Most Likely to Succeed: 2

by Alan Gelb

Examines the circumstances surrounding the brutal murders of Robert Gates, his girlfriend, son, and nephew, and the shocking arrest, confession, and trial of Gates' seventeen-year-old son, Wyley

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction

415 pages, Hardcover

First published August 30, 1990

Reviews

[Fishface · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good, interesting read about a pretty unusual case of familicide. The author rightly characterizes this case -- a multiple murder that happened right across the road from his house -- as a truly mysterious situation full of unknowns, the central unknown being the suspect. The court proceedings were well compressed into a readable format, and the dangling questions were laid out very well. Being a neighbor and acquaintance of many of the principal characters gave him a great deal of access to areas of this story that a lot of authors wouldn't have -- and still he came away mystified. Read it and you'll understand why.

[Ian · Rating 1 out of 5]

Meh. I am not a fan of this writer's style. Too much surplusage. Tries to convey what the immediate area (Chatham) was like in the mid-80's, and comes across like what the author was at the time, a weekender. The other annoying bit is that the author doesn't really offer up any theory on the crime, while simultaneously not just telling the uncolored fact. He also on occasion adds his own non-existent involvement in the thing and the crime's impact into the story, that almost seems to try to be a confidential/ insider tantalizer, but really just sort of falls flat. The facts he collected were relatively good, and give a decent picture of the legal landscape of both trials (though the second trial of Rossney is barely covered, though it was almost as closely followed by the locals at the time as the first trial of Gates.) Ultimately this book tends to paint no particular picture, but leaves one with the feeling that one has just had a look at one family's dirty underwear. I would not recommend this book. Quite plainly, it was a waste of 3 dollars in a used book store.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

So what makes a teenager become a mass murderer? Alan Gelb doesn't quite succeed in answering why Wyley Gates, 17, killed his father, stepmother, brother and nephew, but he makes an admirable effort. I grew up in the small upstate NY town where this crime occurred, and attended the same high school as Gates and his father, but moved away long before these horrific events took place. Decades after these murders, I'm still fascinated by the case and hope someday it receives a fresh look. I especially liked Gelb's descriptions of idyllic rural life in the upper Hudson Valley (as seen through the rose-colored glasses of a recent arrival from New York City.) Also riveting were his details on the hasty and superficial police investigation that resulted in Wyley's acquittal on the more serious charges. The jury deliberation in the midst of a blizzard was another great chapter. But Wyley, the intensely private honor student with few close friends, remains a mystery to the end despite Gelb's overload of detail. Perhaps the youth himself -- now in his late 30s and apparently working as a law clerk in New York City -- will solve some of this mystery eventually with an autobiography.

[Angela Prior · Rating 2 out of 5]

I only forced myself to finish it because the pieces about the jury's deliberation were interesting. I also found the various assessments by psychiatrists/psychologists to be interesting as well. The story is a good one but this telling isn't the best. Maybe too detailed with respect to lesser important pieces of the story?

I don't know but I contemplated throwing the book in the trash or recycling it when I was done because I would never recommend it to anyone else and that's rare for me on both counts. I hold books in high esteem. All books. They should never been thrown away but this book was just not very good.

[Karmen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could not finish this book. I wanted to learn about the murders and the facts of it. I did not care to hear all the extras about where someone went to law school and had a part time job there and about this person running for that. Lost my Interest.