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The Accidents
Had fate dealt Harold Henthorn an unimaginably cruel hand? Or was he a murderer?
Harold Henthorn wanted to do something special for his wife, Toni, on their twelfth wedding anniversary. But the romantic hike he planned ended with her broken body lying at the bottom of a steep cliff. In the aftermath of Toni’s shocking death, grief wasn’t the only thing shared by her friends and family. So was suspicion.
Nearly twenty years before, Harold’s first wife had also died under gruesome and mysterious circumstances—she was crushed to death under a car while changing a flat tire. Just as with Toni, the pair had been married for exactly twelve years.
Two accidents decades apart. Two tragedies in which Harold was not only the lone witness but the lone beneficiary, too. It was a coincidence too extraordinary to believe. This time, Harold would pay—in a true-crime story of vows broken and a family’s fight for justice.
Cover Design by Pepe Nymi.
Harold Henthorn wanted to do something special for his wife, Toni, on their twelfth wedding anniversary. But the romantic hike he planned ended with her broken body lying at the bottom of a steep cliff. In the aftermath of Toni’s shocking death, grief wasn’t the only thing shared by her friends and family. So was suspicion.
Nearly twenty years before, Harold’s first wife had also died under gruesome and mysterious circumstances—she was crushed to death under a car while changing a flat tire. Just as with Toni, the pair had been married for exactly twelve years.
Two accidents decades apart. Two tragedies in which Harold was not only the lone witness but the lone beneficiary, too. It was a coincidence too extraordinary to believe. This time, Harold would pay—in a true-crime story of vows broken and a family’s fight for justice.
Cover Design by Pepe Nymi.
- GenresTrue CrimeNonfiction
151 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 27, 2017
51 people are currently reading
373 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
December 20, 2018
I’ve peppered a lot of my reviews (even the ones that have nothing to do with murder and mayhem) with the why’s and wherefores of my grim obsession with true crime. Yes, some of it is a throwback to my black clad goth music adolescence when I talked about Charles Manson because I liked watching people’s eyes get wide and some of it is that weird seductive pull I feel towards the horrors people are capable of visiting on each other. Acts of violence and murder speak to the basest parts of our natures. They hearken back to a time in humanities history where it literally was kill or be killed. There’s something unquantifiable about how riveting it is to see that instinct still inside us after thousands of years. Its attractive because it’s part of me too.
But it’s always strange to see the actual face of evil and to learn how truly pathetic that evil can be. Despite what “Criminal Minds” and “Law and Order” would claim the monsters very rarely look like Leatherface or Hannibal Lecter. Almost without exception they look like me or you or your neighbor or in the case of Harold Henthorn like an unassuming man with the smile of a guy who’s got a bridge in Brooklyn he’d like to sell you and a knack for losing his wives to tragic accidents.
His story or more accurately the stories of his two victims are brought to tragic and beautiful life in Caleb Hannan’s The Accidents, the single most outstanding true crime book I’ve read since Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood. This book is a very stark and horrifying window into the mind of someone so devoid of empathy its difficult to even call him human but it’s told with impeccable grace and attention to Henthorn’s victims and it is actually through their stories that we come to know him.
Hannan doesn’t waste any words on Henthorn’s life. He’s not interested in giving this man one second’s worth of attention he doesn’t have to. Instead he takes the reader on a deeply affecting road through the life of Dr. Toni Bertolet, Henthorn’s second wife and victim. The Henthorn we come to know through Toni and her family and friends gradually morphs from a charming, gregarious, multi-millionaire into a duplicitous, narcissistic, pathological liar who’s intense hatred of women would drive him to years of psychological and physical abuse that would ultimately culminate in pushing her off a cliff while the couple was on an anniversary trip. The reader literally watches the evolution of a serial killer who learns from the mistakes of his first kill and methodically plans the second and possibly the third all the while believing himself so brilliant he will never be caught.
What Henthorn did not count on was the sheer bravery of Toni’s family and the iron determination they possessed to see her killer brought to justice. A person incapable of understanding the pain of others could never imagine that Toni’s parents would connect with the family of his first wife, Sandra Lynn, and that together they would see similarities in their daughters’ deaths too big to ignore. Someone so convinced of his own mental superiority would never consider that people might notice that none of his accounts of Toni’s death were the same much less compare the stories he told them. Someone incapable of feeling love would never even conceive of loving someone so much you would literally embrace their killer if it meant seeing him behind bars for the rest of his life.
What Hannon did to such great effect is so simple it makes me wonder why more true crime isn’t written this way. He made Toni my sister, my daughter, and my friend. I was there when Toni’s parents first met Henthorn and I was thrilled right along with them on her wedding day. But, my own concern grew with theirs as the years passed and Henthorn gradually isolated Toni from her family and friends. I found myself troubled by strange incidents that could be accidents but could also be something else. And I felt that tension turn to cold terror, grief, and finally rage when the first cracks in Henthorn’s strange story of Toni’s death first become visible. I came to know the Bertolets so well it became almost as vital to me to see Henthorn pay with his own life for taking Toni’s.
Hannon goes to great lengths to acknowledge the incredible support and assistance he received from Toni and Sandra’s friends and family and it is evident it is their story he wanted to tell. But he should give himself just as much credit. He tells their story with immeasurable compassion and a depth of understanding for their loss that you very rarely see in this genre. He’s also an immensely gifted writer who balances the emotional elements of these tragic stories with top notch reporting skills. He marries objective distance with true sympathy for the people indelibly marked by these senseless crimes. He clearly knows Henthorn just as well as he does Toni and Sandra and I took a sort of perverse thrill from seeing how deftly he paints Henthorn’s pathetic, bitter portrait in incredibly accurate detail with barely any mention of Henthorn’s life outside the murders. It’s a wonderfully ironic twist of the knife directly into the heart of a man who cared only about himself.
I read this totally absorbing book in one sitting and haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. I can’t recommend it highly enough for any true crime fan. While I admire Hannon all the more for publishing it on his own I can only hope it will ultimately be snapped up by the highest bidder so it can earn the wide readership it deeply, deeply deserves.
But it’s always strange to see the actual face of evil and to learn how truly pathetic that evil can be. Despite what “Criminal Minds” and “Law and Order” would claim the monsters very rarely look like Leatherface or Hannibal Lecter. Almost without exception they look like me or you or your neighbor or in the case of Harold Henthorn like an unassuming man with the smile of a guy who’s got a bridge in Brooklyn he’d like to sell you and a knack for losing his wives to tragic accidents.
His story or more accurately the stories of his two victims are brought to tragic and beautiful life in Caleb Hannan’s The Accidents, the single most outstanding true crime book I’ve read since Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood. This book is a very stark and horrifying window into the mind of someone so devoid of empathy its difficult to even call him human but it’s told with impeccable grace and attention to Henthorn’s victims and it is actually through their stories that we come to know him.
Hannan doesn’t waste any words on Henthorn’s life. He’s not interested in giving this man one second’s worth of attention he doesn’t have to. Instead he takes the reader on a deeply affecting road through the life of Dr. Toni Bertolet, Henthorn’s second wife and victim. The Henthorn we come to know through Toni and her family and friends gradually morphs from a charming, gregarious, multi-millionaire into a duplicitous, narcissistic, pathological liar who’s intense hatred of women would drive him to years of psychological and physical abuse that would ultimately culminate in pushing her off a cliff while the couple was on an anniversary trip. The reader literally watches the evolution of a serial killer who learns from the mistakes of his first kill and methodically plans the second and possibly the third all the while believing himself so brilliant he will never be caught.
What Henthorn did not count on was the sheer bravery of Toni’s family and the iron determination they possessed to see her killer brought to justice. A person incapable of understanding the pain of others could never imagine that Toni’s parents would connect with the family of his first wife, Sandra Lynn, and that together they would see similarities in their daughters’ deaths too big to ignore. Someone so convinced of his own mental superiority would never consider that people might notice that none of his accounts of Toni’s death were the same much less compare the stories he told them. Someone incapable of feeling love would never even conceive of loving someone so much you would literally embrace their killer if it meant seeing him behind bars for the rest of his life.
What Hannon did to such great effect is so simple it makes me wonder why more true crime isn’t written this way. He made Toni my sister, my daughter, and my friend. I was there when Toni’s parents first met Henthorn and I was thrilled right along with them on her wedding day. But, my own concern grew with theirs as the years passed and Henthorn gradually isolated Toni from her family and friends. I found myself troubled by strange incidents that could be accidents but could also be something else. And I felt that tension turn to cold terror, grief, and finally rage when the first cracks in Henthorn’s strange story of Toni’s death first become visible. I came to know the Bertolets so well it became almost as vital to me to see Henthorn pay with his own life for taking Toni’s.
Hannon goes to great lengths to acknowledge the incredible support and assistance he received from Toni and Sandra’s friends and family and it is evident it is their story he wanted to tell. But he should give himself just as much credit. He tells their story with immeasurable compassion and a depth of understanding for their loss that you very rarely see in this genre. He’s also an immensely gifted writer who balances the emotional elements of these tragic stories with top notch reporting skills. He marries objective distance with true sympathy for the people indelibly marked by these senseless crimes. He clearly knows Henthorn just as well as he does Toni and Sandra and I took a sort of perverse thrill from seeing how deftly he paints Henthorn’s pathetic, bitter portrait in incredibly accurate detail with barely any mention of Henthorn’s life outside the murders. It’s a wonderfully ironic twist of the knife directly into the heart of a man who cared only about himself.
I read this totally absorbing book in one sitting and haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since. I can’t recommend it highly enough for any true crime fan. While I admire Hannon all the more for publishing it on his own I can only hope it will ultimately be snapped up by the highest bidder so it can earn the wide readership it deeply, deeply deserves.
October 29, 2021
3.5 rating
Got caught up in this due to CWO, started watching the Hulu series, and decided just to read the book since the series should have been one hour max. But as is typical with news networks, it's dragged out and repetitive to get more advertising time making it unwatchable. But the story is intriguing in its particulars as well as in its generalities that map out areas of trouble with dating in the internet age.
A very sad tale. Well written and compassionate to the many victims.
As the author makes clear, this man Harold ALWAYS had a plan.
Thank goodness murder becomes a Federal offense in a National Park and for the diligent investigators who kept the case going.
My best advice to anyone anywhere: have your own plan and boundaries. Before becoming seriously involved with someone, whether romantically or in business, run as thorough a background check on them as possible. Sometimes it only takes $50 online for this kind of service, and it's worth that price and effort thousands of times over. As this case demonstrates, people can lie about major stuff and get away with it, i.e. not having a job--for decades.
Other details were bizarre (no privacy on calls, no internet access) and would have been horrifying enough without the murder!
Be tuned into your spidey-sense and not talked out of your apprehensions.
This can be a cautionary tale.
Some things in this story hit close to home--if you've ever been in a controlling relationship, it will remind you how wrong that is and how far it can go.
Got caught up in this due to CWO, started watching the Hulu series, and decided just to read the book since the series should have been one hour max. But as is typical with news networks, it's dragged out and repetitive to get more advertising time making it unwatchable. But the story is intriguing in its particulars as well as in its generalities that map out areas of trouble with dating in the internet age.
A very sad tale. Well written and compassionate to the many victims.
As the author makes clear, this man Harold ALWAYS had a plan.
Thank goodness murder becomes a Federal offense in a National Park and for the diligent investigators who kept the case going.
My best advice to anyone anywhere: have your own plan and boundaries. Before becoming seriously involved with someone, whether romantically or in business, run as thorough a background check on them as possible. Sometimes it only takes $50 online for this kind of service, and it's worth that price and effort thousands of times over. As this case demonstrates, people can lie about major stuff and get away with it, i.e. not having a job--for decades.
Other details were bizarre (no privacy on calls, no internet access) and would have been horrifying enough without the murder!
Be tuned into your spidey-sense and not talked out of your apprehensions.
This can be a cautionary tale.
Some things in this story hit close to home--if you've ever been in a controlling relationship, it will remind you how wrong that is and how far it can go.
October 18, 2021
True Crime Done Right
This book was wonderful. I started the Hulu series wild crime and was able to get a good look at the case before reading but I was drawn to this story and immediately looked up the book. It adds so much depth that was not present in the show and I highly recommend if you are a fan of true crime. I also enjoyed the emotional snip-it’s that were added by those whose lives were altered by this tragedy. It honored the memory of both his precious wives and their families.
This book was wonderful. I started the Hulu series wild crime and was able to get a good look at the case before reading but I was drawn to this story and immediately looked up the book. It adds so much depth that was not present in the show and I highly recommend if you are a fan of true crime. I also enjoyed the emotional snip-it’s that were added by those whose lives were altered by this tragedy. It honored the memory of both his precious wives and their families.
October 22, 2023
This was really interesting. I hope this writer will continue writing true crime stories.
November 12, 2021
Very good true crime book. My favorite true crime writers are all deceased--Bella Stumbo, Ann Rule, and Joe McGinnis (only Fatal Vision).
I've read a few other true crime books, but the authors don't seem to know how to put the story together in a readable way. They either include too much of their personal opinion or include the court transcript verbatim.
I don't give many 5 star reviews, but I learned a lot more from this than watching either the Hulu or Netflix investigative reporting doc on this.
Will seek out other true crime books by this author
I've read a few other true crime books, but the authors don't seem to know how to put the story together in a readable way. They either include too much of their personal opinion or include the court transcript verbatim.
I don't give many 5 star reviews, but I learned a lot more from this than watching either the Hulu or Netflix investigative reporting doc on this.
Will seek out other true crime books by this author
December 5, 2017
Extremely well written
I have read many true crime books, and follow many crimes and trials in the news and television. I must admit though, that I had never heard of this one. I was gifted this book, and held no pre opinion or knowledge of anything about. Wow, let me tell you, before I was finished with the first two chapters, I had formed a definite opinion on Harold , bad vibes so quickly that I wanted to scream " what is wrong with these very intelligent women, that they couldn't see through this man" this author brought this tragedy to you in such a way that you felt like you knew each person on a personal level. This was a tragedy for all involved and showed much respect to both families, I look forward to reading more from Caleb Hannan
I have read many true crime books, and follow many crimes and trials in the news and television. I must admit though, that I had never heard of this one. I was gifted this book, and held no pre opinion or knowledge of anything about. Wow, let me tell you, before I was finished with the first two chapters, I had formed a definite opinion on Harold , bad vibes so quickly that I wanted to scream " what is wrong with these very intelligent women, that they couldn't see through this man" this author brought this tragedy to you in such a way that you felt like you knew each person on a personal level. This was a tragedy for all involved and showed much respect to both families, I look forward to reading more from Caleb Hannan
May 31, 2023
After watching this case on Wild Crime, I wanted to read this book. Hannan does a good, concise job of telling this tragic story.
I find this crime so heinous and upsetting for several reasons.
First of all, how Harold controlled and abused both of his wives before their deaths. I have personal experience with narcissistic men using conservative Christianity as a way to control and abuse their wives. Harold did this in an extreme way, and used religion to abuse them. I find this reprehensible. These women thought they were following what the Bible wanted by being submissive to their husband. He cruelly used this against them.
Unfortunately, I think many men twist Scripture to manipulate, control and abuse women. It's a big problem that needs to be addressed.
Second, the fact that he got away with murdering his first wife for so long. Third, that he was living a double life, controlling all the money but not making any. And lastly, that he was such an oppressive and controlling dad to Haley and then murdered her mother.
I find this crime so heinous and upsetting for several reasons.
First of all, how Harold controlled and abused both of his wives before their deaths. I have personal experience with narcissistic men using conservative Christianity as a way to control and abuse their wives. Harold did this in an extreme way, and used religion to abuse them. I find this reprehensible. These women thought they were following what the Bible wanted by being submissive to their husband. He cruelly used this against them.
Unfortunately, I think many men twist Scripture to manipulate, control and abuse women. It's a big problem that needs to be addressed.
Second, the fact that he got away with murdering his first wife for so long. Third, that he was living a double life, controlling all the money but not making any. And lastly, that he was such an oppressive and controlling dad to Haley and then murdered her mother.
December 8, 2017
The Accidents
I did not know this story. It was carefully told with sensitivity for the victims, both deceased and those left behind to pick themselves up. The dedication and the acknowledgements speak to the author's concern for conveying the facts and for caring for the families. At the same time the story is told in a compelling way that made me understand the two stories and anxious to read to the conclusion. I was surprised by how this story ended. I highly recommend The Accidents and Caleb Hannons telling of this true and tragic tale.
I did not know this story. It was carefully told with sensitivity for the victims, both deceased and those left behind to pick themselves up. The dedication and the acknowledgements speak to the author's concern for conveying the facts and for caring for the families. At the same time the story is told in a compelling way that made me understand the two stories and anxious to read to the conclusion. I was surprised by how this story ended. I highly recommend The Accidents and Caleb Hannons telling of this true and tragic tale.
February 3, 2019
A very comprehensive account of the Harold Henthorn murders. In a longer treatment, I would have liked to know more about Harold's mysterious assistant Linda Wilson — how did she know Harold? Why did she agree to fend off his wife's family for him after the murder? Why did he name her — not the Hetticks, who Hannan claims earlier in the book were Haley's designated caretakers if Harold and Toni both died — as Haley's guardians should he go to prison? But those loose ends aside, the prose is nicely understated and the pacing excellent.
November 27, 2023
I'm not a huge fan of true crime, but I had watched the Wild Crimes docuseries last year, and learned of this book. This book is much better than the series.
The details are laid out more concisely with a pacing that just clicks along. Plus the author treats the two murdered women along with their family and friends more compassionately.
Even though I knew the main points thanks to the docuseries, I was still horrified by the revelations here. Well worth reading if you're looking to dip into true crime and see if you like it.
The details are laid out more concisely with a pacing that just clicks along. Plus the author treats the two murdered women along with their family and friends more compassionately.
Even though I knew the main points thanks to the docuseries, I was still horrified by the revelations here. Well worth reading if you're looking to dip into true crime and see if you like it.
December 16, 2017
A very fast read that feels like you’re watching a Dateline or 48 Hours. Interestingly enough, this story was on both, I believe. This book is short and the author includes only what is essential to the story. It’s hard to believe there are actually people like Harold Henthorn who exist. This book will make you feel very lucky that you have met one like him.
April 22, 2024
Very well written. The facts are clearly stated and the timeline is clear. You get an understanding of the all the people involved in the story.
I read about the case due to a post on Insta and was led to this book. My heart goes out to both the families and the little girl who lost a loving mother.
I read about the case due to a post on Insta and was led to this book. My heart goes out to both the families and the little girl who lost a loving mother.
March 8, 2026
This one has been on my “to be read” shelf for a minute, after watching the Hulu show Wild Crime, in which this story is featured and the author is interviewed.
I read this book in practically one sitting. Written and researched well, this book is an absolutely horrifying true crime story. One of those stories that stays with you as a chilling lesson.
I read this book in practically one sitting. Written and researched well, this book is an absolutely horrifying true crime story. One of those stories that stays with you as a chilling lesson.
May 6, 2019
Great read
After seeing this story on the ID channel, I was curious to read more about Harold and the too-short lives lives by both Lynn and Toni. This book gives you just enough details without boring you with the often too-drawn-out courtroom info.
After seeing this story on the ID channel, I was curious to read more about Harold and the too-short lives lives by both Lynn and Toni. This book gives you just enough details without boring you with the often too-drawn-out courtroom info.
January 21, 2018
Awesome true crime book! Read it.
September 18, 2022
Great true crime writing. Fascinated by the story and detail, couldn’t put it down!
December 12, 2025
Even though I knew about this true crime story, I still enjoyed this Kindle Short. It added some different touches that the crime shows did not.
December 4, 2020
Liar and murderer
Sad as this story is, it was satisfying to see justice done. Unsaid is what problems led to his longstanding addiction to lies, the nature of his problem with reality and violence. As far as it went, this was a wonderful detective story in a National Park.
Sad as this story is, it was satisfying to see justice done. Unsaid is what problems led to his longstanding addiction to lies, the nature of his problem with reality and violence. As far as it went, this was a wonderful detective story in a National Park.
July 14, 2023
I already knew this case hence the year it took me to finish the book. That has nothing to do with the writing though. It was a great true crime book. Fast paced, easy to read and follow!
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews