Open Secrets by Carlton Stowers

On a fall afternoon in 1983, in an upscale Dallas suburb, Rozanne Gailiunas was found stripped, bound to her bed, and shot through the skull. Her four-year-old son has been napping peacefully in the next room when she was killed. Rozanne's husband, Dr. Peter Gailiunas--and her lover, Larry Aylor--immediately fell under suspicion. Until a surprise informant identified the mastermind behind the murder as Aylor's own wife, Joy--a woman so driven by jealousy and greed that she put out a contract on both Rozanne and later her own husband. On the run and managing to elude investigators for eight years, the two-year search for the socialite would eventually end in the south of France. There, authorities found the elusive femme fatale, living as comfortably among the world's elite as she was among hired killers. At last, the authorities' questions would be answered, to reveal a shocking insight into the heart of an unlikely killer, and a small-town Texas crime that made international headlines.

What struck me most about this book is the demeanor of Joy Aylor throughout the book.There was no overwhelming passion for her husband or even extreme anger that he was having an affair.I got the feeling that she viewed her philandering husband more as an irritating fly that needed to be swatted.I believe she wanted to do away with him and got a good price to kill two people instead of one so she took that option as it would then prove to be less cost per head.So she had the girlfriend killed as well.Really this is the feeling I had the entire time,very very strange.

I enjoyed this book but I would definitely not say that this is Carlton Stower's best book.Not by far.The storyline is not very exciting.I would go as far as to say this is just another book about a spouse trying to knock off their partner.Nothing great but if you have it with you already or if a friend offers to lend you the book then by all means read it but I would not go out of my way to buy it.Actually I have already (as you know) but my advice is dont.

I do however admire all the facts that were researched and the amount of work that went into this book by Carlton Stowers.I also have the utmost respect for the police and investigators who eventually caught this strange woman after she ran away and hid for all those years.

But I do need to add that Ann Rule's comment on this book was "one of the most remarkable true crime books I've ever read".So there you have it.Dont take my word for it, take it from the experts and Ann Rule is definitely classified as an expert on true crime books.

see more on this book at Kalahari Books-South Africa
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