Fran Parker

In 1987, I was a student at the university where this occurred, albeit living off campus and commuting four hours daily to complete an internship. Nevertheless, I was stunned and horrified by the murder, and followed the story as best I could. I was graduated and living in Little Rock when Bolden was brought to trial and acquitted. Then, still living in Arkansas, I read in the local paper of a body being found in an Arkansas city near Memphis (the blurb below intimates that the second murder occurred in Louisiana; it did not. Bolden and Tillis were living in Memphis when Tillis was killed).

As far as I can tell, this is the only book written about this case, and I wish it was better. Though certainly not required to adhere to any format, the author gives little background on the principals, jumps back and forth in time, sometimes within the same paragraph, and does not, as the jacket implies, play too pivotal a role in the investigations (to be fair, if she does play an important part, she doesn't convey it well). The prose is a little flowery and metaphorical for a story about murder, and, though clearly noting that she does so, she presumes the course of conversations that no one could possibly have been privy to.

In addition, the book was riddled with inaccuracies, there were errors in some facts which could rapidly be verified with telephone calls, or, as I did, a few clicks of a mouse. These include the name of the university's band, the athletic conference the teams belonged to, and the fact that there were no Amber Alerts in 1987.

I don't regret reading this, as it is the only book written about the case, and it was a sad and difficult time for this area when it was happening. I'm just disappointed in the account.… (plus d'informations)