Customer Reviews

Double Jeopardy

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I purchased this book on a whim, and was blown away by the meticulous writing of the author. I read a good bit of true crime books and I must say that this one will rank among the top five. Extensive biographies are given of each main player, which goes a long way in establishing a raport with the readers; this is a must with a true crime novel. Other reviews have slammed the author for this and that (read the other reviews), but this book is extremely well-done. Bob Hill gives you a taste of each character's life, and how they reacted to this horrific crime. Just a brief synopsis of the book: Brenda Schaefer is missing and her car is found on a lonely stretch of highway. This beaufitul woman is missing and the local authorities have their suspects hand-picked. Mel Ignatow, Brenda's boyfriend at the time, is on the top of the list for various reasons, and subsequently is placed on trial after Brenda's body is found. Mel is a slick, persuasive individual with a deceptive personality and a slick-Willy mentality. I don't want to give the story away, but as the title states--DOUBLE JEOPARDY--Mel has some fortunate things happen to him along the way. As a Graduate student studying criminal justice, I feel like the system failed a great number of people mentioned in this book, and the feelings, I gather, will be mutual after people read this book. This is a remarkable story, and Bob Hill writes with a fluid grace that captures all the emotion of the situation that gripped this small Kentucky town. Prepare yourself to be shocked, inflamed, and sickened at the situation that enfolds in this wonderful book.

Bob Hill has done an amazing job of keeping the reader completely engrossed while also making the reader experience some of the frustration felt by police and family members of Brenda Sue Schaffer. The police know who killed her, the family knows who killed her and the reader knows who killed her but no one can prove it until an incredible fluke brings definitive evidence to light... Mr. Hill draws the reader into the lives of the victim and her friends and family without ever exploiting them. This is a hard book to put down and when you reach the climax toward the end of the book you just about jump up out of your skin.

I did not think that I could find a true crime writer on par with Anne Rule, boy was I wrong. This story is horrifying!! But the book is well written, with the utmost respect for the victim and the surviving family. You will not be able to put it down.

I think the book was well written, details were clear. The background on key people shows the author was interested in not only the role the person had in the story, but the people themselves. I read Ann Rule a lot and I would have to say Bob Hill is right up there with her. My heart goes out to the family, I hope they know that there is justice in the end. The Lord says vengence is mine. Mel will get his!

Shortly after Brenda Schaefer went missing, the family was sure her fiancé Mel Ignatow was responsible. This is the story about the diligence and frustration of the police, DA, FBI and Schaefer family in trying to get Ignatow behind bars. Although the circumstantial evidence and testimony of his accomplice was strong, without any physical evidence, Ignatow was able to get an acquittal on the murder and torture charges. Then solid physical evidence was found just before the perjury trial. Even with the evidence against him, because of the double jeopardy rule, Ignatow was only charged with perjury and 8 years in prison, so he basically got away with a brutal and heartless murder. This would have been much harder to read if the DA's office had decided not to pursue a way to put him away even for a short time. Thanks to their doggedness, Ignatow will have served some time. Very well written.

I live close enough to Louisville to remember the news coverage as this story played out over many years. Bob Hill brings it all together and helps us to understand how the legal concept of Double Jeapordy can protect us and also leave us open to harm.

The horrible truth of this book is that a sadistic sex murderer is free to live his life among the rest of us. The book describes the last hours of Brenda Shafer and how she suffered. The unapologetic, lack of remorse of her killer is chilling. When he is finally forced to admit the truth in front of a judge, he callously tells the family that Brenda died peacefully. Even though he admits this horrendous crime in court, he does not have to spend the rest of his life in prison, much less have to face the death penalty, because he had previously been found not guilty when he was brought to trial.

For people who enjoy books about crime and police tracking down the bad guys, this book is a must-read. The author goes behind the scenes to tell how police and prosecutors worked diligently to bring some measure of justice for Brenda Shafer. I now have a better understanding of how our system of justice could have gone so wrong.

This book is scarier than horror novels because this is a true story of a monster who is out in society today, able to prey upon the unsuspecting yet again.

Bob Hill does an excellent job of presenting this intriguing case of justice gone awry. His journalistic style makes for a very readable book--one that is hard to put down. Mel Ignatow is still being hounded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky for perjury--anything to keep this self-confessed killer behind bars.

I thought the author did a great job although at times it dragged on alittle and i like to get right to the point, I think some authors think they have to have more than 350 pages to tell a story where as I would rather it be 200 of great reading...Anyway What a travesty of Justice that this sicko Mel get away with only having to serve 8 years...If that much I think that the law enforcement did there very best to try and convict this guy and they kept this case going for many years..What happened to Brenda was so sad and so ridiculous...There has got to be more to it why she stayed with him...I think he should have received the chair...Why we allow these disgusting sicko's to have the best defense attorneys is beyond me.....I felt so sorry for Brenda's family and all they have been through..............sad

I have lived in Louisville, Kentucky all my life. The whole time I was reading the book, I could see everything perfectly in my minds eye. There were so many threads that ran through my own life. Father Osborn, Dr Spaulding, Ehrler's, etc. She was buried in a small patch of trees that ran along the high school I attended. There was a concession stand in the back of the school that faced those woods. I couldn't tell you the nuber of times I looked into those tree's while working for my brother's little league ball team. Bob Hill did a wonderful job on this book.

It is difficult forme to review this book of horror because I know and have worked for and with the doctor who tried to help in this case.
Ignatow is despicable. He exerted a power that is had to understand. The book must be read realizing it is a sad story and when you finish it all you can say is "I don't know why she fell for the guy."