Poison Mind [Mass Market Paperback]

Jeffrey Good (Author), Susan Goreck (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 1996

Doctors were baffled when warmhearted Peggy Carr was rushed to the hospital with fiery burning sensations. Days later her two sons fell ill with the same horrifying symptoms. As Peggy lay writhing in an agony of slow death, the doctors' bewilderment turned to horror when they discovered the three had ingested massive doses of the fatal chemical thallium. But how were they poisoned? And by whom?

Soon, the FBI's psychological profile pointed to the family's next door neighbor, George Trepal, an eccentric computer whiz and member of the high I.Q. club, Mensa. But why would a man who was married to a doctor and seemed to be living a normal life commit such a cold-blooded act? And how did he do it without leaving any evidence? It was a crime so brilliantly concealed, police feared he might get away with it. Now it was up to policewoman Susan Goreck to go undercover--an enter the twisted mind of a sadistic psychopath.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Many of us have had neighbors whose loud music, objectionable habits, or destruction of property get on our nerves. This is the story of a man who got so annoyed, he poisoned his neighbors with an extremely painful nerve toxin. The personalities are what make the book: the cartoon-character nerd who was a disgruntled househusband to a female orthopedist, the quietly charming policewoman who went undercover to get the goods on him, the loving Southern family who suffered so much. And there's a revelation at the end of the story that will appall you. As the New York Times wrote, "Florida, the cradle of creepiness in detective fiction, offers up some weird criminals in real life, too.... The authors are good at portraying the oddly disconnected society of small-town Florida, as well as the man who almost committed the perfect crime there."

From Publishers Weekly

Journalist Good and undercover cop Goreck detail Goreck's investigation of a cold-blooded killer with a genius IQ.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (November 15, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312960166
• ISBN-13: 978-0312960162
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,248,584 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Posion Mind describes a mysterious death in Central Florida, October 25, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Lake Placid, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Poison Mind (Mass Market Paperback)

This book is well written and fast paced. It describes the death of Peggy Carr, and the subsequent conviction of George Trepal for that murder. The book is co-authored by the the Polk County, Florida Deputy Sherif who conducted the major investigation of the case. Her undercover work provided clues. While the book presents fully and fairly the eveidence in the case, it can be seen that the court system failed to carry out justice fairly. There is sufficient evidence and doubt raised by the evidence presented to legally acquit Mr. Trepal. Finally, the book hints that Dr. Diana Carr, Trepal's wife may have had a part in the crime, but presents no evidence to that end. This inuendo seems to be merely the officer/author's unfounded conclusions.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The why of murder always fascinates me so much more than the how. - Ann Rule, January 24, 2011

By 

stoic (Mobile AL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Poison Mind (Mass Market Paperback)

The "why" behind the murders in Poisoned Mind certainly is unique.

Poisoned Mind is the story of a fantastic murder in Florida in 1988. George Trepal is a certified genius and member of Mensa - but he could never find a place in the conventional world. By the late-1980s, Trepal had married a surgeon and lived his life pursuing various hobbies while his wife earned a living.

Things seemed to be going fairly well, until Trepal began to have conflicts with his working-class next-door neighbors - the Carrs. After the conflicts intensified, several of the Carrs became very sick and one member of the family died. Poisoned Mind is the story of police's attempts to bring Trepal to justice for the murders.

The best thing about Poisoned Mind is that it is an interesting story. If someone wrote this as fiction, no one would believe it. As the story progresses, there are enough "hooks" to keep the pages turning.

Police eventually decided to solve the murder by having a policewoman - Susan Goreck - go undercover and befriend the lonely Trepal. Goreck is one of the co-authors of Poisoned Mind and the book centers on her investigation. The material here isn't bad, but the reader wants to know more about George Trepal and the Carr family. Instead, the reader learns the details of Goreck's investigation, which - at times - just aren't that interesting. Another issue is that, at 370 pages, Poisoned Mind is about 100 pages too long.

In short, Poisoned Mind is a solid, true crime book about a fantastic case from Florida. It's not great, but true crime fans will enjoy it.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing, but a bit overblown, January 20, 2005

By 

steve (DeKalb, IL USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Poison Mind (Mass Market Paperback)

True crime buffs will undoubtedly enjoy this book, particularly if you've seen the television programs devoted to this case. However, some of the authors' attempts to create suspense during Susan Goreck's undercover work seem a bit overblown. All of George Trepal's personality quirks, no matter how minor, are made to seem evil and malevolent. We are repeatedly told that Susan was risking her life throughout her surveillance, when it's abundantly obvious that she was in little (if any) danger from the geeky George.

The authors also place unwarranted emphasis on George and Diana's interest in BDSM sex; their leather goods, sex toys, basement play dungeon, etc. are described in ominous detail. Only the most naive reader will think this has anything to do with Trepal's crimes.

Some more in-depth information about Diana Carr would have been most welcome. Her role in the poisonings has never been fully explored.

To their credit, the authors thoroughly debunk the popular image of Mensa as a lofty, serious organization with high ideals (it's more like a singles club for snooty, socially-dysfunctional geeks).