Excellent work of on-the-ground reporting on the Flores murder, in the context of the emergence (and demise) of the right-wing, nativist, Minutemen movement. ( )

The ‘her’ in this case is Shawna Forde and the hell she wrought was self-evolved from a young age. From a troubled life as an infant that eventually lead to teenage prostitution and more than a dozen arrests Shawna grafted and drifted through life until she found a belief, a desire that she could control and make her own, the protection of the borders of the United States at all costs.
Her very beliefs led to the down-spiral that her life evolved into and finally spiraled out of control. Heiwart introduces her to us as she and her band of ne'er -do-wells commitment a home invasion in the tiny Arizona town of Arivaca, murdering in cold blood the man of the house, his nine year old daughter and severely wounding and wife and mother. With broad stokes of description we are given a story that is as intriguing as any suspense novel, tightly woven around the facts behind this true-crime drama.
We are introduced to the Minuteman Project and given a superbly well researched history of history of the modern-day phenomena that sprung to new life after that fatal day that planes crashed into New York’s twin towers. And we are given a background on one of America’s last stalwart Wild West towns, the dusty burb of Arivaca, just twelve miles from the Mexico where a life of smuggling over the border, whether it was drugs or humans, is given a blind-eye or at least disregarded by the locals as normal for the region.
When the two elements finally combined they caused a combustible nativist explosion that led to a showdown from a private militia with the drug runners of area and blew wide open the true nature of a bigoted, psychopath and her delusionary hold on the border watching movement.
( )

The ‘her’ in this case is Shawna Forde and the hell she wrought was self-evolved from a young age. From a troubled life as an infant that eventually lead to teenage prostitution and more than a dozen arrests Shawna grafted and drifted through life until she found a belief, a desire that she could control and make her own, the protection of the borders of the United States at all costs.
Her very beliefs led to the down-spiral that her life evolved into and finally spiraled out of control. Heiwart introduces her to us as she and her band of ne'er -do-wells commitment a home invasion in the tiny Arizona town of Arivaca, murdering in cold blood the man of the house, his nine year old daughter and severely wounding and wife and mother. With broad stokes of description we are given a story that is as intriguing as any suspense novel, tightly woven around the facts behind this true-crime drama.
We are introduced to the Minuteman Project and given a superbly well researched history of history of the modern-day phenomena that sprung to new life after that fatal day that planes crashed into New York’s twin towers. And we are given a background on one of America’s last stalwart Wild West towns, the dusty burb of Arivaca, just twelve miles from the Mexico where a life of smuggling over the border, whether it was drugs or humans, is given a blind-eye or at least disregarded by the locals as normal for the region.
When the two elements finally combined they caused a combustible nativist explosion that led to a showdown from a private militia with the drug runners of area and blew wide open the true nature of a bigoted, psychopath and her delusionary hold on the border watching movement.
( )

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for an honest review.
This is a non-fiction, true crime book about Shawna Forde and the murders of a family in Arizona.
For me this wasn't really as much about the crime but about the author using this as a platform to rant about his personal beliefs regarding illegal immigrants.
When writing a book of this nature, I feel it is important to stick to just the facts and let the facts lead the reader to the appropriate conclusion. The author should make an attempt at least to remain objective. The author is just the messenger.
You wouldn't have to work too hard to paint a picture of Shawna and her cold blooded nature. Also, the portrait of a nine year old child being murdered for no other reason than she may have been a witness was also chilling and sad and would prompt anyone to feel total outrage.
The last thing the patrol needs is a bunch of crazy vigilante groups taking the law into their own hands.
Overall a C- ( )

A true crime story about Shawna Forde and her efforts to raise money for her own Minutemen militia through murder and mayhem. I love true crime, but this didn't do it for me. Too much detail on the history of the Minutemen movement, but presented in a dry way. If this book were more personalized with insight into the lives of the people affected by the crime, it would have been a lot better.