Customer Reviews

Invitation to a Murder: 48 Hours (48 Hours Mystery)

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

 

 

I saw this story on 48 Hours, bought the book, and was not disappointed. Although you never do really find out the motive behind Mark Winger's murder of his wife (the reason for the murder of Roger Harrington is clear enough), you do get a very in-depth look at what went on behind the scenes to reveal Mark's culpability. The only reasons I did not give this book 5 stars are (1) way too many typographical and editing errors, and (2) way too many references to 48 Hours. For example, Ira Drescher was referred to as Donnah's father-in-law on p. 206 when he was actually her step-father. Barbara Harrington was referred to as Roger's older sister and as his younger sister -- which was it? In the last half of the book, there are way too many references to 48 Hours, and all it does is distract the reader. For example, during the trial the prosecutors were worried that all the expert testimony would distract the jurors. "48 Hours producer Doug Longhini . . . thought the concern was legitimate." Who cares? Instead of just including what somebody said, the author continually includes the fact that the person "told 48 Hours". These are not reasons to avoid this book, because overall it's a well-told story.

Excellent book. I read a lot of true crime and as we all know, a lot of the books are not very good. This was well written and kept my attention. I would highly recommend this for true crime fans. It was nice to see that, due to the dedication of one law officer, the evilness was finally put to rest.

I remember watching the 48 Hours about this crime & thinking how close this man came to getting away with murder. This is a very interesting and easy read. Highly recommended to all true crime readers.

Donnah Winger was an outgoing, fun-loving, new mother when - on August 29, 1995 - she was beaten to death with a hammer in her own home as her newly adopted daughter lay in a bedroom just down the hall.

Who could commit such a vicious, cold-blooded killing in the middle of the afternoon?

According to her husband, Mark, it was the driver of an airport shuttle van service which Donnah had used just a few days before her death. A man known as Roger Harrington.

Mark Winger told a compelling, heart-wrenching story of hearing a thump and running to see what happened; only to be greeted by the gruesome attack on Donnah by Harrington.

And police believed him...for four years.

One detective, however, never bought what Mark was selling and tried to warn his fellow investigators. Unfortunately, the higher-ups of the Springfield, Illinois police department weren't listening.

Until Mark's mistress at the time of the murder stepped forward.

What ensues is a full scale investigation to bring Mark Winger to justice for killing not only his wife, but an innocent man; a man whose family, for years, had suffered the shame and humiliation as parents of an alleged murderer.

I first became interested in the Mark Winger case after watching CBS's 48 Hours episode on the subject (and the basis of this book).

This 336 page book is filled with more detail than could be crammed into an hour long television show. Even those who watched the documentary will be pleasantly surprised at the behind-the-scenes information contained within Invitation to a Murder: 48 Hours (48 Hours Mystery).

Could not put this book down. Finished it in 2 days. Thoroughly enjoyed this author's insight. True Crime fans -- a must read!!

does not seem to follow the story line i saw on investigation discovery but it is holding my interest. i love these kinds of stories. i was expecting the book to be in the larger paper backs for it is hard for me to read these smaller ones. since i have seen the case on television it is not so bad in this smaller paper back. it will take me a while to read it. when i do read it totally ingrosses me and i do not want to put it down.

This story is too weird to be true, yet it is. The crime was very grisly, the characters seemed like your neighbors, but nothing seemed quite right. From the first page this book draws the reader into this bizaar scene. However, though the crime is horrific and the book tells an interesting story, I think the writing style isn't up to a 5 star. I was left thinking that maybe another author could have done more with the book, going more in depth into all the characters (like Ann Rule does so brilliantly) or fill us with more emotion and connection to the victim. The whole books seems to be trying to achieve these things, but never quite makes it. It just could have been so much better! I do recommend this book to anyone who loves True Crime.

I enjoyed reading the layout of this book. The story is very unfortunate, but the writer gives you a great view of the situation. The story was writen very well. After reading the book, I googled the case, and I feel that more information was disclosed in the book than online. I also learned alot about 48 Hours and how they are involved in these types of cases. Good Book! Creepy Story!

This true-crime story tells of a beautiful woman killed by a male intruder in a nice Illinois suburban home. Donna's husband Mark has killed the attacker, but one rookie detective doesn't buy his home invasion story, and begins an investigation into a spousal murder that almost succeeded - and a perfect marriage gone awry. Hard to put down, this novel of true crime is a winner.

The above book "Invitation to a murder" is set in Springfield, Illinois. A man, Roger Harrington, attacks and kills a helpless wife and mother, Donnah Winger in her home in what appears to be a home invasion. He kills her. Donnah's husband, Mark Winger, comes home, sees his wife being attacked, and kills the intruder. Case closed, end of story-or is it? Is Donnah's husband Mark the hero everyone, including the police, makes him out to be?

Mark's suspicious behavior-not grieving for his wife, taking up with his nanny, and breaking off of relationships he had had for years with Donnah's friends-seemed suspicious to relatives. Then, a witness comes forward with devastating information on Mark and his seemingly "perfect" relationship with his wife Donnah, and Mark's tale unravels. Couple that with photographic evidence taken at the scene that was not really looked at until four years after the crime occured, and the real story is told....and I don't want to give any more plot spoilers!

The story behind this book is great, which makes for interesting reading, despite the lackluster writing style with little/no description of feelings of characters, conversations characters may have, etc. The masterful, yet late true crime writer Jack Olsen; or the current incredible true crime writer Carlton Stowers would have had a much different take on the events in this book(and boy do I wish one of them would have written it). There is very little insight into Mark Winger's motivations for this terrible crime in this book. The book would have been better if Mark Winger had granted an interview for the book. The book would also have been improved with interviews from the key witness DeAnn Schultz. However, the pictures shown in the middle of the victims and their families, as well as the chief detectives who finally cracked the case, make it interesting.