Customer Reviews
an unbelievably tragic story.. - By: jackie sharp, 20 Nov 2008 
If it was fiction you would not find itin the least bit credible. The author tells the story with a huge amount of empathy to the victims, & as a consequence the self serving drivel of Kennedy is important to the book as a wholein that we can feel free to almost ridicule him & his pathetic excuses, therefore leaving us free to be outraged, as we all should be, at the nasty, callous murder of a child,and his self-fulfilling excuses.Bad child-hood. blah blah blah!YEAH, ME TOO...DOESN'T MAKE ME DO THAT! .And as to the repercussions of that night ... I will not spoil the story but it is important to understand who the real victims are.And for them it never ends. The author conveys this admirably.
THE DARKEST NIGHT INDEED... - By: Lawyeraau, 08 Jun 2008 
In 1973in Casper, Wyoming, the paths of two twenty something lowlifes, Ronald Kennedy & Jerry Jenkins, intersected with that of two half-sisters, eighteen year old Becky Thompson & eleven year old Amy Burridge. None of their lives would ever be the same again. Becky & Amy had just finished up some last minute grocery shopping at a local store, when they realized that they had a flat tire. Kennedy & Jenkins offered to help them & give them a ride home.
Once they werein the car, however, it was clear that Becky & Amy were going to be taken to hell & back again. The upshot is that they were abducted & ultimately driven to the North Platte River where Amy was thrown from a bridge that spanned a gorge into the river over a hundred feet below. Becky was then raped by Kennedy & Jenkins, & then she, too, was thrown from the bridge into that same river & left for dead. The only difference is that she physically survived her ordeal & lived to tell the tale.
The author divided the book into three parts. In the first part, the author takes great pains to describe the town & the people who played a partin the unfolding drama. He also paints a poignant portrait of the two girls who had been abducted & treated so cruelly by fate. He also describes the details of the events that led up to the crime, the crime itself, & its immediate aftermath.
In the second part of the book, the focus is on the prosecution of the case. Again, the author gives much detail on the individuals who were going to be involvedin the prosecution of the case, as well as those who were to be responsible for the defense of Kennedy & Jenkins. The author also gives details from the trial itself,in addition to the outcome.
In the third part of the book, the author details what became of Becky Thompson & notes the impact that this singular event had on her life. He also details what happened to Jenkins & Kennedy. The reader also discovers what became of the families of the victims, the families of the defendants, & those who were involvedin the trial process. He also includes portions of a memoir written by Kennedy, which the author expertly dissects & analyses. This is, however, the Achilles heelin the book, as the self-serving drivel served up by Kennedy made this portion of the book drag somewhat.
This case was big news when it happened, & it shook the town of Casper to its core. In fact, the author knew Becky & Amy, as they were his next door neighborsin Casper, Wyoming, where he grew up. He was a juniorin high school at the time that the crime occurred, & he recalls the impact that the crime had on not only the community but on his family, as well. This personal connection explains the well-spring of deep sadness that resonates throughout this well-written book & speaks to the reader. Meticulousin his research, it is clear that for this author this book was a labor of love, as the author brings to life with his prose all those whose lives had been touched by this heinous crime.
