A Perfect Husband

By Aphrodite Jones

Book Overview

Renowned true crime authority and New York Times bestselling author Aphrodite Jones brings her unparalleled insider access to the jolting, tragic tale of the bestselling novelist and convicted wife killer Michael Peterson, the "perfect husband" who would later become the subject of the hit Netflix docu-series The Staircase and the HBO miniseries of the same name, starring Colin Firth and Toni Collette.

"A classic true-crime page-turner." --M. William Phelps, creator of the Paper Ghosts podcast

Michael Peterson was a decorated war veteran and bestselling novelist. His wife Kathleen was a high-powered executive and devoted mother. They seemed to be the perfect couple--until the tragic night Michael claimed he found Kathleen at the bottom of the stairs in a pool of blood.

He said her death was an accident. The prosecution put him behind bars. Then in a stunning reversal, a judge gave Michael another chance to stand trial.

Aphrodite Jones draws on exclusive interviews and disturbing new evidence to expose this compelling real-life thriller of marriage, manipulation, and murder.

With a probing analysis of the series The Staircase.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 080654595X
• ISBN13: 9780806545950
• Release Date: October 2026
• Publisher: Citadel Press
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.81 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Fascinating

A dyed-in-the-wool sociopath with genteel affectations and upper-crust snobbery and arrogance. He's a raving lunatic behind a mask of sanity. A most fascinating story. The supporting cast of characters (family members, attorneys) are compelling in their own right. "Written in Blood" is another terrific book on this case, and the film "The Staircase", a documentary about the case, is riveting and revealing. I was hooked on this one.

This was an awesome story!

I would put Aphrodite Jones right up there with Ann Rule as far as writing true crime books. This story was captivating and has somewhat of a surprise endng. I found it difficult to put down and I would recommend it to lovers of true crime books.

Great Read

Even though I watched the entire trial on court Tv this book went in to so many other factors of Peterson that we did not know. Do not confuse this book thinking it's Scott Peterson.This is another Peterson. Great read could not put down the book.Aphrodite Jones goes in to such detail as if she was there herself watching this horrible situation. She is a great investigative True Crime Author. This Book is a must read.

Interesting

I followed a lot of the story during the trial. The book gives a lot of interesting background on the Peterson family. I thought the book did a great job of portraying each member of the family, the closeness of the family and their almost storybook happiness. The book did a good job of gradually showing how the events of Kathleen's murder and the trial shattered what was once a family on top of the world. While extremely sad, this story is fascinating.