The Pastor's Wife: The True Story of a Minister and the Shocking Death that Divided a Family

by Diane Fanning

Book Overview

When Pastor Matthew Winkler was found dead at his Fourth Street Church of Christ parsonage in Selmer, Tennessee, both police investigators and parishioners were shaken and mystified: How could evil... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312949294
• Release Date: November 2008
• Publisher: St. Martin's True Crime
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.9" x 0.9" x 4.2"

Customer Reviews

The Pastor's Wife

The Pastor's Wife Diane Fanning St Martins Press St Martins True Crime Library 2008 Non Fiction/biography/true crime Reviewed by Cindy Loven The title of this book is what caught my eye, The Pastor's Wife, because as a pastor's wife, I was first attracted to the book, I had loosely followed Mary Winkler's story when it first came out, so I was familar with the story. This book was very informative, and presented the facts of the case very clearly, but I came away with the feeling that I didnt hear the whole story, and in fact I felt like Ms. Fanning felt the same way, after reading her Afterword at the end of the book. Mary's side of the story was told, but with Matthew dead it was hard to know his side of the story. We did get a sense of his personality and who he was from the testimony of his family, and also the testimony of others. I did walk away with the feeling that he probably was emotionally and mentally abrasive, and abusive, I had real doubts about physical abuse. But my doubts do not matter. The book clearly explained the case and although it left doubts for me, and for the author too, it truly showed the life and what led up to Mary killing Matthew. My son who is nearly 16 was really interested in what I thought, was she innocent? Did she have a reason to kill him? There were several questions he asked and I will answer those questions here, No she was not innocent, she was guilty of killing her husband, she killed him, in what frame of mind she did it, I do not know, only she knows, the courts have ruled how they intrepreted the evidence. Did she have a reason to kill her husband? In her mind she obviously did, but in my mind there is never a reason to kill another, life is precious and you cant take back killing someone. Was there reason enough to be afraid for her children's safety? Possibly so, but it was not really shown evidentually, just via her testimony. So the wrap up of this review and actually the case of Mary Winkler is IF you believe she was truthful, then the right thing happened in the court system, If you do not believe her story, I personally had doubts, then justice was not served for Matthew. Ms Fanning did a wonderful job of presenting all the facts, clearly and precisely and I give this book a 4 star rating.

Well written but short on insider information

I am a fan of Diane Fanning's other book Written in Blood. This book was just as well written, but it seems clear she did not have much insider information from the family....which would be required to get to the bottom of this case. The facts of this case are not in dispute (Mary shooting her husband), just the motivation and intentionality. If you read the headlines and want to know more, this would be a good book for you; however, if you watched the case on CourtTV, you're not likely to have any jaw-popping surprises here. The case is laid out including Mary's defense and the author's questions as to whether she really was abused. But there are no answers.

Interesting true crime.

I liked this book but would have appreciated knowing a little more about the character.