BAD GIRLS BY M. WILLIAM PHELPS

This is not one of the authors best books, but the story itself was interesting enough to read all the way through. 

Rating: ★★
​Release Date: September 3, 2013
Genre: True Crime
Series: None. Standalone. 
Pages: 545
Format: Paperback. Purchased. 

The crime stunned quiet Mineral Wells, Texas: 49-year-old Bob Dow shot execution-style in his own bed, his invalid mother locked in the next room--and a cache of homemade porn starring the town's underage girls. The two accused killers--teen lovers Bobbi Jo Smith and Jennifer Jones--were on the run, intent on going out in a cross-country blaze of glory. M. William Phelps exposes a gripping tale of sexploitation, lust, and betrayal, while questioning the court's fateful verdict in a tantalizing forensic puzzle. Were both girls equally guilty of murder? Or was one merely a pawn in the other's dainty, blood-stained hands? 

"One of America's finest true-crime writers." --Vincent Bugliosi ​

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READ MY BOOK REVIEW

Release Date: September 3, 2013
Genre: True Crime

I have read many of this authors true crime books in the past and enjoyed most of them. However, this one was quite bad. Had the author written the story in about 300 pages it would have worked better. This is for a few reasons. First, it was HIGHLY repetitive. Phelps could have easily given us the details in way less than 500 pages had he not constantly repeated what happened. I am so serious. It was every-single-chapter. The same stuff, over and over again. Whoever edited the book should have noticed this because it was unnecessary and quite frankly, took away from everything. It sort of felt like Phelps was trying to convince US about the guilt or innocence of these two girls and that is NOT how a true crime book works. All the author should be doing is giving us the details in a neutral way. Secondly, Phelps was NOT neutral in this book. It was pretty clear from early on (and even mentions so in the forward) that he doesn't believe that Bobbi Joe was guilty at all. However, the jury CONVICTED her. These are people who are also neutral- those who were given details of the case in order to make their determination. So I didn't like this that much either. Finally, many of Phelps previous book give background information on the victims and perpetrators so we can sort of get to know them. Much of this was conveniently left out expect for the background of Jennifer Jones, which really irritated me. 

Normally, I would give readers an idea as to why the book is about here, but I will save my breath because the synopsis sums it up for you. I don't need to get into the nitty gritty details either because frankly, I didn't care for the book and it looks like previous reviewers agree with me. 

If you are looking to pick up a true crime novel I WOULD recommend an M. William Phelps book however, not this one. He has so many other great books that are much better told than this one.

★★