<div>A &ldquo;riveting&rdquo; true crime classic: The trial of Connecticut teen Peter Reilly, accused of killing his mother, and the community that defended him (People). In the sleepy hamlet of Canaan, Connecticut, Barbara Gibbons stood out. She and her eighteen-year-old son, Peter Reilly, lived in a drab one-bedroom house on a desolate stretch of road. An intelligent, lively woman with a wicked sense of humor, Barbara also had dark moods and drank too much. She fought loudly with neighbors and her son, and appeared to have a messy, complicated love life. When Peter came home from the Teen Center one night to discover his mother lying naked on the bedroom floor with her throat slashed, the police made him their prime suspect. After eight hours of interrogation and a polygraph test, Peter confessed. Investigators were convinced they had an open-and-shut case, but the townspeople disagreed. They couldn&rsquo;t believe that the na&iuml;ve teenager was capable of such a gruesome crime, and blamed detectives for taking advantage of the boy&rsquo;s trust. With the help of celebrities including Mike Nichols and William Styron, who contributes an eloquent and persuasive introduction to Joan Barthel&rsquo;s account of the case, the community of Canaan rallied to Peter&rsquo;s defense. A gripping murder mystery and an intimate portrait of the loyalties, resentments, and secrets lurking beneath the placid surface of quiet towns across America, A Death in Canaan is a masterpiece of &ldquo;first-class journalism&rdquo; (The New York Times). </div>

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A Death in Canaan

<div>A troubled Los Angeles socialite is both terrorized and tempted by a killer in this &ldquo;brilliantly written&rdquo; true story by the author of A Death in Canaan (Ann Rule). Hope Masters lived in one of the most exclusive neighborhoods in Beverly Hills&mdash;but was entitled to food stamps. Pretty, petite, and privileged, she was recovering from two failed marriages and a string of poor decisions. But when Hope met and fell in love with a handsome advertising executive, she believed her life was finally back on track&mdash;until the morning she woke up to find the barrel of a gun in her mouth. Hope&rsquo;s fianc&eacute; lay dead in the next room. His killer was a new acquaintance who&rsquo;d been visiting the couple in a remote ranch in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains. He claimed to be a journalist, but his real identity was as mysterious as his motivations. Even more bizarre, however, was what happened at the end of the long, nightmarish weekend in which Hope saw everything she cared about destroyed: She began to fall in love with her tormenter. A fascinating and frightening portrait of the power of evil to lead the most innocent of victims down the darkest of paths, A Death in California is &ldquo;a first-rate piece of reporting&rdquo; (Kirkus Reviews) on &ldquo;one of the strangest cases in the annals of American crime&rdquo; (The New York Times). </div>

A Death in California

<div>This &ldquo;expertly written&rdquo; true story of an honest New York cop who loses his head and his heart while undercover reads like &ldquo;a high-caliber TV miniseries&rdquo; (Publishers Weekly). On the eve of his second wedding anniversary, Chris Anastos feels secure in his marriage and in his work with the NYPD&rsquo;s anticrime unit in the South Bronx. A summons to the downtown headquarters of the Intelligence Division spells trouble, however. Links between the Italian mob and a Greek criminal network in Queens have been discovered, and investigators want the Greek-American cop to go undercover. Reluctantly, Anastos agrees. For five years he plays his role to perfection, moving back and forth between his comfortable home life and a murky, underground world of wiseguys, pimps, bookies, racketeers, thieves, and heroin dealers. But when the happily married cop falls in love with the beautiful, raven-haired daughter of a Long Island capo, he faces his gravest threat yet. From the acclaimed author of A Death in Canaan and A Death in California, this is the unforgettable true story of a good man torn between passion and principle.</div>

Love or Honor

<div>Three true crime classics of love, murder, and the mob by a Pulitzer Prize finalist who writes with &ldquo;honest and gritty realism&rdquo; (Phoenix Gazette). Award-winning author Joan Barthel uncovers the dark secrets behind some of the strangest cases in the history of American crime in these three captivating works of &ldquo;first-class journalism&rdquo; (The New York Times). A Death in California: When twice-divorced Beverly Hills socialite Hope Masters fell in love with a handsome advertising executive, she thought her life was finally turning around&mdash;until she woke up to find a gun in her mouth and her fianc&eacute; dead in the next room. The killer was a new acquaintance who&rsquo;d been visiting the couple&rsquo;s Sierra Nevada ranch. Even more bizarre, however, was what happened at the end of the long, nightmarish weekend in which Masters saw everything she cared about destroyed: She began to fall in love with her tormenter. &ldquo;Superbly documented, brilliantly written. The suspense will keep readers caught to the very last page&rdquo; (Ann Rule, bestselling author of The Stranger Beside Me). A Death in Canaan: When eighteen-year-old Peter Reilly arrived home from the Teen Center one night to discover his mother lying naked on the bedroom floor with her throat slashed, local police made him their prime suspect. After eight hours of interrogation and a polygraph test, Reilly confessed. But the townspeople of Canaan, Connecticut, couldn&rsquo;t believe the na&iuml;ve teenager was capable of such a gruesome crime. With the help of some celebrities, including Mike Nichols and William Styron, the community rallied to the boy&rsquo;s defense. Barthel&rsquo;s &ldquo;riveting&rdquo; account of this fascinating and frightening case was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize (People). Love or Honor: Police officer Chris Anastos was happily married and satisfied with his work on the NYPD&rsquo;s anti-crime unit&mdash;until he was asked to go undercover to investigate links between the Italian mob and a Greek criminal network in Queens. For five years he moved back and forth between his comfortable home life and a murky, underground world of wise guys, pimps, and thieves. But when he fell in love with the beautiful, raven-haired daughter of a Long Island capo, Anastos faced his gravest threat yet. &ldquo;For devotees of cop tales and mob lore . . . Tantalizing&rdquo; (The New York Times Book Review). </div>

Joan Barthel

Books By Joan Barthel (4 Books)

A Death in Canaan

A Death in California

Love or Honor

Deadly Obsessions

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Joan Barthel

Books By Joan Barthel (4 Books)

A Death in Canaan

A Death in California

Love or Honor

Deadly Obsessions

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