Customer Reviews

Partners In Evil: The Shocking True Story of a Fantasy Turned Deadly

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

 

 

I don't understand the negative reviews of this book at all. I've been a voracious true crime reader for over a decade and I am as certain to enjoy a Steve Jackson book as I am Ann Rule. I consider him the crime writer for Colorado as Ann Rule is for the Pacific Northwest. This book does a great job of detailing the characters involved and is sensitive to the victim. Yes, the crime was solved right away, but that doesn't make understanding why they did it and the events leading up to it and afterwards any less interesting. I enjoyed every page of it and look forward to everything else Steve Jackson writes in the future. Definately worth it for true crime lovers!

I have read many true crime books over the years and by far the most appealing aspect of this book is the sensitivity shown by the author with respect to the family of the victim. As is unfortunately the case, the rights of the accussed often outweigh those of the victim and this book is a startling reminder of this. The horrendous suffering of this victim is overlooked by defense attorneys who wish to profit from a tragedy. I can only hope that the family of this victim can gain some level of peace with the knowledge that this book has allowed the memory of their daughter's special character to prosper.

The author not only grabs the reader's attention from the very first page, he places this horrific crime in historical context with other death penalty cases. Steve Jackson has done his homework! The reader gets to know Jacine and her family and whether one agrees with the death penalty or not, you cannot help but feel the pain of Jacine's parents. I will never forget her smiling face. This book is a must read for readers of true crime.

First, I must say that I am saddened by the horrifying experience that Jacine Gielinski went through in April of 1997. This reveiw, however, focuses on Partners in Evil, Steve Jackson's book regarding that horrendous incident.

As evident by the subtitle (The Shocking True Story of a Fantasy Turned Deadly), as well as the material appearing on the back cover, which is replete with emotionally charged adjectives and adverbs, it is more than obvious that the intent of Jackson and his publisher is to intice readers to purchase and read what promises to be a titillating account of a "gruesome" crime and its "twisted" perpetrators who are filled with "sexual bloodlust."

Apart from the obvious sensationalism, it seem as if Jackson is confused as to what type of book he wants to write. Partners in Evil tries to be at times a "true crime" novel, at other times a diary of the thoughts and feelings of Jacine's family, and at still other times a nonfiction account of the history and righteousness of the death penalty in Colorado. It's possible that if Jackson had chosen just one of these premises, his book would have seemed a bit less disjointed. Even so, I believe that the book would still display its large number of typographical errors and its strong one-sidedness, as well as its questionable accuracy.

The one-sidedness (Jackson uses the book as a pulpit from which to extol the virtues of capital punishment) and typographical errors (indicative of a lack of attention to detail by both Jackson and his editor) will be obvious to any reader. But how, you may ask, can I accuse the book of being less than accurate? I can do this because I am one of the crime scene investigators who was involved in the case, as well as in several other cases touched upon in the book. In fact, a number of the photographs appearing in the book and credited to the Colorado Springs Police Department were taken by me and the captions under at least two of the book's photographs are obviously not correct. The inaccuracies, however, are not confined to Salmon and Woldt's case, but extend into other cases mentioned in the book as well.

A reviewer before me says that Jackson has "done his homework." If that's true, then it appears to be the type of homework that a student does when he prepares for a book report by purchasing and skimming through a copy of Cliff's Notes instead of reading the assigned book. I have no doubt that lovers of "crime fiction" and of "true crime" will enjoy this book. It is, in fact entertaining, as I am sure that it is intended to be. But a mild word of caution as you turn the pages: don't believe everything you read.

Please do not assume by this review that I feel that what happened to Jacine Gielinski is either trivial or excusable. It isn't. I feel badly for Jacine and for all that knew her, especially her parents, Bob and Peggy Luiszer. I understand that Steve Jackson may have felt that this story needed to be told. But maybe for Jackson's next "true" crime book, he will decide to look at all sides of the issue and to be a little more thorough when doing his "homework."

I lived in Colorado Springs and worked for the sheriff's department at the time that this case happened. What was done to Jacine was horrible, and Woldt was known for being a sociopath and narcissist. Jackson does a good job going indepth into Woldt and Salmon's history, and trying to find a reason that this happened in the first place.

Steve Jackson writes this book for the family of the victim of a heinous crime. He stomps his foot up and down and bemoans the injustice of the justice system, unfortunately, his foot is stomping on the US Constitution. The book slanders defense attorneys and Judges that Jackson doesn't even interview or, it seems, attempt to contact. Jackson admits that it was written with cooperation only from the prosecutors and the victims family presenting a completely one sided, liablous,travesty that does not even attempt to explain the justice system and does not mention the Constitution, the foundation of the justice system; once.