Limb from Limb

by George Hunter, Melissa Ann Preddy

He Used A Hand Saw. . .On Valentine's Day 2007, in a suburb of Detroit, stay-at-home dad Stephen Grant filed a missing person's report with the local sheriff. Grant's wife Tara had disappeared five days earlier. He'd been searching for her ever since--or so he claimed. He Started With Her Hands. . .Over the next two weeks, police questioned Grant. He lashed out, accusing them of harassment, pleading his innocence in television interviews. He swore that his wife, a successful businesswoman, had abandoned him and their children. Then the police made a gruesome discovery. . . He Kept Her Torso In The Garage.After his arrest, Grant confessed to strangling his wife and cutting her body into fourteen pieces while the children slept. Detroit News reporter George Hunter interviewed Grant several times, learning shocking details of his relationship with Tara. This chilling account goes inside the twisted mind of a husband who snapped--and a marriage that ended in bloody carnage.Includes 16 Pages Of Shocking PhotosGeorge Hunter has spent the last ten years covering murderers, rapists and gangsters as an award-winning police reporter for The Detroit News. His national television appearances include CNN's Nancy Grace, Fox News' Greta Van Susteren, and MSNBC News. Melissa Ann Preddy is a Michigan-based freelance writer who spent more than thirteen years as a reporter, columnist, and editor for The Detroit News. She was a 2004-2005 Knight-Wallace Fellow in Journalism at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and presently is writing a fictional mystery series. Both authors live in the Detroit area.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction

417 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Obsidian · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a sad and tragic true crime story. I thought Hunter did a good job of not only showing the personality of Stephen Grant, but also Tara Grant. And the author also did a great job of showing the unraveling of that marriage through small and big things. The author included the jail house conversations I thought was good and it lets you see what I called "the real Stephen Grant."

"Limb from Limb" is a true crime book that follows the story of missing housewife, mother of two, Tara Grant. Taking place in 2007, this missing person's case got nationwide attention. Her husband Stephen Grant was constantly in front of cameras and talking to the media about how his wife left angry one night and he thought she had left early for her job in Puerto Rico. When the police get involved though, they immediately started to realize things did not add up and that Stephen Grant was lying. Hunter takes you through the timeline of events that led to the police finding out what really happened to Tara Grant and also the trial of her husband Stephen. We also get an epilogue on some of the parties regarding the custody of the Grant children.

One thing I liked is that Hunter acknowledges at times the privileges involved with Tara's missing person's case and how another missing person's case at the same time involving a black woman was being ignored by the media. He also provided details on some infamous cases that went on at the same time and weirdly intersected with Grant.

I thought the chapters were short and easily ready. The book's flow was great. Hunter provides more details on Stephen and Tara, but also on the prosecutor, judge, defense attorneys, etc. that were also involved. Unlike with Ann Rule's books, I don't think Hunter overloads us on the biographical details.

I liked reading what the juror thought and why they came to the decision they did.

But there's a shocking reveal during the penalty phase that makes me very sad.

[Elle G. Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 STARS Well written an informative in relation to the crime and everything before and after it occurred. The authors did their work and I was immediately immersed in the book. It actually felt like reading an M. William Phelps novel (he's my favorite true crime author) which made me like it even more. My only issue was that it was overly long. It took forever just to reach 30%.

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name]

I've stopped rating murder. Unless there is something particularly heinous or triggering etc I just mark "read".

[♥ Marlene♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished this afternoon and I was pleasantly surprised by this book.

First of all I should say I knew nothing about this story, except that I knew that this case had been in the headlines a lot. So everything I read was new and maybe that was one of the reasons I really enjoyed reading this book. I liked the writing, the interviews, the transcripts of kelly and Stephen's conversations in jail. I think my least favorite part was the last part. The trial part because we knew everything already but i did find it still interesting to see what the defense and prosecutions would say and do.

I admit that I was so fascinated by Stephen grant's eyes that I googled it. First I could not find anything that made me feel the writers were right, about him having "bug eyes eyes and saucer like eyes, but then I discovered these 2 photo's and I swallowed and said with tiny voice "okay they were right"





Why I am going to give it 4 stars and not 5 is because even after all the news that surrounded this case, I still did not get to know the victim. Was she having an affair? No I do not think that makes a difference but I would like to know what she was like.
What was she like? Did she not have any friends? It appeared to me,she was a very distant person.

Anyway great book! I would buy another book by this author! 4.5 stars

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This guy was truly weird. Good read, but not the best true crime I've read.

[Sandra Laymon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow...do you think you can really hide murder?

Can anyone hide his wife's murder? Apparently Stephen Grant thinks that is possible. He squeezed the life out of her. He rolled her up in plastic. He drove around with her in the car and he cut her up into 14 pieces! THEN he pretended she had left her family on her own! Stephen Grant is a fool! An evil fool! At least that's my opinion. Read this book to see if it is your opinion of Stephen Grant. It's a great read!

[Robi A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story but no photos

I read this terrible story of murder and the manipulation that the killer tried to use to excuse his vicious actions. The book is fascinating BUT NO PHOTOS IN THE E BOOK.

[Mary Schwarz Schwarz · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very gory true crime book.

[Liz Sergent · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was an interesting true crime read. I live in Macomb County and remember this case when it occurred. It seemed stranger than fiction, now 10 years later revisiting the events and remembering all that was going on in Macomb County during that time.

[Sheila Good · Rating 4 out of 5]

Breathtakingly shocking! For those who love the True Crime genre, as I do, hard to put down. what I found most shocking was the confession and the matter of factness with which he relayed his crime in gruesome detail. Not for the faint of heart.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glad this guy is out of society! It tells about what this guy does to someone he "loved" at one time. A very sad story.

[Eddie Snipes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Worth the read if your a true crime reader, but it is not the best written book I've read. Falls short of Ann Rule or some of the other estemed crime writers.

[Kristen Doherty · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was good he got 50 to 80 years for a 2nd degree murder charge

[Crystal Mendoza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Phenomenal

I loved this book. I'm a true crime fanatic and I couldn't put the book down. If you're up for a good read, this is it

[Elvis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This guy was totally nuts and got exactly what he deserved.