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The Stalking of Kristin: A Father Investigates the Murder of His Daughter
Drawing on a series of articles that won him a Pulitzer Prize, an investigative reporter tells how his young daughter became involved with a man who eventually killed her, while the law failed to protect her. Reprint.
- GenresTrue CrimeNonfiction
400 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
February 5, 2012
I didn't review this right away like I should have but I have notes from the reading and I remember some things. I remember being concerned that the author wouldn't be as impartial as I wanted him to be since the victim was his daughter. Ironically enough, I had nothing to worry about. If anything he wasn't harsh enough on the p.o.s. who murdered his daughter. (Don't get me wrong - he's probably on par with most people but I take a harder stance against monsters like this one.)
There are so many aspects of a crime like this that are so utterly sad. Why did Kristin feel she couldn't do better? From everything I read and saw she could have done a million times better. Why do women feel the need to try to "fix" "bad" men? Let them fix themselves damn it. Are men falling at your feet trying to fix YOU? Is it worth your life?
Why are the courts so lenient on these monsters? This so-called man was let out of jail for "good time" even though the authorities knew he'd been harassing an ex-girlfriend (not the main victim in this story) while locked up. Is that the good behavior they're rewarding?
A probation officer quoted in the book says research done shows "men don't obey these orders, prosecutors don't prosecute violations and when they do, judges don't sentence the violators." I agree. I don't know the statistics and I don't have to. I've read enough, seen enough and been privy to enough friends personal information to know it's true. Why?
In 1992, the year Kristin was killed, 6,000+ men were arrested in Mass. for violating a restraining order. Less than 100 saw jail time. 800 were given more probation - yeah, the same probation that was oh so effective that first time around. The other cases? Weren't prosecuted.
In addition to a bibliography and a history on the murderer (very interesting) Lardner includes almost 60 (60!) pages of notes with a plethora of information on many, many different aspects of the topic. That alone is worth reading the book even though much is dated. The statistics and laws of course have changed in many instances.
The whole thing is so sad. Kristin should still be alive and the p.o.s. that decide no one else should have her and that she shouldn't have been allowed to leave him should have simply ate a bullet and left everyone else alone.
I have to say Lardner is one hell of a human being. There is no way on God's green earth I'd ever have the strength to do what he's done. I wouldn't want to know it all I don't think. I wouldn't want to see it all. If I did I don't think I could handle it as he did. I think it was his experience in journalism that allowed him to be stronger - I think he felt he owed it to Kristin and women everywhere to accurately portray what happened.
Well, if my eyes hadn't already been wide open this would have done it. Hopefully other women will listen instead of thinking their "man is different". Believe me, he's not.
There are so many aspects of a crime like this that are so utterly sad. Why did Kristin feel she couldn't do better? From everything I read and saw she could have done a million times better. Why do women feel the need to try to "fix" "bad" men? Let them fix themselves damn it. Are men falling at your feet trying to fix YOU? Is it worth your life?
Why are the courts so lenient on these monsters? This so-called man was let out of jail for "good time" even though the authorities knew he'd been harassing an ex-girlfriend (not the main victim in this story) while locked up. Is that the good behavior they're rewarding?
A probation officer quoted in the book says research done shows "men don't obey these orders, prosecutors don't prosecute violations and when they do, judges don't sentence the violators." I agree. I don't know the statistics and I don't have to. I've read enough, seen enough and been privy to enough friends personal information to know it's true. Why?
In 1992, the year Kristin was killed, 6,000+ men were arrested in Mass. for violating a restraining order. Less than 100 saw jail time. 800 were given more probation - yeah, the same probation that was oh so effective that first time around. The other cases? Weren't prosecuted.
In addition to a bibliography and a history on the murderer (very interesting) Lardner includes almost 60 (60!) pages of notes with a plethora of information on many, many different aspects of the topic. That alone is worth reading the book even though much is dated. The statistics and laws of course have changed in many instances.
The whole thing is so sad. Kristin should still be alive and the p.o.s. that decide no one else should have her and that she shouldn't have been allowed to leave him should have simply ate a bullet and left everyone else alone.
I have to say Lardner is one hell of a human being. There is no way on God's green earth I'd ever have the strength to do what he's done. I wouldn't want to know it all I don't think. I wouldn't want to see it all. If I did I don't think I could handle it as he did. I think it was his experience in journalism that allowed him to be stronger - I think he felt he owed it to Kristin and women everywhere to accurately portray what happened.
Well, if my eyes hadn't already been wide open this would have done it. Hopefully other women will listen instead of thinking their "man is different". Believe me, he's not.
April 28, 2012
I thought Lardner maintained a very calm, dispassionate tone in this book, which is surprising given that it's about his own daughter's murder. Or perhaps not so surprising, once you learn that Lardner is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. In any case, this was is a very tragic story of a gifted young artist who was killed right in the prime of her life, and a troubled and violent young man who, given his background, never really had much of a chance.
In this book Lardner exposed the criminal justice system and the courts for their half-hearted and pitiful attempts to protect the victims of domestic violence. "Blind justice" was blind to the needs of the people it was supposed to be helping. Although Kristin's killer, Michael Cartier, had four felony convictions on his record, didn't keep the terms of his probation and repeatedly violated restraining orders, he was never severely punished. The longest jail sentence he ever got in his life was six months, and then he was released early for good behavior when his behavior hadn't been good. Kristin had a restraining order against him; he violated it shortly before her death and she reported it, but he was never arrested. As Lardner noted, the psychological programs designed for domestic abusers are rarely effective and may even enable offenders. The behavior modification programs tend to focus on things like "raise the client's self-esteem" rather than "make the client take responsibility for his violent behavior."
Twenty years ago next month, Michael Cartier shot Kristin Lardner to death and then took his own life. As a result of Kristin's father's book, the state of Massachusetts passed some laws attempting to correct some of the mistakes that contributed to her death. But somehow, I don't think it helped very much.
In this book Lardner exposed the criminal justice system and the courts for their half-hearted and pitiful attempts to protect the victims of domestic violence. "Blind justice" was blind to the needs of the people it was supposed to be helping. Although Kristin's killer, Michael Cartier, had four felony convictions on his record, didn't keep the terms of his probation and repeatedly violated restraining orders, he was never severely punished. The longest jail sentence he ever got in his life was six months, and then he was released early for good behavior when his behavior hadn't been good. Kristin had a restraining order against him; he violated it shortly before her death and she reported it, but he was never arrested. As Lardner noted, the psychological programs designed for domestic abusers are rarely effective and may even enable offenders. The behavior modification programs tend to focus on things like "raise the client's self-esteem" rather than "make the client take responsibility for his violent behavior."
Twenty years ago next month, Michael Cartier shot Kristin Lardner to death and then took his own life. As a result of Kristin's father's book, the state of Massachusetts passed some laws attempting to correct some of the mistakes that contributed to her death. But somehow, I don't think it helped very much.
July 1, 2009
What can I father do when his daughter has already perished from the hands of a brutal murderer? Fight the ghost of someone who's long gone? Fight the parents of this ghost? No. He must fight the system that failed him, that failed countless others and that if it isn't changed would continue to fail until one day you and I find ourselves in the same inescapable situation - loosing our children due to the negligence of those who are getting paid to protect us.
This is a truly sad book. It recounts the story of a young college girl in Boston, who falls in love with a man only to find out that he is an abuser and a control freak. Over the course of the story, the reader finds out what it truly means to mess up a boy, as one follows the failure of his family to build a safe and loving atmosphere for him and as the justice system allows him, now an abuser, to go free again and again he commits his final crime, taking the life of another in particularly bone chilling matter.
This book should be a reminder of what we can expect if we don't pay attention to the misfortunes we hear about on TV, or the stories we hear from our neighbors and family members. In my opinion, every father and mother should read this story and make up their minds on how to communicate openly with their children, how to foresee outcomes of deadly relationships well in advance. True, the system fails us often, but we, as parents, can fail our children more often when we make the mistake of distancing ourselves too much, when we assume that growing up is the same as getting old. This story should remind us of when our children need us the most.
This is a truly sad book. It recounts the story of a young college girl in Boston, who falls in love with a man only to find out that he is an abuser and a control freak. Over the course of the story, the reader finds out what it truly means to mess up a boy, as one follows the failure of his family to build a safe and loving atmosphere for him and as the justice system allows him, now an abuser, to go free again and again he commits his final crime, taking the life of another in particularly bone chilling matter.
This book should be a reminder of what we can expect if we don't pay attention to the misfortunes we hear about on TV, or the stories we hear from our neighbors and family members. In my opinion, every father and mother should read this story and make up their minds on how to communicate openly with their children, how to foresee outcomes of deadly relationships well in advance. True, the system fails us often, but we, as parents, can fail our children more often when we make the mistake of distancing ourselves too much, when we assume that growing up is the same as getting old. This story should remind us of when our children need us the most.
January 26, 2016
All superlatives. Combines beautiful writing with merciless honesty. This is a _Washington Post_ reporter's investigation of the murder of his own daughter by an ex-boyfriend. He does a remarkable job of keeping his own feelings out of the story as he lays out for the reader the many, many times and many ways the system failed Kristin until she was finally killed. He describes the passing of the National Stalker and Violence Reduction Act, and Kristin's law in Massachusetts, with relief, but with the unavoidable awareness that for Kristin herself it was already too late.
April 10, 2009
This is the story of a father who investigates the murder of his own daughter.
June 26, 2013
Depressing story of a real life incident. The father poured out his angst in too many pages profiling the incompetency of the Boston Police Department as well as the legal system as a whole.
July 26, 2022
A tale from three angles
I appreciate that we have an unusual angle from which to hear a story. The father of Kristen is a journalist, and he is also the father of the child whom he is writing about. Also, credit to him, he does excellent research into her killer. One star is deducted because I found the father in some degree of denial about who his daughter (similar to what another reviewer wrote) - he normalized quite a few red flags of things being wrong with Kristen. As a social worker of many years, I appreciated all the research about Michael. These are the kids I work with (sigh). Trying to be nonjudgmental while sometimes being very judgmental made for an off-kilter read about Michael- but, again, as has been said in another review, who can blame a father for being all over the place when he's writing about his daughter's killer. From reading about Kristen and looking at her photos and also having many years experience as a social worker, I think that there is a good chance that Kristen herself had a trauma that has never been brought to light. I also think that she was clearly struggling with her sexual identity. Again, dear old dad, is not going to go to this depth, because he cannot think of his daughter this way. Kristen is not just some "artsy" sensitive girl who fell in with a killer. She had her own darkness, and unfortunately, she met with as dark a character as could be found.
I appreciate that we have an unusual angle from which to hear a story. The father of Kristen is a journalist, and he is also the father of the child whom he is writing about. Also, credit to him, he does excellent research into her killer. One star is deducted because I found the father in some degree of denial about who his daughter (similar to what another reviewer wrote) - he normalized quite a few red flags of things being wrong with Kristen. As a social worker of many years, I appreciated all the research about Michael. These are the kids I work with (sigh). Trying to be nonjudgmental while sometimes being very judgmental made for an off-kilter read about Michael- but, again, as has been said in another review, who can blame a father for being all over the place when he's writing about his daughter's killer. From reading about Kristen and looking at her photos and also having many years experience as a social worker, I think that there is a good chance that Kristen herself had a trauma that has never been brought to light. I also think that she was clearly struggling with her sexual identity. Again, dear old dad, is not going to go to this depth, because he cannot think of his daughter this way. Kristen is not just some "artsy" sensitive girl who fell in with a killer. She had her own darkness, and unfortunately, she met with as dark a character as could be found.
February 13, 2021
Non-fiction exposes aren't really my genre of choice, so it's difficult for me to rate this one. Mr. Lardner does an excellent job obtaining & then laying out the facts, but I just found it too boring to read word for word, and I ended up skimming a lot of it. I 100% believe Cartier had Borderline Personality Disorder. I have it, and I recognized the signs as one who was abandoned too young and filled the empty spaces in their heart where love should have been with anger and rebellion. I also believe Cartier was probably a psychopath, and definitely a lunatic. There is also no doubt that the criminal justice system protected Cartier & failed Kristin. She deserved to see where her life would take her. I'm glad he ended his own life, so he'll never have the chance to harm another woman again. Kristin sounded like an intelligent, strong woman, and I wish I had known her. I bet she could have taught me a thing or two about life, as we have similar beliefs. I'd love to have spent an hour or two discussing religion and life in general over lunch.
May 15, 2017
It was honestly really dry. I had to force myself to read it, no matter what part of the book I was reading. It seemed to drag on and on. There were a lot of good insights, but I felt like he was trying really hard to stick to his journalism roots and be impartial on a subject he had no shot at being impartial about.
Not a book I particularly enjoyed, although there was a fair amount of good information in here. I'd recommend if people were looking to read a book on the subject that they try to find another book because this one fell short for me.
Not a book I particularly enjoyed, although there was a fair amount of good information in here. I'd recommend if people were looking to read a book on the subject that they try to find another book because this one fell short for me.
July 9, 2019
I read this a long time ago and decided to reread. It is just as chilling the second time around. I didn't get too invested in the final few chapters delving into the psychopathy behind evil people. Still a heartbreaking story.
December 15, 2008
This is the true story of a promising young woman who was killed by a jealous ex-boyfriend written by her devastated father. Prior to writing the novel, the author won a Pulitzer Prize for a series of Washington Post articles about the same topic. The tone of the book is not surprisingly angry, but the book jumped from topic to topic (ranging from the poor structure of the legal system when dealing with domestic violence and the disturbing upbringing of the murderer) with no real consistency. Though it is unimaginable what he and his family went through, I think he should have stuck with the shorter articles.
July 20, 2008
In 1992, the author's 21-year-old daughter was shot to death by her ex-boyfriend who had been stalking her. At the time, she was an art student in college and had everything going for her. Her father starts to question the domestic violence laws and as a result, he starts to work towards reforming them. In the end, a bill called "Kristin's Law" is established which forces judges to recognize domestic violence as a crimminal act rather than as a civil matter. This was a heartbreaking story to read and it is sad that these type of crimes have to happen before the law changes.
June 30, 2007
Book read for law school about the author's 21 year-old daughter who was stalked and murdered by her ex-boyfriend in college. Great read for any who seek to understand stalking, abuse, and the problems for battered women within our legal system.
April 12, 2012
Such a tragic story. Lardner is an excellent writer that has taken the time to share his daughters tragedy with the world. Hopefully it will reach young women and educate them about the warning signs of abusers and the way that these criminals can ruin, or end, innocent lives.
October 14, 2013
It was a little too long, could have had less talk and repetitive information. If this author writes any more books of this nature, he may want to get some tips from Ann Rule.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews