A Deadly Game: The Untold Story of the Scott Peterson Investigation

by Catherine Crier and Cole Thompson

Book Overview

Filled with newsbreaking revelations - the definitive journalistic account of the Laci Peterson murder investigation . . . and of the sociopathic Scott Peterson's journey from philandering to murder to Death Row. Catherine Crier has been covering the Peterson case since Laci Peterson was first reported missing from her home on 24 December 2002. Crier, a former judge and one of television's most popular legal analysts, was among the first to question...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060766123
• ISBN13: 9780060766122
• Release Date: March 2005
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 480 Pages
• Weight: 1.88 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A Deadly Game is Excellent

This is what a true crime book, looks like and reads like. Over 400 pages keep you riveted plus glossy colored photos and B&W's. You are walked through this horrible crime methodically.You learn who the players are, the victims, the families, the cops, the attorneys, the volunteers, the friends, the lovers and the pieces begin to fall into place. Also included are the Coroners reports, arrest warrants and police reports, fingerprints and maps. It was well researched and well written. A page turner for sure.

Best book on the case and the only one worth reading twice

Amber Frey. Sharon Rocha. Ann Bird.Red headed nitwit Richelle Nice. All these women have written about Scott and their relationship with Scott and how they feel about Scott and all are pieces of that puzzle. But none of those women are legal experts nor professional writers and they’re all about the emotions of the case. Crier is a pro and her insights into the case are so good, well written and relevant to how and why Scott was busted for this crime and found guilty. As the court tv expert she is at the top of the game. I hope if Scott Peterson is awarded a new trial that she will be in the courtroom and writing about it.

Kind of humdrum

There’s a lot of information if you know nothing about the case as presented in the media. It is highly repetitive, which made my eyes drift over the pages mindlessly at times. It is clearly biased, but that’s okay in my opinion, given the verdict. However, if you’re looking for an objective telling of the story in order to form your own opinion, this is not it.

When The Narcissist's Mask Is Ripped Off ...

This is better than the books on this same subject that preceded it, because there is substance. And Catherine takes the readers on a very detailed journey of the investigation, and through the penalty hearing. I chose to read this because I wanted to know what was different from the detailed televised interviews and printed media. The Scott Peterson case represents problems in how many people are too busy living their lives, without being connected enough with others - they have forgotten the importance of earning one another's trust, during each interaction. The deadly game that Scott defined himself by, and everyone in his life bought into, was the ability to disown his emotions and his thoughts in a way that forces others to perceive him as being more of what they lacked. And as the investigation developed, Scott was confronted with parts of himself that he had spent his entire life disowning. His reaction was always to lie, and to try to force his interlocutors to question themselves. When you put a salesperson up against seasoned police detectives the deadly game can no longer be played, because generally speaking, cops are experts in reading everyone who they come into contact with - their careers depend upon this. It was also great to read from this book about many details about Laci Peterson's habits and expectations. For those who still claim that there was no evidence, I invite you to read this book, and be honest about the thoughts that rise up from within yourself. It's easy to actually chart reasons why he is guilty as you read this book.

Essential Reading for Peterson Trial Junkies

There is almost a bombshell per page in this riveting, intelligent, and horrifying book by Court TV legal analyst Catherine Crier, whom I have always found fair-minded, even and measured in her television broadcasts. In the same even-handed way, but with a definite point of view, which she tells us immediately, Crier meticulously lays out the chilling profile of a sociopath and the crime he committed without, seemingly, any guilt or feeling. The author tells us almost from the start that she believes Scott Peterson to be a classic sociopath. And then she simply lets the story tell itself, using reams of material never allowed in court, and never publicized before now. The case, for those of us who followed it from Day One, comes alive again as we follow the detectives from their initial response to an anguised family's phone call (Scott never called the police about his missing wife; he left that to his frantic mother- and father-in-law) to the web of increasingly bizarre and contradictory lies that Scott told with impunity. As becomes obvious in very short order, despite Geragos' claims to the contrary, it was not the police who suspected Scott from Day 1, but rather Scott himself, with his bizarre, flat behavior and endlessly ridiculous lies, who put himself in their faces as the likely suspect. And their meticulous behind-the-scenes fitting of the pieces of the puzzle only strengthened what Scott all but told them from the first. I mentioned above that the book is horrifying; in terms of what a sociopath can do, the lies that come so easily, the complete lack of human feeling or remorse, the intense narcisism that these people display and for which Peterson was the poster boy, is really scary. And of course the crime he committed was completely vile. As for bombshells, those of us riveted to the case didn't know everything. I kept finding myself saying, WHAT? WHAT? I didn't know that! He's so much guiltier than I ever thought! The Rochas come across in the book as more human--yes, Sharon Rocha can use the F word--and more tragic than they ever appeared on television, if such a thing is possible. As for the Petersons, as in Anne Bird's book, they do not fare well. At least not in my opinion. While I have complete sympathy for their own bewilderment and grief, they were scarcely likeable people behind the scenes, particularly Jackie. This book is well-written (although it has its share of grammatical errors and typos; a rush to print?), intelligent, meticulous, and completely mesmerizing. Even if one had lived on another planet and never heard of the Peterson case, it reads like a first-rate True Crime tale, worthy of the best of them. Read it and see!

ABSOLUTELY RIVETING!!!

WOW!! If you have any interest in this case - you should definitely read this book - it is absolutely riveting! There are tons of things we hadn't even known about - details that didn't come out in the media or in the trial. Reading this book is like watching a compelling thriller with tons of drama, twists and turns, and surprises.........sadly, the fact that it really happened makes the case that much more chilling and tragic. It is truly an examination of a cold-blooded sociopath........and how he used his charm and charisma for evil.

From someone who knows evidence

This book is far better than Amber Frey's book "Witness to the Prosecution" mainly because it's not "gossipy" and it's written by a former judge who understands the total package of evidence -circumstantial and direct. She takes a reader through a linear time-line of behavior and documents it with credible sources. Unlike other sensational journalistic accounts of case law I think Crier does a great job of compartmentalizing emotional aspects that are only relevant in an ancillary way but do shed light on intent. I still think that typically juries do the right thing and trust the process, so I think this book is a reliable testament that justice unfolds most of the time. Great book. Well done.

Excellent reporting of the whole case

This work is excellent! Was hard to "put down." Brings to light much more than has been defined and described in other works and reports on the case. The book is very well written and the many transcripts of the case provided are an excellent way to understand the real depth of the case. It is very investigative and legal in many parts, but, the author does a wonderful job of making Laci Peterson real to the reader and you come away understanding more who Laci was. The author also did an excellent job describing the pain and suffering of the familes that were destroyed by this event; and so Catherine Crier has mastered the "weaving" of both the factual and the emotional sides of the case. There is a significant amount of information provided, and new information including transcripts of conversations and facts that the jury did not hear. If you have followed this case at all, this is "a must read." If you have not followed the case then this is the book that covers it all. A real work of authority on all facets of the case. Very highly recommended! 5 stars +