A Thread of Violence, Mark O'Connell

 

A Thread of Violence:  A story of truth, invention, and murder by Mark O'Connell is a book I picked up after reading an excerpt in the Washington Monthly.

Started: 7/16/2023
Completed: 7/19/2023
Recommendation: Not Recommended
Recommended By: Nobody

Review:

This is journalist as writer.  The same passages repeat throughout the book.  The story is relatively thin as the murderer was not terribly inclined to speak about his crimes to O'Connell.  Thus, the book is sort of a biography of the author and his experiences while interviewing the murderer.  This might be OK if there was some sort of life changing event, shocking revelation, or gritty effort.  While there is no doubt that O'Connell worked hard to get his interviews and he literally spent years talking with the murderer, insight was missing.  The murderer was a weirdo (using O'Connell's description).  He tended to talk about his crimes in abstract terms which conveniently seemed to omit the murderer.  While the murderer's regret may be genuine (O'Connell thinks so), it is hard to understand whether there is regret for personal losses or genuine remorse at the harm he caused to others.  I just did not find the book compelling (tidbits are surely interesting) and the manner of writing seemed plodding--like someone who had to expand a long article.