Scott Whisnant

* I received this book in exchange for my honest feedback*

Innocent Victims follows the true story of the Eastburn family murders. The Eastburn Family Murders were made famous for many reasons in my opinion.1) the alleged killer is a military man and the family was a military family. 2) The first case that was tried 3 times on one suspect.
This book left me with mixed emotions. I don't know if Tim Hennis did this as he didn't have a decent and fair trial. At that time labs were faking results so the prosecution could have more wins, as a result innocent people have died. I believe that if he did the crime he should be punished but if he didn't and the killer is still out there.… (plus d'informations)

I really enjoyed this book. I've always been a fan of true crime novels and I felt Scott Whisnant did a good job of portraying the facts while leaving his personal feelings and opinions out of his presentation of the case. These kind of books can be difficult to enjoy when the author shoves their personal beliefs down your throat and you end up only getting a skewed version of the "facts".

I had the advantage of never hearing of this case so I went in with an unbiased view of the circumstances. I was immediately sucked into the plot from the moment the Eastburn's neighbors, Bob and Jenette observed the lack of movement at the house next door.

Mr. Whisnant's portrayal of the events left me feeling empathy for both the victim as well as the defendant and his family which I believe truly shows that this novel was written on a completely level ground for both sides. I was enthralled with the retelling of the courtroom drama and and sympathized with the defense and the hoops they had to jump through in the first case. I truly believe the first case was unjust due to the location and the incompetence of the judge.

Interwoven between all of the courtroom drama is the back story concerning Katie Eastman's husband and surviving daughter Jana as well as what Tim Hennis' wife, daughter and parents go through while he is on death row. This is where I became a tangled ball of emotions as I did not know whether to feel worse for the Eastman or Hennis families. Eventually I came to terms with the fact that there are no winners in this case and it was OK to feel equally bad for everyone.

This is a must-read for anyone who is a fan of true crime, courtroom procedural books or just a good mystery in general. Mr. Whisnant expertly keeps his readers engaged weaving in and out of the courtroom and into the lives of all parties involved in this case. I recommend re-reading this book even if you read the original 1993 publication as this version is updated with more current information.… (plus d'informations)

on Wednesday, September 13, 2006 Iwrote about this book....


Thanks for sharing. I wanted to read it but then at the beginning of the book I noticed they were referring to the story of Jeffrey MacDonald a lot. I knew a bit about that case but had not read Fatal Vision by Joe McGinnes about this case, so I read Fatal Vision first.

This book has a lot of similarities with that story.
It was a very good read but if there is one thing I cannot stand if when I read a book and then discover they never caught the killer(s).
Afterwards I searched the Internet but it seems case is not solved.
Very well written.

… (plus d'informations)