Evidence of Love by John Bloom and Jim Atkinson

 

(pb; 1984: crime nonfiction)

From the back cover

“They were two suburban mothers who attended the same church, went to the same parties, looked after each other’s kids. In the small-town Texas world they shared, liefe seemed peaceful and pleasant. Yet underneath the surface, pretty blonde Candy Montgomery and schoolteacher Betty Gore were simmering with unspoken frustrations, unanswered needs. And one hot summer day it would all explode in the laundry room of Betty Gore’s home─as the concrete walls rang with the blows and screams of an ax striking forty-one terrible times.

“Here is the incredible true story of the murder trial that made headlines across the country. . . the unthinkable crime that ripped away the serene façade of a quiet Texas community to show the passions and jealousies that boiled underneath. You will come to know the world of Candy Montgomery and her friend Betty Gore and you will wonder how such a monstrous thing could happen.”

 

Review

Evidence is an excellent, detailed-with-a-hint-of-mystery true crime book that is an immediately reader-immersive work. Bloom and Atkinson provide just enough─a lot of─background about those who experienced Evidence’s events as well as background on the places and institutions where they happened. This is an intense, fact-driven, steadily paced, and occasionally grisly-but-non-exploitative read, one of the more emotionally involving books I’ve read recently, and easily one of the best true crime books I’ve read in a long time. I can see why Bloom (a.k.a. Joe Bob Briggs) and Atkinson are award-winning journalists. 

#

The resulting television movie, A Killing in a Small Town, aired on CBS on May 22, 1990. Stephen Gyllenhaal directed it, from a teleplay by Cynthia Cidre.

Barbara Hershey played Candy Morrison. Brian Dennehy  (First Blood, 1982) played Ed Reivers. John Terry played Stan Blankenship. Richard Gilliland played Dale Morrison. Lee Garlington (Cobra and Psycho III, both 1986) played Peggy Blankenship.

Hal Holbrook played Dr. Beardsley. Matthew Posey (Mr. Brooks, 2007) played Norman Billings. James Monroe Black, billed as James Black, played Dr. Giles. Dennis Letts (A Perfect World, 1993) played Chief McAlester. Marco Parella (A Perfect World, 1993) played Rick Slocum.