The Murder of Meredith Kercher [Paperback]

Gary C. King (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2010

One morning in early November 2007, police in the beautiful Italian city of Perugia made a gruesome discovery. The body of a young English exchange student from the University of Leeds, Meredith Kercher, was found under a blood-soaked duvet in her room in the small cottage she shared with other students. Her throat had been cut. Meredith's flatmate Amanda Knox, an American also studying in Italy, initially gave evidence that implicated Patrick Lumumba, the owner of a local bar, and he was arrested. However, Knox changed her story—claiming her memory had been affected by smoking cannabis—and another man, local drifter Rudy Guede, was arrested, charged with murder and, after a "fast track" trial, found guilty. But the story didn't end with Guede's conviction. What was Amanda Knox's role on the night of the murder? Prosecutors suspected that Guede, Knox and her Italian boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito had killed Meredith in a perverted sexual game that went too far. With allegations of inaccurate forensic evidence, police brutality, blackmail, and even devil-worship, the trial was destined to be a long and complex affair. Top true-crime author Gary C. King presents the whole story behind the real-life courtroom drama that has made headlines around the world.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Gary C. King is the author of An Almost Perfect Murder, Angels of Death,

Blood Lust: Portrait of a Serial Sex Killer, Butcher, An Early Grave, and Stolen in the Night.

Product Details

• Paperback: 238 pages
• Publisher: John Blake; 1st edition (April 1, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 184454902X
• ISBN-13: 978-1844549023
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,132,695 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gary C. King, a freelance author and lecturer, is regarded by readers and critics alike as one of the world's foremost crime writers, a reputation he has earned over the last 31 years with the publication of more than 400 articles in true crime magazines in the United States, Canada, and England. King took over Ann Rule's job as Pacific Northwest stringer for True Detective, Official Detective, Inside Detective, Front Page Detective, and Master Detective magazines, writing hundreds of articles under various names until those magazines ceased publication in the mid-1990s. More recently he has found alternate venues for his stories, including TruTV's Crime Library. He has published several "classic" true crime stories for Investigation Discovery, which can be found on their website. He is also the author of several true crime books including: Blood Lust: Portrait of a Serial Sex Killer, Driven to Kill, Web of Deceit, Blind Rage, Savage Vengeance (with Don Lasseter), An Early Grave, The Texas 7, Murder in Hollywood, Angels of Death, Stolen in the Night, Love, Lies, and Murder, and An Almost Perfect Murder, which is about the murder of Nevada State Controller Kathy Augustine by succinylcholine poisoning administered by her husband, critical-care nurse Chaz Higgs. King also wrote Butcher, about Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton, which was published by Pinnacle Books in April 2009. King recently finished work on Rage, about millionaire Reno, Nevada businessman Darren Mack, who murdered his wife, Charla, in 2006 and then shot and seriously injured their divorce judge, Chuck Weller, with a high-powered rifle from a parking garage facing the judge's chambers. Rage is scheduled for publication by Pinnacle Books in July 2010. King also wrote The Murder of Meredith Kercher, which was published by John Blake Publishing, Ltd., in January 2010.

Driven to Kill, the story of serial child killer Westley Allan Dodd's killing spree, was published in April 1993 by Pinnacle Books and was nominated for an Anthony Award in the Best True Crime Book category at Bouchercon 25.

Blood Lust: Portrait of a Serial Sex Killer, details the bizarre case of Dayton Leroy Rogers, Oregon's worst serial killer to date. Blood Lust was published in December 1992 under NAL/Dutton's Onyx imprint as an original paperback. A German language edition of Blood Lust was published later, in 1995. Both Blood Lust and Driven to Kill were chosen as featured selections of Doubleday's True Crime Book Club.

King has also written articles on several celebrated cases that include: "Son of Sam" David Berkowitz; the Hillside Stranglers; Jim Jones and the Guyana Massacre; D.B. Cooper; Gary Gilmore; John Lennon's killer, Mark David Chapman; and Seattle's bizarre Chinatown Massacre in the 1980s. He has also contributed to several true crime compilations books with various publishers.

The subjects of King's other books include: Blind Rage, about suspected serial murderer Darren Dee O'Neall, published by Dutton-Signet under their Onyx imprint in August 1995, and was reprinted in 2001 by the Mystery Writers of America/iUniverse. Savage Vengeance, co-written with Don Lasseter, was published in 1996. An Early Grave, published by St. Martin's Press (SMP), is about the mysterious death of Las Vegas casino scion Ted Binion; The Texas 7: A True Story of Murder and a Daring Escape, (SMP) about the infamous Texas prison break in which a dedicated cop with a family was brutally murdered; Murder in Hollywood, (SMP) about the murder of Bonny Lee Bakley, actor Robert Blake's wife; Angels of Death, (SMP) a story detailing the murder of Terry King in Florida, purportedly committed by King's 12- and 13-year-old sons, Derek and Alex King; and Stolen in the Night, (SMP) about the horrific Joseph Edward Duncan III case out of Idaho. Love, Lies, and Murder is about the riveting Perry March case, the shady Nashville lawyer who was convicted of second-degree murder in the death of his wife, Janet, and for plotting the murders of Janet's parents, from Pinnacle Books.

King's television appearances have included Entertainment Tonight, Larry King Live, Inside Edition, Court TV, MSNBC's Headliners and Legends, E!, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Extra TV, and several other programs. He also frequently provides radio interviews. Upcoming interviews include an episode of Biography about serial killer Robert "Willie" Pickton, the subject of Butcher, and an episode of Dominick Dunne's Power, Privilege, and Justice called "Strange Bedfellows," about the murder of Nevada State Controller Kathy Augustine and the subject of King's An Almost Perfect Murder.

King is an active member of the Authors Guild, Mystery Writers of America, American Crime Writers League, American Society of Journalists and Authors, The Crime Writers' Association (U.K.), National Press Club, Society of Professional Journalists, International Thriller Writers, Investigative Reporters and Editors (I.R.E.), and the International Association of Crime Writers.

King is represented by Peter Miller of PMA Literary and Film Management.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I really enjoyed this book, November 30, 2011

By 

Vivian Ellingson "J V Vivian Ellingson" (Salt Lake City) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Murder of Meredith Kercher (Paperback)

This is a good book, very objective. I read it after the verdict was overturned. This author was correct on the shoddy evidence and the creepy bias of the prosecution.

43 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not really an impartial analysis, February 3, 2010

By 

Retired Farmer - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Murder of Meredith Kercher (Paperback)

I have been following this case for years, and have read 2 other books as well as a literally hundreds of articles and thousands of posts on Forums and Blogs about this horrific murder.

(Yes, I am retired).

My personal opinion of this book on a scale with 10 being highest would rate at best a 2.

I was less than impressed with Mr King's presentation of facts along with his sequence and selectivity.

This in as well as his particular style of prose concealing his subtle suggestions of innocence, yet all the while trumpeting the reader to form his own.

For example another reviewer states as an opener: ".... he gives the reader all of the facts but lets them come to their own conclusions about the convicted trio's guilt."

But the same reviewer closes with:

"What's particularly ugly about this case (apart from the terrible waste of a young life) is the fact that so much reportage has centred around Amanda Fox's apparently colourful sex life. Why shouldn't a young, single girl have a series of boyfriends? Much was also made of the fact that she bought new lingerie shortly after the murder, but police had sealed off the murder scene and denied her access to her clothes."

This Tabloid trial and other similar themes are sneakily echoed throughout Mr King's effort.

The intent is obvious to me.

Mr King's conclusions are very similar to what the highly paid Public Relations Firm hired by Amanda's Father wants all the media to mantra for the masses, i.e Amanda is innocent, and convicted only because of Tabloid Press.

Few people care about her knickers or colorful sex life.

What the above reviewer and Mr King conveniently omit is testimony from the Shop Keeper about the inappropriate and odd behavior of her while buying a thong and giggling with her Italian lover about the "hot sex" it will inspire...all within hours of seeing her Roommate in a pool of blood.

Finally, RE: her "series of boyfriends" (actually she wrote herself (7) seven sex partners by her first week or so in Italy).

What the public found somewhat unusual was not so much the series, but for example her bragging that one of the seven was a complete stranger that she serviced in the toilet of an Italian train while her sister waited.

Yes, I have experienced the ambiance of those toilets, and contrary to Mr King, and incidentally also her Father, Curt, I find that definitely well beyond the ordinary, series acceptability notwithstanding.

In conclusion (no pun), when 19 unbiased judges unanimously decided that sufficient evidence existed to charge Amanda and her Italian Lover with murder, and then 8 more jurists after listening to some highly respected defense lawyers unsuccessfully attempt to discredit that evidence for over a year in Court, they also unanimously declared them guilty, I find Mr King's somewhat subtle pandering for the BIG $$ Public relations spin about "your own conclusions" to be personally repugnant and repulsive.

I suggest potential readers be patient and hope for better from the ensuing efforts of other authors soon to surface.

34 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Lets be real, March 22, 2010

By 

Cesare Beccaria (Italy) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Murder of Meredith Kercher (Paperback)

To much silliness has been said about this case. There was no "inaccurate forensic evidence", no "police brutality" and no "devil worship theory". It is a very plain simple case of murder by three idiots that probably had no intention to kill but, high on drugs, went beyond their intentions and caused the death of a girl.

Despite the millions of dollars spent by the Knox family in order to try to influence, without success, the American media on the innocence of their daughter, there is tons and tons of evidence that places Amanda Knox, her boyfriend and their partner in crime Rudy Guede at the murder scene. It was only thanks to their lawyers, undoubtedly the best attorneys in Italy, that their case is still raising some very minor doubt in public opinion. Without these great legal counsels, all three would have confessed long ago and there would not have been books written on this case.