The Private Diary of Lyle Menendez in His Own Words, Hardcover, with a Written Confession and Signed By Him on the Flyleaf

by Norma Novelli

The personal story of Lyle Menendez is based on a four-and-a-half-year intimate correspondence with Novelli and covers the murders of Jose and Kitty Menendez by Lyle and his brother Erik and the court trials that ended in hung juries. Simultaneous.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Crime, Biography

Hardcover

First published May 1, 1995

Reviews

[Saliha · Rating 1 out of 5]

Exploitative

[Stay Fetters · Rating 1 out of 5]

”If the men could just see that they could still have all of their fragileness, they could still have all of their problems, but they could still do some great things with their life. They could go so far.”

Ever since Law and Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders aired, I’ve been looking up more information about this crime. I’ve read a lot about other murders but didn’t know anything about this one except the obvious; sons killed their parents.

This book quickly came up in my search for more information. So, I requested it from the library and patiently waited for it to arrive. I’m very grateful that I didn’t end up buying this.

DNF @ 44%

People communicate with murderers for a few reasons: 1. To profit off of their talks and 2. They have a weird perversion to these murderers. Norma seems to fall right into that first one right off the bat.

She complains early on that she’s saddened that Mama won’t talk to her any longer after this book was released. Well, did you ever think that you used her and her family to make a personal financial gain? Or you got sick pleasure from being an errand girl for a murderer?

Having a conversation with Norma is like having a conversation with a bag of rocks at the bottom of the sea. She has zero personality and yeah, umm, and OK are not great ways to have input into a conversation. I’m sure that I get more input from a conversation with my dog.

If you want more earth shattering information about the Menendez murders, I suggest you look somewhere a lot higher. This right here is bottom of the barrel garbage.

[alisha khan · Rating 1 out of 5]

never read this book & i’m not going to
just wanted to give this a one star bc i couldn’t go any lower
the only reason she made this book is to exploit Lyle and get money from making this piece of garbage of a book

[Lindsay]

So far this book is TERRIBLE and yet I can't stop reading it.
I mean, really really terrible in a sensationalist, slapped-together kind of way.
But how can I not be interested in the Mendendez brothers? Especially since their trial was at the illustrious Van Nuys courthouse, a quick jaunt from my house.

[Kaitlyn Colvin · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the dumbest fucking book I’ve ever read.

The whole novel is full of aggressive, attention grabbing language that shows an incredible amount of bias in the case. So much so that it becomes rather off-putting. I understand the thought process behind being pro prosecution on this case, I don’t share the same opinion, but I understand the logic. The prosecution absolutely made some good points, and murder absolutely is wrong, but this book is a load of garbage.

Norma is clearly leading Lyle and asking him questions to try and set him up throughout the entirety of these transcripts. They promoted the novel as some type of groundbreaking information that would reveal the defense team was lying wholly. Once you read it, you realize the whole thing is a big cash grab.

The outro by Pierce O’Donnell was the icing on top of this really, really shitty cake. To suggest that this should be required reading for criminology, psychology, & criminal law classes is absurd. The transcripts/tapes are the only actual informative piece here, and they are obviously the only reason the book was even published in the first place. The rest of it is nastily worded filler and hate spew, all in the name of pitifully grabbing for fame & fortune.

Also, there is NOTHING wrong with putting victims on trial sometimes, there is nothing wrong with Lyle finding cross examinations exciting, & there is nothing wrong with the jury hearing the brothers’ testimonies on the hell that they went through in their childhood. Victims can be abusers, abusers can be victims, it’s not black and white. This book makes it try to appear black and white. José and Kitty were obviously not perfect & neither are Lyle and Erik. I’m damn glad the prosecution (and everyone who worked on this publication) didn’t get that death sentence they so desperately wanted.

And finally, the disrespect towards male on male abuse victims .. disgusting. I hope these authors/editors have done some serious self reflection since the 90s.

[Taylor McClung · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book is so insane? im amazed at how biased all 3 of these people are. implying that lyle was manipulating norma during these tapes is so funny bc all he did was talk about the case / trial? she claims she was manipulated but then also claims she never believed him about the abuse? i think its pretty disgusting how sure they are that these 2 people weren't sexually assaulted by their father when there is so much evidence that he did. i honestly did not get any vibes from lyle during the tapes that he was being manipulative? this book was terrible lol

[Jo · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well this was a real dumpster fire of a read.

Ok so I was tempted to read this out of pure curiosity as this has been labeled as one of the factors into why the second trial went so poorly for the Menendez brothers and after reading this, I do not understand that claim at all.

Firstly, the main claim here is that he is a liar and has completely fabricated the claims that he and Erik were sexually abused. Which, that is fine and reasonable if that is your perspective but they provide absolutely no true and solid argument of why not to believe them. They simply label him as a liar and sociopath and hope it sticks. And this is not to say he didn't lie about things because he very much so did and openly admitted to them but with the amount of proof and 100+ witnesses the brothers had accounting for their claims of sexual abuse, I don't think it is unreasonable at all to believe them here.

Next, Norma Novelli. This woman reached out to Lyle on her own volition in hopes of writing a "Tell All Story About the Parricidal Maniac!" and had years of conversations with him and gets mad the second he stops responding to her calls and letters? And then accuses of him of emotionally manipulating and abusing her? Absolutely absurd and baseless claim when they included the recordings in the book that they claim where he was emotionally abusing and manipulating her. Here's a thought, maybe he stopped responding because his lawyer caught wind of what she was attempting to do and instructed him to stop. Was he at times boastful and overly confident about how the first trial was going? Absolutely! But that isn't incriminating.

Probably my favorite part about this bullshit is when they proclaim that this should be taught in law and criminal study courses. They criticize Lyle for his over confidence and boastful attitude but then what should we call them believing that this under researched and honestly, boring psychoanalyzation of Lyle Menendez should be taught in law and criminal study courses?

Really all this read to me was somebody that, at the time, was facing the death penalty and wanted someone to talk to and vent about the unraveling events of the trial which is completely understandable and not a crime to do.

[susan · Rating 1 out of 5]

szczerze najgorsza książka jaka jest xd autorka ma coś na łbie i manipuluje oczerniając Lyle i pisząc jakieś bzdury a ona chyba coś brała. Dobrze ze czytałam to za darmo bo żadne pieniądze nie są warte aby to przeczytać ale w sumie straciłam tylko czas. Elo nie polecam

[Zen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a series of recordings of convos between Norma Novelli and Klyle Menendez. All convos are where Menendez spewing bs and enjoying hearing himself talk and Novelli sou ding like a psychophant agreeing and encouraging him.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like to read True Crime novels, you will probably enjoy this book. I learned several new details that I did not know. I followed the story of this crime from day one & still not know everything that is in this book. There are parts of this book that will help you better understand how children can kill their parents and what would make them do it. After reading this book, you may look at things differently than you do now. You also might change your opinion on whether they are guilty of cold blooded murder or victim's who thought the only way out of their situation was to commit murder.

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

I would give this -10000 stars if I could.
I didn't read any reviews before going in so let me help you out: ABORT MISSION, ABORT, ABORT.

This isn't a "book." It's a collection of tapes, which is fine, nothing wrong with that at all, but that's all that it is. And it makes for a dreadful, boring, mind-numbing read. Probably the worst I've ever experienced.

Not even going to talk about the actual content, which is up to your own interpretation. To me this book is just a quick money grab, regardless of my opinion on the case.

[Crystal]

I was reminded of the case when an ex-member of Menudo recently said that he was abused -- raped -- by the Menendez brothers' father. Sure to be hot trash based on the exclamation point in the title but there's an audiobook and I'm vaguely interested?

[Kelly Teen Librarian · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's trash. I finished it because it's important to have the facts and insight to the case, especially now that there are people advocating for the brothers to be released from prison. I never thought I'd be one of them. Up until last year, I never really gave them a second thought.

Norma Novelli writes that she was "manipulated masterfully" by the sociopath Lyle Menendez, that there was nothing she could possibly do to stop what she did, which was visit him, call him, give him money, and run errands for him for years. She'll want to convince you it was not within her ability or power to end that relationship because Lyle was lonely and had grown to rely on her. And while I by no means think Lyle Menendez is some great guy who got a bad wrap, ohno, but everyone still refuses to believe the fact that Jose and Kitty Menendez were more than bad parents who spoiled their sons rotten, they drove those kids to insanity. Jose + Kitty were more than assholes, they were outright abusers. The man was raping little boys all over the world. He was, by today's definition, sex-trafficking the boys in the bands he represented.

It's clear Novelli had every intent of using and capitalizing on Lyle. She had probably already signed a contract to publish a book and the only reason she kept going back was because she wanted the payday and notoriety, not bc she was some caring friend. That's bullshit. She's bullshit. Lyle is the only person who was authentic.

Lyle was (using Novelli's words) "indoctrinated by Jose Menendez", a rich and mean rapist who could yell and scream and people would cower because in 1989, who was going to argue with that man? The idea that Lyle and Erik didn't lead with their sexual abuse because it couldn't have possibly happened is what we call victim shaming today in 2025. I'm glad this is changing.

Sexual abuse is horrible, let alone by the two people who are supposed to care and protect you. Jose Menendez had everything: the rags to riches super success story, the attitude, the reputation that preceded him, as did Kitty. These are not people to feel sorry for, they got what most survivors only dream of: what they deserve. While I believe in the law, I know there's no justice for real victims. That's evident in many cases: Neil Gaiman! For real?! Let's not forget Jeffrey Epstein, Harvey Weinsten, Sean Combs, Woody Allen, Michael Jackson, OJ Simpson - all criminals. And truth be told, I don't feel sympathy for anyone, really, I think the whole thing is disgusting.

I think the guy who introduced Novelli's book was another "expert" looking for attention, the only thing he really had to say was about his best-selling OJ Simpson book that "sold really, really well". He really had nothing interesting or informative to say about this book, he is clearly more interested with profiting off OJ the psycho killer.

I think no kids would kill their parents just for the money, that has never made sense to me, even as a kid. That couldn't be the one and only motive although, I didn't believe the abuse happened either because at the time, it couldn't be proven. However, by today's standards, it's a much more likely scenario that Lyle confronted his dad about Erik, that they were getting assaulted and raped by Jose, that Kitty did nothing about it whatsoever (contributing to her low self esteem, depression, and suicidal ideation), and that they definitely lost their shit when Jose manipulated them with the only thing he conditioned them to give a shit about and that was MONEY. He wanted money because that is what made him feel powerful. Those brothers were never going to escape him, the idea that they could've just moved away was not realistic anymore, especially with the facts of this case today.

All these experts, this guy Hochman, why are they still refusing to believe these guys killed abusers and go on to ignore Roy Rosselló and other people's accounts of what they have survived by Jose Menendez? Because it's easier to do that than admit they were wrong about some of what transpired and why would they want to do that?

Nobody can say these guys didn't get raped repeatedly by their father while their mother ignored it.

The Menendez Brothers are not innocent. They murdered people. They have been in prison for 35 years of their lives and with the facts coming out (finally!) and no money to be inherited, there is no motive for them to continue lying. They can't be lying about the abuse, otherwise people wouldn't still be monetizing on their tragedy and we'd have to believe all of Jose's other victims are also liars because they want attention + money.

Roy Rosselló is lying? Is he looking for attention, money, and fifteen minutes of fame? Do you think a man who raped him couldn't also rape his sons on a regular basis?

If you read Robert Rand's book (the revised edition), at the end he talks about a conversation with Ricky Martin, as well, and that was more telling than this "private diary" of Lyle's.

This book was mostly a waste of time, none of the insight to the criminal mind here other than Novelli who is delusional and fake, but as someone who is vested in their case, it was important for me to read and decide for myself.

[Mallory Thompson]

the deeper I dive into this case, the more I don’t think I fully believe the boys 🫣

[Jessica Bennett]

DNF @ 30%, fought so hard to finish it but I couldn’t. This has nothing to do with Lyle and everything to do with Norma lmao

[Jenna Guthier · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed listening to the things Lyle had to say as the trial went on. I still question if he was telling the truth, but it sounds like there was a lot of lying throughout the whole trial.

[Rianne van Duin · Rating 1 out of 5]

exploitative.

[Grace · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book sickens me, Norma was a middle-aged woman who befriended Lyle, who was in his 20s at the time and suffered years of abuse from his parents including SA! She recorded their conversation and released them to the public. He trusted her and she betrayed him, It’s horrible how this woman gets to profit off Lyle’s trauma. He was a valuable person, and she used him to make a quick buck and have 5 minutes of fame. I don’t know how people like her sleep at night!

[Christina · Rating 2 out of 5]

When Menendez himself is speaking, this audio book really drags. I much prefer the commentary by Pierce O'Donnell, which (sadly) doesn't come until the end.

In short, Lyle Menendez is just as horrible as you think he is, and you don't need to waste time on this book.

[Priscilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book searching for perspective.

Norma Novelli's motives for publishing, are obviously malicious. But if we're to believe the transcripts are true, then it does give the reader a snapshot view of Lyle, as he was back then; a clearly disturbed and somewhat deluded young man.

[DAISY READS HORROR · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book a few years back. It is very sad how the 2 brothers talk so openly about murdering their parents and have no remorse in doing so.

[Portal · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you haven't read any official reading on the case or watched the trial I highly recommend you do over this exploitative cash grab. I'm actually currently only reading this book, just because I'd like to read the transcripts of the phone calls between Lyle Menendez and Norma. This book really believes or wants to believe that Lyle is what the prosecution and media painted him and Erik as; as spoilt rich brats that killed their parents for money. I do not believe that at all, as there's so much evidence that proves they were abused. If you've read anything about child abuse and trauma, you can understand why they killed their parents, and while they needed to face punishment for their crime, I hold no sympathy for their parents, (both parent's families state they were abused as children, so I have deep sympathy for the abused children they were but none for the monsters they became.) The Menendez brothers aren't monsters. They were flawed and complcated, brainwashed, and abused young men, living in fear who reached a point of such desperation and fear that they killed their abusers. I believe it was indeed imperfect defense. Norma and the others involved in making this book clearly wanted to paint Lyle as a monster, and a small amount I've read that aren't straight from phone calls paint him as spoilt and overly confident, yet so far, the phone calls themselves are either spmewhat mundane, while making Lyle seem niave and young and at other parts he seems thoughtful and self reflecting. There's a deal of detachment on his part as so far he seems to try to hold back. There's 2 parts so far that are particularly interesting where he talks about getting across his story in court and how he becomes very emotional and that will get a positive reaction from the jury. People seem to think that indicates he's lying, but it seems like he's obviously being questioned by his own team and they've told him what to expect, so it comes across as him wanting to be understood by the jury and move them but in the way from that transcript does it indicate he's lying. Another part when Norma talks to him about shock is very telling because she seems to try to convince him that shock makes things go in slow motion, but he disagrees that he's own experience wasn't like that and recounts how he feels shock and trauma which to me seem very telling of him being truthful. Also the parts were they're speaking about writing a book is very interesting, he clearly still wants to live up to his father's expectations and wants to make something of him self but there's a niave innocence in the way he thinks writing a book will go, he thinks if he gets out it will be more popular and that he could tour but then he says Norma can have the money since he wanted be allowed it. So far, he seems to really appreciate Norma and trust her and treats her as his confidant and helper. It's really quite sad. There are some meaningful reflections on his part, although he can also seem very detached from the reality of the crime, but that makes sense to me.

[Tracy Barton · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this book up after watching the Netflix mini-series. While it's been pointed out (as if it weren't clear) that the mini-series presented pretty much every possible aspect or variation of the case, it's still pretty obvious to me that things went down as Lyle & Erik Menendez claimed they did. I believe them, is what I'm saying. Even before finding out, mid-way through the mini-series, that new evidence supporting their claims had recently been uncovered, I was all in. See, I believe victims of abuse. I realize there are times that people will make stuff up, "cry wolf", so to speak. But I also believe that there are things that happen that are simply too heinous to be made up. That's what happened here.

Anyway, this book is sad and pathetic. In all, I'd say that Norma Novelli did, like, 1/16th of the book as her own actual writing... the majority of it is transcribed conversations they had over the phone. I realize she devoted time and energy and money to this, believing, maybe, that she was being a Good Samaritan. I don't see it that way. I think she was trying to get material for a book--she was already putting out an amateur magazine when she first connected with Lyle. She claims he used her, for company, to make connections and run all his errands, etc. But I don't buy that she was sweet-talked or brainwashed into doing it and sticking with it. I believe she was doing all this to get a book out of him. And she did. But geez, it's really just a bound transcript of their phone calls, which don't really amount to much. Maybe she was selective in the things she published, keeping out things that might have shone him in a better light. Regardless, I don't feel like he implicated himself or anything like that in their discussions.

Ultimately, she put the book out to further her own goals, to build herself up. Her bit at the end, just a little bitter wrap-up, to make sure people understand that she was taken advantage of by a murderer. Whatever. And the "afterward" by dude who did investigations for Jose's business? I didn't even read that crap. He's building himself up while simultaneously tearing Lyle and Erik down. To what end, buddy? This whole book already tore them down, why you gotta put your two cents in?

Anyway, it gets 2 stars instead of just 1, because it was at least transcribed properly, and it was edited well enough. Nice work, Novelli.

[Savannah Pokusa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'd choose 0 stars if I could. I have never seen a greater display of desperation than this vile old woman grasping at air to paint a traumatized younger man in a horrid light to feed her own success.

First thing's first, the second season of Ryan Murphy's Netflix series, "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story," gives the impression that this book was filled with incriminating evidence to prove that Lyle Menendez was somehow lying about the abuse - none of which was actually seen in this. Quite insane how tame this book actually was compared to how the show described it.

Second, Novelli really tries to drive in the idea that she was being manipulated the whole time, which is clearly far from the case as never once did she believe Lyle's story. How could she be manipulated if she only expressed her rising hatred and disbelief for him the whole time? She only tried to leech exclusive information out of him to no avail. All he does is confide in her and talk about the trial. She exploited him. Point blank.

In the end, it describes Lyle as an evil, mastermind manipulator who managed to fabricate the whole story. Again, none of which was proven in these recorded phone calls. Instead she gained the younger boy's trust and baited him with leading questions as if to hear him state something incriminating, or something that would even prove the whole abuse backstory was a lie.

Lyle Menendez stood by what he said, still having no clue that his calls were being recorded by the older woman he trusted and felt safe enough to open up to, even exchanging many emotional recounts regarding his trauma. He thought he found someone to confide in. Someone to vent to. Someone he thought he could trust. Meanwhile, Novelli tried to feebly convince herself that she was the one being strung along, as if she didn't have all the power to cut him off at any point. She chose to continue the calls. She continued to visit him on her own accord. She chose to be his link to the outside world. She chose to reach out in the first place.

I have many choice words for this woman. I only feel sad that any tree had to die to produce this dumpster fire of a book. Kinda wish I had my own copy simply to annotate and take notes on her pure idiocy and hypocrisy, but I borrowed this from a library, and I would never be caught dead spending money on it. Genuinely the dumbest waste of time I have ever read.

[Bella · Rating 5 out of 5]

spoilers; Lyle comes off as super unlikable and ungrateful in this. Asking people to lie on the stand.Refusing to see his grandmother, bragging about all the young women in love with him, not taking the case seriously and believes he will get off easy and go to a luxury prison. He asks Norma to buy a minimum of 100 things throughout the book and tells her to get reimbursed from grandma ; poor grandma is paying out of her pension, not the Menendez estate, and has to sell her house to keep up! He also comes off very misogynistic in this, prostitutes, pms week, using women for nude Polaroids,etc. He also admits to the murder and describes it to Norma in detail. He stated the crime had nothing to do with inheriting money and I believe him since he was so honest about other things. He curses a lot and talks down to norma and the pool boy, he is just not a nice person. Also a lot of handwritten notes from lyle in this book.
I read this since the monsters docuseries came out and I wanted to do more research on the case since people hate the show so much. I would say the show is very true to the book and Lyle's personality. Good book about a bad person

[Adrianna Barkey · Rating 1 out of 5]

Norma Novell maliciously worked to gain the trust of a 21 year old inmate who suffered from lifelong abused, trauma, and mentally illness. Like the two evil parents Lyle and Erik had to kill in order to escape from, Norma exploits people for her own selfish gain. She convinced Lyle to allow her to tape their conversations, knowing good and well that she would make money off of them - and that's exactly what she did. Her disgusting plot helped to destroy Lyle and Erik's defense, and they were sentemced to life in prison without parol instead of the 25 years they should have served. Norma and the people who helped her publish this garbage are an embarrassment to society. Selling the recordings for $12,000 and writing a book was more important to them than making sure two young men who were held captive from birth would one day know freedom. The audio version includes pieces of Niorma's recordings, but the quality is so poor that it physically hurt my ears when I tried to listen. Needless to say, I never made it through the book and would not recommend it for anyone.

[Shannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I give this books two stars begrudgingly, because I'm not even sure that I can confidently say that it deserves one star.

I'm not even sure the purpose of the book, as it is primarily the transcription of telephone calls between Norma Novelli and Lyle Menedez and passages of Norma's diary, more so than Lyle's. There is no deep revelation on Lyle's part, and no exceptional writing on Norma's. What I wanted to see is some remorse from Lyle, but it's not to be found between the pages of this book. This book does not exude someone that is remorseful for his actions, rather it reveals someone remorseful for being caught. As to the relationship between Norma and Lyle at the time of this writing, I am confused. It most certainly does not appear to simply be that of someone pursing a story, some parts read more of a romantic inclination or infatuation.

I do not recommend this book.

[Lauren Barbaro · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed hearing audio recordings of Lyle in jail, although I understand and rebuke the boundaries crossed to publish them. But I found that this was a completely biased recollection of events sprinkled with opinions and comments
made without factual evidence to back them up. It was not an educationally stimulating listen/read, as it was littered with only one side of history, the other, represented by a few phone call and voice mail recordings of Lyle alone — which anyone can identify the fact that there’s a tremendous lack of context and other details that are crucial in painting the larger, more accurate depiction of a heartbreaking and tragic story. Those responsible for this publication were clearly not up for the task and responsibility it came with.

[Marin Finnerty · Rating 2 out of 5]

After watching the second season of Monsters, I had to listen/read the famous book that they were talking about. I think it is very interesting that a woman who spent 3 years corresponding and visiting Lyle then turns around to say he is a sociopath. Nobody was making her visit him. However, I don’t think this book was as damning to his reputation as people acted it was. He is a spoiled brat, but I don’t think he lied in court. He isn’t the type to ruin his own reputation, so why would he admit to sexually assaulting his brother? That was irrelevant to their motive and just a way he shared the full truth.

[Brenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a quick audio listen. I’ve become really into this case lately, but I refuse to watch the Netflix show because it’s got too many inaccuracies and I’m only interested in facts.
The audio version allows you to hear the genuine phone conversation recordings Norma made while talking with Lyle for a span of more than 4 years. Y’all, he’s a master con artist. He’s so dang good at it, he’ll make anyone believe anything he says. I used to be more willing to believe the sexual molestation allegations, but now I’m back to thinking it was all a lie just to get the money. Looking forward to leaning further into this case.