Twisted Triangle: A Famous Crime Writer, a Lesbian Love Affair, and the FBI Husband's Violent Revenge [Paperback]

Caitlin Rother (Author), John Hess (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 20, 2009

Praise for Twisted Triangle

"This book will haunt you. It will move you to look at some of the harsh realities of life in a new way. A powerful story-and masterfully written."
-Aphrodite Jones

best-selling author, All She Wanted and Cruel Sacrifice

"A harrowing tale of one woman's struggle to maintain a balance between being a mother, an FBI agent, and dealing with a corrupt husband also an FBI agent. A must-read."
-Joseph D. Pistone

aka Donnie Brasco

"Hitchcock wishes he'd dreamed it up. Capote wishes he'd written it. Rother's mesmerizing narrative chronicles a wife's heroic struggle against great odds to survive her psychopathic husband's elaborate scheme to make her murder the perfect crime. This spellbinding tale offers an added treat-it's true."
-Marcus Stern

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author, The Wrong Stuff: The Extraordinary Saga of Randy "Duke" Cunningham, the Most Corrupt Congressman Ever Caught

"This in-depth account brought back memories of a most bizarre case, proving once again that the truth can be stranger than fiction."
-Paul B. Ebert

Commonwealth's attorney, County of Prince William, Virginia

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Though readers might pick up this title hoping to find out more about the private life of bestselling novelist Patricia Cornwell, the real protagonist is FBI agent Margo Bennett, who struck up a brief affair with Cornwell in 1992 after the author visited the training center where Bennett worked. When Margo's husband, also a Bureau agent, finds out about his wife's liaisons, he exacts a horrifying, meticulously plotted revenge, covering his tracks with lies and working the system against her. Though covered in the press, journalist and author Rother (Naked Addiction) presents the full story from Bennett's perspective for the first time. The narrative is engaging if a little slow to start (covering the early years of her marriage), and Rother is a fine interviewer, able to penetrate some of Bennett's most traumatic memories. Rother's prose is not the most graceful, and recreated dialogue can feel forced, but Bennett's tale is gripping, and should appeal to those who want to see a different, darker and more personal side of the lives of FBI agents.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

As the subtitle adequately implies, this breathless, lurid account of two FBI agents’ marriage-gone-wrong has it all, even though the crime writer alluded to, Patricia Cornwell, was only one of Margo Bennett’s lesbian loves, and the Sapphic romance with Cornwell is hardly the big story here. Husband-and-wife cat-and-mouse shenanigans are the main event, for Margo’s hubby, Gene, consumed by jealousy over his wife’s dalliances, concocted an intricate plan to kidnap and murder her. This is all written up in made-for-TV style, with lots of snappy, re-created dialogue and terse descriptions, perfect for an hour’s worth of A&E or Tru TV programming. Rother and Hess keep a fairly tangled story line perking sweetly along as readers share Margo’s searching story. Is she gay? Is Gene trying to do her in? And what about the kids, especially in light of scenes like the one in which a Bennett daughter discovers Margo in the embrace of another woman? It’s an Oprah-level tearjerker moment. A true-crime thriller with relationship issues! Is this a circulation booster, or what? --Mike Tribby --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (April 20, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470442514
• ISBN-13: 978-0470442517
• Product Dimensions: 5.7 x 0.9 x 8.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #205,101 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

New York Times bestselling author Caitlin Rother, has written or co-authored eight books, including MY LIFE, DELETED (October 2011), POISONED LOVE (December 2011), NAKED ADDICTION (January 2012), DEAD RECKONING, DEADLY DEVOTION, BODY PARTS, TWISTED TRIANGLE and LOST GIRLS.

Her latest book, NYT bestseller MY LIFE, DELETED, is an inspirational memoir of former NFL player Scott Bolzan, who is rebuilding his life after suffering a brain injury and losing his entire long-term memory. She co-authored the book with Scott and his wife Joan. (HarperOne, October 2011)

Out in December 2011: The updated POISONED LOVE adds 20 pages of new developments in the Kristin Rossum case, in which the beautiful San Diego toxicologist was convicted of poisoning her husband with powerful narcotics she stole from her lab at the county Medical Examiner's Office, then staging a suicide scene by sprinkling red rose petals over her husband's body.

Then in January 2012: In her debut thriller, NAKED ADDICTION, a lethal confluence of sex, drugs and the murder of young beauty school entrepreneurs hits the wealthy beach community of La Jolla. Undercover narcotics detective Ken Goode confronts his own demons during a homicide investigation that brings him into contact with a drug ring and an escort service while he tangles with a seductive witness and worries that his missing sister will be the next murder victim.

Rother's next true crime book will be LOST GIRLS, a behind the scenes account of the rape and murder of teenagers Chelsea King and Amber Dubois by sexual predator John Gardner (July 2012).

Before writing books full-time, Rother worked for nearly 20 years as an investigative reporter for daily newspapers, covering issues ranging from addiction, suicide, mental illness and murder to politics and corruption at City Hall and in Congress. She now writes books full-time, teaches writing and works as an editorial consultant/book doctor.

Most recently a Pulitzer-nominated staff writer for The San Diego Union-Tribune, Rother also has been published in Cosmopolitan, the Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe, and The Daily Beast. Her many media appearances as a crime expert include "Women Who Kill" on E!, the "Snapped" series on the Oxygen Network, five shows on Investigation Discovery, and "On the Record" with Greta Van Susteren on FOX News.

Rother, who earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from University of California Berkeley and her master's in journalism from Northwestern University, teaches narrative non-fiction, creative writing, advanced feature writing and interviewing at UCSD Extension. She founded San Diego Writing Women and its blog. Check it out at sandiegowritingwomen.blogspot.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Price of Loyalty, July 27, 2008

By 

MJS "Constant Reader" (New York, United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Twisted Triangle: A Famous Crime Writer, a Lesbian Love Affair, and the FBI Husband's Violent Revenge (Hardcover)

I'm always pleased to see thoughtful True Crime in hardback and Caitlin Rother's previous effort, Poisoned Love, proved she can deliver the goods when it comes to the genre. Then there's the case at hand: the famous (infamous) "love triangle" between crime novelist Patricia Cornwell, FBI agent Margo Bennett and Margo's FBI agent husband Gene. Better true crime fodder can't be found.

Except that there wasn't much of a "triangle". No, the real story here is the abusive marriage between Margo and Gene. Both were successful FBI agents but Gene's willingness (or need) to employ larceny to augment the family income hardly fit with the traditional G-Man image. Insurance scams, side businesses and padded expense reports were all business as usual for Gene. So was emotional abuse and, ultimately, physical abuse triggered by Margo's determination to free herself from a miserable marriage.

This is Margo's story, told from her vantage point in terms of emotions and facts. The reader learns things about Gene as Margo learns them. We also see her relationship with Cornwell unfold through Margo's eyes. Even without sour grapes, Cornwell still comes across as a needy woman enchanted by her own sudden fame. Gene, however, remains something of a cipher. Aside from speculation that he became hooked on the high of undercover work, Rother doesn't do much to help the reader understand what makes Gene tick. He's a repellant character but what created him?

We get to see the long term impact on the entire family of Gene's deceit and violence, along with his continued attempts to manipulate his children. It's hard not to agree with Margo Bennett that Gene will come after he once parolled. It's also hard not to revel a bit in the novelty of an abused spouse who's had the police training necessary to save herself. Her cool thinking clearly saved two lives.

The exploitive sub-title is unfortunate because the book itself doesn't exploit the characters or the situation. All in all this is an enjoyable true crime story in which the victim not only survives but emerges empowered.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must read.., May 4, 2008

By 

Beryl Kreyer (Cleveland Tn) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Twisted Triangle: A Famous Crime Writer, a Lesbian Love Affair, and the FBI Husband's Violent Revenge (Hardcover)

I stumbled on this book while looking up Patricia Cornwell to see if she had any new books coming up. I ordered it from the library and once I started reading it I couldn't put it down. Now Caitlin Rother is among my favorites. I can't wait to read the rest of her books. She is a wonderful author. Glad I found her.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Articulate story - impartial viewpoints, June 19, 2008

By 

Mary Menzel "Reviewer - www.AllTheseBooks.com" (North Carolina) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Twisted Triangle: A Famous Crime Writer, a Lesbian Love Affair, and the FBI Husband's Violent Revenge (Hardcover)

Unless you have been in an abusive relationship it is truly hard to comprehend what a person must do to survive. "Twisted Triangle" by Caitlin Rother has shown how devastating that type of life can be. I applaud not only Margo Bennett's determination to survive an abusive husband and coming to terms with her sexual orientation but her willingness to share her story in the hopes of giving other the courage to do the same. Caitlin Rother has written a articulate story of Margo Bennett's struggles and given the impartial view point of each and everyone involved in the disturbing situation. With Rother's 20 year tenure as an investigative reporter and her newly developed skill as a thriller author, she has all the talent necessary to research all the facts of any non-fiction story and mold them into an intriguing and very readable novel