By Two and Two—Jim Schutze
An innocent reader delves into this tale and is shocked, shocked I tell you. For true crime writer Schutze pens the tale of Betty Wilson and her twin, Peggy Lowe in quite a different manner than the more normal writer of this genre.
I’d read almost a third of the book before I realized that Betty Wilson’s husband, Dr. Jack Wilson, was about to be murdered and after the pre-murder narrative provided by the author I was totally surprised that his wife Betty was about to be charged and jailed for the crime.
Most true crime books give a less personal preview of events to come, describing the setting and backgrounds of the perpetrator before detailing the minutiae of the horrible event. This author, and I didn’t realize this until after the entire book was read, believes Betty Wilson and her twin to have been innocent and with no apology pens his novel to lead the reader to this conclusion as well.
Such a method of presenting a true crime left me un-nerved. The entire tale of the twins’ acquaintance with James White, a no-account poor-white-trash con-man and drifter, is presented as I presume Betty Wilson and the author would have the reader believe.
And believable it is, make no mistake. This reader was casually reading along, believing all as read and wondering when the murder or crime would happen, who would be the victim, and who would be the perpetrator.
By the time the murder occurred I could not believe that Betty Wilson and Peggy Lowe would in any circumstance align themselves in a conspiracy with the likes of James White when Ms. Wilson could easily have hired a more experienced and discrete hit man than this n’er do well. As for Peggy Lowe, Betty’s fraternal and “good” twin, it was and still is, totally impossible for me to believe she would have ever been a part of this scheme.
Which leaves me mighty uncomfortable as I am left now to believe that Betty Wilson was railroaded and jailed for the murder of her husband when she might well be innocent. I don’t like to think prosecutors would have pursued this case with all the expense and time to put Ms. Wilson behind bars when it would have been quite simple to just put James White in the poky. The man had already admitted he did the crime albeit, according to White, with the aid and financial incentive provided by Betty Wilson.
Article comments
1 - ConnieM
Interesting review- one of the books about a murder in Pennsylvania was written by a Philadelphia Inquirer reporter clearly smitten by the defendant and anxious to establish his innocence (I'm blanking on all the names- another book about the same case was written by Joseph Wambaugh)- It was interesting to see the different points of view, the differing evidence presented,and the different interpretations and weights given to the factors of the crime. I've also read three books on the Thomas Caputo case, and while none of them defended the murderer, the portrait of the victim varied widely.
Ummmmm, in my experience, a novel is a work of fiction; so looking for a novel at the library might not help you- Or was this a Freudian slip showing your inner opinion of this book. ConnieM
2 - Eric Berlin
I like the way you present your review Pat, with a nice immediacy. Well written to boot -- great job.
3 - Eric Berlin
This book review has been selected for Advance.net. You’ll be able to find this and other Blog Critics reviews at such places at Cleveland.com’s Book Reviews column.
4 - Jennifer
I got an advanced copy of "Secrets Can Be Murder" by Jane Velez-Mitchell. It had some family photos of criminals and victims I had never seen before, and the secrets she reveals are bizarre! If you like sensational crime, you have to check this one out!!