Customer Reviews

A Fatal Lie: A True Story Of Betrayal And Murder In The New South (St. Martin's True Crime Library)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

I only read true crime stories; I am still in the process of reading this book and have to force myself NOT to put it somewhere and go on to another one. I feel that the author did not tell the story as in the fashion of other good authors. There are incomplete sentences that make one have to reread the sentence to get the jist of that emotion. I, for one, feel that this book is not anywhere near or close to the other crime stories that I read. I would have to read another book by Miss Chew before giving a true explanation of her work. I have read the other reviews which tend to say the opposite of what I say but people are different. I would NOT recommend this book to anyone that I know.

For the people who think that all of the info in the book came from the killers, you are mistaken. I was there and lived through this ordeal. Most of the information came from several people with first hand knowledge, me being one of them. This book gets as close to the truth as you can get. There is no information from folks on the victim's side because they refused to talk. I do agree, however, that the book could have been written better.

I received this novel as a Xmas gift from a friend whose opinion on literary issues I greatly respect - he said it "blew me away." He was so right; it really is one of those books that rarely leaves your fingers once you've started. I just couldn't put it down. I was dragged through a whole range of emotions, you so feel like you're there - a part of every melee. The prose is tight and intensely compelling. The reader is nothing but absorbed and treated to a whirlwind of an adventure - which is all the more compelling due to the factual content of the story. I thoroughly recommend 'A Fatal Lie' to anybody with a life.

Probably a quickie true crime book that I would have passed over if it had not been for the Richmond connection to may home state.

I think the author did some decent reporting, but she more often than not presented the story in a rather flat fashion. She missed many opportunities for emotion and facts to give us background on the women involved in the story.

Also there were some glaring typos in the edition I had that should have been caught by the editor.

I read true crime books regularly. This book was interesting and although written well, needed more depth and definition as to who was who and not just she said he said. IT needed more depth because I think the writer went into detail about the actual violent acts themselves, however skimmed over other subjects in the book. I was disappointed in the way the gossip way of writing took over towards the end of the book. It was a good story but tapered off towards the end, almost as if the writer became disenchanted with this topic.

The book was well written and the story well told, but I feel that more time spent on the girls' personal histories is called for. While the crime itself is well chronicled, and more than enough time is devoted to the girls' life in prison, I didn't really get the feeling of actually knowing any of these girls -- least of all, the victim herself. Only a few pages were given to each character's background.

"....telling tales of drunkenness and cruelty." -- Kinks, 1966

The reviews of people who actually knew Stacey Hannah, the young woman who was killed in July of 1997 are heartrending, such as her fate and plight.

This is a truly hair-raising story of disaffected lesbian youth. A small cadre of lesbians acted with cruelty and violence towards one young woman who, according to the author "carried a torch" for the group's unofficial leader, Kelly "Turtle" Tibbs.

Turtle, an independent youth who was active in the gay community left school at age 12. By 1992, at age 13 she had had a daughter and discovered her orientation. She was openly gay and had taken on a very masculine appearance. She was involved with several young women who lived in the area.

Stacey Hannah, 18 was new in town and fell for Turtle. Turtle, from the telling apparently set her expectations only to crush her by flaunting her new relationship with a girl named Tracy in her face. A large 6-footer, Tracy was known to use muscle to get her message across.

The girls' families are given very little press, so readers are left wondering what of their input in the girls' lives. A slightly older, responsible woman named Robyn and nicknamed "Dad" was the responsible member of the cadre. She held down a job, paid the rent and kept a stable voice of reason among the group.

Sadly, Robyn and her reason were not present the night the decision to kill Stacey Hannah was made. Four women in the group, Turtle, Tracy, Dana and Domica went out on a night of what was then called "wilding" and before the night was over, brutally killed Stacey.

People who knew Stacey and her family claim that she was not gay. Stacey did have a friend named Kevin with whom she was close. According to this author, she and Kevin parted company, but Kevin still had feelings for her. According to Sally Chew, Stacey pined for Turtle. Those who know the parties involved say this is a questionable claim.

I had mixed feelings about the book. On the one hand, it was interesting reading about the psychology of cruelty, violence and retribution. On the other hand, after reading the reviews of people who actually knew the players involved, it leaves even more open questions.

the facts in this book are very one sided.....coming basically from one of the criminals. To get the full effect of the whole scenario.....more detailed and true searching would have made this a better book. The story telling isnt done as acurately as it could've been. Some events were told out of sequence as well.

I've read many true crime accounts, but this is one of the saddest and most horrifying... given the youth and blatantly callous attitudes of the perpetrators in this case. A group of young lesbians, seemingly with terrific psychopathic tendencies and ice water in their veins, took the most expedient and brutal way to end what should have been a simple problem in their relationships.

Namely, in the heated emotion of their rage, jealousy and frustration, to end the life of a young woman who had become a problem in their ragtag, accidental and vicarious co-dependent relationships. Their own familial rejections and lack of moral leadership led to a deadly and bizarre solution to what they considered a huge complication and bother in their everyday relationships and existence. This is one of the most bizarre and brutal murder accounts imaginable.

This book, well written and researched, should be hallmark reading for anyone entering into a lifestyle which begs violence and retribution. This is also an extreme lesson of someone being in the wrong place, wrong time, and trying to force their own personality and issues on the wrong people and relationships. Let the reader learn and beware... these volcanic friendships exist and it's far better to steer clear... tho often harder for young people to recognize and accept. Bravo for a very eye-opening and really blood-curdling account of what can happen to interlopers who do not use wisdom and discretion. If you are a true crime fan, this is one to read and savor.

Stacey Hanna was eighteen when she moved to Virginia and into the young lesbian scene. She immediately picked up the torch for Kelley "Turtle" Tibbs, infuriating Turtle's close friends and her girlfriend Tracy. One night the triangle of love and obsession explodes into what can only be described as a "wilding" - hours of abduction, indecision, torture and eventual murder of one young woman by a gang of her female peers. The confessions, the court cases, and the subsequent "where are they now" sections of the book were probably the easiest to read - by the time you got to them, you had finally figured out who all the players were and how they related. The story is more than frightening. The introduction of each character and her eventual unraveling quickly becomes intertwined with another and then another. In a short time the reader has to keep checking back to the beginning to connect who is who, in love with which girl, dated which other girl, and which ones actually were there on the night in question. The book is, in some form, and excellent character study and a detailed description how quickly young love turns to hate. I was also intrigued by the detailing of the humiliation some of the girls took from lovers and each other and yet never seriously considered leaving the relationships. I just wished it had come with a score card so I could have kept it all straight.