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The Prom Night Murders: A Devoted American Family, their Troubled Son, and a Ghastly Crime (St. Martin's True Crime Library)
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Product Description
In 1989, a shocking tragedy shattered an otherwise peaceful small Indiana community. Much-admired pastor Robert L. Pelley was found slain in his home. In his basement were the huddled, blood-soaked bodies of his wife and daughters, executed by shotgun at close range. The doors to the house were locked, and there were no signs of forced entry. Meanwhile, the pastor’s son, Jeff, was nowhere to be found…
Police had a hunch that Jeff was responsible for the massacre, but they didn’t have enough evidence to convict. The case went cold…until, more than a decade later, when law officials resolved to finally try to unravel the truth about Jeff and to establish a motive—that he was angry toward his father for grounding him on prom night. Then it would be up to prosecutors to prove that Jeff was responsible for THE PROM NIGHT MURDERS
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #22130 in Books
- Published on: 2009-04-28
- Released on: 2009-04-28
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Mass Market Paperback
- 320 pages
Features
- ISBN13: 9780312947248
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
- Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices
Editorial Reviews
From the Back Cover
A HORRIFYING FAMILY MURDER
In 1989, a shocking tragedy shattered an otherwise peaceful small Indiana community. Much-admired pastor Robert L. Pelley was found slain in his home. In his basement were the huddled, blood-soaked bodies of his wife and daughters, executed by shotgun at close range. The doors to the house were locked, and there were no signs of forced entry. Meanwhile, the pastor’s son, Jeff, was nowhere to be found…
A TEENAGE SON SHROUDED IN SUSPICION
Police had a hunch that Jeff was responsible for the massacre, but they didn’t have enough evidence to convict. The case went cold…until, more than a decade later, when law officials resolved to finally try to unravel the truth about Jeff and to establish a motive—that he was angry toward his father for grounding him on prom night. Then it would be up to prosecutors to prove that Jeff was responsible for THE PROM NIGHT MURDERS
* With 8 pages of startling photos *
About the Author
CARLTON SMITH is the New York Times bestselling author of The Search for the Green River Killer. An award-winning journalist for The Los Angeles Times and The Seattle Times during the 1970s and 1980s, he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in investigative reporting in 1988, and now works full-time as a true crime author. There are more than two million copies of his books in print. He lives in Reno, Nevada.
Customer Reviews
extremely interesting story; very well told
I have read at least 100 true crime stories as an adult. Most are good, some are duds and a few are outstanding. This was outstanding. The story is fascinating - and horribly tragic. It really is a whodunnit. Other reviews suggest parts of the book leave the reader without unanswered questions and unsatisfied curiosities. However, that IS part of the story. The police never did investigate EVERYTHING so there aren't answers to everything. This is one of those cases where your own consicence will tug at you as you read it. I rarely leave reviews for books however this story moved me to do so and it is one of the few books I've ever said are must-reads. Hope this helped and I hope you like the book if you invest the time in reading it.
Excellent if Unsolved
I agrre with this being an excellent book...a complete page-turner. And yes, the reviewer who wrote that the story leaves you wondering is right. I really think there was more to the story than the police found out and possibly the wrong person was convicted. Very mysterious goings-on in Florida that cannot be ignored.. How was the author supposed to solve the puzzle when the police disregarded all the dark implications of the Florida link? Too many police/prosecutors want the easy solution and a case cleared, regardless of the wrong person being incarcerated.
Who?! What?!?
Carlton Smith has a nice, conversational writing style that draws the reader into this latter day (1989) Indianna parallel of the 1959 Clutter family murder in Kansas memorialized by Truman Capote In Cold Blood. But Capote tells the whole tale. Smith keeps dangling "meanwhile down in Florida" teasers throughout his book, then never ties it all up.
In the end, this reader was left unsatisfied - unsure even of Smith's thesis. Who really done it? You'll come away unsure. And what was the point of the highly fore-shadowed, but then never explained, map?
Disappointing.
/TundraVision, Amazon Reviewer
