The Taj Hotel was targeted by a terrorist organization, called Lashkar-e-Taiba, whose purpose was to attack Indian symbols of wealth. The Taj Hotel is located in Mumbai, India. Construction was completed in 1903. The hotel underwent an expansion, which opened in 1972. The hotel boasts 600 rooms, 44 suites, and nine restaurants. Many famous and wealthy guests have stayed in this beautiful hotel, thus making it a prime target for this terrorist plot. They attacked the Taj Hotel on November 26, 2008. The group took hostages, ultimately killing 31. The attack lasted three days.

This hotel is a beautiful, historical landmark. The architecture is so enjoyable to look at. I can see why it was a favorite destination for so many guests. The hotel was repaired from the damage sustained in the attack. I never knew that this had occurred, even though I was an adult living on my own and watching the news every day. This book was good for conveying the necessary information about this event, and I learned a lot. I also learned that this hotel was featured in several books and was the shooting location for the movie Tenet. 

 This book was portrayed as a person's personal story of how they found themselves involved in the MAGA cult and how they got out. Really, it is a story about journalism that is not terribly interesting and filled with name dropping of unimportant or fringe people. It does not offer much insight into the formation of, or the innerworkings, of the MAGA nonsense. I was extremely disappointed in this book. 

 This is a sensational crime story that has been featured on news outlets around the world. There are interviews and documentaries available on this case for those interested. This book discusses the Murdaugh family of South Carolina, a prominent family who was known for practicing law. Alex Murdaugh, a lawyer, was married to Maggie Murdaugh. They had two sons, Buster and Paul. (I have a lot of opinions about each of these people, so if you do not wish to have any opinions or spoilers, skip on down to the end. I will notate where my spoilers begin and end.) On June 7, 2021, Maggie and Paul were murdered at the dog kennels on one of the family properties. Buster was not in town. Alex was eventually charged with the murders.

*********SPOILERS AND OPINIONS BELOW***************

1. Buster Murdaugh must be one of the most delusional people I have ever watched. I recently watched his interview on Fox, in which he maintains that someone else murdered his mother and brother. Buster was a spoiled rich kid, and still behaves in that manner. I am not sure why he thinks he wouldn't have been right there on the ground with his mother and brother if he would have been at home, but I firmly believe he would have been. He was raised to believe he was an ultra-special person, above the law, and coddled and covered up for by members of his family. Having half his family murdered seems to not have been the rude awakening that he needed.

2. Maggie is often lauded as a good mom. I think a lot of that comes from the fact that people do not often like to speak ill of the dead, especially those who have been murdered. She allowed a nanny/housekeeper to do the bulk of the child care. She allowed the children to behave in an atrocious manner. She was known for telling them how special and important they were because of their last name, and bailed them out of trouble all the time. She permitted drinking and drug use at young ages. Sure, she loved to have people over for functions and parties. She liked showing off how important she was because of the family she married into. Did she deserve to be murdered? Certainly not. But she was also no saint, and I hate when people do that instead of being factual about people.

3. Alex was a sneaky snake. He stole amazing sums of money from people who trusted him to represent their interests in legal matters. He sucked multiple people into his schemes. He spoiled his children with expensive toys and clothes at all stages of their lives. He allowed drinking and drug use and participated in that behavior with minors. He lied like a dog with fleas on a ratty rug on a summer night. I firmly believe he was feeling financial pressure with checks bouncing and people becoming suspicious of his actions and behavior. I also think the lawsuit about the boat crash was a factor in why he was motivated to kill his family. He is simply not a good person and was also a spoiled little rich coddled boy who turned into a spoiled little rich coddled man. He bailed his kids out of trouble entirely too much while allowing and encouraging their trash behavior.

4. Paul was also a spoiled little rich boy. He was allowed to get away with all sorts. He drank. He used drugs. He smoked. He beat and spat upon his girlfriend, who should have taken all the red flags and ran long before she did. He was absolutely an alcoholic at a ridiculously young age. It was impressed upon him that he was special and Daddy and Mommy and Granddaddy and Uncles would come bail him out of trouble and cover up whatever nonsense he did. He stupidly drove a boat drunk. His friends stupidly got in the boat with him. I suppose hanging out with rich people who can supply you with beer and a good time is enticing for teens, but that behavior is gross. These kids continued to hand around in this orbit with this scum bucket from the chum bucket who really had no chance whatsoever to grow up normal and decent, and it cost them one life. He was guilty as homemade sin of driving that boat drunk, acting a fool, and crashing them. He was guilty of not caring what happened to himself or his "friends" and certainly guilty in the death of one of them. He was guilty of trying to pawn the blame off on someone else. He was treated differently than any other average Joe would, and that was disgusting. Was he a good person? NO. Was a lot of that his fault? No, certainly was his parents though. Did he deserve to be murdered in cold blood by his own father? No.
******END SPOILERS AND OPINIONS******

I bought this book on the most recent sale that Audible had, which made me very happy. I listened to this book today at work and was able to finish it in one shift. It was about 7 hours long, but if you are interested in the physical version, it is around 300 pages. I thought the book provided a lot of details about the upbringing of the Murdaugh children, as well as the shady doings by Alex. People think of Maggie and Paul as victims, which they absolutely are, but they also had some MAJOR flaws. You can be two things at the same time, and this is certainly that. If you are interested in this case, this was a solid book. 

 Kathy Kleiner recounts memories from her life before and after coming into contact with notorious serial killer Ted Bundy. Kathy was diagnosed as a child with Lupus, undergoing chemotherapy, and hardships in her family life. Kathy thought all her struggles were over when she made it to college, gaining admission into a sorority. Unfortunately, Ted Bundy followed some of her sorority sisters' home, noticed the lock on the rear door was not working properly, and entered the home. Two sisters were murdered brutally in their beds, while Kathy and her roommate were viciously attacked. It is very likely both girls would have also been murdered, had a passing car light not scared Bundy away. The assault left here with tremendous injuries, both physical and mental ones.

This book was featured at CrimeCon, and I was very excited to see it on the most recent sitewide Audible sale. I listened to this Monday at work, and it was an interesting and emotional book. I would definitely recommend this book for those interested in survivor stories or serial killers. 

 

I bought this book during the most recent Audible sale. It was only about five hours to listen to, and I completed it before the end of my shift. The physical copy is less than 300 pages if you are interested in that format. The book was pretty interesting and featured plenty of stories about nonsense and shenanigans that people in the political sphere got up to. Decent book.

 

 

John Ramsey is well known in the Crime community. He is the father of JonBenet Ramsey, who was found murdered in their home when she was only six. The Ramsey family were slandered and eyed with suspicion in the media for decades, while the police made rude comments and did not do their jobs properly. John Ramsey lost two children and his wife yet has continued to advocate for other crime victims while continuing the fight for justice for his murdered child. This book does discuss John's views on religion and his reliance on that, so if you prefer not to read about people's religious beliefs, steer clear of this book.

I bought this book during the recent Audible sale and listened to it today at work. It was about six hours long. The physical copy is around 300 pages for those interested. I was fortunate enough to hear John Ramsey speak in person a couple of weeks ago at CrimeCon 2024 in Nashville. He was such an example of strength and resilience, and I cannot say enough how moving it was to hear him speak. Despite being heavy on religion, this book provides a look inside a father and husband's journey through tragedy, grief, and public humiliation. I sincerely hope that John continues to be a a pillar in his family and for other crime victims. I also sincerely hope that the Boulder, Colorado police stop being petty little princesses and allow the DNA to be tested. With all of the advancements there has been in DNA, it should be tested again. It is my personal belief that they know they messed up, they know they did not process the scene or explore leads and testing correctly, they did not allow outside help, and they are waiting on John to die before doing it so they do not give him the satisfaction or peace of mind.

 

 

This book discusses the murder of Nancy and Daniel Benoit by Chris Benoit before he took his own life. Chris Benoit was a professional wrestler from Canada, who was working for the WWE at the time of this incident. Chris had been a professional wrestler for twenty-two years, traveling all over the world and wrestling in countless matches. Chris had been married once before, with two children from that marriage. Chris and Nancy had one child together. Their relationship was tumultuous, with Nancy claiming Chris was abusive and had destroyed their house on multiple occasions. Chris had been exhibiting some concerning behavior before the murders, but it was largely attributed to him being a private person or depression from the death of his best friend. The author of this book is determined that all of his problems were a result of drugs, which I have opinions about to follow. Chris murdered his wife and child in 2007, before taking his own life.

The author of this book seems to have an unwavering opinion that steroid and recreational drug use were the absolute cause of this murder-suicide. I do not buy it. Was Chris Benoit using copious amounts of steroids, opiates, and other drugs? Absolutely. No question. Do those things have a detrimental impact on the health and cognition of a person? Yes. Steroid use has been known to cause people to have anger issues and become highly erratic and reactive. Does this explain a lot of his behavior? Certainly. Was this a major contributing factor in what happened in his home? Probably. It couldn't have helped. The author seems to dismiss CTE as being a contributing factor, which I disagree with strongly. When Chris Benoit's brain was autopsied, his brain showed severe CTE markers. In fact, it was stated that his brain resembled that of an 80+ year old Alzheimer's patient. Symptoms for CTE include depression, suicide, anger, and memory impairment. Traumatic brain injury information has come a long way since 2007, and a long way since this book was published. Discounting the effects of traumatic brain injury is unhelpful and silly. A scrambled brain in concert with drugs in concert with mental health issues....is simply a bad combination. It is reckless to say that all of these things did not play a factor in the murder-suicide. These things do not excuse murder or abuse of any type, but it certainly helps explain the road map of how we arrived here.

Chris Benoit was one of my favorite wrestlers to watch when I was a kid. I used to watch wrestling all of the time with my grandfather. I got this book during the most recent Audible sale, and I had high hopes for it. It did offer some good information about the case and Chris Benoit's career. I am disappointed in the absolute bias of the author. If you plan to read this, please take it with a grain of salt, as the author left a lot to be desired in unbiased reporting.

 

 India Oxenberg is a former member of the NXVIUM cult led by Keith Raniere. The cult was a complex level scam that preyed on people who were looking for something they were missing in their lives. People from all walks of life, from the average person to the famous, attended courses to get them deeper and deeper into the teachings of this group. People have spent an obscene amount of money on these courses. India tells what drew her in, her experiences during, and how her life has been in the aftermath. I have read a lot of cult books in my life, and I always shake my head in disbelief that people could buy into such things, but then...look at members of my own family. I do not have the personality or the attitude that would be suited for cult life, but I find it to be a very interesting subject to learn about. 

 During February 1952, a storm system moved into the New England area of the United States. This system dropped between 12 and 30 inches of snow, depending on the location. Strong winds caused major issues at sea, with several fatalities being fishermen or those on tanker ships. (The movie The Finest Hours is about this weather event.) Hundreds of people were stranded on roadways, went without power, and some without heat. It is estimated that around 40 people died as a result of this storm.

This book featured personal memories and statements of those who lived through this storm, as well as information about many of the lives lost. This book was well- researched and highly descriptive. It was around four hours to listen to on Audible, and is less that 300 pages for those interested in a physical copy. 

 Jonathan and Aaron Hernandez were subjected to constant fighting, yelling, and physical violence in their home as children. They were also not in a financially stable home. Their father was known to use and abuse drugs and alcohol, which probably contributed a great deal to the problems that Aaron had with drugs and alcohol later in life. There was also blatant homophobia directed at Aaron from his father, which was probably very traumatic for him after being sexually assaulted by an older kid and struggling with his sexuality. The death of their father was traumatic for both boys, but Aaron seemed to take that particularly hard. There was also an estrangement with his mother after his disapproval of her new romantic partner. There is no doubt that Aaron Hernandez was a talented football player, which I can even say, and I am not interested in football in the slightest. It is unfortunate that he squandered his talent on criminal activity.

Aaron Hernandez was involved with drugs and drug dealers. He was exhibiting paranoia in social settings, which could have been drug related, mental health issues, or a combination of both. He was easily offended and felt that he had to prove himself in all situations. Aaron found himself having several run-ins with the law and getting in trouble with his team for his behavior. Aaron was charged with first degree murder in the shooting death of Odin Lloyd and was almost immediately released from the New England Patriots and had all of his merchandise removed from the stores. Aaron was convicted of this murder, but died by suicide before his appeal was completed, therefore his conviction was vacated. (Something I did not know until I read this book.)

Aaron Hernandez had all of the ingredients for trouble. An abusive childhood, poverty, coming into money, drug and alcohol addiction, and possible mental illness. Jonathan was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and Aaron certainly exhibited some bizarre behaviors. Another major issue Aaron was faced with was Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE). Unfortunately, this can only be confirmed during autopsy, which Aaron's was. CTE is a serious issue in contact sports, and is a degenerative issue that affects behavior, judgment, memory, and impulse control. It has been said that the case of CTE that Aaron had was one of the worst seen in someone that young. His brain was labeled a stage 3 out of 4 for CTE. All of these things had to have contributed a lot to the mess that Aaron got himself into. Aaron always maintained that he was innocent and did not murder Odin Lloyd. If he did kill him, these factors do not excuse that, but do explain how he arrived at that point. If he was innocent, these factors explain how he arrived at the point where he was found to be a good suspect in this murder.

Regardless of the guilt or innocence of Aaron Hernandez, the fact is that someone is murdered. Someone's family member and friend is gone. Nothing is bringing them back, and they have to live with this loss and as victims of a crime. The family of Aaron Hernandez are also victims. They are victims of their circumstances and victims of the actions of Aaron. They are also victims of suicide. Suicide is a subject that I have strong feelings about for a host of personal reasons, and the abs cense of someone you love who took their life is just staggering. Aaron Hernandez was a victim of himself. The entire thing has left a wake of victims, and that is something to keep in mind when you read books like this.

I hope that this book helped Aaron's brother find some measure of peace. I appreciated the raw look into their lives, and I do genuinely believe this explains a lot of Aaron's behavior. I would like to read another book that presents evidence in this murder case, as that was not really discussed in this book.