Written in Blood
by St. Martin's Paperbacks

	Written in Blood
	Customer Rating: Sales Rank: 137211 Available from Amazon
	$6.99

Book Description

<DIV>An army brat-turned-marine, he saw combat in Vietnam, and returned a decorated soldier. An avid reader, his dreams of being an acclaimed novelist came true. His desire to find love was fulfilled when he married brilliant executive Kathleen Atwater, the first female student accepted at Duke University's School of Engineering. The Petersons seemed the ideal academic couple- well-respected, prosperous, and happy.

All that came crashing down in December of 2001, when Kathleen apparently fell to her death in their secluded home in an exclusive area of Durham, North Carolina. But blood spattered evidence and a missing fireplace poker suggested calculated, cold-blooded murder. Her trusted husband stood accused. Prosecutors introduced evidence at trial that sixteen years earlier, Peterson was one of the last people to see his neighbor alive before she was found dead at the bottom of a staircase in her home in Germany. <DIV>A dramatic trial followed in the explosive final chapter of a life that no novelist could ever have conceived

Reader Reviews

I have read the other book about this case but I have forgotten most of it. In my opinion, this book is the better of the two regarding the Peterson Case in North Carolina about a successful novelist who kills his adored, loved, wife, Kathleen Hunt Peterson, after so many years of marriage right before Christmas. I have read some of Fanning's other books but this book is by far her best because it's so detailed with information. Since I usually just read true crime stories, I was hesitant to read about the Peterson case since I already Jones' book entitled "The Perfect Husband." I was shocked by the detailed information of the blood evidence all over the house at first. As Fanning writes, this book unravels some disturbing behaviors by the widow, Michael Peterson. Of course, it turns out there was another similar death of Elizabeth Ratcliff in Germany years ago. As the investigation unfolds in the Peterson case, Michael's secret life emerges from the shadows and it's a shock to those who knew him as the perfect husband and family man who had two sons, two adopted daughters, and a stepdaughter. He had a wonderful wife who deserved more than to die an ugly tragic death. When I read that she had lived 2-4 hours after she was struck before her husband sought out help, it made me cringe for her. He waited for her to die. The author details Peterson's military background and his experiences his Vietnam as well as his divorces and relationships with women.