Death in Texas: A True Story of Marriage, Money, and Murder (St. Martin's True Crime Library) [Mass Market Paperback]

Carlton Smith (Author)

Book Description

Series: St. Martin's True Crime Library | Publication Date: October 4, 2005

Was he his brother's keeper?

Robert and Doris Angleton seemed to have the perfect life. Until she was coldly murdered in her own home, shot thirteen times in the head, chest, and abdomen...

Suddenly the ideal husband seemed anything but perfect: he was jailed, accused of hiring his older brother, Roger, to kill his wife for money-- possibly as much as $2 million. However, without the crucial eyewitness testimony of Roger-- who soon committed suicide in a Houston jail cell-- the case against Robert rested entirely on circumstantial evidence. But the facts raise more questions than answers...

* Doris Angleton-- deeply involved in a secret love affair-- had asked her husband for a divorce, which might have exposed him as a tax-skipping millionaire bookie and favored police informant...
* Extensive handwritten and typewritten notes, coupled with a secretly taped conversation between Roger and another man outlining the murder, were found in a briefcase Roger Angleton was carrying when he was arrested in Las Vegas, Nevada. However, it was later concluded that the second voice on the tape was not Robert's...
* Also in Roger's briefcase: $64,000 in cash, along with a money wrapper with Robert's fingerprint on it...
* Ultimately Roger confessed to the murder in his suicide note, exonerating his brother of any guilt...

A Texas jury came to one conclusion. Read this fascinating true-crime account of greed, deception, and cold-blooded murder-- and decide for yourself.

With eight pages of shocking photos!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

CARLTON SMITH was an award-winning journalist for The Los Angeles Times and The Seattle Times in the 1970s and 1980s. A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in investigative reporting in 1988, he now works full time as a true crime author.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's True Crime (October 4, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312970757
• ISBN-13: 978-0312970758
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #831,854 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Tragic Tale Deserves Better, October 4, 2005

By 

Johnny99 (Houston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death in Texas: A True Story of Marriage, Money, and Murder (St. Martin's True Crime Library) (Mass Market Paperback)

The city of Houston has been home to more than its fair share of epic American murder sagas. Many of these stories have been expertly chronicled, i.e. 'Blood and Money', The Cop Who Wouldn't Quit', 'Cold Kill'. A more recent tale-the murder of Doris Angleton in her sprawling River Oaks estate-deserves to be well told. Unfortunately, 'Death in Texas', a sloppy assemblage of newspaper clippings and court filings, does not come close to getting the job done.

I have followed this case in the Houston Chronicle and Texas Monthly. The story has taken so many odd twists and turns that it seems more like a cheap murder mystery than a real life case. For starters, consider the two main characters. Doris Angleton is a beautiful, popular wife and mother who seems to 'have it all' but has secretly turned to internet chat rooms to meet other men. Robert Angleton, her husband, has become the most successful bookie in Houston while ratting out his competition as an informant for the Houston Police Department.

Given the complicated and interesting people at the heart of this case, author Carlton Smith had a huge head start in sculpting a classic true crime book. Unfortunately, for whatever reasons-tight deadlines, lack of access, limited perspective-the end result here is not much better than reading all of the reporting on this case so far. And consider this: 'Death in Texas' ends when the jury brings in a verdict on the state charge of murder. Since then, Bob Angleton has spent a year in a Dutch jail while the governments of the USA and Holland went back and forth, negotiating the terms and conditions under which Angleton would be extradited back to Texas. In addition, Vanessa Leggert, a journalist who had conducted extensive interviews with some of the key characters in this story, spent 6 months in jail because she refused to cooperate with the prosecution.

There are not many stories that include murder, infidelity, gambling, police informants, rights of journalists, treaties between nations, suicide, etc. This story deserves to be told in all of its tragic, bigger than life, unbelievable, Texas sized detail.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Compelling Story, Poorly Written, September 16, 1999

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death in Texas: A True Story of Marriage, Money, and Murder (St. Martin's True Crime Library) (Mass Market Paperback)

This fascinating story of greed, control, and vice was given a hasty, poor treatment by a writer who was obviously very eager to get the product to the market rather than thoroughly research and present a compelling account of family tragedy. The pictures are very poor, including a picture of the dead woman and her very live daughters, the true victims. What teenage girl needs to see herself visually depicted in the same book with a picture of her deceased mother. Shame on you, Carlton Smith, you are a much better writer than this!!!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Where in the world did this "non-fiction" come from, February 15, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Death in Texas: A True Story of Marriage, Money, and Murder (St. Martin's True Crime Library) (Mass Market Paperback)

Having known many of the people in this tragic story, I was shocked at the exaggeration and misquoting throughout the book. It was also very poorly written and difficult to follow. It is much more like trashy fiction than a respectable account of the truth.