Judgement Ridge is another in my reading series of well-written and well-researched true crime novels. Its subject matter is the murder of Dartmouth professors Half and Susanne Zantop in January 2001 by two Chelsea, Vermont teenagers. One was much more the leader and the other, a follower. The leader of course was a psychopath who wanted to kill just for the sake and thrill of killing while the follower primarily wanted his friend's acceptance. And because of these dynamics, the cluelessness of the town and parents (I know, I always blame them!) and the purchase of two Navy Seal knifes, two life-affirming people and teachers were dead. Two Boston Globe reporters write a compelling, detailed analysis of how this horrid event happened.

Boston Globe writes, "One of the best books of the year...Join's Truman Capote's classic In Cold Blood as one of the standards in crime writing."