Written in Blood [Mass Market Paperback]

Diane Fanning (Author)

Book Description

Series: St. Martin's True Crime Library | Publication Date: February 1, 2005

An army brat-turned-marine, he saw combat in Vietnam, and returned a decorated soldier. An avid reader, his dreams of being an acclaimed novelist came true. His desire to find love was fulfilled when he married brilliant executive Kathleen Atwater, the first female student accepted at Duke University's School of Engineering. The Petersons seemed the ideal academic couple- well-respected, prosperous, and happy.

All that came crashing down in December of 2001, when Kathleen apparently fell to her death in their secluded home in an exclusive area of Durham, North Carolina. But blood spattered evidence and a missing fireplace poker suggested calculated, cold-blooded murder. Her trusted husband stood accused. Prosecutors introduced evidence at trial that sixteen years earlier, Peterson was one of the last people to see his neighbor alive before she was found dead at the bottom of a staircase in her home in Germany.

A dramatic trial followed in the explosive final chapter of a life that no novelist could ever have conceived...

 

Written in Blood is a 2006 Edgar Award Nominee for Best Fact Crime.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Writing is superb. Most importantly, Fanning has written a true-crime book focused more on the truth than on the crime. -- Vance Holmes, Poetic Justice

From the Back Cover

Michael Peterson Was Driven To Succeed.
An army brat-turned-marine, he saw combat in Vietnam, and returned a decorated soldier. An avid reader, his dreams of being an acclaimed novelist came true. His desire to find love was fulfilled when he married brilliant executive Kathleen Atwater, the first female student accepted at Duke University's School of Engineering. The Petersons seemed the ideal academic couple- well-respected, prosperous, and happy.

And Compelled To Kill.
All that came crashing down in December of 2001, when Kathleen apparently fell to her death in their secluded home in an exclusive area of Durham, North Carolina. But blood spattered evidence and a missing fireplace poker suggested calculated, cold-blooded murder. Her trusted husband stood accused. Prosecutors introduced evidence at trial that sixteen years earlier, Peterson was one of the last people to see his neighbor alive before she was found dead at the bottom of a staircase in her home in Germany. A dramatic trial followed in the explosive final chapter of a life that no novelist could ever have conceived...

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (February 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312994036
• ISBN-13: 978-0312994037
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #478,532 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am the author of ten true crime books published by St. Martin's Press including the Edgar Award nominated WRITTEN IN BLOOD and the best-selling MOMMY'S LITTLE GIRL. Additionally, I have written five mystery novels including four in the Lucinda Pierce series from Severn House.

I have been featured on 48 Hours, 20/20, Forensic Files, the Deadly Women series, Court TV, Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell, the Discovery Channel and local TV channels and have been interviewed on dozens of radio stations coast to coast.

I am an experienced non-fiction, fiction and commercial writer. I earned more than seventy Addy Awards in the twenty years I wrote for radio, television and print. I worked as an Executive Director at non-profit organizations for more than a dozen years. In that capacity, I served three terms by appointment of the Governor of Texas on the State Advisory Committee and received the 2002 NACG Freedom Fighter Award.

I was born in Baltimore, Maryland, lived more than two decades in Virginia and now live in New Braunfels, Texas with my husband and a cat with an attitude.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars An extraordinarily one-sided account, February 11, 2006

By 

Lisa - See all my reviews

This review is from: Written in Blood (Mass Market Paperback)

If you were thinking of reading this book because you are curious about what could have happened to Kathleen Peterson and wanted an unbiased accounting of the facts in the case, then don't bother.

According to Fanning "Before the trial ended, the verdict was a foregone conclusion in my mind. The medical examiner's report made it murder. The spatter inside the shorts made it Mike. All else was window-dressing." It didn't matter to her that America's foremost expert disagreed with the medical examiner, that Michael Peterson's journalism had upset many in the Durham law and order community, or that there was no convincing weapon or motive presented by the prosecution.

Fanning sets out to prove that Michael Petersen is an evil killer and in doing so she ignores any evidence to the contrary. Her acknowledgments carry thanks only to detractors of Michael Peterson; none from his supporters. She presents one-sided versions and vague recollections as though they were fact. Every character presented for the prosecution is heroic; every supporter of the defence is sadly delusional. When prosecutor Hardin finishes his closing she says "the courtroom was as quiet as a chapel in the aftermath of witnessing a miracle." On the other hand, she describes Peterson's tears for his wife as "caterwauling".

For me such obvious bias shed doubt on every single account she presented in the book. I don't know if Peterson is guilty or not. I wish I could find someone who would present evidence from both sides. But, as Fanning says herself "the legal system is no longer designed to find the truth-it is constructed to decide a winner."

25 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The definitive work on the Michael Peterson murders., May 12, 2005

By 

Katie - See all my reviews

This review is from: Written in Blood (Mass Market Paperback)

I watched nearly every minute of this trial on Court TV. I read almost every news article on this trial contemporaneously. I watched live online broadcasts of the trial and local commentary provided there. And when I read this book "Written In Blood", I felt like I was following this case for the first time. I learned so many new details about this homicide and the various "players" involved. I was riveted to the entire book.

At times I had to put it down to digest very emotional passages and the masterful ways they were delivered. I got chills over and over again reading the various connections this author made that even I had not considered in this case.

Michael Peterson's display of sociopathy speaks for itself. Ms. Fanning merely places it on a canvas which makes it come to life in an unmistakable way. Sociopaths are masterful at hiding in compartmentalized hidden places, manipulating situation upon person upon circumstance to confound those around them to their pathology.

Fanning paints an unmistakable portrait based on the FACTS and interviews with those who were up close and personal to this monster and his crimes.

On the heels of the propoganda docudrama film on Sundance, The Staircase, this book was a breath of fresh air. And a fair and accurate representation of the truth and devastation left in a sociopath's wake.

I am starting to read Fanning's other book Through The Window now and look forward to any future books she may produce.

29 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not exactly "In Cold Blood", May 16, 2005

By 

W Clark - See all my reviews

This review is from: Written in Blood (Mass Market Paperback)

As an avid true crime reader and someone with advanced degrees in both law and criminal justice, I have found that nonfiction books on murder cases generally fall into one of two categories: investigative journalism or trash novel. It is my humble but educated opinion that this book falls into the latter category. The book is a tabloid-style expose of the minutia of the Peterson's lives, rather than a chronicle of the hard facts of the case. As with many other true crime books today, the author's agenda seems to be to prove that the accused individual is in fact guilty, as opposed to delving into the complexities of the case that make it interesting in the first place. In my experience, murder cases are rarely black-and-white and there is always room for debate. However, given the popularity of networks like "Court TV" and the number of favorable reviews that this book and other like it have gotten from Amazon's readers, apparently the public would rather be told what to think than think for themselves.