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Rating: 
Summary: The "good ole boys" still rule
Review: After seeing the tv movies, watching the court tv trial, this book proved to be refreshing. The D.A. Carrie Wells seemed to have a personal dislike for Betty and thus the tv movies seemed to be based more on Ms. Wells opionion than on fact.Betty was raked over the coals in divorce court where all odds were stacked against her because of who her husband was.While Bella Stumbo showed the desent of Betty's mind, she showed how she was pushed and pushed.This was a woman who worked first to put him through medical school, then law school, and when he finally made it he wanted to get rid of the devoted wife. He was a unfair man by any standards. Linda comes across as petty and spiteful.It was hard to feel any compassion for either her or Dan. What kind of person keeps another woman's china just for spite. Not only did Linda have no morals. she had no compassion. Carrie Wells wants everyone to believe that the four Broderick children loved Linda, if you believed the movie, but it was evident that they disliked her for her petty ways against there mother. No matter what Betty was their Mom and by almost everyone a real good one. If Dan had just given her a fair settlement this probably would not have happened. Betty could have taken her money and wished the two selfish people luck. This is one case where clemency should be granted. Dan and Linda weren't happy just to take the money and the kids, they had to humiliate her too.Was what she did extreme? Of course it was.But my sympathy is with Betty and her children, not Dan and Linda.
Rating:
Summary: used, abused then dumped. Betty Broderick.
Review: Betty Broderick spent many years supporting her husband while he attended law school. When she finally had the perfect life after her husband became successful, she continued to aide Dan by hosting his many business parties, taking care of the kids on her own because Dan was TOO busy to attend their sporting events. Yes, Betty was a little immature for her age but she never stopped giving her love and support to the family including Dan. Dan was obviously having a mid life crisis when he purchased a fancy open topped car and started having an affair with a young co-worker. When he finally 'dumped' Betty, some deep counseling was obviously needed and who knows, she may not have ended up being a murderer. This book is very well written, very interesting and fact filled. I feel both Dan and Betty were to blame for the events of their lives. No, Dan didn't ask to be shot but then, Betty didn't asked to be dumped and pushed to the side like an old chair after it's served it's purpose and is no longer needed. I fully recommend this exceptional book.
Rating:
Summary: Stacking the deck
Review: This was an excellent book, a real inside look at the "all-American happy family of 6" turned dysfunctional, as well as the current state of our justice system. Betty Broderick was a product of her upbringing, a "good Catholic girl" who spent nearly 10 years cutting corners and making sacrifices to put her husband Dan through Harvard Law School, although he had already achieved a medical degree from Cornell. Betty, unfortunately, placed far too much importance on appearances and social aspirations. Her decision to "look the other way" from Dan's high-profile affair with his hand-picked 22-year-old assistant, Linda, proved to be devastating. When Dan decided to divorce Betty for Linda, Betty's entire world was shattered. Stumbo tells the entire story of Betty's "fall from grace" in an even-handed manner, showcasing Betty's selfishness as well as her descent into madness. Dan and Linda are portrayed in a good light by their friends and relatives, while shown by others to be petty and self-centered, especially in their continuous efforts to knock Betty down another notch, even years after Betty and Dan's separation. Stumbo's best moments, however, are in the courtroom, for both the divorce and murder trials. The divorce trial takes a beating by Stumbo, who shows just how unfairly long-suffering wives and mothers are treated by the justice system when the spouse is a prominent citizen, not to mention a millionaire who regularly rubs shoulders with law-enforcement officials. Dan Broderick got by constantly on his influence without having to prove himself as a "good" parent, a responsible individual, or even a wealthy one, as Betty constantly was forced to do. The tragedy that resulted is shown by Stumbo in all of its tarnish: there are no heroes in this story, only seriously flawed human beings, who by turns, were also victims. Betty was the first victim, Dan and Linda were the final victims, and the children were the ultimate victims. I would especially ! recommend this for anyone going through a divorce, civilized or not. It's a chilling look at how emotions, untreated and flamed by a lack of concern, can suddenly become an impulsive act.
Rating: 
Summary: "Anger is a weapon only to your opponent"
Review: While I can certainly understand Betty Broderick's rage and feeling of betrayal upon being told that she was being dumped, she also, as this book makes clear, was her own very worst enemy in a thousand and one ways. It wasn't her husband's evil machinations that prevented her getting a lawyer so much as her own rapidly-earned reputation as an impossible client; it wasn't her husband's evil machinations that got custody awarded to him as much as her own increasingly insane behavior. For an interesting exercise, reverse the genders in this story, and try to convince yourself that "Billy" Broderick, after killing his high-flying ex-wife and her new toyboy in their bed in their house, would escape the death penalty. A lot of women, I've noticed, are ardent feminists until the subject of "equal punishment for equal crimes" comes up---at that point they're as old-fashioned as it gets. The ones I really felt for were the kids, and, to a lesser extent, Linda Kokelna, the forgotten victim.
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