This book details the shocking death of a church of Christ minister, Matthew Winkler by his wife Mary. This true crime occurred in Tennessee in 2006. Fanning covers the trial extensively and delves into the background of both Mary and Matthew.

As in any crime or trial, there are a multitude of unanswered questions. Was the shooting intentional or an accident? Only Mary knows, and she may not know for sure. Was the emotional and physical abuse as bad as described? Again, only Mary knows. Was justice served? Was the best interest of the children served by returning them to Mary after her sentence was served? Many questions linger that remain unanswered.

This is a fascinating story and book that I read in only 3 days. I just could not stand to put it down. I highly recommend it, especially for fans of true crime stories.

My only complaint is Fanning’s story has much false information about the church of Christ. Starting with the title, Winkler was not a pastor. A pastor is the same as a church elder, of which the Bible indicates there must be a plurality. One man alone cannot serve scripturally as an elder, and furthermore, Winker was not an elder, nor was he qualified to be an elder. Fanning repeatedly refers to a “sanctuary” in the building. No church of Christ refers to their building, or any part of it, as a sanctuary. The building is not holy, people are. Without belaboring the point, there are other inaccuracies regarding the church of Christ in the book. Other than these quibbles, I highly recommend the book. ( )

Secret lives, who knows what goes on when the front door is locked and the children in bed? Abusive men threaten women with death and taking away their children all the time, but the women go to the police, they go to Women's Shelters, they go to various charities, churches or their family. They don't in general pick up guns to threaten their husbands and oh, it went off accidentally, so then they take the kids and run away trying to cover their trail as they go. Was she guilty of murder or manslaughter or was the abuse-excuse justified?

I knew a man, aged about 24, a chef, a white guy, he grew up in Zimbabwe. He left home in his mid-teens because he was fed up with the physical abuse from his very strict father. When he went back to visit his mother one day he said he caught his father abusing her and so he picked up a gun to threaten him but oh, it went off and so he ran away to South Africa and with the help of a bent lawyer got himself a passport and a fast exit (at almost the same time as the bent lawyer) to a tiny island in the Caribbean. He married an English girl from a posh family and went to the UK where they now have a little country house pub and restaurant. She has no idea.... Was he guilty of murder? Was the pastor's wife? ( )

True Crime books will either engross me or bore me, black or white with little gray. One of the hardest subjects to engage readers in, because facts are hard to get through without putting the reader to sleep. This book was at times boring... like when the author went through huge details of the state, when I really didn't care and mostly paragraph skipped through it. On the flip side of the coin, she did a pretty good job of keeping me wanting more info on the crime itself and the personalities behind the perpetrator, the victim and all those involved then delivering those facts without completely losing me. Still... It was just an okay book for me. ( )