The 'Peyton Place' Murder: The True Crime Story Behind The Novel That Shocked The Nation by Renee MallettThis story is actually about two things. 1) Grace Metalious, author of the racy 1956 book titled Peyton Place and 2) the true-life crime dubbed "The Sheep Pen Murder" from which Metalious took inspiration for her book.
Honestly I didn't really enjoy reading of Grace Metalious' life except the parts that fell during her writing career and on. The author went back too far, in my opinion, and included details about her grandmother, mother, and other people in her early life. Frankly, I felt the book started turtle-style-slow, and I almost put it down. Let's say I was nonplussed.
It became more interesting to me when Mallett told the story about "The Sheep Pen Murder" which happened in Gilmanton, New Hampshire in 1947, 9 years prior to the publication of Peyton Place. A young woman was accused of murdering her father and concealing his body under the floorboards of their sheep pen. The author set the scene for the time period, the family dynamics, the American culture at the time, and did an excellent job characterizing the players in this tragedy. However, toward the end, it was slightly repetitive.
The author did a fair amount of research for both parts of the book, and I admire that. Overall, though, I would classify this book as "okay."
I learned of this book through Book Bub, and got an amazingly low price, so it was worth it. If you've never heard of Book Bub, and you enjoy reading, you should check it out. It's free to sign up, and they will send you emails with great low prices, sometimes free, e-books in the genre(s) of your choice. It works with Apple Books, Kindle, Nook, Google Play, and Kobo. The above is not an affiliate link because Book Bub is completely free just like Goodreads, which I also recommend. Happy Reading!
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Thanks for the review, it's helpful to know the "okay" books from the great books.
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