Customer Reviews

Perfect Murder, Perfect Town: JonBenet and the City of Boulder

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(25)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

This is a book about three distinct, yet intimately interrelated stories, told as one. First, there is the story of the murder of JonBenét Ramsey; second, the story of the investigation of that murder and the antagonism between the Boulder Police Department and the District Attorney's office; and third, the media coverage of these events.

I think Schiller does a workman-like job on all three, but for readers primarily interested in the story of the murder of JonBenét, this book, at about 800 pages, is a bit too much. For those interested in the politics and pecking order of the judicial system as practiced in Boulder, Colorado, this is probably a fascinating read from cover to cover. The story of the media is also interesting, but too narrowly focused on the tabloid coverage, especially the material about Jeff Shaprio, then working for the Globe. Stories from the local (Colorado) media are quoted liberally throughout the text, but the day-to-day inner workings of the local press is not detailed. Some of this material seems pasted in as though Schiller began to weary of his subject. The detail about the Colorado judicial system, often presented in footnotes at the bottom of pages, was legalistic and not really illuminating. Additionally the text is marred by typos of the kind not caught by spell checkers, including the wrong "their" near the bottom of page 385, an extraneous article on line 11, page 501, and most significantly, an "isn't" for an "is" on page 227. (Actually the sentence in that footnote doesn't make sense with either an "isn't" as written, or an "is" as seems indicated.)

On the plus side Schiller does an excellent job of making some of the players come to life including the very tricky Jeff Shapiro, the tabloid reporter who insinuated himself into the district attorney's offices, made friends with the Boulder police, joined Ramsey's church and even talked at length with John Ramsey on the phone (something Schiller was not able to do). The portrait of the sincere and tremendously dedicated Det. Steve Thomas was also good, as was that of retired detective Lou Smit, who befriended the Ramseys. Boulder County District Attorney Alex Hunter comes across primarily as a politician. I also appreciated the floor plan of the Ramsey house in Appendix A and the character list at the back of the book. The name index was also valuable, although I think there should have been a subject index as well.

Because I didn't know the details of the case before reading this book, for me, the most important parts are pages 497-499, where the FBI profilers present their extremely powerful arguments against the intruder theory, and pages 660-670 where there is a summation of the evidence gathered by the Boulder police.

Reading between the lines we can see that John Ramsey himself is a slightly "superior," somewhat cold and calculating man with some prejudice against the relatively liberal culture of Boulder, Colorado and against the poor (see page 690 where he argues that Bill McReynolds, who played "Santa Claus," should be a suspect partly because "he doesn't have two nickels to rub together"). Nonetheless one imagines that John Ramsey loved his daughter (and she loved him) so that it is untenable to think that he could have deliberately murdered her. Furthermore he has too much control of himself to have accidentally struck and killed her. On the other hand Patsy Ramsey comes across as someone with particularly shallow values predicated almost entirely on appearance who has a temper that she could very well lose. Her love for her daughter is less clear than her husband's, although her need for JonBenét to succeed and thereby reflect favorably upon herself is very strong. One imagines that she could punish her daughter very severely but outside of public scrutiny. One further imagines she would seek to cover up anything that would make her look bad. One very telling observation in the book (p. 13) is that the ransom note was the "War and Peace of ransom notes." The Patsy Ramsey seen in this book is a person who does everything in a flamboyant and overdone manner.

I don't think, however, that the evidence as presented here is strong enough to draw a definite conclusion about who killed JonBenét. One thing is clear: John and Patsy Ramsey are either monstrously unlucky, or they are monsters.

I first read "Perfect Murder, Perfect Town" when the hardback came out. When the grand jury reached its no-prosecution decision, my reaction was, sadly, "What took you so long?" The JonBenet case was a mess from the git-go and probably few people believe justice will ever be done, at least not the people who take the trouble to read Schiller's well researched and accurate book.

The crime scene was messed up before the little girl's body was even found and things just went spinning out of control. The Boulder police weren't flat-out incompetent, they were just out of their league dealing with this type of murder. Part of the trouble with this case--for us spectators, anyway--was that it was made for trash journalism more than for serious print. The Ramseys are an attractive couple who lived in a nice house in a wealthy neighborhood in a photogenic city and had an adorable little girl who left a legacy of charming videos--grist for TV and tabs. Tragically, children from less privileged backgrounds are killed everyday and we don't hear about it.

But Schiller, a serious journalist, had to contend with an overwhelming mass of details and confusing, often contradictory evidence, not to mention some real prima donna-type egos in the Boulder law-enforcement and legal community. I think he did a very good job in presenting all those details--but I don't deny that at times "Perfect Murder, Perfect Town" is rough going. It just doesn't have that neat, three-act structure of most true-crime accounts, and it probably never will. But you can read this book for an account of how well the system DOESN'T work and draw your own conclusions as to what might have happened that fateful holiday night in 1996.

Lawrence Schiller's "Perfect Murder, Perfect Town" dispassionately presents the evidence in the JonBenet Ramsey murder case and lets the reader decide. Most of the criticism of this voluminous book are that Schiller does not tell us who killed JonBenet-it does not end like some great detective novel with the killer finally revealed on the last page. Schiller, rightly I think, takes us through the contradictions and twists and turns of the case without imposing his point of view. He also shows us why it is so difficult to solve this complicated case. The author also reveals, sadly, how an indictment of the killer will probably never occur. This is illustrated by the conclusions of two different detectives-both with access to the same evidence. One firmly believes that the Ramseys are the culprits while the other passionately argues not only that the murderer was an intruder but that the Ramseys are innocent. While certainly there is a cloud of suspicion over the Ramseys, because some compelling evidence points to them, there is equally compelling evidence that points away from them.

I gave this book four stars because, while the book is exhaustive in its presentation of the evidence, I believe that too much time was spent on the politics of the investigation and the disputes between the District Attorney and the police-this part of the story is just not that interesting. Schiller would have had a tighter and more engrossing book if he had just focused on the evidence. Nonetheless, even at 814 pages, this is a compelling read. [Note: Schiller does the reader a great service by providing a "Character List" with the name and a brief description of each participant in the case. Consequently, if one person shows up several times, but separated by several hundred pages, you can immediately jog your memory as to who that person is.]

As a law enforcement officer I followed this case in the credible papers and television news. I never read the tabloids. When I heard an unbiased and credible book was going to be released I knew I would have to read it. This book is exactly that. The author provides many insights into the crime as well as the political power plays in the DA's Office and Boulder Police. The author sets forth the facts and lets the reader decide who is guilty. I admit I believed Patsy Ramsey is guilty of this murder before I read the book and still do after reading it. Patsy Ramsey, like O.J. Simpson, is sitting back laughing at their respective DA's Offices and local Police Departments. The reader will too. It is hard to believe that grown, professional individuals acted this way. If anything, this book insures that DA Alex Hunter and the Boulder Police Department, except for a handful of detectives, will live in incompetent infamy along with the Simpson jury. The book does have moments of repetition that could have been avoided. Other than that flaw, this is a very well researched and written book on the JBR murder investigation.

If you're a reader of typical true-crime books and require a format with a beginning, middle, and end in order to be satisfied, you may be disappointed by PMPT. But if you are an armchair detective who loves to have access to tons of details that allow you to draw your own conclusions, you should love it as much as I did. Many complain that it is just a rehash of information that was already known. I don't agree. Tucked into these pages you'll meet characters who have not made the news and you'll discover new details about those who have. The book's format is primarily chronological which may, to some, appear to be poor organization. I think it's perfect organization. This volume is a collection of historical artifacts related to the crime and to the town (at least the part of the town that is connected to the investigation of the crime and/or its political makeup). Do not expect to be given a point of view of by the authors. That is not their purpose. They merely offer information and leave it to you to decide if it's pertinent. In that way, the book is like an investigation. Investigators must collect all manner of information and sort through it to get to what they believe has some bearing on the crime. Schiller and Brennan provide you with that opportunity -- via interviews with, and facts about, a vast array of characters and background information on the environment in which the Ramsey murder was committed. Some of the material may not be of interest to you (all of it interested me), but it's easy enough to skip ahead to what does interest you. The text is divided up into somewhat brief narrative nuggets, each of which deals with a specific interview or piece of information or event. As you begin each nugget you will quickly see if this is an area that excites your interest. My only complaints: no pictures, no index, and I wish I'd known that a floor plan of the house and a descriptive list of characters was waiting at the back of the book. I would have liked to have used the floor plan and character list as I read, but did not know either was there until I reached the end of the book. A list of errata and corrections created by the publisher and an index to the book created by readers are available online (visit Mrs. Brady's site to get the links). If you're just now starting the book, search out these valuable resources and keep them at your side as you read.

This book is the best compilation of the facts that I've read and I've read all of the published books on this murder. Most of the other books are clearly biased either to show that the Ramseys murdered their daughter or to show that they didn't. This book is just the facts but the facts will lead the reader to the only explanation - Either Patsy did it or Patsy knew who did. She definately covered it up.

A lot of information was here that I' hadn't seen anywhere else. For example, on the Ramsey last interviews, the detectives got Patsy to become quite hostile and show her true side (the bad temper), for a while she forgot to display her devout Christian/Southern Bell/Beauty Queen image. It's a shame that the public didn't get to see it.

We also see how the Ramsey's money and influence has kept justice from being done. An inexperienced police force, a timid and image conscience prosecuter, and the Ramsey's high dollar lawyers all contributed to allowing them to get away with murder.

This book gives an overview of the case thus far as well as a look at all of the childish bickering that has gone on between the police, the Ramsey attorneys and Hunter. The account within the pages has given me some insight as to why the public has charged the Ramseys with the murder. There is a wealth of information that leave me with questions as toward the parent's innocence. Why won't they take a polygraph? for example. Also the enhanced 911 call that reveals John talking to Burke. While the writer does not set out to accuse anybody of the murder, this book gives credance to the public suspicion of the Ramseys.

Schiller lays it all out for us. He clearly demonstrates why this case has for so long perplexed the FBI, the police, private detectives, friends and foe of the Ramsey's, and the American public.

This is not in anyway an unsatisfying read for those of us that want to learn about every theory, every scenario, every detail, not out of morbid fascination but because this is a mind-boggling case. It is the firsthand accounts of people who new the Ramsey's and their family, those who witnessed the Ramsey's in those first hours in the aftermath of finding JonBenet's body, those who sifted through testimonies, and what remained of uncompromised evidence. It is not the author's intent to tell you "Who Dunit" but to provide (which he does, brilliantly) information and scenarios that proves a clear cut answer to this crime was and still seems to be up there in limbo.

Remember the case of Lindy and Michael Chamberlain and baby Azaria? - that story certainly serves as a cautionary tale to those of us who would smugly rush to judgement about the Ramsey's guilt. To convict, especially in a case so "celebrated" as this, there has to be powerful, indisputable evidence that leaves no room for "reasonable doubt." A case plagued by monumental blunders; a couple tried and convicted in the media; and the diametrically opposed points of view passionately held by all manner of officials involved in this case can not produce the "killer" in a nice neat package - no matter how certain people are that "they're guilty" or "they're innocent!" Isn't that one of the points that Schiller makes clear?

I read this book in two evenings and could not put it down.

It's easy to understand why readers may find this book tedious. Schiller's underlying thesis is that the case is not as simple to solve as it may at first seem, and he presents various sides of the story in the spirit of objectivity. However, he often gives peripheral characters far too much attention, as in the case of Jeff Shapiro, a duplicitous reporter from the Globe who redefines opportunism with his behavior. If you have time and patience, you may appreciate the multifaceted nuances of media manipulation and interference (most people are reasonably aware of the media's power and influence). But if you want to stick to the facts of the case, you'll find that Schiller scatters them throughout, being careful not to be conclusive. No matter how you look at the JonBenét murder, even with the details presented in Schiller's book,the preponderance of the evidence points to someone in the house. The book is infuriating because the case itself is infuriating when one considers the following: 1.) the compromising of the crime scene by police officers and others who were unable to follow even the most basic evidence-protecting procedures, 2.) the DA's lack of trial experience and dependence on plea-bargaining, and 3.) the Ramsey's power to insulate themselves through lawyers, privately hired investigators, and a press representative. Instead of a "Perfect Murder," it was a perfect mess, since Alex Hunter, the DA, seemed to be far more concerned with avoiding a trial and shifting his decision-making responsibilities onto others. He even talked freely to the press and Ramsey attorneys, often debunking the honest efforts of the Boulder Police investigators due to personality and political conflicts that should have had no bearing on the case. One gets to see Hunter's side in Schiller's book as well, and it is professionally disgraceful. The "Perfect Town" part of the title is gratuitous, since the American public is no longer shocked by atrocious acts committed in seemingly perfect settings (i.e. Martha Moxley murder). Schiller, in his attempt to be another Norman Mailer, takes 750 pages to be "objective"--and by talking about everything, he almost manages to talk about nothing. Nevertheless, his book may be useful as a background resource, but true crime readers may be rightfully annoyed by his copious, tangential discussions that tend to be irrelevant. I strongly recommend Steve Thomas' book, JonBenét: Inside the Ramsey Murder Investigation. It is clear, concise, and chronological. Moreover, Thomas investigated the case himself and had intimate knowledge of the evidence. Even if one disagrees with Thomas' conclusions, his book is a far more organized and succinct attempt at explaining the difficulties associated with this case.

Schiller did a LOT of research on this case - and he did NOT get all the cooporation he asked for. (I was among those who refused to sit with him and go into detail about my part of the story.) Considering the handicaps he had, I think he did his best, did a decent job - a very decent job.

There were mistakes in the hardcover copy of the book; he has improved the paperback and is still learning the facts of this case. He has promised to continue to improve what is the best book out there so far.

I would have people read the book because it IS an important book - but I would want the readers to note that Schiller did not have access to the Ramseys, and many of their family and friends would not participate.

The story is not finished. But the book is a good place to start a study of the case.