The story behind the murders of a beloved husband and wife, both professors at Dartmouth College in 2000. It was shocking that these murders took place because two seemingly "normal" high school students were bored. This was a true-crime read. 432 pages ( )

At times this book is extraordinary: so well-written it's like watching a painting being created and, even though you know what it will look when complete, you can't turn away. The artistry is that masterful.
Another great aspect of this book is that you are not left wondering: you come to know the killers and understand their arrogance.
Where "Judgment Ridge" fails is the same place it succeeds: the details.
Many times non-fiction fails because it doesn't provide enough of those seemingly small items that, in fact, tell you everything you want to know: what did the killer have for breakfast? What music did he like? What did he see when he looked in the mirror?
"Judgment Ridge" is so well-researched that it's positively swimming in details. But sometimes, those plentiful details begin to obscure the story itself. The authors write on and on and on about one of the killer's interest in debate, for example, and I promise I got it - I understood how it shaped Robert, and it was important. But there's so much about it that it becomes tedious.
I wish this book had had a better editor. Clearly the authors know their material and they are wonderful writers. But an outside, objective eye is needed in any text. Had there been a competent editor in this case, "Judgment Ridge" could have been a book of genius. ( )

I liked this book overall. It was an interesting story with some interesting characters. It was, however, a little too long. As true crime books go, this one wasn't that thrilling. There was too much background information that didn't really seem to add much to the story. As an example, the authors went into a great deal of detail about Robert Tulloch and Jim Parker's high school exploits, which, beyond helping us understand why investigators were initially reticent to believe two high school kids could be killers, was not relevant. There was a lengthy and dramatic lead-up to Tulloch's big explosion at a high school debate tournament, but the actual incident itself, while noteworthy, was pretty anticlimactic for all the foreshadowing that took place before it.

I am giving the book three stars because it is an interesting story, but I think we could have gotten the same understanding of the crime, how shocking it was in this bucolic Vermont town, and how psycopathic one of the killers was in a 30-50% shorter book. ( )

This is an examination of the murders of Half and Susanne Zantop, two popular faculty members of Dartmouth College, by Robert Tulloch and James Parker, two high-school students from a nearby town. The book is written by Dick Lehr and Mitchell Zuckoff, both of whom were reporters from the Boston Globe at the time of the killings, and are now professors of journalism at Boston University.

Judgment Ridge is an attempt to explain how two teenagers from a close-knit community could find themselves randomly looking for someone to kill, and how they happened to commit two heinous murders purely by chance. What also emerges is a picture of police investigation that managed - through two pieces of seemingly nondescript evidence - to identify the murderers.

The authors also manage to convey the unsettling nature of a crime that, through its pure randomness and lack of motive, is a true example of senseless violence. The reader cannot help but be taken aback by the complete lack of rationality behind this crime.

The only fault I find with the book is that it seemed to be written as if it were a murder mystery, which it is not. Since both authors are experienced journalists (who covered the story) I should think they could have managed to convey the incomprehensibility of the murders without some of the melodramatic elements they employ. The first chapter by itself shows just how terrifyingly inexplicable the murders were.

The authors do, however, give some excellent insights into the nature of the boys, the town in which they lived, and their families and friends.

An excellent description of an inexplicable event. ( )