What do you think?
Rate this book
Sleeping With the Devil by Suzanne Finstad
Chronicles the story of Barbara Piotrowski, who came under the spell of bodybuilder Richard Minns, a Texas millionaire who took over her life while keeping his marriage a secret and who later hired assassins to kill her
Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
2 people are currently reading
151 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 8, 2014
Picked this to read and was liking the writing style a lot but it did seem quite familiar. Checked my old bookcrossing shelf and bingo. I had read this book many years ago.
This is what I wrote then:.................
On Saturday, November 25, 2006
8 out of 10
Just finished reading. A good book. Very well written. At the end I did get a little confused with all the names and characters.
Sad story though. I am definitely going to read this author's other book I have on my TBR shelf. I really like her writing style.
This is what I wrote then:.................
On Saturday, November 25, 2006
8 out of 10
Just finished reading. A good book. Very well written. At the end I did get a little confused with all the names and characters.
Sad story though. I am definitely going to read this author's other book I have on my TBR shelf. I really like her writing style.
June 14, 2019
Unbelievable story that will remind you truth is stranger than fiction and that there are in fact megalomaniacs in this world rich enough to casually set up a hit on a person and get off scott free. I do think this tumultuous relationship and resulting crime could have been organized and, perhaps, heavily re-edited to be less word dumpy though. Some chapters seem to be literally copy-pasted from the official case file and don't flow or engage well at all.
A few reviews remarked on the questionability of Barbra's innocence. I think she put up with a lot of Richard's immoral choices because she was blinded by love and couldn't see past young ignorance. Next to the over the top villainy of Richard Minns and his out of this world ego, she is a goddamned saint in my book.
A few reviews remarked on the questionability of Barbra's innocence. I think she put up with a lot of Richard's immoral choices because she was blinded by love and couldn't see past young ignorance. Next to the over the top villainy of Richard Minns and his out of this world ego, she is a goddamned saint in my book.
February 19, 2018
There is a television movie based on this story starring Shannen Doherty and until recently, I thought the story was made up. The lead female/victim is so tough, I didn't think she could be a real person.
This book is typical true crime and a fast, easy read. It should make you very angry and remind you that all the problems we have with corrupt cops and money talking has been happening forever.
This book is typical true crime and a fast, easy read. It should make you very angry and remind you that all the problems we have with corrupt cops and money talking has been happening forever.
July 19, 2023
My mom had this book as decoration in her house and offered it to me to read a couple summers ago, and I was hooked (clearly because I am thinking about it still years later). I loved the writing style of this author, and finished this book in a couple days. There were pictures included in the copy I read which was super helpful. The story is super sad but very captivating and I highly recommend if you like true crime!
March 22, 2024
Sleeping With the Devil by Suzanne Finstad
5 stars
Wow! This was an incredible story with something going on every page! It is hard to imagine how this woman could stick with this man who treated her so poorly and obviously had some serious mental problems. Throughout the book you keep hoping that this smart, beautiful woman will wise up and dump this guy, but....not a spoiler, we know from the back cover that he hires 4 men to kill her, but she lives and the story of her life after she is shot is amazing.
November 7, 2018
It looked like it'd be good, but it's not. Dumb young woman who craves someone who'll tell her constantly how in love with her they are, how beautiful she is, falls for a bipolar, aging weightlifter. Up and down they go in their relationship, until she finally leaves him, then he puts out a hit on her. She did more with her life after he crippled her, to her credit.
August 28, 2024
This was a very compelling and terrifying account of how narrcisism had ruined the life of an innocent woman. It also depicts how people can get so wrapped up in a toxic relationship and power struggles that they loose track of all reality.
December 4, 2008
It seems to be a common phenomenon: A beautiful girl falls for a handsome, successful man who turns out to be a complete nut.
In this book, Barbra Piotrowski is the victim; Dick Minns is her hero/ruin. The story takes place mostly in Houston, Texas. It annoys me sometimes when an author spends too much time describing locations, but it’s hard to make that judgement when it’s a city I know. This book was intriguing beyond the crime angle because it describes Minns’s founding of an elite health club chain in the ‘60s called the President’s Club. (The clubs are now owned by Ballys and while they lack the columns and mineral baths of the originals, the beautiful people are still found sweating and flexing there.)
Barbra had a series of rough experiences – among them a rape and heroin addiction. Then she met the very charming and persistent Minns on an Aspen slope and eventually was lured to Houston to be his girlfriend.
H neglected to tell her he was still married. He lied to her, controlled her, chose her clothes for her: “I don’t like that. It’s not tight enough. Put on something tighter.”
He refused to let her get a job and was intensely possessive: “‘I’m so jealous,’ Dick had written, ‘of your hair dryer. Your every thought you think that isn’t me.’”
Finstad quotes friends of the couple throughout the book, describing Barbra and Dick’s relationship as unhealthy and strange. Perhaps they were being polite in their understatement. The word “addiction” is used often, and that seems accurate.
A savage divorce finally began, with Minns trying to convince his wife Mimi to stick with him. He couldn’t bear to lose any portion of his fortune. Barbra is hit, deserted, accused, suffers a miscarriage, and then takes Dick back. It’s almost sickening; it’s definitely pathetic and tiring.
The high point of the book revolves around a failed murder-for-hire plot that reeks of payoffs and cover-ups. Barbra ends up paranoid (probably with good reason), paralyzed from the chest down, and broke. It’s a bummer of an ending, no matter how much Finstad tried to make Barbra’s tragic story sound brighter.
In this book, Barbra Piotrowski is the victim; Dick Minns is her hero/ruin. The story takes place mostly in Houston, Texas. It annoys me sometimes when an author spends too much time describing locations, but it’s hard to make that judgement when it’s a city I know. This book was intriguing beyond the crime angle because it describes Minns’s founding of an elite health club chain in the ‘60s called the President’s Club. (The clubs are now owned by Ballys and while they lack the columns and mineral baths of the originals, the beautiful people are still found sweating and flexing there.)
Barbra had a series of rough experiences – among them a rape and heroin addiction. Then she met the very charming and persistent Minns on an Aspen slope and eventually was lured to Houston to be his girlfriend.
H neglected to tell her he was still married. He lied to her, controlled her, chose her clothes for her: “I don’t like that. It’s not tight enough. Put on something tighter.”
He refused to let her get a job and was intensely possessive: “‘I’m so jealous,’ Dick had written, ‘of your hair dryer. Your every thought you think that isn’t me.’”
Finstad quotes friends of the couple throughout the book, describing Barbra and Dick’s relationship as unhealthy and strange. Perhaps they were being polite in their understatement. The word “addiction” is used often, and that seems accurate.
A savage divorce finally began, with Minns trying to convince his wife Mimi to stick with him. He couldn’t bear to lose any portion of his fortune. Barbra is hit, deserted, accused, suffers a miscarriage, and then takes Dick back. It’s almost sickening; it’s definitely pathetic and tiring.
The high point of the book revolves around a failed murder-for-hire plot that reeks of payoffs and cover-ups. Barbra ends up paranoid (probably with good reason), paralyzed from the chest down, and broke. It’s a bummer of an ending, no matter how much Finstad tried to make Barbra’s tragic story sound brighter.
March 11, 2016
I read this one through in one day & night. The writing went a little beyond most True Crime books, I think. There is an interesting detail at the end which gives the book a poignant twist.
On 2nd reading, I was amazed by how much being rich improves one's success in dealing with the law, especially in Texas, which is where I live. I wonder where the main characters are at this time.
On 2nd reading, I was amazed by how much being rich improves one's success in dealing with the law, especially in Texas, which is where I live. I wonder where the main characters are at this time.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews