Customer Reviews

Murder by Family: The Incredible True Story of a Son's Treachery and a Father's Forgiveness

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Should you read this book? If you are interested in true crime as I am and in particular, interested in reading about murders that take place among family members, then I think you would be interested in reading this book. This is not a great book but it is interesting. It is an attempt to delve into the mind of a father who is hurting and who has an unconditional love for his son. The book is riddled with excuse after excuse after excuse for the murdering son Bart but comes down heavily on the young man who actually pulled the trigger. I, myself, had a lot of difficulty reading this book. I have children who are around the same age as Bart when he commissioned this heinous crime. I am not a forgiving person and so, as I read this book, I was very frustrated and found myself wincing several times (for example, when Bart was about to get married). If one of my children committed a crime of this magnitude against me or his/her siblings, I would hope that my spouse wouldn't presume to speak for me in death - I don't want to go to Disney World early (Kent Whitaker's take on his wife and son's deaths). I'm not sure I'm giving you my Death Penalty opinion or giving a book review. Am I talking about justice or forgiveness? I had to read this book - I will read every book that comes out about Bart Whitaker - a scary person who now regrets his actions (thank goodness for Rudy Rios or a murderer would still be loose). I can only think about his brother Kevin and how he lost his young life due to hate and selfishness (quite frankly, even after reading the book, I'm still not sure why all this happened). As a parent, I did learn a few lessons from this book - for example, don't be too generous with your kids - they may misinterpret your generosity. I wish Kent wrote a more comprehensive book. I wanted to get the whole story - did Bart get along with his mom and brother, how much trouble did he get into, what were his friends like, were drugs involved? This book is not enlightening. It skimmed the surface. It could have been so much better. A far better read is "Shot in the Heart" by Mikal Gilmore, the brother of killer Gary Gilmore. Although Gary did not kill a family member, Mikal Gilmore does provide a well-written story of a dysfunctional family with a killer as a member of the family. I believe all families are dysfunctional - but I wanted to know what caused Bart to do this extreme act of violence. Your jaw will drop and you'll be scratching your head over this one. Although the book was probably terribly painful for Kent Whitaker to write, if I were him, I would have done extensive interviews with all the players - Marshall Slot (the lead detective), Fred Felcman (the prosecutor), Bart's fiancé, Bart's friends, and especially, Bart. A final comment, I would have read this book even if all the review ratings were low, simply because it was written by Bart's dad and I guess I shouldn't forget that the book was really about forgiveness. I do appreciate that Kent Whitaker is donating the proceeds of this book to charity.

wow. i finished this book in 3 sittings. it was impossible to put it down. the unraveling of this story was absolutely an incredible process of unimaginable events. it was hard for me to understand why kent whitaker wrote this book. as i've researched into it, the situation seems that "it is his dog, he doesn't want anyone else to kick it..." Kent has donated every penny of his revenue from this book to charity. wow... i still cannot fathom losing my whole family... his ability to continue to live a tremendous testimony to his faith...

I confess that I read this book with a desire to understand what made Bart--the son of the author and the one who conceived the plan to kill his family--work. Rather, I found this was a book more about the spiritual journey of the father. I cannot imagine writing a book like this and I confess to feeling bad about giving the book only two stars. Still, like other reviewers, I wanted to know about Bart's childhood and more about what made him tick. One chapter does talk about what lies under the mask, and while this was revealing, the book does not explore the genesis of Bart's detachment from self.

If you are seeking to understand how a father can forgive, I recommend this book as Mr. Whittaker talks in detail of how God sovereignly allowed different circumstances and events to happen as they did and how He used them to show Mr. Whittaker that He is in charge and although we may not understand, He is all about His own glory. Mr. Whittaker also is very candid about his own anger and confusion and clearly states that some of this anger was based on not knowing all that the police knew.

If you are looking to understand the mind of a killer, you only get one chapter in the book to illumine that question.

This novel by Kent Whittaker is a quick read, partly because you cannot put it down. In the beginning, I wanted to find out HOW this could have happened. In the end, though the book is filled with Christian love and forgiveness on the part of Kent, I wanted more from the story. I wanted to know more about Bart, Kent's son who was the mastermind behind the murders of his mom and brother - and attempted murder of Kent.
I do not, in any way, mean to question Kent Whittaker - God knows he has suffered enough- but as a parent (and high school teacher) I was wanting to know WHY Kent and his wife didn't take Bart seriously on the first attmept at taking thier lives.
Still, the book is chilling. I still catch myself thinking of those young men who were involved in the first (and second) attemtps....knowing that they are still roaming the streets. So scary!

This book tells an incredible but true tale. In one night, wife Tricia Whitaker and her son Kevin Whitaker. Her husband Kent Whitaker (the author of the book) is shot in the arm and left for dead by the attacker, as well as her other son Bart. Is it a random act of violence, or a criminal with a vendetta against the family's business? No-as the police investigation uncovers, it is the act of Bart, who due to feelings of abandonment, incompetence, and hatred, has arranged to have his family murdered and himself injured in the attempt to make it look like he had nothing to do with it.

That is the basis for a lot of violence, and a lot of true crime books have dealt with the above issue before. But this book is about the forgiveness of Bart Whitaker by his Father, Kent Whitaker. Mr. Whitaker gives examples of other acts of christian forgiveness in equally horrible situations in the Bible: King David's forgiveness of his son Absalom, and Jesus's parable of the Prodigal son. In fact, Mr. Whitaker (and he discusses this in the book) life seems like that of Job's in the Bible. His path to forgiveness, and fighting for his son's life in a court room is riveting.

As you can tell by my previous reviews (if you ahve read them) I read a lot of true crime books. This one is unusual because it is by someone who is of the Christian faith, and who uses their faith to continue to have a relationship with the murderer. Mr. Whitaker writes of his memories with his children and his wife in an emotionally haunting way, and seemingly ordinary memories take on a new life with his writing skill. He has beleif in God's faith despite his personal tragedies when most people would be cursing God, and disowing their child that did this heinous crime.

I was very touched by this book, and I found myself crying at Mr. Whitaker's writing of memories of his wife and son. The page were he discussed, although briefly, how he would never be able to hold his son Bart again (due to his incarceration, and eventual death by lethal injection) saddened me immensly, and resulted in another round of tears. Near the end of the book, where Mr. Whitaker runs into Marshall Slot, a police officer who was instrumental in gaining evidence against Bart that resulted in his arrest for murder, and how he realizes that Marshall was just doing his job for the police also moved me to tears. The pictures in the middle, of a seemingly normal family, also were very upsetting to me. I cried on sight of the last pictures, which showed Bart with his brother, and of Tricia and Kevin at the restaurant. Who would have thought that such a lovely night would end so terribly.

I would have enjoyed reading more about Mr. Whitaker's family, how he met his wife, and what day to day life was like with Bart before and after the murder (his son lived with him until he went on the run for 15 months before his arrest). I am not sure why Mr. Whitaker did not include more memories of his life before the tragedy, other than they are not what he wants to remember at this time.

REading this book caused quite an emotional upheaval for me. It has caused a lot of self-reflection on myself and my family. I certainly will never see things quite the same way regarding my husband and children again. After all, what if I lost them? Would my faith sustain me? I will pray tonight for forgiveness, for Mr. Whitaker, and to forgive people in my life that have done me wrong. I will hold my husband and wrap my children in bear hugs so tight tonight and continually tell them how much I love them.

Murder by Family by Kent Whitaker is an unbelievable story of betrayal and forgiveness. What would you do if someone killed your spouse and child, shooting you as well? Could you forgive? Could you do it if you found out that it was your other child? Kent Whitaker faced just that dilemma. Returning home one night after celebrating his eldest son Bart's graduation from college, his life changed forever. He heard a shot when younger son Kevin walked into the house, another as his wife stepped forward, and as she fell, he saw a figure wearing a face mask, before Kent was hit in the shoulder from another shot. When a fourth shot rang out, Kent thought that Bart must have been shot as well, and as he lay in wracking pain and bleeding out, believed that his entire family had been killed. While lying in the hospital, Kent felt God's peace come over him, and he forgave the shooter and murderer of his wife and Kevin, but as the police quickly focused in on Bart as their number one suspect, that forgiveness was tested. Kent compares his suffering to that of King David with the betrayal of son Absalom; even though his son tried to have him killed, he did all he could to model God's unconditional love and forgiveness. Kent's story is absolutely amazing and could only be told by someone with enormous faith. I've read some poor reviews of this book, and I don't think that those reviewers can comprehend the power of faith. Kent doesn't excuse Bart's actions and faces all of the consequences of the shooting, however, I do think that he spent too much time trying to explain the inexplicable. It's a powerful story of a father's love.

What an outstanding movie this would make.

Because who could believe the facts? A happy family comes home one night to meet a masked intruder, who shoots to death two family members and nearly murders the father. A fourth, the eldest son, claims he is shot in the left arm when he came upon the intruder and struggled with him.

From the first, the police zero in on the eldest son, with gunshot wound that is minor in comparison to what the others suffered. Kent, the father, simply cannot believe that his own son could coldly murder his own mother and brother and nearly kill him. Yet, bit by bit, evidence begins to pile up, and then, suddenly, his son flees to Mexico.

What makes this book so mesmerizing is the wrenching agony of the father as he comes to grips with the knowledge of what his son has done. And then to read how, as a devout Christian, Kent painfully tries to forgive his son and heal the rift between them.

Not a book you are likely to forget.

What do you do when your wife and your son are murdered, and it turns out the main suspect turns out to be your other son? That unbelievable, yet true, proposition is what this book is about. If that doesn't catch your attention, I don't know what will.

In "Murder by Family" (211 pages), author Kent Whitaker retells the appalling, heartbreaking story of how things went astray for his family a few years ago, when his wife and youngest son were shot, and killed, upon returning home from a dinner party shortly before Christmas. The author and his oldest son were hurt, but not killed. Whitaker is a well-established Houston business man, and the family is well-rooted in a Christian community and outlook. As the weeks and months roll by following the tragedy, it becomes clear that his oldest son had some involvement in the tragedy, but what involvement exactly, and even more puzzling, why? The book lays it all out, in harrowing detail. The author's resolve in his faith in Christ is nothing short of remarkable. The very evening of the tragedy, when nothing is clear as to who is responsible, the author writes: "My heart told me that I wanted whoever was responsible to come to Christ and repent for this awful act. At that moment I felt myself completely forgiving him". Wow.

This case attracted huge media attention, and as things unfold, and it becomes clearer and clearer in which way this going, the attitude of the author remains rock-steady in his belief in, and reliance on, his faith. Absolutely remarkable. I don't know if I could the same if such a tragedy would strike my family. A must-read.

I found this book fascinating. I had watched this story on "48 Hours" and on "Oprah" and was interested in the forgiveness this father had for the son that murdered the rest of the family. I must say that while I find his forgiveness amazing, I am not convinced of his son's repentance but, then again, I don't have to be. I felt bad for the father, but do think the son got what he deserved especially since the murder was his third attempt to kill his family. If his friend had been a better shot, the father wouldn't be here to tell his story either. I was also appalled that the son didn't seem to have any problem finding morally corrupt people to help him. I think they all should have gotten the death penalty, although the son was the worst since it was his family that he should have wanted to protect--it was the ultimate betrayal. I hope the father finds peace in this life and I think he will if he hasn't already thanks to his deep faith. I was happy to hear the treatment that the son receives in prison--I think that's what all prisons should be like. I don't feel bad for the son at all. I think he had to be a sociopath to do this. I don't buy the "poor me, I didn't like myself but now I am better" defense at all. My sympathies go the victims not the murderer.

In his book, Kent Whitaker has achieved what our world often declares as impossible--forgiveness for the unforgiveable. Through heart-wrenching accounts, Whitaker walks the reader through his most terrifying moments of truth. I heard his anguish in his carefully penned words. I wondered if I could have had that much faith and courage to reach out to a son who orchestrated his family's murder. This book is about strength and the ability to love unconditionally.
I admire Whitaker's faith and courage to reach out to readers with his dynamic and tragic story.