''Missy's Murder: Passion, Betrayal, and Murder in Southern California'' is a 1991 non-fiction book by
Karen Kingsbury
Karen Kingsbury (born June 8, 1963) is an American Christian novelist
A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists ...
and published by
Dell Publishing
Dell Publishing Company, Inc. is an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, that was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte Jr. with $10,000 (approx. $145,000 in 2021), two employees and one magazine title, ''I Confess'', and ...
. It concerns the
murder of Missy Avila
Michele Yvette "Missy" Avila (February 8, 1968 – October 1, 1985) was an American teenager who was murdered by her former best friends and rivals, Karen Severson and Laura Doyle, in October 1985.
Background
Michele Avila grew up in Arleta, Los ...
, in the
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...
region in
Greater Los Angeles
Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Coun ...
.
Background
Kingsbury previously reported the Avila case for the ''
Los Angeles Daily News
The ''Los Angeles Daily News'' is the second-largest-circulating paid daily newspaper of Los Angeles, California. It is the flagship of the Southern California News Group, a branch of Colorado-based Digital First Media.
The offices of the ''Dai ...
''. At the time of the publication of this work, which was her first book, she worked as a
freelance journalist
''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...
.
Reception
Richard Lee Colvin of the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' criticized the overly-done reconstructions of conversations, the use of an "annoying narrative device of short chapters in which no names are used", and the sections about the history of the San Fernando Valley.
[ Colvin argued that the story "has impact" despite the book's mistakes and that the author was "most sure of herself" while writing the sections of the book dealing with the trial.][ He stated the book was "clumsy", that it would disappoint "many readers", and concluded that "One comes to the end of the book, however, wishing that it had been written by a more experienced hand."][
'']Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...
'' criticized the book, calling it "unreliable", "superficial", "sensationalistic", and "a poor example of true-crime writing".[ Colvin stated that the book, like many other true crime books, goes to "make a monster out of the killer and a saint out of the victim".][
]
References
External links
*
Missy's Murder
' - Karen Kingsbury official site
* - Available for borrowing
Books about Los Angeles
Non-fiction books about murders in the United States
1991 non-fiction books
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