Twisted: The secret desires and bizarre double life of Dr. Richard Sharpe (St. Martin's True Crime Library) [Mass Market Paperback]

John Glatt (Author)

Book Description

Series: St. Martin's True Crime Library | Publication Date: January 20, 2003

He Had A Successful Career, A Selfless Wife, And Three Loving Children.

When high school sweethearts Karen and Richard Sharpe married, they shared an interest in medicine, a desire for family, and a dream for the future. For Karen, that dream became a nightmare. After years of abuse at the hands of her physician husband, she put an end to their 26-year marriage. Fearing a crushing divorce settlement, Richard ended the marriage first by unloading a .22-caliber rifle into Karen's chest. The murder revealed more about the millionaire doctor-and his double life-than polite Boston society was prepared for.

He Also Had A Secret That Shot His Picture-Perfect World To Hell.

Behind the doors of their upscale Massachusetts home, Dr. Sharpe was a compulsive cross-dresser with a penchant for his own daughter's underwear-a respected family man who had not only been taking hormones to grow breasts, but who stole his wife's birth control pills to supplement them. But not even his own family could have imagined that it would take cold-blooded murder to finally reveal the good doctor's disturbing secrets, and shatter forever the prosaic façade of an all-American family.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

English-born John Glatt is the author of more than ten books and has over twenty-five years of experience as an investigative journalist in England and America. He divides his time betweeen New York and London.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's True Crime (January 20, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312979282
• ISBN-13: 978-0312979287
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #560,857 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #41 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Nonfiction > Crime & Criminals > Criminology

More About the Author

John Glatt is an investigative journalist with more than thirty years experience. In the last fourteen years he has written 12 true crime books and 4 biographies. With more than half a million books currently in print all over the world, Glatt is acknowledged to be one of the best true crime writers working today.

A native of London, England, Glatt left school at sixteen and worked in a variety of jobs - including tea boy and messenger - before joining a small weekly newspaper outside London, where he honed his keen news sense. Over the next few years he freelanced for many national English newspapers, including The Daily Express, The Sunday People, The Daily Mail and Woman Magazine.

In 1981 he moved to New York, working on staff for News Limited, as well as freelancing for Newsweek, Omni, the New York Post, the Australian, Modern Business and other newspapers and magazines worldwide.

His first book Rage & Roll: Bill Graham and the Selling of Rock, was published in 1993 to critical acclaim. Two years later he wrote Lost in Hollywood: The Fast Times and Short Life of River Phoenix, a well received biography on the tragic movie star. His next book, The Chieftains: An Authorized Biography, which was published in 1997, saw him nominated for a 2000 Grammy in the spoken word category. In 1998 wrote the well-received The Ruling House of Monaco: The Story of a Tragic Dynasty, uncovering many new revelations about the Grimaldis.

In 1998 he wrote his first true crime book, For I Have Sinned: True Stories of Clergy Who Kill. A year later he followed it up with Evil Twins, an anthology of twins that kill. And since then he has written a True Crime book a year for St. Martin's Press True Crime Library, establishing him as a master of the genre.

Over the years, Glatt has appeared on scores of television and radio programs all over the world, including Dateline NBC, Fox News, Current Affair, BBC World, and A&E Biography.

He and his jewelry designer wife Gail divide their time between New York City, the Catskill Mountains and London.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A masterpiece, March 1, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Twisted: The secret desires and bizarre double life of Dr. Richard Sharpe (St. Martin's True Crime Library) (Mass Market Paperback)

Twisted is without doubt THE best true crime novel I have ever read. John Glatt's masterful telling of this riveting story made it a joy to read and I could not put it down. I would recommend Twisted to anyone who is a true crime devotee and Glatt paints a vivid picture of the cruel transvestite Dr. Richard Sharpe, who gunned down his loyal and devoted wife Karen in front of her family after nearly 30 years of marriage.
This book can hold its own next to anything Ann Rule has ever written.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Poorly written, June 29, 2009

By 

Susan A. Callahan "horror hound" (Winter Springs,FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Twisted: The secret desires and bizarre double life of Dr. Richard Sharpe (St. Martin's True Crime Library) (Mass Market Paperback)

I bought this book because I attended school with the subjects. Although the story is interesting, I found the author's writing skills sorely lacking.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Twisted doesn't even begin to describe Dr. Robert Sharpe!, August 16, 2005

By 

ihgr (Albany, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Twisted: The secret desires and bizarre double life of Dr. Richard Sharpe (St. Martin's True Crime Library) (Mass Market Paperback)

I enjoy John Glatt's style of writing. He grabs the reader on the first page of his true crime stories and doesn't let go until the last word is read. That's the sign of a great writer.
Twisted is the tale of a millionaire doctor who is controlling, paranoid, abusive, and TWISTED. He is also into crossing dressing, drugs and alcohol, stalking, etc. All these characteristics lead him to murdering his wife after she leaves him and files for divorce.
The book moves at a rapid pace, leaving the reader anxious to find out what is going to happen next in this comlex account of spousal abuse and murder.