Pretty good. Not much of a football fan, buy I enjoyed the story and my dad would be proud that I did learn something about football. This was nicely put together as far as being a believable true crime story. ( )

Aaron Hernandez was so talented. He was worth millions playing football, but he was also a drug user, hot head, and a thug, who showed no remorse for the murder he committed. What a waste of someone, who could brought joy to those who love football.

Aaron Hernandez was an extremely talented young man drafted by the New England Patriots. He was a rising star on the team. On June 18, 2013, for unknown reasons he killed his friend, Odin Lloyd who was the boyfriend of his fiancee’s sister. All evidence pointed to Hernandez and he was convicted and sentenced to death row. While on trial for Lloyd’s murder he was charged with shooting two men in their car. Almost two years to the day of Odin Lloyd’s murder, Hernandez hung himself in his prison cell. Recommended for football fans and readers of true crime. ( )

All-American Murder

An interesting but tragic story of the violent acts of Aaron Hernandez and his ultimate death.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

SUMMARY
Aaron Hernandez was a college All-American who became the youngest player in the NFL and later reached the Super Bowl. His every move as a tight-end for the New England Patriots played out in the headlines, yet he led a secret life. A life that ended in a maximum-security prison. What drove him to go so wrong, so fast? Between the summers of 2012 and 2013 not long after Hernandez made his first Pro Bowl, he was linked to a series of violent incidences culminating in the death of Odin Lloyd, a semi-pro football player, who dated the sister of Hernandez’s fiancée, Shayanna Jenkins. All-American Murder was the first book to investigate Aaron Hernandez first-degree murder conviction and the mystery of his own shocking untimely death.

REVIEW
All-American Murder is a interesting and thought-provoking non-fiction account of the life of Aaron Hernandez. This story is not a typical James Patterson thriller. The writing was good but not quite as descriptive as his typical novels. The story is extremely sad and frustrating. The book made it difficult to feel any sympathy for Hernandez who had it all, but couldn’t control his impulses, his paranoia or his actions. The book highlights his consumption of vast quantity of alcohol, marijuana and other drugs and his involvement in at least three murders, one attempted murder and other violent acts. The book further revealed evidence of Hernandez repeatedly lying and covering ups his own actions. All-American Murder left no doubt as to Hernandez’s guilt.

But what about brain injury? Could that have caused him to act the way he did? The book touched on the stage III CTE finding the epilogue, but it played no part in the story-telling. There was no discussion of any incidences where Hernandez was possible concussed that could have explained his unstable behavior. While I am frustrated by the story and feel great sympathy for Hernandez’s victims, I appreciate the book overall.

Publisher Little Brown/ Hachette Audio
Published January 22, 2018
Review www.bluestockingreviews.com ( )

After reading this book, I am even more disgusted with football. The coaches, college and professional, cover up for bad behavior. Many of the players are thugs, violent and mean, and they believe themselves to be above the law. Sadly, many people revere them and their behavior. Add drugs and money into the mix and it is a recipe for disaster.
The authors do a good job of laying out all the issues and the problems of the life of Aaron Hernandez. Sadly, this was a young man with a great deal of athletic ability that got involved with drugs and gangs, and liked to go everywhere with guns.
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I was somewhat aware of the Aaron Hernandez trial, but don't follow sports news all that closely anymore. While this is ostensibly a non-fiction book that tells the rise and fall of a superstar, the narrative includes elements of speculation not proven in the court of law. One might then consider this to be a storyfied account of Hernandez and the people he killed (or presumably killed).

The story itself, despite whatever liberties with the facts, is a good one and well told. I already knew how it ended, so the fascination was in the progression. It was suggested in the story that Hernandez probably suffered brain injury similar to what caused Dave Duerson and Junior Seau to kill themselves. Probably the only thing this story doesn't elaborate on, however, is Hernandez' injury history. The conclusion, therefore, is just more speculation and more of a means to make sense of a life that should have followed a far better script. ( )