Guilty Creatures: Sex, God, and Murder in Tallahassee Florida by Mikita Brottman Pages: 288
Genres: True Crime
Source: ARC
Goodreads
From the critically acclaimed author dubbed “one of today’s finest practitioners of nonfiction” (The New York Times Book Review), a breathless true crime tale of sex, religion, and murder in the deep South.
Mike and Denise Williams had a tight knit, seemingly unbreakable bond with childhood friends, Brian and Kathy Winchester. The two couples were devout, hardworking Baptists who lived perfect, quintessentially Southern lives. Their friendship seemed ironclad. That is, until December 16, 2000, when Denise’s husband Mike disappeared while duck hunting on Lake Seminole.
After no body was found, everyone assumed that Mike had drowned in a tragic accident, his body eaten by alligators. But things took an unexpected turn when, within five years of Mike’s disappearance, Brian Winchester divorced his wife and married Denise. Their surprising romance set tongues talking. People began wondering how long they had been a couple, and whether they had anything to do with Mike’s death. It took another twelve years for the truth to come out—and when it did, it was unimaginable.
Now, the full, shocking story is revealed by Mikita Brottman, acclaimed true crime writer of the “enthralling” (San Francisco Book Review) An Unexplained Death. Through tenacious research and clear-eyed prose, she probes the psychology of a couple who killed and explores how it feels to live for eighteen years with murder on the soul.
A fascinating thriller of modern noir, Guilty Creatures is destined to become an instant true crime classic.
Guilty Creatures is the story of the death of Mike Williams. Initially ruled accidental, authorities surmised he was eaten by alligators while fishing in Florida. But, they never found anything-waders, bones, etc. Then, Mike’s friend Brian divorces his wife and marries Mike’s widow. Eyebrows raise, but there isn’t any proof that Mike was eliminated by Brian or his wife Denise. As a true crime junkie, I was familiar with the case-but mostly only after it was solved.
This book is not about what happened to Mike. Its about how it all happened and how it came to be known by everyone. It’s about about the why. Its about all the gossip and secrets. Honestly, if Mike’s mother hadn’t continued to push, and rallied others to do the same, the police might have just continued to accept the strange alligator theory. The book is a bit like a torrid tabloid magazine story with the actions of Denise and Brian, mostly shared by Brian when he confessed.
Overall, this was enjoyable and I learned more than I had about the case. I was drawn to the book because this case if fascinating. It is also so frustrating-get a divorce people! Murder instead of divorce isn’t an option.
authors like John Glatt, Ann Rule…then you will probably like Guilty Creatures!
Wow this sounds fascinating. And horrible that people do that.