Betrayal in Blood: The Murder of Tabatha Bryant

by Michael Benson

Her Cheating Heart"Mommy...won't be with us anymore." That's what attorney Kevin C. Bryant, 45, told his two young sons in the spring of 2003. At the time, blonde, pretty, 26-year-old Tabatha Bryant was alive and well in an upscale suburb of Rochester, New York. But that was about to change--because Bryant knew his wife was cheating--and he intended to end the affair by ending her life. On June 14, 2003, he called 911 to report Tabatha slain by an unknown intruder who'd shot her in the eye with a .22 and repeatedly stabbed her in the neck and upper body.

His Evil Plan

A drug bust led to Cassidy Green's confession that she'd driven the getaway car. She fingered boyfriend Cyril Winebrenner as the killer. He and Kevin Bryant were buddies who'd regularly gone on cocaine-fueled sex binges with hookers. Astoundingly, Winebrenner was also Tabatha's half-brother--but Bryant's $5,000 had convinced him that money is thicker than blood. In a trial that shook "Country Club Row," prosecutors would present evidence and testimonies that revealed ever more sordid details, leading to final justice for the lawyer who tried to get away with murder...

Genres: True Crime, Crime, Nonfiction, Audiobook

336 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2006

Reviews

[Tom]

A book about the horror which can occur when an insecure little man, after years of overcompensating for said insecurities, finally hits a wall and lashes out brutally -- only here a bunch of other troubled, drugged-up souls are dragged into a ring of sex and murder in ways that would seem too convoluted for fiction. Michael Benson may be writing about an open-and-shut case (and he may commit the common sin of true crime books in making the trial the majority of the book), but it's an open-and-shut case from which he excavates all the details and intrigue that true crime aficionados really want to read about. Betrayal in Blood isn't one for the true crime pantheon, but it's a great read anyway.

[Avid Reader and Geek Girl]

Book Rating: 2.75 stars
   When a woman is shot and stabbed in her own home, the immediate suspect is the husband. But he never should have trusted his unsavory associates to try to pull off this crime.
   I listened to this after listening to the Small Town Murder podcast episode, this book added nothing. The book really should have been more detailed. It was just wordier. The book told me in 9.5 hours what a podcast managed to cover with more detail in 2 hours! I had hoped to get deeper into the crime with this book.
   The book was decently written but was a bit dry. I think the author should have cut the stumbling parts of the court testimony and just noted that as well.

Narrator Rating: 3 stars
   The narrator did an okay job. His voice was too monotone to keep me engaged, and I had to rewind a few times.

Extra ratings:  Fluff-NA   Heartfelt-3/5   Helpful-1/5   Horror-NA    Inspiration-NA   Love aka Romance-NA    Mystery-NA    Predictability-3/5    Spice-0.5/5    Suspense-NA  Tear-2.5/5   Thrill-NA    Humor-NA  

Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Death, Blood, Drug use, and Murder
Moderate: Dementia and Abandonment

[Kimberly Garner]

Sex, drugs, greed, betrayal - the actual crime had the all the makings of an outstanding true crime novel. Unfortunately, the author almost immediately destroyed any interest I had in the book by spending an inordinate amount of time describing inconsequential details, characters, and events. For example, an entire chapter was dedicated to the testimony of crime scene analysts. The author found it necessary to delve into each investigator's educational background and job description. He introduced "Kathy Mahoney, a toxicologist with the medical examiner's office...She had an associates degree in applied sciences (biological technologies) from Monroe Community College." The author provided this unnecessary information for the purpose of confirming that the victim had no traces of street drugs or other chemical substances in her body when she was murdered. These excruciating details were made even more painful as drug use was never an issue in the investigation of the victim's death. Much of the book read like a trial transcript with each technician explaining who provided them with each piece of physical evidence, the manner in which the samples were collected, labeled, and stored and which specific tests were performed to arrive at a particular conclusion.

The author needlessly introduces detailed family trees of both the victim and perpetrator, providing more lengthy background information that proved to be inessential for either plot or character development.

However, the author spends by far the most time describing the history of burlesque shows and their evolution into modern day strip clubs in Chapter 40, "A Blend of Burlesque and Brothel." Like a horny teenager, the author gleefully details a lap dance as follows: "If law forced the dancer to wear a G-string, she would find an excuse to adjust it...and give her customer a flash of pink...She would sneak a quick feel of his crotch and allow her nipples to lightly brush his lips." Interestingly, most chapters are a page or two long, but this one went on for five pages.

Sadly, the author spent far too little time describing the victim. He provided the smallest details of every character that was somehow tangentially related to the crime or the investigation, but offered only the most basic information about the victim. Unfortunately, I'm left with the feeling that she's a stranger. I don't know her, and I can't identify with her, making it exceedingly difficult to feel much sympathy for her. Although the author paints a painstakingly realistic portrait of the investigation and the trials, he fails miserably in offering the reader a glimpse into the life of the victim. His dehumanizing portrayal of the victim lacks any real emotion, making her another nameless, faceless victim in a salacious crime that will inevitably fade into obscurity. That's the real tragedy.

[Lizzy]

I like to consider myself a True Crime book buff, and as far as that genre goes...not a whole lot there. It kept me interested, but wasn't very good.

[DAISY READS HORROR]

What a sick husband and even sicker brother to do this to his sister!

[Peg]

Too Long

The story of this murder was interesting but the book should have been about a third shorter. I almost put it down because it took so long to get into anything interesting and then the author said the same things over and over several different ways, sometimes just a few sentences apart. As with most true crime cases you know that you'll never know exactly what happened because everyone involved lies about some things.

[Sherry Lynn Wood]

Murder in the family

So many opportunities for people to do the right thing and didn't. This was just tragic. I can't imagine what her boys deal with today as a result of being in the house on that evening. It's funny how Kevin judged Tabby on her lifestyle but thought nothing of his own immoral activity. Narcissist behavior at its finest. Great read.

[Terri]

The research here is solid, but there's just not enough intrigue to make this a compelling true crime story. The murder of Tabatha Bryant was sordid and tragic, but the relevant details of the story are really only enough for an article, not a book.

[John Montgomery]

Three stars - but since I personally knew some of the people involved this was a very compelling story for me. If you know of any local crime reporting, read it. Things are not always what they seem to be.

[Katrin]

Kind of slow at some points like in the trial of the husband.

[Teresa]

Not a bad book but was twice as long as it should have been. I started skimming about 1/3 of the way through and read the rest of it that way.

[Jeanine]

Boring, not particularly well written. Page after page of verbatim transcripts.

[Jean M Arlauckas]

I like your style of writing. You investigate, give background where needed to create a story that keeps me wanting more. I also like how

You follow up at the end of the book. In this case Kevin Bryant got his just deserves, I'm thinking. I can't wait to read your next book. Kudos, Mike !!

[Jane]

This is a tragic story that deserves to be told. I don't care for the author's writing style at all. Some of the information is repetitive and in all honesty, the story could have been told in 150 pages or so. I don't recommend this book.

[Jane Thompson]

True Crime Story

This I is not a good true crime book. The author let's the reader in on the muderer in the beginning of the book. The book is way too long and is not easy to read. I found it to be boring and difficult to follow.

[Diana]

About a murder that happened in suburb of Rochester. Wife was killed by brother-in-law at the request of her husband. Sad story, but local Rochester interest.

[Donna]

very interesting..so sad..b/c it's a truee story from upstate NY where I currently live

[Kalil Zouaghia]

very bad soty , an epic way of writing that makes uw ant more but a terrible story ,i can even say it's idiotic .

[Ronnie Cramer]

A decent true crime book, though it began to drag once the trials started. I did like the way the author let the perpetrators move the story forward by including their full arrest statements.