19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Two Brothers, November 28, 2007
This review is from: A Family Cursed: The Kissell Dynasty, a Gilded Fortune, and Two Brutal Murders (St. Martin's True Crime Library) (Mass Market Paperback)
This fascinating book is a thorough analysis of two sensational crimes. The author maintains a jounalistic objectivity that allows you to draw your own conclusions. The photographs are a help in keeping the complex characters straight. It also provides an insight into the current business environment. One brother invests in distressed debt and the other in real estate.
Glimpses into the rarefied communities of NY's upper east side, Stratton, Vt, Greenwich, Ct and the expatriate community of Hong Kong provoke a delicious sense of schadenfreude.
You do not have to be a true crime aficionado to enjoy this book.
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11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Title Says It All!, January 28, 2008
This review is from: A Family Cursed: The Kissell Dynasty, a Gilded Fortune, and Two Brutal Murders (St. Martin's True Crime Library) (Mass Market Paperback)
The poor Kissell family who had it all but was cursed by it's own success. The poor brothers, Robert and Andrew Kissell, were murdered. Robert was murdered by his wife, Nancy, in Hong Kong. She was sentenced to life in prison there. Their three children would face a custody battle among in-laws. Andrew had lots of legal problems because he acted illegally and immorally in most business and finance transactions not like his brother Robert who graduated college, married, and rose up the financial ladder as being one of the hardest working financiers even in Hong Kong. Regardless, Robert and Andrew did not deserve their fate. Robert's wife, Nancy, was lonely and was having an affair with a blue collar television repairman in Vermont where they had a second winter home. Sadly, Robert and Andrew were laid beside their mother Elaine Kissell at Riverside Cemetery in Saddle Brook, New Jersey. Robert's children are being raised by the only surviving Kissell child, Jane Kissell Clayton, in Seattle, Washington with her two children. The Kissell patriarch is still alive and living in Florida. It's still a sad story but I think the writer's inexperience at writing true crime stories surfaces here and will get better in the future.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
ONCE IS NOT ENOUGH..., August 9, 2009
This review is from: A Family Cursed: The Kissell Dynasty, a Gilded Fortune, and Two Brutal Murders (St. Martin's True Crime Library) (Mass Market Paperback)
I recently read another book about this very same family and murders, "Never Enough" by Joel McGinnis. The story was so intriguing that I could not resist reading another author's perspective. I am delighted that I did so, as this is an excellent true crime book with a somewhat different focus from that of the McGinnis book, which was also excellent.
The book is about the Kissel murders, in which two wealthy, well-educated brothers are both murdered on different occasions and by different people. One was bludgeoned to death, and the other was stabbed to death. What are the chances of that?
The author skillfully outlines the events that led to the murders. In Robert's case, his wife's infidelity and her obsession with Michael Del Priore, her blue-collar lover, prompted her to do the unspeakable. Her guilt was never really in question, and the book highlights the most interesting aspects of her trial and its aftermath.
A couple of years later, Andrew, a well-heeled real estate investor, also followed in Robert's footsteps, having been stabbed to death just as he was getting ready to face the music for the real estate fraud that he had perpetrated. As to who killed Andrew, the police certainly found a suspect, but it is clear that the author believes that suspect to be innocent. The author's point of view is pretty persuasive, as the Greenwich police who were investigating the case are not known for their investigative prowess. You be the judge.
All in all, however, the story of the Kissel brothers is a fascinating one and a true American tragedy on many fronts. Theirs is, indeed, a family cursed. Those who enjoy the true crime genre will not be disappointed by this book, as it is well-written and well-researched. It is also a good companion to "Never Enough", as it is sufficiently different as to be fresh.
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