Such a Good Boy: How a Pampered Son's Greed Led to Murder

Tay Wilson is an associate professor of psychology at Laurentian
University.

In 1990, 18-year-old Darren Huenemann convinced two friends to kill his
mother and grandmother in order that he might sooner inherit their
estate. While Birnie obviously spent a great amount of time researching
this complicated case, her account is clearly and sparingly written. As
is inevitable in works of this nature, there are dramatic
reconstructions of conversations and events, with hypothetical details
(e.g., hair on the back of neck standing up) presented as fact. On the
other hand, much to her credit, Birnie avoids making pat conclusions in
the absence of real evidence. Its emphasis on facts over speculation,
combined with its clarity and sparsity of style, makes this book a good
read for those interested in the true-crime genre.