This was a sad, sad tale of murder. It was purely factual, and pretty dry. I read true crime, and have read it for years. This was okay, but not compelling. I was sorry for the victims, but was not moved as I have been with other stories of murders. It seemed the killer was more concerned with his reputation than the lives of those he claimed to love, which is not a justification in my mind. Perhaps my perspective is colored by all those years of true crime reading and documentaries. ( )

5445. Lone Tree A True Story of Murder in America's Heartland, by Bruce Brown (read 23 Feb 2017) I went to a Briar Cliff basketball game a couple of weeks ago and the leading scorer was from Lone Tree, Iowa. I know of most of the towns in Iowa but did not know of Lone Tree. So, of course, I looked it up in Wikipedia and learned of this book. It tells well the story of Dale Burr, who on Dec 9, 1985, killed his wife, his banker, and a neighbor who had sued his son. The book also discusses in depth the farm crisis of the early 1980's and the inept way the Reagan Administration dealt with it, resulting in aggravating the economic situation of small farmers while aiding the farm conglomerates. Even so, of course, one cannot feel sorry for Burr, who did foolish things like get out of raising cattle--which brought in some income--and buying 155 horses--which brought in no income. And when he started his killing spree the first thing he did was kill his totally innocent wife! I found this an absorbing and unusual book, well worth reading. ( )