Poison Mind (Mass Market Paperback)

~ Jeffrey Good (Author), Susan Goreck (Author) "Georgie Trepal grew up and asked his friends to call him George..." (more)
Key Phrases: George Trepal, Peggy Carr, Polk County (more...)

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.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks; illustrated edition edition (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 (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #599,979 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 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 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.

3 of 3 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

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).

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fact Stranger than Ficton!!!!, August 22, 1998

By	[e-mail] (washington, dc) - See all my reviews

This book does an very good job in detailing the events surrounding the most bizarre true murder case I can recall. The story is told by the police detective who went undercover- as a fellow mensa member- to crack this case. Since I do not want to give away any of the surprising twists and turns of this book (i.e., the case itself), let me just say that this story could very easily be described as a case study in moral evil. A must read.