Customer Reviews

Cruel Doubt

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I don't usually comment on others' reviews, but I found a recent one not to be fair, in this case. McGinniss gave his usual, awesome description of this horrible murder, including detailed interviews with the investigators and especially Bonnie Von Stein and Chris Pritchard. A criticism was that it was one-sided. As a true crime author myself, I know that often the "other side" won't talk to the author, and I suspect this was the case here. In Bledsoe's "Blood Games," another excellent depiction of this awful crime, it's obvious Bledsoe had cooperation from the defendants' families -- and it might be looked upon as one-sided since he didn't have too much cooperation, it seems, with Bonnie. The two books together, both dramatically and frighteningly written, give readers a full picture of what went on in that case. I give both books 5 stars. This case has intrigued me since I saw the movie Cruel Doubt, and I was ecstatic that Bledsoe, another great true crime author, also wrote a book on the subject!

One main reason that makes me think McGinniss wasn't able to get interviews with the defendants is the fact that his book doesn't mention "Bart" as the nickname for James Bartlett Upchurch III. How would anyone know that unless they'd interviewed the family? Sometimes it looks like, when people won't talk to us, that we just didn't bother to try to talk to them, but that's absolutely not true. I'm sure Mr. McGinniss tried and tried to get the defendants' and families' interviews.

McGinniss is just one of the forefathers, it seems, of terrific true crime with awesome imagery -- which makes the reader picture the crime and people in their heads without a movie being necessary! Mr. Bledsoe also is a top true crime writer. Neither book detracts from the other. Both are sublime depictions of one of the most bloody crimes police have seen.

My hat's off to both authors!

I guess true crime was coming into it's own with authors like Joe McGinnis and Ann Rule. I saw the mini-series starring Emmy Winner Blythe Danner as Bonnie Von Stein and her Oscar Winner daughter Gwyneth Paltrow as her daughter Angela Pritchard. The movie version is quite faithful to the book and the events itself which I highly recommend as well. The book does delve into the story of dungeons and dragons which becomes an obsession of Christopher Pritchard and the horrible murder of his stepfather Leith Von Stein in a small North Carolina town and the near murder of his own mother. The case is riveting and the story is told with complete details and information. I can still see the cast which included Ed Asner as one of the lawyers and Miguel Ferrer as the police investigating the case. The title of Cruel Doubt is about the fact that a horrendous crime has been committed, the motive was for the inheritance, and the fact that the sister Angela slept through the entire event without hearing a sound. A mother must come to terms with her son's crimes against his own family while trying to convict the men who actually carried it out. McGinnis has also written Fatal Vision and Blind Faith about family members who are involved with the death of a relative. I recommend reading those books as well. Cruel Doubt is almost forgotten. The mini-series is worth seeing though and i wished that they put more photos or pictures about the people and places involved.

Stepfather, Lieth, was dead, and mother, Bonnie Von Stein was in intensive care. By contrast, Angela, the daughter was unharmed, and son, Chris, a student at North Carolina State University, reached the bedside of his mother and cried. The resident agent for the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, Lewis Young, felt someone had tried to stage a break-in at the family's house.

Lieth Von Stein had worked for National Spinning, a textile company, as a director of internal audits. Lieth, an alcoholic, had lost patience with Chris and Angela when they became teenagers. Bonnie and Lieth had been reclusive. Living in the community of Little Washington in Beaufort County, they hadn't made any close friends.

Neighbors told investigators to focus their attention on Chris and Angela Pritchard. At North Carolina State Chris played Dungeons and Dragons and used marijuana and LSD. The title of the book draws upon Bonnie's dilemma. It is wondered whether her children were in some manner responsible for the death of Lieth.

The investigators in the case moved slowly. Most of the leads were fruitless. The law enforcement contingent was dismayed when the family hired some of the best lawyers in the state to represent their interests.

This is a good book. The realistic details shown in the search for answers drive the piece.

Author Joe McGinnis covers the tragic 1988 murder plot of young Christopher Pritchard. Readers see how this young university student's obsession with drugs and fantasies from the popular board game Dungeons-and-Dragons (D & D) helped lead him tragically astray. Specifically, he plotted with two classmates (also D & D fanatics) to kill his step father Leith Von Stein and mother for an inheritance. The narrative also describes Christopher's protective mother Bonnie, who survived her stab wounds, entered a state of denial, and became her son's protector. Finally, we learn of the unusual and quite riveting court trial. The book is gripping and tragic, but some have criticized the author for basing too much of his writing on statements by Bonnie. This book also touches on board-game fanatics, some of whom are lonely young men seeking refuge and friendship. Of course, most D&D aficionados (like my brothers at one time) simply like the game, and may feel a bit abused by these pages.

McGinnis writes with great skill, although his methods often generate controversy. This book doesn't quite match his controversial best-seller FATAL VISION, but it remains an interesting read.

Joe McGinnis' chillingly true story is about a son, (Chris Pritchard) convicted of murdering his stepfather (Lieth Von Stein) and his mother (Bonnie Von Stein) in their own bedroom for greed. Leith's parents and uncle had all died within a year and a half of each other. Lieth inherited close to $2 million. Chris who was a failing student at NC State University, was away at school when the murder happened. His sister Angela was asleep in the room across the hall from her parents. When the police arrived, they woke Angela up from a deep sleep. She did not hear anything. Lieth was killed and Bonnie was taken to the hospital where she stayed for 7 days. When Chris came home he went to visit his mother at the hospital. Neither Angela or Chris seemed to interested in what had happened. Hardly a tear was shed. A year and a half later the investigation led to Chris and his friends at NCSU. One of the friends admitted to the investigators what happened that night. This implicated Chris, himself (Henderson) and Moog. Even though all the information gathered never really had concrete evidence all three were convicted. Information given by the forensic doctor did not match up with the time of the attack that was given by Bonnie. None of the family, Bonnie, Chris and Angela showed emotions of remorse or loss. This unemotional family confused the investgation even after the conviction. To grasp the atmosphere surrounding this investgation that bring us through the medieval game of Dungeons and Dragons, drugs and greed you must read this book. I could not put it down. To see how they were finally going to convict them with out physical evidence was amazing. To have let them free because of lack of evidence would have been terrifying. I do not believe this case has been completely solved. I am waiting for Part II, the unabridged version.

Another great book by Joe McGinness. I like all his books, and alot of other people must like his books too - I NEVER see them in the Used Book Store I go to all the time. I've been looking for over 3 years & have yet to find any hard-bound or paperback of any of his books. Guess Amazon is the place to find them.

Kinda wordy, but much can be skimmed.
McGinniss is a superb writer - all his work is well worth reading.
"Cruel Doubt" should be read from an armchair detective's eyes, and not the thinking of the writer. Perhaps that's what the author intended. For that reason it's a mystery that the reader can figure out, who? got away with murder, and consequently the best true crime book ever written.

This is one of the best true crime books that I have ever read. I liked it even better than Fatal Vision (McGuiness as well). Mcguiness makes the characters come alive for the reader. It makes you want to go a meet and speak with them all personally. The story is sad and will break your heart, and mcguiness definitely does not try to diminish these feelings. There is no warm fuzzy ending, just the hope that Bonnie Von Stein's life is getting better.

After Lieth Von Stein was murdered and his wife Bonnie was attacked in their bedroom by knife and club wielding bandits on a hot summer evening in July 1988, the ensuing police investigation and courtroom drama would reveal that it was the bloody climax of a fantasy game which had begun several weeks earlier in the hallways of North Carolina State University. To the young men who partcipated in this game, it was not merely fiction or fantasy, but reality, as real as the three million dollars that they would have gained if both the Von Steins had perished in the attack. It was this game, along with the lure of that easy money, that was the catalyst behind Lieth Von Stein's brutal murder, turning what appeared to be a "routine" family murder into one of the most frightening and bizarre cases ever to appear before the American judicial system. Author Joe McGinniss draws us into this story with his precise, succinct narrative in much the same way as the participants were drawn into the deadly "Dungeons and Dragons" scenarios. This is a superb read and I highly recommend this book to anyone who doesn't mind a few sleepless nights!

This book thrilled me and annoyed me at the same time. I was blown away by the family dynamics that led to the murder of the main character's husband. And the insane world of drugs and Dungeons and Dragons that her son (who the reader suspects is involved from the beginning) inhabits is a glimpse into a real person's dark side.

But don't expect the story to end like a fictional murder mystery. You'll be left with many unanswered questions, unexplainable evidence, and a sinking suspicion that there's more to the story than what was revealed. But it's just this ambiguity that makes this such a compelling read.