Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this radical reexamination of the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, investigative reporter Jimenez suggests that the tragedy may have been less about gay bashing, and more related to drug trafficking and methamphetamines. Drawing on 13 years' worth of interviews and investigation, Jimenez pieces together a sequence of events and motives distinctly at odds with the public record. Instead of being the innocent victim of a hate crime, Shepard becomes a complex, flawed individual involved with the drug trade and other dubious behaviors. One of the killers, Aaron McKinney, is recast as a meth-addicted bisexual. Rather than a spur of the moment incident between strangers, there's every indication that Shepard knew his murderers long before that fateful night. As he ultimately notes, ".Matthew was part of an interstate drug-trafficking circle, and that the buying and selling of crystal meth was only one of the activities he and Aaron shared." In claiming that Shepard was killed because of drugs, and the "gay panic" story was offered as a cover and heavily pushed by media and politicians as part of a larger agenda, Jimenez completely changes the meaning and impact of Shepard's death. While Jimenez's argument is thorough and convincing, the controversial aspect may be enough to alienate many readers. (Oct.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review by Library Journal Review
Indeed, this book holds true to its subtitle. Readers should be prepared to encounter a radically revised version of the life and death of Matthew Shepard, a college student whose gruesome 1998 murder in Laramie, WY, galvanized gay and social activists. According to seasoned screenwriter and investigative reporter Jimenez (ABC News 20/20; Dan Rather Reports; NOVA), the myth of Matt is simply that: a hagiography unrepresentative of the all-too-human man. Jimenez spent 13 years investigating Shepard's savage death, returning to Laramie time and again in order to interview and reinterview the principal players in his life. Ultimately, Jimenez, who also is gay, demonstrates conclusively that Shepard was not a victim of a hate crime and a martyr for the gay cause but rather died because of his heavy involvement in the Colorado methamphetamine scene. Moreover, Jimenez establishes that Shepard was well acquainted with Aaron McKinney, his drug-crazed murderer, and that Russell Henderson, the other man convicted of the homicide, in fact did not actively participate in the killing. VERDICT This riveting true crime narrative will appeal to readers of books such as Norman Mailer's The Executioner's Song.-Lynne Maxwell, West Virginia Univ. Coll. of Law Lib., -Morgantown (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
An award-winning journalist uncovers the suppressed story behind the death of Matthew Shepard, the gay University of Wyoming student whose 1998 murder rocked the nation. Jimenez was a media "Johnny-come-lately" when he arrived in Laramie in 2000 to begin work on the Shepard story. His fascination with the intricate web of secrets surrounding Shepard's murder and eventual elevation to the status of homosexual martyr developed into a 13-year investigative obsession. The tragedy was "enshrinedas passion play and folktale, but hardly ever for the truth of what it was": the story of a troubled young man who had died because he had been involved with Laramie's drug underworld rather than because he was gay. Drawing on both in-depth research and exhaustive interviews with more than 100 individuals around the United States, Jimenez meticulously re-examines both old and new information about the murder and those involved with it. Everyone had something to hide. For Aaron McKinney, one of the two men convicted of Shepard's murder, it was the fact that he was Shepard's part-time bisexual lover and fellow drug dealer. For Shepard, it was that he was an HIV-positive substance abuser with a fondness for crystal meth and history of sexual trauma. Even the city of Laramie had its share of dark secrets that included murky entanglements involving law enforcement officials and the Laramie drug world. So when McKinney and his accomplices claimed that it had been unwanted sexual advances that had driven him to brutalize Shepard, investigators, journalists and even lawyers involved in the murder trial seized upon the story as an example of hate crime at its most heinous. As Jimenez deconstructs an event that has since passed into the realm of mythology, he humanizes it. The result is a book that is fearless, frank and compelling. Investigative journalism at its relentless and compassionate best.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.