You should heavily discount this review. I have worked with the authors, Lynn Olanoff and Colin McEvoy, and worked at the Express-Times when they covered the murder and trial described in the book. So it's impossible for me to be objective, and I won't even try.

Having said that, "Love Me or Else" is everything a true-crime book ought to be: Compelling narrative, vivid characters and detailed research. It took me four days to read it from beginning to end. Even though I knew the basics of the story (see paragraph above), I still found the retelling to be exciting and interesting.

This is a terrific debut that I highly recommend. But you shouldn't take the word of someone who has such an obvious bias. Read other reviews of "Love Me or Else" and make up your own mind. My opinion, much as you should value it, carries no weight in this case. But I bet people who don't know Lynn and Colin will heap similar praise upon the book. Listen to them. Then read the book.