Dying For Daddy by Carlton Smith

On a picturesque street in Sacramento County,California three healthy saplings stand side by side.But what they symbolize are the deaths of three innocent people-two of them children.And the man who took their lives is the one who planted the tress in their honor.This man was the husband and father of these three victims.

Hearts went out to Jack Barron when his wife,Irene, died in her sleep.Soon after,when his two young children were also found dead in their beds,suspicions aroused about Jack Barron.Then,when his 52 year old mother died,also of asphyxiation in her sleep,the four deaths seemed too coincidental to ignore....


Can anyone believe that only after the 4th death,the murderer's mother's death,that suspicions really got out of control?You better believe it because that is exactly what happened.Bearing in mind that there was bruising found with the wife's autopsy then when the children also died surely the case should have been looked into.What is tragic about this story is that the children's deaths could have been avoided if proper concerns had been raised at the wife Irene's autopsy.There was bruising after all.
Carlton Smith wrote this book specifically to involve the reader in assessing all the proof and facts available.You,as the reader,are involved from the start to finish.I felt part of this investigation and it worked for me.What I could not understand and still can't understand is how the actual people involved did not get as angry as I got,and I was merely an observer,reading this book.
People as a rule believe that only professions like being a doctor or nurse involves dealing with the lives of people but this book made me realise how every single profession if not done well can have an impact on people's lives and I feel that many people do not weigh up the consequences of their actions in relation to the impact on others.A person doing an autopsy however should really realise the impact of his findings when performing an autopsy.We think,well the person is dead already right?But what about the other people who might die after at the hands of the person who has gotten away with murder?

Carlton Smith is as usual excellent.His ability to draw the reader into his books and live the tale is brilliant.This is a common thread in Carlton Smith books.You will see other books of his which I will review and they all have this same base.



I read this book in April 2007.It has 261 pages and 8 pages of pictures.The pictures of the children are heart breaking.You will hate this poor excuse of a "father"