Till Death Us Do Part: A True Murder Mystery (Paperback)

~ (Author), Ken Hurwitz (Contributor) "Los Angeles is a temptation..." (more)
Key Phrases: first murder count, second murder count, fingerprint testimony, Alan Palliko, Henry Stockton, Los Angeles (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Bugliosi, the quintessential prosecutor, has written a crime book that should be read by every lawyer and judge in America. -- F. Lee Bailey

In leading us through the marvelous and mundane intricacies of a trial for murder, Vincent Bugliosi makes a lasting and often spectacular contribution to public understanding of our criminal justice system. (Washington Post )

Vincent Bugliosi makes a lasting and often spectacular contribution to public understanding of our criminal justice system. -- Washington Post

Product Description

On December 11, 1966, a mysterious assassin shot Henry Stockton to death, set his house on fire, and left the scene without a trace. A year later, when a woman was found brutally killed, shreds of evidence suggested a connection between the two murders.

In the Palliko-Stockton trial, prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi offered a brilliant summation that synthesized for the jury the many inferences and shades of meaning in the testimony, fitting all the pieces together in a mosaic of guilt. But will the jury be persuaded?

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Product Details

• Paperback: 294 pages
• Publisher: W.W. Norton & Co. (March 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393088219
• ISBN-13: 978-0393325447
• ASIN: 039332544X
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #201,902 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Till Death Do Us Part", March 22, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Till Death Us Do Part: A True Murder Mystery (Hardcover)

A fantastic book! Though well 20 years old it still holds up. Mr. Bugliosi writes as he tried this true life case: to the point and only the facts. From the first murder all the way through to the People V. Palliko-Stockton trial. You are taken both in front of and behind the scenes of an actual murder investigation/trail. We are given excepts of actual transcripts and interviews. I learned a lot about the legal system from this book. For those of you who think that non-fiction can't be as exciting as fiction: You are wrong! All the elements are here from a classic Holywood murder mystery: Greed, lust, betrayal. The only draw back is that since the book is 20 years old you don't have an updated epilogue to what happened to the people in the book. Still, it is well worth reading.

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Just the facts, ma'am" , February 5, 2006

By	W. Phinizy (Fountain Valley, Ca United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Till Death Us Do Part: A True Murder Mystery (Hardcover)

My admiration for Mr. Bugliosi's work (both as a district attorney and a co-author) is boundless. I inhaled "Helter Skelter" when it came out and stumbled across this in a used book stack at the local library. Flipping to the ISBN page, I noted that it was published in 1978 and thought perhaps it might be a little dated.

Not so!

It is a compelling read on many levels and the other reviews have it nailed as being an excellent way to spend one's reading time. I would only add that the prose style (particularly in part one), while colorful and descriptive, reminded me of the narrative parts of the old Dragnet radio shows -- and that ain't a bad thing at all.

Can't say enough nice things about this book except that I would also like to have known what ultimately happened to the characters.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Murder for Money, April 1, 2007

By	JMack (Chicago) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

To my excitement, I recently found a pristine copy of the original hardcover edition of this book. I am a huge fan of Bugliosi's other work in "Helter Skelter" and "And the Sea Will Tell". This book is less known, but does not lack the sensationalism of the cases in Bugliosi's other books. Until the end of the book, it is well paced and creates suspense in the reader's mind. Bugliosi's decision to included his entire closing argument as the last 1/3 of the book drastically slow the pace.

Allan Palliko's crimes included attempted murder against his first wife, murdering a lover's husband, and murdering his second wife. While the first murder seems clear, the seemingly impossible time frame makes the second murder likely to have been committed by another. Yet when the deaths create income for Palliko, some eyebrows are raised. Could the prosecution gain a conviction despite a lack of physical evidence? The circumstantial evidence and motive of insurance money seem to point in the direction of Palliko's responsibility. Yet the unpredictability of a "jury of your peers" makes the reader wonder if the unlikely conviction is possible.

The book is slowed to a crawl when Bugliosi decided to include his entire closing argument. While the argument was well done, Bugliosi could have better summarized it for the purposes of this book. With the exception of this flaw, "Till Death Us Do Part" is another outstanding read by Vincent Bugliosi.