Whatever Mother Says... : A True Story of a Mother, Madness and Murder

Rating:
Summary: Very sad,made me cry
Review: I read this book a couple of years ago under another title which I think was called The Worst Mother In The World. This is the only true crime book that I have ever read that actually made me cry.I consider myself pretty hardened to this type of reading but I felt so sorry for the children in this family having such an evil,nutcase of a mother. It's little wonder that children growing up in the violent and sick environment that these poor kids had turn out to be killers and develop severe mental problems. The thing that gets me,and you hear this all the time,is that although friends and neigbours and even family members knew that this mother was a sandwich short of a picnic - nobody tries to help these poor kids! This woman was a manipulative sadistic woman so consumed with jealousy that her daughters were prettier than her that she tortured them killing two out of three in the end.The worst thing is,is that she enlisted the help of her own sons to get rid of the bodies! These children endured severe beatings,starvation followed by mountains of food fed forcefully until they were sick and made to eat the vomit,they were drugged,made to drink enough alcohol until they passed out and eventually one of the daughters was shot by her own mother while being held in place by her two brothers because her mother was a lousy shot an didn't want to miss. Not only was she shot but as she didn't die,her mother nursed her back to health.I won't tell you how the bullet was removed as I don't want to ruin the next set of unimaginable events for you. This book is not one of the most well written that I have read but the story makes up for that.Very sad,Your worst nightmare come true,I only hope that someone does to the mother what she did to her kids.Makes you gasp.Will stay in your mind.A must for all true crime readers but not for the faint hearted.

Rating:
Summary: Real life horror!
Review: I read this years ago, and again recently, and while I thought the book was overall well written, the ending did leave more to the imagination than an actual fiction. The fact that these atrocities actually happened is what kept me intrigued, however it all seemed to come to a sort of anti-climactic end which left me with more questions than answers. I feel great empathy for the main protagonist, Terry Knorr, but also find it rather sad her view was not taken, if not explored more in-depthly. She plays second narrator, if any real part to the horror she witnessed, if any at all. I feel that perhaps the book was published before due time, and that perhaps waiting until the eventual trial had ellapsed rather than leave the reader clutching at straws, would have been more satisfying. Even now I still don't know what came of telling the story, moreover, what punnishment was handed out, if any at all, after all the build-up and tension, and the emphasis and repeatativeness of Ms Cross' testimony prior to anyone paying her heed. Sadly, it's as if it was released amid the hype and hype and frenzy of the events being uncovered, which have not stood the test of time, some fifteen years later. I wonder, does anyone even care now?

Rating:
Summary: Painfully bad writing.
Review: I realized that since this was a true crime book that it would not be showing up on any required reading lists for freshmen, but maybe it should be on such a list...as a lesson in how NOT to write. While, as another reviewer noted, I respect the amount of work involved collecting all of the facts, but Wensley Clarkson should leave the writing to a more capable author. I am mainly disappointed in this book because the story itself is a horrifying course of events which show us the tragedy that some people endure at the hands of others, but is served up like a traffic accident. The style used to tell the story reminded me of a sensationalistic tabloid article, but not as good. If it's the type of story itself that interests you I would advise avoiding this book and opting for something by David Peltzer instead.

Rating:
Summary: whatever mother says has a bad ending
Review: I really enjoyed this book and could not harldy put it down ....it quite saddened me to think that a mother could actually do something like that to her very own flesh and blood...the author had many inconsistancies in the story and it was not written well ...it was like he was in a rush to do the story as i can see that it was written in the same year as the trial....he does not have any details whatsoever about the outcome of the trial.....i would have loved to have known what happened with the mother and the two sons in the occurance of the trial....

Rating:
Summary: Where is Mother Now
Review: I thought the book to be rather interesting. It was so appalling that I almost didn't believe that these things actually happened. I would like to know where Theresa Cross is now. Did she get convicted? What was her sentence? The book left it up in the air. I would like to know if this crazy women is still out there.

Rating:
Summary: Incredibly Unthinkable Acts
Review: I was glued from beginning to end. There is such a bigger impact when you find associated media on the subject either by talk shows and news or magazine clippings. That's the fun part of it all. I was supprised while reading the book, that it took sssooo long for police to investigate the issues the girl and others brought to their attention. But like one of the other reviews states, some of the facts may be misrepresented or stretched a bit. I'd be curious to find out more! A Must Read for those who like True Crime!

Rating:
Summary: sorry, folks, but i disagree
Review: i'm about 1/3 of the way thru w/ this book, and trying to decide if i want to finish it. the author has mediocre skills, and the way he disregards simple rules of grammar is distracting. but what really makes this book bad is the author did almost no research. not one single anecdote from the killer's childhood. no details about teresa or her children, nothing to help us understand why she went bonkers. and another thing...she DID go bonkers. nobody wants to read about someone truly certifiable killing her kids. crazy crimes are only interesting when they have a sensational aspect, like the crimes of son of sam. you should feel sorry for teresa. the author doesn't dispute the strong possibility that Suesan Knorr was nuts, so why on earth couldn't her mother be? her kids referred to her as "nutty". why didn't anyone try to get help for her, instead of waiting till she killed someone and then crucifying her?

Rating:
Summary: Terrible Ending
Review: If the author was so anxious to get the story out, I feel he could've at least waited until after the trial. I read this a couple of years ago and to this day have not been able to find out any information on this case at all. But, the story is absolutely horrifying and like other reviewers here, I couldn't put it down, although it made me sick.

Rating:
Summary: Horrifying, but I couldn't put it down
Review: Like a bad freeway accident, I couldn't take my eyes from this book. We tend to want to think that deep down all mothers are nurturing, but Clarkson's novel will definitely change your mind on that subject. Others have given us portraits of monster parents: McCrae's BARK OF THE DOGWOOD comes to mind, as does the book SYBIL--also a well-known movie. And the book A CHILD CALLED IT is reminiscent of this one as well. But Clarkson captures something so raw in WHATEVER MOTHER SAYS that you can't look away; you can't pretend that this is over-the-top reporting. Yes, these things do happen, and they happen with more regularity than you'd imagine. This is what they call a page turner of a book, and I guarantee you won't be able to put it down. But be warned: it is NOT for the faint of heart.

Rating:
Summary: Terry's Fight
Review: Many readers have accurately said this book is not the best written account of crimes so hideous they should be fiction. I still have the book but it has been a while since I've read it. What I can add is the fact that two unidentified bodies of young women were found several years apart and it was the implausible tale of Terry (who turned out to be their sister) that led to detectives uncovering their identities and ascertain they were brutally killed by one person -- their own mother. It took Terry an inexcusably long time to get police to believe her and that is too often the case, especially if the victim is female. It was her strength and determination that finally brought to life her ordeal and the ordeal of her brothers and sisters leading up to the tragic ends of both her sisters. Although it is not a complete account it should still be read by all who have a need to know not all mothers are good but are rather the epitomy of evil.