- Hardcover: 378 pages
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster (November 1990)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0671694162
- ISBN-13: 978-0671694166
- Product Dimensions: 20.8 x 14.2 x 2.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 340 g
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #777,796 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
In 1984 Ken Taylor, a dentist in Marion, Ind., cracked open the skull of his third wife, Teresa, with a dumbbell. Driving her body halfway across the country, he dumped it along a Pennsylvania road, then went to visit an ex-wife in Pittsburgh. Apprehended, Taylor, a calm, eerily confident wife-beater, philanderer and heavy user of marijuana and amphetamines, pleaded self-defense. He put forth a bizarre story that Teresa had been a drug addict and that he had caught her performing oral sex on their five-month-old son, Philip. In a taut, chilling voyage into the mind of a sociopath, Maas ( Serpico ) highlights the regional, religious and ethnic passions unleashed by a case that extended from the Midwestern Bible Belt to New Jersey, from Mexico to Staten Island, N.Y. As dramatic as the trial itself was the custody battle over Philip; his paternal grandparents temporarily adopted him after snatching him away from Teresa's sister, who had won custody. The grandparents' scheme, according to Maas, was directed by the convicted murderer from his cell. Photos. $100,000 ad/promo; author tour.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Kenneth Taylor, a dentist, brutally beat to death his third wife, Teresa, thereby orphaning their infant son, who became the focus of a bitter custody battle between Taylor's Indiana parents and Teresa's New Jersey relatives. Despite Taylor's absurd claim that Teresa sexually abused their son, there was no motive for the murder, but then there was none for his vicious attack on Teresa during their honeymoon (blamed on "intruders") or a similar assault on his second wife. Maas, author of Serpico ( LJ 12/15/73) and Manhunt ( LJ 7/86), provides a dark, compelling portrait of a sociopathic middle-class professional who ruined many lives. A wrenching story with popular appeal. Literary Guild main selection; previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 6/15/90.
- Gregor A. Preston, Univ. of California Lib., Davis
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Gregor A. Preston, Univ. of California Lib., Davis
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent,
By TawnTawn (Texas) - See all my reviews
This review is from: In a Child's Name: The Legacy of a Mother's Murder (Hardcover)
I've re-read this book many times - which means it is well-written and fascinating. Peter Maas obtained as much information as he could so that readers would be able to understand the background of the characters in this true crime story. Although it leaves you wanting to know more about Ken's parents, especially his mother (how did she turn out so differently than her own mother, Jean?), he does the best he can...apparently in this case, a psychopath was born, not made. Some of the people involved (Marilyn), you just want to smack upside the head...I also wondered why and how could Therese stay with Ken knowing that he beat her so badly on their honeymoon that she almost died. Why did she refuse to see the truth? She paid for it with her life.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews) 10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Chilling and sad,
By "marymelinda_us2" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: In a Child's Name: The Legacy of a Mother's Murder (Hardcover)
I saw the 1991 miniseries of "In A Child's Name" before I had ever read the book, and I must say that, in both cases, I was saddened and angered at the murder of a beautiful, innocent mother and also by the manipulation of an innocent child, who was ultimately the real victim, along with his mother. Ultimately, however, I was moved by the family's coming together to raise the baby boy left by his loving mother and cold-hearted father. The book does go deeper into the horror of what happened after the young mother's murder than the miniseries. However, both tell the tragic but ultimately uplifting story about abuse, murder, cold-hearted manipulation, and ultimate strength and love.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Must-Read,
By Beth - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: In a Child's Name: The Legacy of a Mother's Murder (Hardcover)
Entralling from the first page to the last. If you've seen the movie, DEFINATELY read the book. Michael Ontkean's portrayal of Ken Taylor is terrific. Being from Indina, I was especially interested due to the custody battle that came as a result of Taylor bludgeoning his wife to death. The fact that this story is true is what makes it so horrible. My heart ached, not only for the child, but for Teresa's family members who were put through not only having to deal with her murder, but the idea of her child being in the custody of Ken Taylor's parents. Louise Fletcher, who plays Ken Taylor's mother gives a chilling reference to a mother turning a ridiculously blind eye to the fact that her son was a manipulative cold blooded murderer with very strange sexual appetites (records indicated that calls were made from the scene of the murder to 900-sex lines while Teresa lay dead on the floor). A chilling account.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great true crime book,
By Patricia Horton "Hortonsbks" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: In a Child's Name: The Legacy of a Mother's Murder (Hardcover)
Peter Maas is a good, solid writer. This is the book that was the basis of the TV movie starring Valerie Bertinelli. However, there is much more detail in the book. For example, there is more of the background of the victim and the dentist/murderer. It also seems that the victim did use cocaine, although Maas does strees that it was only "recreational." (???--what is recreational?) Also, he admits that he beat her up in Mexico. It's a page burner.
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