Cruel Doubt

By: Joe McGinniss

Narrated by: Stacy Keach

The gruesome true story of a small town murder in 1988.

©1991 Joe McGinniss (P)2008 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

"Personable, cocky North Carolina college student Chris Pritchard, fond of marijuana, coke and LSD, and obsessed with the acting-out fantasy game Dungeons & Dragons, conspired in 1988 with two fellow D & D players to have his mother and wealthy stepfather murdered so that he could inherit $2 million....crisply written." ( Publishers Weekly)

"In a book that's more a psychodrama than a detective story, McGinniss has drawn a riveting portrait of parental devotion that flies in the face of the truth. His reputation as a brutally honest storyteller will attract many readers." ( Library Journal)

Well-written and read account of a heartbreaking case

Joe McGinniss once again brings us North Carolina murder in his thorough, but not clinical, way.

5 Stars overall

I love this author and I thoroughly enjoyed the narrator’s voice. The story was very interesting and kept my interest well enough that I feel compelled to do an internet search and find out where all the people in this true-crime story are today. I just wish the book was longer and hadn’t ended quite as abruptly.

Awesome!

Well written and kept me on edge! So sad for the family though, especially Bonnie.

Well done in retelling of actual events

The author did well in retelling the story of the events that took place. The performance was top knotch. Look forward to reading and/or listening to other books by Mr. McGinniss.

Superb

Cruel Doubt is one of those books that engages the listener from the first paragraph through to final paragraph of the epilog the crime unfolds. Initially the events and the characters seem straightforward. But page by page the listener is confronted with "facts" that the author suggests may not actually be factual.

A good true crime story

The VonStine case is layed out in a not over long fashion. very good narration by Stacey Keach. There's no great mystery here. it's just a good book to use as distraction as you go about your day.

We only ever show a small portion of who we really are

Well it’s clear you can’t even trust the ones you love or at least Bonnie couldn’t. It’s heartbreaking what she went through. What her murdered husband went through before dying. It’s such a betrayal of their love for Chris. But I also wonder about Chris and how it’s possible that a kid whose mother never would have even considered him capable of setting this murder and assault in motion could in fact do just that. He must have been very troubled and kept it to himself or he’s just a bad person and son. We just don’t really know people and what thoughts, feelings, and plans they keep tucked away in their minds. It’s scary af. I have two wonderful, loving and kind teenaged kids who wouldn’t consider doing this. Bonnie thought the same about her children and look what it got her.

Another good McGinnis true crime book. Nowhere near as good as Fatal Vision but still good. I don’t think he came across as biased in his presentation of Bonnie. I also don’t think she was involved. She’s no Jeffrey MacDonald. He’s one of a kind.

The Ending was less than it should be... .

Compared to previous books this one was lacking in detail...

The beginning was good. The ending left you asking questing ...

Abridged

I had read this years ago and wanted a re-read. I would have never gotten it if I had known it was abridged. The book is not described as abridged

Abridged.... Repeat ... ABRIDGED

I was reading this book on my kindle - and although, it wouldn’t sync, I was trying to find my place- but nothing really matched up. Great story... great writing... great reader...
Too much was left out 😕