Darker Than Night: The True Story of a Brutal Double Homicide and an 18-Year Long Quest for Justice

by Tom Henderson

Book Overview

ON A COLD, SNOWY NIGHT IN 1985, TWO MEN BEGGED FOR THEIR LIVES.
In 1985, two 27-year-old friends left their suburban Detroit homes for a hunting trip in rural Michigan. When they did not return, their families and police suspected foul play. For 18 years, no one could prove a thing. Then, a relentless investigator got a witness to talk, and a horrifying story emerged.

FOR NEARLY TWO DECADES, THEIR KILLERS WENT FREE.
In...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312936761
• ISBN13: 9780312936761
• Release Date: October 2006
• Publisher: St. Martin's True Crime
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 0.47 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.4" x 6.7"

Customer Reviews

Darker Than Night

Great read. Amazing how a person could get away with such evil for so long.

A horrible story.

This is a horrible story. Well written by Tom Henderson, it definitely holds your attention. I was amazed to learn that there are still people who could commit a crime like this, and get away with it for so long. A good read, and I will look for more books by this author.

Good and Evil

I read this book cover to cover without putting it down for more than a few minutes at a time. Henderson is an excellent writer. He captured personalities and feelings as well as an excellent example of "Good vs. Evil" with good winning in the long run. Unfortunately, evil triumphed for 18 years leaving a wake of terror, heartbreak and abuse. I grew up in Hale, MI where my family still resides and where the Duvall brothers were finally arrested. I was friends with Bob Lesneski in my teens and am proud to say most people from that area are a lot like "Bronco" - honest, dependable, caring and hard working. In 60's and 70's, this rural area was a true community, where no-one locked their doors, everyone knew and trusted everyone else, ironically making it a prime target for the permeation of evil. To be reminded that this horrific crime happened in my back yard, my safe haven, was very scary. I knew most of the people in the book and had been to most of the places mentioned. To my surprise, I even knew Lesneski's boss, Dan Miller. He was a friend of mine when I attended college at Northern Michigan University and I never knew that he was associated with Lesneski and the solving of this crime. It's a small world after all. Reading this book should put everyone on alert. Not only is it a true story and a good read, it leaves you with a lasting impression of good and evil which could very well be in your back yard.

Henderson's best true crime book

I am a true crime junkie, and I have read all of Tom Henderson's true crime books. Each book has been great, and each one gets better than the previous one, so I should not be surprised that this is his best work yet. Darker than Night was hard to put it down. This was a complex tale that might have been hard to master. But Tom did it. And he did it in an easy-to-read format that left me speechless. Ann Rule has nothing on Tom Henderson, the real master of the true crime genre. Great job. Keep up the good work.

Masterful job of telling the true story accurately

As the Prosecutor in this case I wondered if anyone could really capture the essence of this horrific story. There were just so many different aspects to the case, the mystery surrounding Brian and David's disappearance, the years of wondering what had really happened to the point where the case became a Michigan legend, the dogged investigators who never gave up chasing down thousands of tips over eighteen years, the eventual electrifying discovery of an eye witness who had lived in fear for nearly two decades and the gut wretching trial which revealed the horrific truth about the murders of Brian Ogjan and David Tyll. It's all in the book. Tom Henderson did a masterful job of telling the real story and letting the reader get a true life feel for what really transpired in this horrendous murder case. I was astonished at how he caught the true essence of the case. A mezmerizing read that I couldn't put down. Fabulous job Tom! You got it right.

Justice is finally served

I read this book with some apprehension, wondering if Tom Henderson could capture the viciousnous of the Duvall's, the courage of Barb Boudou and the other witnesses, the persistence of Bronco, Curtis Schram, and Donna Pendergast, and the pain and horror that my Aunt Cath, Uncle Art and cousins had to endure for 18 years. As I read the book and relived the trial and the years of not knowing what happened to my cousin Dave and his friend Brian, I can see that Tom did his homework. The testimony spoke for itself, but Tom also captured alot of the small details that he could only get from talking with the people involved. The people of the State of Michigan should feel proud to have Bronco, Donna, and the others on this case on their side. In the small courthouse in Standish, MI, they provided us a room to retreat to where we were away from the public and the Duvall family and relatives. Donna stopped in and talked to us about how the trial was going. When the sheriff came in after less than 2 hours to tell us they had a verdict, we could hardly breathe. Except my brother, who is also a cop, said "Aunt Cath, this is good." As the jury filed into the courtroom, most of them looked straight ahead and avoided eye contact. But I saw 2 of them have eye contact with my aunt, uncle, and cousins who were sitting in the front row. I knew then it was a guilty verdict - no one could look at them after they had suffered through the trial if they were not going to convict the Duvall's. Thank you Tom for writing the book, and letting others know about the heros and the victims in this case.