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Poisoned Love

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Poisoned Love

Written by: Caitlin Rother
Narrated by: Tanya Eby
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Accident, suicide, or murder?

On November 6, 2000, paramedics answered a call to find Kristin Rossum sobbing. Her husband, Greg de Villers, wasn't breathing, and she claimed he had overdosed on drugs after learning that she was leaving him. But family and friends weren't buying Kristin's story - particularly the idea that Greg would take his own life.

American Beauty

The daughter of a well-to-do California family, Rossum was a brainy blonde beauty whose talent for toxicology had won her a post at the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office. But her sweet smile masked a dark side.

Toxic Passion

At the time of her husband's death, Rossum was engaged in an illicit affair with her married boss. Investigators found that the Medical Examiner's Office was missing supplies of meth and fentanyl, the narcotic that had killed her husband. With each clue discovered, another piece of Rossum's "good girl" facade fell away. What the world would eventually see was the true face of a murderer - and the hand of justice.

©2005 Caitlin Rother (P)2016 Tantor Murder True Crime Crime Marriage Nonfiction True Crime
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What the critics say

"A true-crime thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat...a brilliant job of captivating the inner workings of a female killer." (Aphrodite Jones, New York Times best-selling author)
All stars
Most Relevant
Investigative Journalist Caitlin Rother goes incredibly in-depth into a sordid but relatively "routine" cheating-wife-kills-husband tale. Inconsistencies & Intuition drive family and investigators to more closely examine what appeared to be a fairly commonplace devastated spouse suicide.
Rother's writing is creditable, her research is meticulous, and her exposé is linear, logical, and impressively clear. I found myself thoroughly engrossed in the documentary.
Less fortunately, the crime itself isn't particularly sensational (I actually wonder why Rother chose the "mundane" murder of Greg de Villers as the subject for a book), and she offers voluminous information - gleaned from recorded conversations, interviews, and trial transcripts - but very little insight.

As to presentation: Tanya Eby demonstrates impressive interest in the text. I wouldn't blame her if she had become bored with the often dry material.. but maintains emotive energy throughout her delivery. Her breathy reading timbre is a little bit irritating after hours of listening, but her cadence, pacing, and voice-acting are all above average.

Altogether, 'Poisoned Love' merits 7 stars out of 10. It was a reasonable distraction for a couple of quiet afternoons as a 'Plus' option.. but unlikely to warrant a Credit should they ask for one.

Quite The Story

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