Customer Reviews

Honeymoon With A Killer

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Rebecca Salcedo was a woman used to getting her way using her sexuality; and when she met Bruce Cleland, a well-to-do 42-year-old bachelor, she knew she could get him to marry her.

Within six short months of the marriage, and thousands of dollars worth of debt later, Bruce Cleland would die in what was intended to look like a carjacking.

It didn't take police long to learn of Rebecca's statements to friends that she had only married Bruce for his money. And from there, police honed in on Rebecca, her male-stripper cousin and his sinister-looking brother.

Honeymoon With A Killerby veteran true crime writer Don Lasseter with retired District Attorney Ronald Bowers, details how a poverty-stricken Hispanic girl would grow up into a woman willing to kill for riches.

While I've found several of Lasseter's books to be good reads, I found this book to fall a bit shy of even being mediocre. The first 181 pages of Honeymoon With A Killer is fast-paced, filled with engrossing details of Rebecca; yet the remaining 159 pages is nothing but a rehashing of the first part during the trial.

As a result, I found myself skimming a big portion of the book. The only thing that kept me hanging in was the hoping of seeing a woman like Rebecca get her just desserts.

And in that, I was not disappointed.

I really hoped this paperback would be well written. Similar to Mr.Lasseter's "Die for Me". You know, full of detail with that 'can't put it down' element. Not happening. Reads slow and skimpy. Left it in the employee lunchroom on purpose.

I decided to not purchase this book after reading some of the reviews. Fortunately, I was given a copy by a friend. I absolutely loved the book. This is an unusual case and Lasseter and Bowers do an excellent job relating the circumstances and facts. Unlike some true crime authors, Lasseter and Bowers waited until the defendants exhausted their appeals before writing their book, so I didn't have to go on the internet to find out what happened. I also appreciated the fact that the authors didn't bore us with the life histories of secondary players. I found the book excellent, from the beginning to the final page.

The first 200 pages were good.The rest was just about the boring trial and the other women that committed simular crimes.Also the authors yet again plugged their previous books.Not a total waste of money but fool me once shame on you.
Also I don't know if it was the author's fault or if I am getting jaded but I did not feellike I knew the victim and could not find more than the normal sympathy for a man being murdered in cold blood.

I'm surprised to read that some people didn't like this book. I thought it was interesting and well-done. I'm a huge fan of true crime books. I found this book compelling because of the how ruthless the young lady was and how clueless the victim was. Usually it's the other way around. Woman murderers are a curious breed. She was trying to set herself up for life and almost pulled it off. I like how the trial did not take up too much of the book - even though it was strange how the killers almost got off while the alleged driver was put away for life.

I don't understand the negative reviews. I found it entertaining.

WHAT did men SEE in Rebecca Salcedo. Cheap-looking, easy, greedy with an eighth grade education, a prison record and an illegitimate son. I mean, how hard up are some males?

The one I felt sorry for was Salcedo's mom. What kind of family makes a 15 year old marry the rapist who impregnates her? No wonder the woman tried to self-medicate herself and ended up committing suicide.

Not to badmouth the victim, but how dumb was Bruce? I mean, so many red flags before he married this bloodsucker and he ignored them. He buys a house and she tells him he can't live there? She would have been long gone.

Salcedo and her two cousins are precisely where they belong. It's so sad that Harold and Theda Cleland didn't live to see their sociopath former daughter in law get what she deserved. It was ridiculous that it took trials to put the bimbo away where she can't use anyone else.

Great book--there are two chapters in particular where the author becomes a little tangental and starts talking about other cases and happenings that have nothing to do this particular story. I read the whole thing in one day...it was that captivating!

Very sad story of a real black widow. I think this story could of been written better but it does a lot of repeating thru out which to me means it is written off the trial transcripts. I was disapointed because usually this author does a great job.

Oh My Gosh! This book was EXCELLENT ...

I LOVED IT and had a hard time putting it down
(My husband kept saying "Are we having dinner tonite?")

I love the "descriptions" in the book ... of courtroom "procedures", "tactics", etc.
Having worked in a criminal courtroom for many years ... it was ...Home Sweet Home!

But, I have to admit .... the END WAS A SHOCKER! The appeals threw me for a loop! UNBELIEVABLE!
I kept saying to myself as I read ... "These people ate NOT going to 'walk' ... are they?

The authors have captured me! Now I'm on to .... "You'll Never Find My Body!"

Try never to miss a Don Lasseter book. He is by far the best of the true crime genre. "Honeymoon With a Killer" does not disappoint. It is the story of a young Hispanic women in Southern California who has had a horrifically difficult life. The colorful lives of Mexican immigrants in Los Angeles are painted with a deft and thoughtful brush here. Enter a hard working but very naive and lonely man from a priveleged family and the temptation is too much for the wanton seductress, Rebecca, to pass up. She weaves an especially nafarious web for her unsuspecting,needy, victim. Mr. Lasseter's nuanced handling of the human condition garners him (as always) access to many intimate players in this story which really help to flesh out the characters. All of his stories are always handled in the most literary way...full of compassion and empathy for the victims and their families. Can't recommend this one strongly enough....