Mikita Brottman

Guilty Creatures: Sex, God, and Murder in Tallahassee, Florida by Mikita Brottman is a 2024 Atria publication.

This true crime book details the decades long investigation into the murder of Mike Williams in Florida. Mike went duck hunting one day, but was never heard from again. Meanwhile, it became obvious that Mike’s wife, Denise, and his best friend, Brian, were getting pretty chummy with each other. With only circumstantial evidence and no body, it was hard to prove Mike was murdered and even harder to prove Denise or Brian were responsible for his death. So, for years the case was kept alive by Mike’s mother, Cheryl, and a stubborn Florida reporter until finally, a series of events breaks the case wide open…

This is one of those cases that really does have it all. A bit of of Double Indemnity- a bit of Shakespeare. These people are incredible- one minute they are having a hot and heavy affair, plotting murder, and the next they are deeply religious, devout church members... and seriously convince themselves they are sincere believing their own lies.

This was a high-profile case- especially if one lived in Florida. Mike’s disappearance was featured on the Discovery channel show, “Disappeared”- but I’m not sure if everyone knows the case chapter and verse- so I thought the author could have gone with a more suspenseful approach so that the reader would feel compelled to find out how it would all play out. Instead, very early on we are told some pieces of information that popped that balloon- though there are plenty of twists in the case- and tons and tons of juicy tidbits and gossip. At times it felt like I was reading a trashy novel instead of a true crime saga. But as they say- you can’t make this stuff up.

The writing, though, is just okay- sometimes it didn’t flow well, and though this won’t make sense, it could be dry reading sometimes- but it was never boring- that’s for sure. If you like true crime this case will is one you’ll want to check out, especially if you’ve never heard of Denise and Brian. It’s a real jaw-dropper.

3.5 stars… (mehr)

Don't be fooled by the title. Mikita Brottman loves to read.It's merely a ploy to draw the reader in.(Worked on me). What she actually argues against is literary snobbery. She takes offence to those who proclaim that the "Literary Classics' are the only worthwhile way to examine the depths of the human psyche. Brottman discusses a number of genres which she personally feels have given her more insight into the human mind. Some of her favorites are modern bestsellers, tell all bios, true crime books, and psychoanalyst case studies. She makes strong and compelling arguments for all these genres, and I'll probably find myself dipping into some of them.… (mehr)