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knkari's review against another edition
3.0
I felt so conflicted with this book. It was interesting to hear the more news side of the search and the logistics, however the family (understandably) did not start things in a great state of mind, with the author relentlessly pushing suspect after suspect to the point of almost having a breakdown. Then the police and FBI seemed so much more worried about red tape and egos than finding her. This made me just disappointed in most people involved because more should’ve been done to set aside bias and preconceptions.
inertia_ash's review against another edition
5.0
I may be a little biased on this because I vividly remember Elizabeth being kidnapped just 40 minutes from my home. We were almost the exact same age, and I was unbelievably invested in the outcome of this case. It was fascinating to hear what happened behind the scenes and infuriating to learn how many times SLC PD dropped the ball (but let’s be real, the police force here isn’t great.)
It was emotional to hear this story and learn of all the things her family had to deal with among the suspicion that family was involved. I definitely cried at the end, and it is so lucky that Elizabeth made it home. I wish this was the case with every kidnapping case, but I’m glad she was one of the lucky ones.
It was emotional to hear this story and learn of all the things her family had to deal with among the suspicion that family was involved. I definitely cried at the end, and it is so lucky that Elizabeth made it home. I wish this was the case with every kidnapping case, but I’m glad she was one of the lucky ones.
thevaliantqueen's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-paced
3.75
biiaanccca's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
tense
slow-paced
3.0
This book was hard to read. The content was disturbing and upsetting. But as the epilogue stated, the book would be a total retelling of the entire search and everything that happened. Every detail was truly included. The book was very thorough because of that, but I struggled to get through it. It became very tedious to me and at times, unfortunately, uninteresting.
I will say, the community that came to support Elizabeth Smart and her family was absolutely outstanding. It was amazing all the resources that the Smart family was able to attain because of the giant community response. From volunteers for searches, to money being offered for a reward on information, donations on food and supplies, and so much more. To be exact: “8,115 registered volunteer searchers had participated in 87 recorded group searches. Thirty-three fixed-wing aircraft and seven helicopters had own more than 300 missions. Searchers used trained search dogs, more than 150 all-terrain vehicles, and more than 100 horses. Another 135 amateur radio operators also helped.”
I also appreciated the state of Utah as a whole. When the Enquirer printed an absolute ludicrous article about Elizabeth’s uncle, Tom, that he failed his polygraph and had something to do with Elizabeth’s kidnapping, many Utah stores pulled that particular magazine of their shelves. Other stores returned their copies, refusing to sell them at all.
I thought it was interesting how religion played a part in this story. Brian Mitchell and his wife Wanda, used religion to push their agendas. Agendas that involved abduction and rape. “Breaking into the house on Kristianna Circle in the middle of the night to take the pretty blond girl from her bed had been a directive from God.”Meanwhile many people were using their religion to pray for the safe return of Elizabeth Smart.
The horrors Brian put his biological and step children through, as well as his wife Debbie, was horrible to read. I was happy he put his two oldest children into foster care, and I was even happier to read that they were promptly adopted. They didn’t have to have their lives altered forever by the psychological damage their father would inflict on his other children. I mean this guy put dead mice in the oven because he knew his wife was scared of them. He would wake his family up by screaming in their faces. He even went on to inappropriately touch some of the children.
There seemed like there were so many people in this case who seemed like they were against the search for Elizabeth. Take Cory Lyman for example. He was very offhandish with Tom and would not take his concerns seriously. I laughed when I read of the running joke the Smart family had. That anyone who would go to Lyman's house and find out if he actually owned a posthole digger would get fifty dollars. In another major example, the police did not believe that it was Brian trying to kidnap Elizabeth’s cousin. They thought it was a prank. (Later on down the line, Brian would attempt to abduct yet another minor, but this time he was thwarted by the family dog). In yet another example, the patrolman of the city did not even know they were suppose to be looking amongst the homeless population for a man named Emmanuel. If that information was relayed, there were several officers, as well as a homeless advocate, who could have confirmed “Emmanuel’s” identity. When Debbie called the police two times to let them know that she suspected the sketch she saw on Americas Most Wanted was her ex-husband, they told her they would call her back, which never happened. The third time she got in touch with the police, they brushed her off as a disgruntled ex-wife. Derrick Thompson, Daniel Trotta, and Karl West both sensed a similar lack of enthusiasm from the police department when they failed to call them back.
But for all the bad people, there were some good people. Mick Fennerty answered the Smart families questions and helped assuage all the fears they had. He treated them like they were a part of his team.
I am thankful for Brian’s decision to walk north on State Street, the main highway, in the direction of the Sandy light rail terminal and, beyond that, Salt Lake City. Along the way, two couples in separate cars, Rudy and Nancy Montoya, and Alvin and Anita Dickerson, noticed them. Both couples independently believed that the bearded man on the sidewalk resembled Emmanuel, the person they had seen on America's Most Wanted.
Officer Karen approached the group and blocked their path with her squad car. She questioned the bearded man, who identified himself as Peter Marshall, traveling with his wife Juliette and their daughter Augustine, claiming to be messengers of God with no identification. Elizabeth confirmed her identity when asked by the officers. Officer Troy Rasmussen arrived and noted that the girl looked like Elizabeth Smart.
Despite the presence of uniformed police officers and patrol vehicles, the terrified girl struggled to maintain her fabricated story. The psychological hold her captors had on her persisted as she stood surrounded. The skinny, bearded man and his sun-baked wife, who had manipulated her for nine months and a week, remained about forty feet away. They had filled her impressionable mind with irrational beliefs, convincing her that the world was evil except for them, her family, and her community. They had exploited her compliant nature, tarnishing her identity and virtue. During her captivity, she endured poor living conditions, strange attire, lack of privacy, inadequate food, exposure to the elements, and psychological abuse, all while her captors used religious texts as a means of control, systematically robbing her of her innocence.
I started to tear up when Elizabeth finally let her guard down and told the police who she was. I felt like I was a part of her family, absolutely elated to have her back home.
I was delighted to read Kevin Cantera and Michael Vigh got the karma they deserved for constantly trashing the Smart family.
The irony in this story revolves around the author's grandmother, Lois Cannon Sharp, who used to hire high school girls for household help, including opening the family's beloved Weber cabin. In 1963, Loisie hired a young girl named Wanda Barzee, who later became involved in the bizarre events of this saga. Fate played a peculiar role in their connection.
Now on to Ricci.. Ricci was definitely guilty of things in life, but he was not guilty of kidnapping Elizabeth Smart. It absolutely devastates me to think of what happened to him because the SLCPD wanted to point the fingure at him so bad, even though Mary Katherine adamantly said it was not Ricci. I hope Don Bell gave an apology to Ricci’s wife Angela on behalf of the late Ricci.
Ricci did not deserve the treatment he got in state prison. He was denied visitors, phone calls, shaves, haircuts, hot water, hot meals, and yard time. He was confined to a hot cell in the maximum security unit. There he spent twenty-three hours a day. His only contact with the outside world was his lawyer, and when they met at the prison, the guards shackled and cuffed Ricci and put a hood over his head to deliver him to the sessions.
Ricci had a troubled history with prison, but at age 41, he appeared reformed and won parole. Inside, he excelled as a prison firefighter, played sports, and even earned a botany degree. However, he returned to prison after a food theft conviction. Despite promising never to return, he faced several challenges and relapsed into heroin use. In 2002, he made progress by attending a recovery program, securing employment, and finding support in his wife, Angela. Angela staunchly defended him against accusations related to a crime, even as Ricci described the harsh prison conditions in his letters. Ricci used letters to stay connected with the outside world. In one letter, he mixed seriousness with humor, suggesting a T-shirt slogan that read "Ricci Didn't Do It" on the front and "Where Were You on June 4th?" on the back.
At Ricci's funeral, a diverse group of attendees, including old prison friends, family, neighbors, church members, nursery coworkers, and media, gathered to pay their respects. Rick Olsen, a former prison guard, praised Ricci's popularity among inmates and staff. Bishop Morrow highlighted Ricci's role as a loving husband and father who supported church activities. Angela, Ricci's wife, eulogized him as her soulmate, emphasizing their short but meaningful time together. Notably, no one mentioned the Smart kidnapping during the formal remarks, but the funeral displayed supportive emails from around the country. Angela shared half of Ricci's ashes with his family and kept the rest in a vase at home, remembering him as a healthy man before his last prison term. I am happy Angela Ricci sued the Utah Department of Corrections and the Salt Lake City Police Department. In September 2004, the State of Utah settled the case for $150,000, although they frustratingly did not admit to any wrongdoing.
I really liked the addition of the pictures, and that they were in color. It is always nice to be able to visualize what I’m reading. The pictures of the camp where Elizabeth was held was shocking.
Questions I’m left with: Who took the Jeep that was supposedly Ricci’s from the auto shop?
bubblewombat's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
sad
medium-paced
3.5
This was really detailed and informative, albeit lengthy. Even though I was listening to it over two days, it felt much longer. But it's good to know what Elizabeth's family went through when she was kidnapped.
3.5
3.5