Brad Cunningham is like a villain in a melodrama. You can absolutely imagine him twirling his mustache and cackling as he made his wives and ex-wives Brad Cunningham is like a villain in a melodrama. You can absolutely imagine him twirling his mustache and cackling as he made his wives and ex-wives miserable. He was married five times, missed successfully killing his first wife by a matter of inches and pure blind luck; married his second wife solely to help him gain custody of his children (and when that failed, divorced her basically on the spot); abandoned his third wife when she was six months pregnant, after having persuaded her to quit her job and move with him into a more expensive condo--he in fact abandoned her in the middle of the move; beat his fourth wife to death so he wouldn't have to share custody of their three sons; milked his fifth wife for everything she was worth; and persuaded the woman he wanted for wife #6 (who obstinately refused to marry him, and more power to her) to become a topless dancer to support him. And he cheated on all of them, while accusing them of cheating on him. Not to mention the emotional abuse, the stalking, the gaslighting . . .
This book became mesmerizing. I kept turning pages just to see what horrible thing Cunningham would do next. And the end of the book, the civil trial for wrongful death followed by prosecution for first-degree murder, was as deeply satisfying a vindication as I've ever seen.
Except for the part where Cheryl Keeton is still dead, and the people Cunningham hurt: his wives, his children, his kith and kin, everyone who loved Cheryl . . . are never not going to have a torn place in their souls where Cheryl was ripped away.
Rule does an excellent job with her complicated story and cast of thousands. She's so good at explaining legal complexities that I almost don't notice how good she is at it. And I admire the way she practices compassion even as she digs for the truth.
--- Cunningham lost an appeal in 2004, and I found the court's decision well worth reading....more
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