About Angela Wilson
Location: Midwest
Occupation: Web Producer/Freelance Writer
Bio: I love to read - and write - and surf. My FAV genres include mysteries, romantic suspense and thrillers. I'm finally working on my own thriller (under a pen name) and writing a book on marketing/PR for authors. I blog about writing at www.wickedwordsmith.com, and have accounts on various sites. You can find me on MySpace, Facebook and more by visiting www.angelawilson.net.
Posts: 222
More from this author
Don’t think you can skip this book just because you watched the 48 Hours special. The CBS staple’s got nothing on this retelling of the Polk murder case.
I groaned when I saw Final Analysis in my latest book review pile. A true crime junkie, I’d already seen the details of the Susan Polk murder case on 48 Hours – twice. I’d seen stories on the Internet and thought I knew everything there was to know about it.
Not so. Final Analysis offers up an intimate glance into the dysfunctional Polk family, and gives readers a better foundation for understanding exactly what happened on that bloody October night six years ago.
Susan Polk was a troubled fifteen year old when she met the much older Felix Polk. He was her psychologist. Instead of helping her with her emotional troubles, Felix seduced her, divorced his wife and married the young girl. On the outside, their life was perfect. Three children, a beautiful home, seemingly endless finances. But inside the walls of the Miner Road complex, Susan and Felix Polk lived a codependent relationship that tore each other – and their children – into emotional shreds.
Susan tired of Felix’ controlling attitude, and decided to get a divorce. But she decided to stay in the marriage when he threatened to take away their children and have her committed – something she swore would never happen again. That decision to stay further eroded the already rocky relationship, and ultimately lead Susan to brutally stab her husband in their pool house – and leave the body for her fifteen-year old son to find.
Catherine Crier and Cole Thompson pull readers in with true dialog, court documents, and a bit of fictional flare that creates a three dimensional tale, rather than facts on a page. The most successful true-to-life tales are told by using fictional writing techniques, but not taking facts out of context to create a less-than-true story. Using these techniques gives this book readability, unlike The Devil in the White City, which has a few hundred pages of dry facts tying together an intriguing true story about a serial killer at the Chicago’s World Fair.
I was also impressed that the authors didn’t try to put their own spin on events; everything was based on fact. The CBS staple too often comes off as an editorial piece ready to sway viewers to the reporter’s take on events.
The book includes an excellent index, photographs of the couple, crime scene sketches and copies of police reports. It is much more thorough than the 48 Hours special, with better presentation of views from family members, jurors and prosecutors. It also takes you through the emotionally-gripping – and somewhat topsy-turvy – trial of Susan Polk, who represented herself. A short epilogue catches you up to the family at press time.
Final Analysis is a keeper for the true crime aficionado. I look forward to more from Crier and Thompson.
