BITTER HARVEST: A WOMAN'S FURY A MOTHERS SACRIFICE : "A Woman's Fury, a Mother's Sacrifice"

Rating:
Summary: Quite Disturbing
Review: I have read very few "true crime" novels and foundthis quite interesting. Truly a horrible crime was committed and the book leaves no doubt in my mind that Dr. Green is guilty as charged. Dr. Farrar is also a contemptible character as he did not move early to save his children from an obviously destructive environment. The author does not delve into the psychopathology of Dr. Green, which I find quite gratifying. Characterological deficits are without doubt present in Dr. Greene, but I seriously doubt that she could be considered mentally ill. After having evaluated over a thousand inmates, I find that mental illness, although possible present is seldom a motivating factor in thier criminality. Criminals use all sorts of excuses to avoid and project blame onto others, as well as present a revisionist history, which Dr. Green does in typical fashion as portrayed in this well written book. The arson investigation is probably the most interesting aspect of the novel. Incidentally it was reported in the local paper recently that Dr. Green is attempting to file for a new trial. I apologize for anonymity, but do for the prison system and thought it best.

Rating:
Summary: Quite Disturbing
Review: I have read very few "true crime" novels and found this quite interesting. Truly a horrible crime was committed and the book leaves no doubt in my mind that Dr. Green is guilty as charged. Dr. Farrar is also a contemptible character as he did not move early to save his children from an obviously destructive environment. The author does not delve into the psychopathology of Dr. Green, which I find quite gratifying. Characterological deficits are without doubt present in Dr. Greene, but I seriously doubt that she could be considered mentally ill. After having evaluated over a thousand inmates, I find that mental illness, although possible present is seldom a motivating factor in thier criminality. Criminals use all sorts of excuses to avoid and project blame onto others, as well as present a revisionist history, which Dr. Green does in typical fashion as portrayed in this well written book. The arson investigation is probably the most interesting aspect of the novel. Incidentally it was reported in the local paper recently that Dr. Green is attempting to file for a new trial. I apologize for anonymity, but do for the prison system and thought it best.

Rating:
Summary: Not one of your best Ann...
Review: I have to agree with others on this one.A wee bit repetitiveand downright boring in some parts.Ann Rule is one of my favourite authors but I was disappointed in this book.This is one of the rare times that I have not finished a book.Better luck next time.

Rating:
Summary: Not one of your best Ann...
Review: I have to agree with others on this one.A wee bit repetitive and downright boring in some parts.Ann Rule is one of my favourite authors but I was disappointed in this book.This is one of the rare times that I have not finished a book.Better luck next time.

Rating:
Summary: Story interesting, delivery repetitive.
Review: The characters were very interesting. Ann told the sameinformation when she set the story up, when she covered the series of events and again through the investigation and during the court trial. This made the book very boring.

Rating:
Summary: Story interesting, delivery repetitive.
Review: The characters were very interesting. Ann told the same information when she set the story up, when she covered the series of events and again through the investigation and during the court trial. This made the book very boring.

Rating:
Summary: Bitter Harvest is a very good attention getter book.
Review: The true-life crime book Bitter Harvest, written by Ann Rule,was quite unreal. As soon as I started reading Bitter Harvest, I was constantly waiting to see what happened next. I believe that Ann Rule writes well, but that she is to repetive at times. This is a story of a woman who is so intellectually gifted and normal acting, yet she has the ability to poison her husband ani, her Bryn Mawr Meat Market my Slutzkyd kill her children. Although the conclusion claims that this woman's mental capability has not developed past the age of an infant, it seems hard to believe that she could have lived a normal life as an adult without anyone knowing she had these problems. The main reason that I was so interested in this book was the fact that I knew it was a true story, and it easily kept my attention. For the most part, the book was well written, but the last hundred of pages or so seemed to say the same thing. I think that Ann Rule dragged it out too much. I feel that she could have condensed the long upcoming conclusion some and get to the point quicker. Overall, I liked the book's story. This was my first Ann Rule book, and I would like to read another one to compare my thoughts.

Rating:
Summary: Bitter Harvest is a very good attention getter book.
Review: The true-life crime book Bitter Harvest, written by Ann Rule, was quite unreal. As soon as I started reading Bitter Harvest, I was constantly waiting to see what happened next. I believe that Ann Rule writes well, but that she is to repetive at times. This is a story of a woman who is so intellectually gifted and normal acting, yet she has the ability to poison her husband and kill her children. Although the conclusion claims that this woman's mental capability has not developed past the age of an infant, it seems hard to believe that she could have lived a normal life as an adult without anyone knowing she had these problems. The main reason that I was so interested in this book was the fact that I knew it was a true story, and it easily kept my attention. For the most part, the book was well written, but the last hundred of pages or so seemed to say the same thing. I think that Ann Rule dragged it out too much. I feel that she could have condensed the long upcoming conclusion some and get to the point quicker. Overall, I liked the book's story. This was my first Ann Rule book, and I would like to read another one to compare my thoughts.

Rating:
Summary: A biased dud.
Review: I have read most of Ann Rule's books. They are usuallyinteresting, although always contain errors and contridictions, and are ALWAYS biased. That said, I expected all those things in this book, but was floored by just how much bias there was. It was almost as if Ms. Rule had some kind of attraction to the goofy-looking Mike Farrar. She did convince me of one thing, though...Debra Green DID NOT commit the crimes...I think a real good case could be made against Mike and Celeste.. and why the police did not follow through on this is beyond me...and of course, Ms. Rule never did say. This book was the absolute worse one she's ever done.

Rating:
Summary: A biased dud.
Review: I have read most of Ann Rule's books. They are usually interesting, although always contain errors and contridictions, and are ALWAYS biased. That said, I expected all those things in this book, but was floored by just how much bias there was. It was almost as if Ms. Rule had some kind of attraction to the goofy-looking Mike Farrar. She did convince me of one thing, though...Debra Green DID NOT commit the crimes...I think a real good case could be made against Mike and Celeste.. and why the police did not follow through on this is beyond me...and of course, Ms. Rule never did say. This book was the absolute worse one she's ever done.