This was a lightning fast and interesting read about a family torn apart by money, greed, corruption, lies, jealousy, and unbridled anger. I thought it was a well-researched and well-written (save for some noticeable typos in the Kindle edition) true-crime book that did not get bogged down in irrelevant details. The author paints the main characters (including one of the murder victims) in a largely unflattering light and does an excellent job explaining the on-again, off-again relationship between a scumbag father and the sons he molded into equally disgusting scumbags. One of the murder victims, Vera Woodman, was a mostly sympathetic character, and I found myself alternating between thinking she should have left her husband and feeling sorry for the predicament she was in. If nothing else, this book is a lesson on how to NOT conduct family affairs and a reminder that with wealth comes a responsibility to use it wisely and not as a tool for lording power over other people. This is a solid book for readers of true crime, and it is somewhat unique among true-crime books in that you will find yourself absolutely loathing one of the victims. (This has not been my experience with other true crime books.) ( )

Although Wolf does not write with the polish or immediacy of Ann Rule (and he could have used a more assured editor), the story here is interesting. This family embodies the term "dysfunctional" in a hundred ways. I feel sorry for the succeeding generations if they don't get a handle on the myriad problems their family psyche contains. ( )