Review by Booklist Review
The Chakalos family was well respected within their New England community; grand patriarch John Chakalos had built the family's real estate empire over decades. That fortune was meant to secure his legacy but instead caused a volatile rift between himself, his daughter Linda Carman, and his beloved grandson, Nathan Carman--who is accused of murdering them both in separate events. Journalist and best-selling author Sherman (Helltown, 2022) meticulously reconstructs the arguments for and against Nathan's innocence as he weaves the two murder cases together, both in the court of law and within the Chakalos' family's caustic history. The book is ultimately mostly devoted to a detailed breakdown of Nathan's court cases, as he's tried for murder as well as insurance fraud. Less time is spent on the dynastic family lore; for true crime fans who prefer intimate psychological portraits, Sherman's work may come across as too removed. But readers interested in the minutiae of law--questions of jurisdiction, double jeopardy, and building a trail of evidence--will find much to debate and enjoy.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Bestseller Sherman (A Murder in Hollywood) delivers a riveting true crime tale about a tragic fishing trip, a bitter legal fight among members of a wealthy New England family, and the years of police work required to unravel a murder--or was it two? From the moment a Chinese cargo ship picked up a stranded Nathan Carman, 22, off the coast of Martha's Vineyard in September 2016, Carman's story began to unravel. Though he claimed his fishing boat had sunk with his mother onboard, the autistic young man hardly seemed to his rescuers like he had been adrift on a lifeboat for seven days. After Carman was brought to shore, his insurance company refused to pay out for the boat, which, along with his mother's body, was never found. Carman's aunts accused him of murdering his mother over a multimillion-dollar inheritance--a theory given weight by Carman's possible involvement in the murder of his grandfather three years earlier. Sherman relishes the story's operatic qualities and paces the narrative like a thriller, managing to compensate for the loose ends left by Carman's 2023 death in police custody. It's a chilling examination of money's corrosive power. Photos. Agent: Peter Steinberg, UTA. (Apr.)
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