on his second wife. Maas, author of Serpico ( LJ 12/15/73) and Manhunt ( LJ 7/86), provides a dark, compelling portrait of a sociopathic middle-class professional who ruined many lives. A wrenching story with popular appeal. Literary Guild main selection; previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 6/15/90.
- Gregor A. Preston, Univ. of California Lib., Davis
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 378 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; First Editiion First Printing edition (November 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671694162
• ISBN-13: 978-0671694166
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #391,750 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Chilling and sad, January 22, 2002

By 

"marymelinda_us2" (Hot Springs, AR USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In a Child's Name: The Legacy of a Mother's Murder (Hardcover)

I saw the 1991 miniseries of "In A Child's Name" before I had ever read the book, and I must say that, in both cases, I was saddened and angered at the murder of a beautiful, innocent mother and also by the manipulation of an innocent child, who was ultimately the real victim, along with his mother. Ultimately, however, I was moved by the family's coming together to raise the baby boy left by his loving mother and cold-hearted father. The book does go deeper into the horror of what happened after the young mother's murder than the miniseries. However, both tell the tragic but ultimately uplifting story about abuse, murder, cold-hearted manipulation, and ultimate strength and love.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-Read, January 20, 2002

By 

Beth (Indianapolis, IN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In a Child's Name: The Legacy of a Mother's Murder (Hardcover)

Entralling from the first page to the last. If you've seen the movie, DEFINATELY read the book. Michael Ontkean's portrayal of Ken Taylor is terrific. Being from Indina, I was especially interested due to the custody battle that came as a result of Taylor bludgeoning his wife to death. The fact that this story is true is what makes it so horrible. My heart ached, not only for the child, but for Teresa's family members who were put through not only having to deal with her murder, but the idea of her child being in the custody of Ken Taylor's parents. Louise Fletcher, who plays Ken Taylor's mother gives a chilling reference to a mother turning a ridiculously blind eye to the fact that her son was a manipulative cold blooded murderer with very strange sexual appetites (records indicated that calls were made from the scene of the murder to 900-sex lines while Teresa lay dead on the floor). A chilling account.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great true crime book, January 26, 2002

By 

Patricia Horton "Hortonsbks" (St. Petersburg, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In a Child's Name: The Legacy of a Mother's Murder (Hardcover)

Peter Maas is a good, solid writer. This is the book that was the basis of the TV movie starring Valerie Bertinelli. However, there is much more detail in the book. For example, there is more of the background of the victim and the dentist/murderer. It also seems that the victim did use cocaine, although Maas does strees that it was only "recreational." (???--what is recreational?) Also, he admits that he beat her up in Mexico. It's a page burner.