Customer Reviews

Daddy's Girl: The Campbell Murder Case

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

 

 

Judging from the online reviews of DADDY'S GIRL, you either love it or hate. Put me in the camp of those who love it. It's the best "true crime" book I've ever read, because you get so deep into the minds of not only the murderers but also the lawyers and the investigative journalist, author Clifford Irving.

It could be a Shakespearean tragedy, but it's not: it's a gritty prose rendition of love and revenge set in Houston, Texas in the 1980s. Irving is there as a spectator (and witness, which is a remarkable story in itself) at the trial, and you're there with him. The characters are bizarre yet real. Moral dilemmas abound. Irving, who is a fine novelist, writes the story like a personal novel, with a dark vision of human nature, but there is a clear ring of truth to the way he describes incidents, thoughts, and renders dialogue. I went from this book to Irving's novels and enjoyed all of them.

One fault: it's a bit long, but I can bear with that, because it's fascinating all the way. A five-star book, no doubt of it.

Is reading about murder addicting? No. Is reading about all of the people involved? Yes. Irving introduces all of the characters--victims, family, police officers, undercover detectives,lawyers, accused, almost everyone. It's more of a combination between character study and what really goes on behind the scenes of a murder case. The first 350 pages are entralling--I gasped and yes, I even laughed. The next 150 gets into courtroom drama. The last 100 I grazed through because I just wanted to find out what happened. I reccommed it--a thourough presentation of a terrible happening, and an author who reflects upon and "personalizes" this event into which he is drawn.

with less verbiage. Very interesting story but frankly I could not finish the book. I cheated and went to the end of the story to see what happened. I always read all of true crime stories but this one was so needlessly and boringly long with so much useless trivial information. What a shame because the story itself is very interesting. I also agree with another person who reviewed the book; since David West is up for parole in the year 2000, I would like to know if in fact he will get paroled. Anyway, the bottom line is that the story somehow got lost in a ton of words that were unnessecary.

First of all, I admit to being a fan of Clifford Irving's novels, most of which are, sadly, out of print. This is the only nonfiction book of his that I've read, and it's a winner. It tells of how a young woman and her Marine Corps boyfriend murdered her parents, but I won't spoil the story by discussing their motives. It's highly detailed, and I think that's a plus, since for the first time I understood the complexities and absurdities of jury selection, as well as the hidden motives of prosecutors and defense attorneys. Irving is involved in his own story -- he knew so much about the dramatis personae that he became, against his will, a witness at the trial! That makesa this a unique book, and one not to be missed by all who read "courtroom" fiction.

I could not put this book down. I am from near Houston and I have travled many of the places thst this book spoke of. A great "True-Crime" novel. However, as much as I liked it, I have already been on the net trying to find out what is going on with these people now. A follow up would be nice, especially since the 2000 possible parole date is near.

Where is Cindy ray Campell today and David West? This was one of the best true crime stories I have read and beleive me -I read almost all of them but I am left with an uncertainty as to what really happened. Has there been any more positive eveidence since the trial as to what really happened

The events leading to the Campbell double murder, and the hunt for the killer are more vividly related in Jack Olsen's "Cold Kill." I've just read Olsen's and Irving's respective narratives in succession, and for me, Jack Olsen's is far superior for readers who are fascinated by the crime and its participants.

Unlike in Olsen's book, most of the action in Irving's takes place in courtrooms. If you find that interesting, you may enjoy the book. But if you want to cut to the chase, pick Olsen, or at least, read Olsen's book first.

Clifford Irving's DADDY'S GIRL deals with the Houston, TX, case featuring Cynthia Campbell Ray, David West, and the 1982 murders of Cynthia's parents, James and Virginia Campbell, a case Jack Olsen also wrote about in his outstanding COLD KILL. DADDY'S GIRL is a long book coming in at over 500 pages. The first 125 present the killings, the investigation, and the arrests of the perpetrators and include lots of welcome material on the backgrounds and current (at the time) lives of Cynthia and David. And the investigation of David as done by a private investigator, Kim Paris, is interesting.

The rest of the book consists of the various trials resulting from Ray and West's arrests. This could be deadly - and had I known this beforehand, I would not have picked up the book - but it is anything but. Irving is not copying transcripts here.
He was involved as an observer from the time of the arrest of David West on, and as he and the judge and various attorneys became familiar with each other, camaraderie developed. Irving became peripherally involved in the case, as he would unearth new information while doing his own investigative work. And if it were germane, he'd pass it on to the lawyers who would in turn share confidences with him, and at one point he was even called as a witness. For this reason, Irving - who refers to himself in the first person - is a continuing presence in the narrative. I usually dislike that in true crime, but Irving manages to keep himself out of the spotlight.

What he does concentrate on, besides presenting the case as it occurred, is an extensive "back stage" study of the lawyers, their trial preparations and concurring hand wringing, and their interactions with each other. Unfortunately, another thing Irving focuses on, is how much virtually everyone he writes about weighs. An obese lawyer, already described as a 300 pounder, is more than once referred to as heaving himself from a chair. And Cynthia, who had a weight problem, seems to have been perfect for Irving's obsession, and without fail he reports his estimate of her weight each time he sees her in court. It's pretty strange, but it only minutely detracts from the overall quality of the book.

DADDY'S GIRL is a hard working, if perhaps 50 or so pages too long, effort, and Irving, a professional and intelligent writer, has created an interesting read. Personally, I would NEVER have read a work of true crime had I known in advance that it included 375 pages of trial and lawyer content and that the author had written himself into the book as one of the players.
But Irving pulls it off. While not great true crime, it is well done and I enjoyed it.

This is a gripping and readable account of the murder of James and Virginia Campbell, a wealthy Houston couple that was gunned down in their home in the 1980's. From the beginning authorities suspected that their daughter Cindy and/or her boyfriend David West were behind this brutal crime. The motive? Perhaps it was to collect the inheritance, or maybe it was an act of revenge for alleged mistreatment of Cindy. The book details the personalities of the major players (detectives, suspects, lawyers, etc.), the police investigation, and the activities of an attractive private eye who tried using romance to elicit a confession from West. We also get a detailed look at the courtroom, including the role played by the author as he was called to the stand as a witness.

This book focuses heavily on personalities and the court room, and differs in approach from a competing account by author Jack Olsen (COLD KILL). I confess harboring mild doubts about DADDY'S GIRL due to the author's prior involvement in a hoax regarding recluse Howard Hughes. Still, this is a very interesting look at a sordid crime.

Daddy's Girl is a dark morality play set against the back drop of Houston in the eighties. All the people involved come across as real. Irving made me feel like I knew everyone involved in this horrible crime, while at the same time, filling me with relief that I had nothing to do with those involved. He describes Houston vividly and perfectly. The ultimate lesson of this book was that the best revenge is no revenge at all.