Like so many people I have found myself intrigued by the Mansion Murders. Many years ago my sister had me watch the 1976 movie which at the time scared me half to death. (possibly because I was with my sister in California very near where these murders took place)
After it took Bob and I an embarrassingly long time to read the Star Wars Thrawn trilogy I suggested Helter Skelter for a bit of light reading - I kid, I kid! As we were rapidly approaching spooky season and we had talked about reading a true crime book at some point we thought now was a good time.
This book was incredible - going deep into this case and how many wrong turns were taken, how many mistakes were made and how many roadblocks were put in front of Bugliosi it is amazing that the outcome was what it was. It was also amazing to read about all the trial proceedings and it was in no way boring or too technical. Bob and I were completely engrossed, this was a total page turner. It is true that the crimes were absolutely disturbing, more disturbing is that we don't know the total number of murders this group of people committed.
We definitely understood why people were and still are so interested in the case, we had never had a case like this before and I hope to hell we never have one again. And it's hard not to be completely intrigued by a 5'2" fella who was able to get this group of people to do his bidding right up to slaughtering human beings. It is amazing the celebrities that were involved and who were on the supposed "kill list" it definitely solidifies my feelings that Los Angeles is the wild West.
I ordered the 1976 version of the movie and we also watched at 2004 version. The 2004 version is good, I'm glad we watched it but the 1976 version is amazing. A true look at how disturbed Mansion and the girls in the family were - though not comforting to watch knowing they just let one of these girls out of prison.
I imagine the murders of Sharon Tate, her unborn child, her friends and the LaBiancas will remain an intriguing part of history and I'm definitely even more intrigued than I was before reading this book. Bob and I agreed that since this is a true story there are no MVPs and LVPs here, human beings lost their lives at the hands of severely disturbed monsters. I will say I find myself double checking locked doors and not being super excited to be alone in the apartment in the dark, I attribute that to the fact that this was all real, this wasn't a book about a fictional monster these were very real monsters.
That being said Bob and I agreed there will be additional true crime books read during Virtual Book Club so if you have any suggestions drop them in the comments!