Then No One Can Have Her
Pinnacle (October 27, 2015)
Published by Kensington Publishing Corp.
True Crime
Setting – Arizona
Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0786032570
She thought she had married her soulmate. But when Carol Kennedy could no longer tolerate her husband’s reckless womanizing and out-of-control spending, the artist, therapist and mother of two had to let him go. Just weeks after their divorce, Carol was found in her Arizona ranch home–bludgeoned to death with a golf club. Her ex, Steven DeMocker, was the prime suspect. Yet it took the authorities months to arrest him–and years to convict. . .
Packed with twists and turns, this powerful real-life account reveals every bizarre detail of this compelling case. Bestselling author and award-winning journalist Caitlin Rother presents an unforgettable story of love turned to obsession, and a family torn apart forever.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Caitlin Rother is a great true crime storyteller. I have read and reviewed Naked Addiction, I’ll Take Care of You, Lost Girls and Dead Reckoning. Each of those stories blew my away. I can’t say the same for this story. Steven DeMocker was sentenced to life in prison back in early 2014 for killing his ex-wife in 2008. Rother takes us through the case that depended heavily on circumstantial evidence.
Unlike the previous books I was familiar with this case having seen in covered on 48 hours last year. I think my prior knowledge limited my enjoyment of this story. I disliked Steven DeMocker from the moment I saw his face on the news and then seeing in again in the CBS program.
Rother does take us step by step and it almost as if we are right in the investigators back pockets. It does take them an awfully long time to charge and convict this man and so many mistakes are made. I think reading all these steps just aggravated more and more. I feel so sorry that a wife finally trying to break free out of an awful marriage was killed before even having a chance to start over. It was so hard for her to finally put herself first. Steven was unfaithful to her from the start and whenever she tried to leave him he pulled her back in. Money was his motivation and he was unethical there too. The games he played after her death over the life insurance money just made me sick. This family was truly destroyed.
The story didn’t blow me away, it made me angry. The author did stir up my emotions all over again so in that way this story is well told. My opinion of Steven DeMocker was set before I even started reading and nothing I read changed my mind. So for me there was no new real information to take away here but it is well written and well researched. If you are not familiar with this case Ms. Rother fills this book with details that could make it a compelling read for you.
Links to my reviews for:
To find out more about Caitlin Rother and her books visit her webpage here.
Blog Tour Schedule for Then No One Can Have Her
October 28 – Sharon’s Garden of Book Reviews
October 29 – Maureen’s Musings
October 30 – The Woman Condemned
November 2 – Just a Girl, Living, Reading, Watching and Writing
November 3 – As I Turn the Pages
November 4 – Colloquium
November 5 – Destiny’s Book Reviews
November 6 – Escape With Dollycas
November 9 – Jersey Girl Book Reviews
November 10 – Ellen Wallace
November 11 – Wild Blue Press
November 12 – Educated Reader
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Domestic violence is very ugly.