Written in Blood Paperback – February 1, 2005

I am fascinated by the sociopathic personality and Michael Peterson is a classic: intelligent, charming, glib, and manipulative, Peterson is a stranger to ethics, truth, and the concept of marital vows. Sans conscience, the hallmark of a true sociopathic personality, Peterson lacks insight, or even a modicum of introspection, as demonstrated by the grossly inappropriate conversations, replete with "jokes" about Kathleen Peterson's death, not only with his attorney, but also with his brothers, his own children, and shockingly his two step-daughters, whose biological mother Peterson had also murdered.I choose this book after seeing the multi-part television series,The Staircase, covering the Peterson trial, as I was interested in a more thorough understand of the scientific evidence, unrestricted by courtroom protocol. Diane Fanning delivered. Fanning explained the significance of evidence presented in court, and also connected critical pieces of information, some barely mentioned in the courtroom, or not obviously connected with other compelling evidence. If you are interested in an explanation of the scientific body of evidence presented in the courtroom, as well as background squabbles and personalities, rather than focusing on the more prurient aspects, this is an excellent book to read.The most damning evidence, mentioned in court but much more emphatically elaborated by Fanning, was that the blood spatter found on the inside of Michael Peterson's pant legs could only have gotten there had Peterson been standing over Kathleen Peterson while hitting her. Other incriminating evidence, documented by both EMS personnel and police officers, noted that on their arrival, Kathleen Peterson's body was cold and stiff, contradicting Michael Peterson's contention that Ms. Peterson was alive when he called 911.Fanning explains the medical testimony and laboratory tests that confirm that Ms. Peterson bled to death over at least a two hour period of time and had been long dead at the time of the 911call. Despite this incontrovertible evidence, Michael Peterson clearly told the operator Ms. Peterson was alive, a typical psychopathic pseudo-fact, completely unsubstantiated by observations that were backed up by laboratory tests on the blood cells in Ms. Peterson's brain. With robust findings, the prosecuting attorney noted, "...Peterson had waited patiently for his wife to slowly and painfully bleed to death before he called 911." In true sociopathic fashion, a relaxed Mr. Peterson sat down to quench his thirst with a diet soda while waiting for Ms. Peterson to bleed out.Aside from the tragic murder of Kathleen Peterson, Michael Peterson leaves a trail of emotional carnage: two women murdered, two sets of families shattered and numerous friends devastated. All but one of the children are either unable or unwilling to accept the fact that their father is not only a murderer, but also that he murdered their own mother/stepmother, an understandable reaction to a powerful, and apparently emotionally overwhelming, truth.A psychologically fascinating, yet humbling and heartbreaking aspect of this murder, is that in order for the two step-daughters to accept that Michael Peterson murdered their beloved step-mother, Kathleen Peterson, effectively the only mother they had known, they would then also be forced to reconcile the fact that Michael Peterson also murdered their biological mother, an emotionally catastrophic truth few could successfully incorporate into an already psychologically ravaged psyche. In view of this, aside from the prosecuting attorney, and the jurors who had to objectively and fairly evaluate an enormous body of evidence, the person I most admire in this mind-numbing tragedy, is the younger daughter who alone of all the children, courageously and bravely faced the horrific truth: Michael Peterson murdered not only her step-mother, but also her biological mother.

I read this book after viewing both the 2018 Netflix documentary and the 2022 HBO mini-series, both titled "The Staircase".I'll first say that this is a very good read - well researched and organized, with an easy to follow and comprehend style. Lots of background info on the protagonists and thorough coverage of all aspects of the case. The writing style was gripping, making it a good page turner. If you watched the documentary this book helps fill in the blanks as the documentary, while not necessarily biased, was filmed from the defense's perspective.However, if you are looking for a dispassionate, unbiased, even handed "true crime" study of this fascinating case this book isn't for you. The author comes down squarely on the side of the prosecution and is full of open contempt not only for Michael Peterson, but also his defense team and any family member who supported him. Now, I believe Peterson to be guilty also but I prefer my true crime books to display a bit of objectivity. Like them or not, the defense team was only doing its job - they weren't co-conspirators in destroying a family as Fanning seems to allege. Fanning also throws a bit to much shade at Todd Peterson, sometimes seeming to suggest that he was involved in the cover-up or even the murder itself, although he was never charged or accused of anything.In addition to trashing the defense, Fanning over-praises the prosecution and prosecution witnesses. True, a conviction for first degree murder was obtained (not an easy thing) but the basic evidence against Peterson was overwhelming and his "fall down the steps" defense preposterous given his wife's extensive injuries and the fact that she bled to death over some time and had been dead for more than an hour before her husband made the 911 call (during which he claimed that she was "still breathing"). The prosecution erred in pushing the blowpoke theory advanced by the victims sister and the gay porn angle. The jury rightly ignored this speculation and concentrated on the obvious facts. An area where Fanning shines is describing in detail the precarious financial situation the Petersons found themselves in December of 2001 after years of extravagant living. Also the fact that Kathleen Peterson largely financially supported her sporadically productive husband in his various pursuits. Money troubles are usually at the root of most deteriorating relationships and in this case seemed just as much or even more so as Michaels infidelities to be a factor in what happened.One other strong point in the book is describing the risk the prosecution took in seeking only the first degree murder charge and not allowing the jury to consider second degree charges. But Michael Peterson stuck to his "accident" defense and the jury smartly determined that even if Kathleen's initial injuries were a result of a "crime of passion" struggle the fact that Michael Peterson sat and let her slowly bleed to death before calling 911 was premeditation enough. The author does wrap up the book with a discussion about Michael Peterson's mental state and what could have lead to his shocking actions. The condition of "Narcissistic Personality Disorder is brought up and I see other reviewers criticized the author as being unqualified to discuss this. I found it fascinating and well researched however. We all wonder why seemingly "normal" people do irrational things and Michael Peterson did display many symptoms of a narcissistic personality - chiefly a overriding concern with self and lack of empathy. It's a trait of serial killers but not necessarily confined to them. Fannings description of the disorder, written in 2006, especially rings true in current times.So overall this is a good book that covers ground that the more current documentary and TV series don't. Biased yes, but argued well. However, in light of current renewed interest in the case it does cry out for an updated afterword. Especially since Peterson is now a free man mostly due to overzealous crime lab tactics employed by Duane Deaver, whom Fanning praises lavishly in this book. It doesn’t change the facts of Peterson’s guilt, but it would be interesting to see Fanning revisit the prosecution she had so lauded and the fact that Peterson is now a free man due to their errors.

I REALLY enjoyed reading this book. Unlike a few others who reviewed this book, I don't think the author slanted this one in any way. She merely told the story about a man who is a narrcisstic creep who is also a mean control freak and worse. I found him to be much worse after I read about him beating his poor bulldog bloody, and later saying it "accidentally drowned" in the pool. Everyone suspected he killed that dog. That says a lot about a person.Even though there were lots of children and brothers and sisters and uncles, etc, I feel Diane Fanning did a great job of making it easy to understand who was related to whom and how certain orphaned children ended up being in the care of that horrible man. He most likely killed their mother 18 years before he killed his wife.How ANYONE could think his wife fell down the stairs with the massive amount of blood at the scene, the injuries to the back of her head, the defensive wounds on her hands and the bruising, also the way her body was positioned was completely inconsistent with falling down the stairs.Michael Peterson is a truly despicable man with no redeeming qualities.I'll admit I looked up this case, and was stunned by what happened after Peterson went to prison. This book was written before Peterson asked for a new trial.I highly recommend this book. I read it in two days. I like Diane Fanning's books.Read this book, you won't be disappointed!

A lot of this information wasn't in the documentary that was biased!

Although I have only just started reading this, it appears to give a good insight into the case and will hopefully give a more unbiased interpretation compared to the Netflix doc which threw up so many unanswered questions. I can barely put the book down. A must read if you are interested in this case or the subject of crime in general.

This is.more an overview rather than a investigative work. I feel the author is.clearly biased towards the prosecution and probably a little embarrassed by more recent revelations about the prosecution's blood splatter expert.

I read this book after watching the Netflix documentary of the Peterson case. I found that it provided a lot of detail that was not presented in the documentary. However, just as the documentary was biased in Peterson's favour, this book was biased against him, and very much presented him as undeniably guilty.I was engaged with the content and found it a useful text in attempting to work out whether or not he was guilty. However, I did struggle with the style of writing, and actually burst out laughing at some extracts. The writer's use of purple prose and hyperbole read like a high school student's attempt at creative writing, as she tried to create atmosphere and emotion. It really did detract from the purpose of the book, as I see it, which is to present the facts of the case.Having said that, it is an engaging, detailed account, which provides an alternative conclusion to that provided via Netflix, allowing the reader to decide for themselves whether or not he is guilty.

Really enjoyed this book. So well written. Wish we knew what really happened that night. I go back and forth on his guilt but this book did make me believe he wasn't totally innocent.