Beautifully Cruel

By: M. William Phelps

Narrated by: Jonathan Yen

Iowa housewife Tracey Pittman Roberts seemed to have it all: natural beauty, three loving children, and a fairy-tale second marriage to a wealthy, handsome businessman. But beneath the happy façade was a woman who used lies, manipulation, sex, ugly allegations, blackmail - and even murder - to serve her own selfish ends.

On December 12, 2001, police rushed to Tracey's home after a shooting left her vulnerable young neighbor dead. Tracey claimed it was an act of self-defense. Nine gunshot wounds - and a decades-long trail of extortion, fabrication, fraud, and intimidation - said otherwise. Ten years after the crime, Tracey's case finally went to trial in an explosive courtroom showdown. In a searing exploration of the criminal mind, best-selling investigative journalist M. William Phelps traces the saga of a psychopath who hid in plain sight - until her wicked ways caught up with her.

©2017 M. William Phelps (P)2017 Tantor

Not bad...

The story was okay but the swearing by the author (not quotes of individuals) was unnecessary. Another pet peeve, he kept referring to himself as "me" as opposed to "this author". Additionally, the overwhelming amount of quotes was very annoying. It felt like every paragraph was 50% quotes.

The narrator did a great job with the material and I would definitely listen to more of his work.

Overall, not bad but definitely not good.

Reminiscent of Ann Rule

So glad to find this author. Love true crime and reading about these evil people who eventually get caught. They have so many like qualities. It's amazing to read.

Could’ve been better

The story was well written however listening to the narrator air quote SO many sentences and words made me cringe the entire way through the audio book. It detracted so much for me. He didn’t need to pause and verbally air quote every time he quoted someone else. I’m hesitant to listen to another one with this narrator.

Another amazing UNBIASED/FACTUAL masterpiece

Great listen and a gripping tale of a pure evil human who cared for nothing but herself. Narcissistic doesn't begin to define this monster- yet Phelps managed to write this book without bias. I truly hope her oldest son and mother get the help they need and that no court ever let's her out!

Excellent!

Another excellent TRUE CRIME book by this author! He becomes so knowledgeable about the case and explains it so well...one of the best I've read--and this has excellent narration too!

A startling departure for M. William Phelps

I've listened to a few of M. William Phelps's books and have enjoyed them. He does misuse certain words in a way that irritates me, but overall he writes a good story and comes across as honest and straightforward. However, in this book I increasingly sensed a tendency to emphasize Tracy's dishonesty and other negative traits in a way that felt biased. Don't get me wrong: I think the evidence demonstrates that Tracy Roberts is a piece of garbage as a human being, but I like being able to draw my own conclusions from a book that presents the facts as fairly as possible. I didn't feel that this book quite achieved that.

My other gripe about this book is Jonathan Yen's narration. He's a beautiful narrator, except when it comes to women characters. He makes all of the women sound like total idiots, which is absolutely aggravating.

Best of all, though, the epilogue where the author goes into detail about correspondence with the convicted criminal's mother gives great insight into the whole family dynamic that Tracy lived in and thrived on. It was absolutely mind-blowing and very worth listening to.

Insane manipulation and murder

This woman is out of control and relentless
Feel sorry for her son
Not her mother she is brainwashed too

She is where she belongs

Book was well done
Narrator takes getting used to he switches voices “conversationally” which can take a little getting used to
Overall well done

very redundant and opinionated

I was excited to hear this book but became disappointed as the story unfolded. The author is very repetitive and makes the same observations and references the same stories over and over for hours. Rarely once you get into the book is anything new revealed. The author also voices personal opinion a lot, referring to the murderess in derogatory ways instead of sticking with fact. The outlandishness of the murderesses actions and opinions are constantly criticized, which I don't really feel is an authors place. I prefer when authors tell a story and allow you to form your own opinion of those involved without forcing it down your throat. The last few minutes are just slandering her (the murderesses) mother, in what seems to be a waste of words. The author even threatens to start a page on his website to post the ridiculous emails he receives from the mother, which seems to be an unnecessary attack on someone whose obviously hysterical and isn't responsible for the murder at all. I have never heard any other true crime author rant on about personal opinion so much and it detracted from what was a quite interesting investigation and crime story.

Great story great listening wonderful aurthor

I really enjoy my Audible books and this book did not disappoint . I have watched the tv shows the author has on and enjoyed them and became a great fan . I am 78 years old and legally blind so Audible is a blessing to me .

Narrator does not fit the subject matter!

Oh the narration is so wrong for this account of Tracey Roberts; I would have preferred reading it, but if I read all the books I'd like to, nothing would get done around here. Yen is a wonderful narrator but there's always a smile in his voice that is more "those meddling kids" than "that coldblooded killer". There are tons of sentences which include partial quotes which does not lend itself to this format, especially when the narrator says those quotes in a voice for that person.

Phelps tends to structure his books in a nonlinear manner and this one follows this horrible woman 's story, juggling three separate time periods in her life simultaneously. It's not for everyone, but I'm fine with it, I am a bit biased; I've grown used to his style given 'm on a Phelps binge. Plus I've loved true crime since I was waaay to young to , i.e. I was following the Bundy case as it happened. (I was 12).

So this is a good, well researched true crime story in Phelps's non-linear approach to writing, that is until the arrest and trial happens. With the upbeat delivery by the narrator however, reading the book would be a better than listening to it.