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She Had No Enemies: How I Turned My Sister's Death By A Serial Killer Into A Positive Force In My Life
On July 25, 1980, Anthony J. LaRette Jr. followed Mary Fleming into her apartment. He thought he had left the 18-year-old dead on the kitchen floor, but despite a gash across her throat and two deep knife wounds in her heart, she ran, naked and screaming, across the street to a neighbor's house, where she died on their front porch.
Through solid journalism and introspective reflection, Dennis Fleming, the victim's brother, weaves an intricate story filled with sadness, anger, and even humor about his attempts to cope with the greatest tragedy he'd ever known. This intensely personal true crime memoir is a life-affirming story about one man's twenty-five-year search for meaning and fulfillment in the face of a devastating situation. From the shocking details of Mary's murder and the author's subsequent suicide attempt to his mixed feelings as he witnessed LaRette's execution, Dennis delves into the complex process of coming to grips with Mary's death and of eventually finding a way to forgive her killer.
Through solid journalism and introspective reflection, Dennis Fleming, the victim's brother, weaves an intricate story filled with sadness, anger, and even humor about his attempts to cope with the greatest tragedy he'd ever known. This intensely personal true crime memoir is a life-affirming story about one man's twenty-five-year search for meaning and fulfillment in the face of a devastating situation. From the shocking details of Mary's murder and the author's subsequent suicide attempt to his mixed feelings as he witnessed LaRette's execution, Dennis delves into the complex process of coming to grips with Mary's death and of eventually finding a way to forgive her killer.
- GenresTrue CrimeMemoir
226 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2008
33 people are currently reading
148 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 20, 2012
A Compelling, Quite Painful, Search for Emotional Relief in the Aftermath of A Sister's Murder
Dennis Fleming's "She Had No Enemies" is a compelling, if quite painful, recounting of his personal odyssey in the aftermath of his youngest sister's senseless murder by a serial killer; a murder that was meaningful only in the sense that it led directly to the killer's apprehension by police, and eventually, years later, to his execution. Fleming's memoir is the most heart-rending work of nonfiction that I have read in years. In his sharp depiction of personal emotional loss, Fleming has crafted a work which I regard almost as memorable as Frank McCourt's "Angela's Ashes" in its brutal exploration of the author's own heroic odyssey to emerge psychologically anew out of the psychological wilderness created by his sister's murder. It is a work that deserves recognition via publication at one of our major American publishers of nonfiction -especially of memoirs - and one that should be applauded especially by those seeking to cope successfully with the unexpected tragic loss of a close relative or friend from a violent criminal act.
In the summer of 1980, eighteen year-old Mary Michelle "Mickey" Fleming was assaulted, and then stabbed fatally, inside her mother's apartment, by a deranged young drifter, Anthony J. LaRette, Jr. She was LaRette's last victim. Years later he would be linked conclusively to the murders of twenty-four young women; however, he would confess to killing six more while awaiting execution on Death Row at the State of Missouri Correctional Facility in Potosi, Missouri. For two anguish-filled weeks, neither Dennis Fleming nor the rest of his family, would know the identity of Mickey's murderer, but they did know that she had fought valiantly for her life, living long enough to alert neighbors of the crime itself. And yet, even with LaRette's capture, both Dennis' and his surviving family members' emotionally wrenching lives would continue, for many years, even after LaRette's 1995 execution for Mickey's murder, without any genuine semblance of normality.
Comparing Fleming's terse memoir with McCourt's classic literary debut is truly most apt, especially with regards to his own dysfunctional family; an impoverished family headed by a drunken father who would terrorize and beat both his wife and children. Some of the most memorable scenes in Fleming's book describe painful, often brutal, memories of his childhood and early adulthood as a member of the Fleming household; I am inclined to believe that describing these scenes in unflinchingly stark detail was as much a means of seeking some kind of emotional release as were his descriptions of both Mickey's murder and her killer's execution.
There is indeed much to rejoice in Fleming's book, especially since it concludes on an inspirational, quite triumphant, note. We are taken along on a remarkable personal odyssey which emphasizes not only Fleming's keen interests in literature and film, but more importantly, traces his own educational odyssey as a dedicated student of both, finding some kind of emotional solace in these twin artistic pursuits. Inevitably Fleming finds himself confronting his personal demons in thinking again of his long-deceased sister. How he decides finally to find some meaning from her senseless murder via his dual interests in the arts is a remarkable, quite surprising, conclusion to this book.
(Reposted from my 2008 Amazon review)
Dennis Fleming's "She Had No Enemies" is a compelling, if quite painful, recounting of his personal odyssey in the aftermath of his youngest sister's senseless murder by a serial killer; a murder that was meaningful only in the sense that it led directly to the killer's apprehension by police, and eventually, years later, to his execution. Fleming's memoir is the most heart-rending work of nonfiction that I have read in years. In his sharp depiction of personal emotional loss, Fleming has crafted a work which I regard almost as memorable as Frank McCourt's "Angela's Ashes" in its brutal exploration of the author's own heroic odyssey to emerge psychologically anew out of the psychological wilderness created by his sister's murder. It is a work that deserves recognition via publication at one of our major American publishers of nonfiction -especially of memoirs - and one that should be applauded especially by those seeking to cope successfully with the unexpected tragic loss of a close relative or friend from a violent criminal act.
In the summer of 1980, eighteen year-old Mary Michelle "Mickey" Fleming was assaulted, and then stabbed fatally, inside her mother's apartment, by a deranged young drifter, Anthony J. LaRette, Jr. She was LaRette's last victim. Years later he would be linked conclusively to the murders of twenty-four young women; however, he would confess to killing six more while awaiting execution on Death Row at the State of Missouri Correctional Facility in Potosi, Missouri. For two anguish-filled weeks, neither Dennis Fleming nor the rest of his family, would know the identity of Mickey's murderer, but they did know that she had fought valiantly for her life, living long enough to alert neighbors of the crime itself. And yet, even with LaRette's capture, both Dennis' and his surviving family members' emotionally wrenching lives would continue, for many years, even after LaRette's 1995 execution for Mickey's murder, without any genuine semblance of normality.
Comparing Fleming's terse memoir with McCourt's classic literary debut is truly most apt, especially with regards to his own dysfunctional family; an impoverished family headed by a drunken father who would terrorize and beat both his wife and children. Some of the most memorable scenes in Fleming's book describe painful, often brutal, memories of his childhood and early adulthood as a member of the Fleming household; I am inclined to believe that describing these scenes in unflinchingly stark detail was as much a means of seeking some kind of emotional release as were his descriptions of both Mickey's murder and her killer's execution.
There is indeed much to rejoice in Fleming's book, especially since it concludes on an inspirational, quite triumphant, note. We are taken along on a remarkable personal odyssey which emphasizes not only Fleming's keen interests in literature and film, but more importantly, traces his own educational odyssey as a dedicated student of both, finding some kind of emotional solace in these twin artistic pursuits. Inevitably Fleming finds himself confronting his personal demons in thinking again of his long-deceased sister. How he decides finally to find some meaning from her senseless murder via his dual interests in the arts is a remarkable, quite surprising, conclusion to this book.
(Reposted from my 2008 Amazon review)
February 1, 2024
MANY WRONG TURNS LEAD TO CATHARSIS FOR AUTHOR FLEMING
On July 25, 1980, Mary Fleming was killed. It took her brother, Dennis Fleming, many wrong turns in life and a quarter of a century to tell the story of her brutal murder in his memoir, “She Had No Enemies.”
The facts are, as often, deceptively simple. On a warm summer day, Mary, the youngest of the Fleming children, affectionately nicknamed “Mickey,” is followed home from a walk to the corner market where she had purchased lunch items. The man who followed her was Anthony J. LaRette, a serial killer, who slashed her throat and stabbed her in the heart while the lettuce for her luncheon salad sat on the kitchen counter.
When I look at Mickey’s picture, a beautiful girl at age 18 with the full promise of life ahead of her, I can imagine how difficult it must have been for the author to tell a story so close to the bone. But when you read his book you’ll know that he had to find a way to talk about this most personal tragedy, or let it destroy him. And destroy him it almost did by way of drugs, alcohol, depression, attempted suicide, and failed relationships.
“She Had No Enemies” is more than a crime story of how LaRette was caught, tried, and eventually executed. The blue-collar Flemings, like Frank McCourt‘s family in “Angela’s Ashes,“ have tragedy written all over them right from the get-go. Fleming’s mother and brother were abandoned by their parents, raised by a grandma “who’d smack your hands with her sausage fingers.” No wonder the mom ran as fast as she could from “Big Grandma” right into the arms of an alcoholic who beat her and the children, which the two somehow managed to produce between the fighting and the beatings. She had eight of them before she found the strength to leave him. “Whenever I think back on my childhood, I recall those ugly images,” Fleming writes.
The father was a bully and a conman who couldn‘t hold down a job. Fleming nails him, reads him like a book. He does it so well you must wonder if he sees something of himself in the old man. But unlike the dad, when Fleming blunders he catches himself, like the time with Christopher McQuarrie at a writer‘s conference, or when he says he‘s rarely passed an opportunity to make a fool of himself. You have to ask why did he move back home and why is he disappointed that the family hasn’t changed? Did he believe time and distance would transform them into a model family? But isn't that what most of us do? Time and distance puts a rosy sheen on our childhood. Your heart will break when he writes, “seeing Mickey again was my homecoming.”
Fleming says, “Although most of us were broken in some way growing up in the chaos of our family, Mickey emerged intact.” When he thinks of Mickey’s death one hopes that this is a comfort to him, just like Mickey’s innocent drawings he used to tuck into his footlocker as a Marine. In the end, for Dennis Fleming to emerge intact he needed to write “She had to Enemies.“
On July 25, 1980, Mary Fleming was killed. It took her brother, Dennis Fleming, many wrong turns in life and a quarter of a century to tell the story of her brutal murder in his memoir, “She Had No Enemies.”
The facts are, as often, deceptively simple. On a warm summer day, Mary, the youngest of the Fleming children, affectionately nicknamed “Mickey,” is followed home from a walk to the corner market where she had purchased lunch items. The man who followed her was Anthony J. LaRette, a serial killer, who slashed her throat and stabbed her in the heart while the lettuce for her luncheon salad sat on the kitchen counter.
When I look at Mickey’s picture, a beautiful girl at age 18 with the full promise of life ahead of her, I can imagine how difficult it must have been for the author to tell a story so close to the bone. But when you read his book you’ll know that he had to find a way to talk about this most personal tragedy, or let it destroy him. And destroy him it almost did by way of drugs, alcohol, depression, attempted suicide, and failed relationships.
“She Had No Enemies” is more than a crime story of how LaRette was caught, tried, and eventually executed. The blue-collar Flemings, like Frank McCourt‘s family in “Angela’s Ashes,“ have tragedy written all over them right from the get-go. Fleming’s mother and brother were abandoned by their parents, raised by a grandma “who’d smack your hands with her sausage fingers.” No wonder the mom ran as fast as she could from “Big Grandma” right into the arms of an alcoholic who beat her and the children, which the two somehow managed to produce between the fighting and the beatings. She had eight of them before she found the strength to leave him. “Whenever I think back on my childhood, I recall those ugly images,” Fleming writes.
The father was a bully and a conman who couldn‘t hold down a job. Fleming nails him, reads him like a book. He does it so well you must wonder if he sees something of himself in the old man. But unlike the dad, when Fleming blunders he catches himself, like the time with Christopher McQuarrie at a writer‘s conference, or when he says he‘s rarely passed an opportunity to make a fool of himself. You have to ask why did he move back home and why is he disappointed that the family hasn’t changed? Did he believe time and distance would transform them into a model family? But isn't that what most of us do? Time and distance puts a rosy sheen on our childhood. Your heart will break when he writes, “seeing Mickey again was my homecoming.”
Fleming says, “Although most of us were broken in some way growing up in the chaos of our family, Mickey emerged intact.” When he thinks of Mickey’s death one hopes that this is a comfort to him, just like Mickey’s innocent drawings he used to tuck into his footlocker as a Marine. In the end, for Dennis Fleming to emerge intact he needed to write “She had to Enemies.“
January 20, 2012
Far More than a Fascinating and Gripping Memoir
Dennis Fleming has found a way to enter the complex, difficult, and elusive world of writing with this excellent introspective mind-purging memoir recounting the 1980 brutal death of his little 18-year-old sister Mickey by a serial killer. Twenty eight years have passed since that horrid incident and Fleming manages to revisit every aspect of the tragedy, not only by taking the reader to the scene of the crime in visceral detail, but also in building a background of his large but quite dysfunctional family from early childhood memories through the event itself and the subsequent trial and conviction of Anthony J. LaRette, Jr., through the impact this had on each of the members in his family up to the execution by lethal injection of LaRette in 1995 - and most important how Fleming found his life completely changed by this tragedy.
Fleming paints an image of Mickey so vividly that no photograph of his victim sister is needed: a photograph would only have substantiated her physical appearance but not the glowing being that Mickey was, a powerful influence on a big brother who obsessed on the loss of this special sister to the point of surviving multiple failed marriages and relationships, a contemplated suicide, to the discovery of his diagnosis as a bipolar patient, and his eventual discovery of his own true direction of a life in the arts. Having gone through skirmishes with alcohol, with the rigors of being Marine, and with the frustrations of groping for his voice in literature and film writing, Fleming takes the reader by the hand and in solid writing technique allows entry into all his secret spaces and disillusionment, only to finally come to grips with the closure of his loss of his sister by witnessing the execution of her killer and putting into words his personal resilience in the form of a letter to that trigger for his life change - the killer, Anthony LaRette.
If at times during the reading of this book the reader feels distracted by bits and pieces of past events mixed with current events and stirred with emotional ups and downs of the constantly emotionally altering personality of the writer, Fleming somehow pulls it off by his last chapters that explain, almost didactically, a life in progress that resulted in the development of a writer of remarkable skill. This book is most assuredly a spellbinding account of a one of the victims (and that victim's family) of a serial killer: no details are spared and though some of the gruesome truth may be difficult to digest, Fleming paces the layers of revelations of the process in a tense and fascinating fashion. But for this reader one of the surprises that makes this first book by a new writer of particular note is the careful unveiling of a portrait of an artist finally finding a public forum for his gifts. This is a very successful book on multiple levels, not the least of which is the anticipation of his next novel or screenplay to see how durable his promise is!
Grady Harp
Dennis Fleming has found a way to enter the complex, difficult, and elusive world of writing with this excellent introspective mind-purging memoir recounting the 1980 brutal death of his little 18-year-old sister Mickey by a serial killer. Twenty eight years have passed since that horrid incident and Fleming manages to revisit every aspect of the tragedy, not only by taking the reader to the scene of the crime in visceral detail, but also in building a background of his large but quite dysfunctional family from early childhood memories through the event itself and the subsequent trial and conviction of Anthony J. LaRette, Jr., through the impact this had on each of the members in his family up to the execution by lethal injection of LaRette in 1995 - and most important how Fleming found his life completely changed by this tragedy.
Fleming paints an image of Mickey so vividly that no photograph of his victim sister is needed: a photograph would only have substantiated her physical appearance but not the glowing being that Mickey was, a powerful influence on a big brother who obsessed on the loss of this special sister to the point of surviving multiple failed marriages and relationships, a contemplated suicide, to the discovery of his diagnosis as a bipolar patient, and his eventual discovery of his own true direction of a life in the arts. Having gone through skirmishes with alcohol, with the rigors of being Marine, and with the frustrations of groping for his voice in literature and film writing, Fleming takes the reader by the hand and in solid writing technique allows entry into all his secret spaces and disillusionment, only to finally come to grips with the closure of his loss of his sister by witnessing the execution of her killer and putting into words his personal resilience in the form of a letter to that trigger for his life change - the killer, Anthony LaRette.
If at times during the reading of this book the reader feels distracted by bits and pieces of past events mixed with current events and stirred with emotional ups and downs of the constantly emotionally altering personality of the writer, Fleming somehow pulls it off by his last chapters that explain, almost didactically, a life in progress that resulted in the development of a writer of remarkable skill. This book is most assuredly a spellbinding account of a one of the victims (and that victim's family) of a serial killer: no details are spared and though some of the gruesome truth may be difficult to digest, Fleming paces the layers of revelations of the process in a tense and fascinating fashion. But for this reader one of the surprises that makes this first book by a new writer of particular note is the careful unveiling of a portrait of an artist finally finding a public forum for his gifts. This is a very successful book on multiple levels, not the least of which is the anticipation of his next novel or screenplay to see how durable his promise is!
Grady Harp
September 23, 2009
She Had No Enemies, a memoir by Dennis Fleming, shares the gut-wrenching story of the murder of the author’s eighteen-year-old sister, Mickey, nearly thirty years ago. The book is more than just a memoir, as Fleming explores the emotion behind not just his younger sister’s murder, but the mind and rationale of the killer.
Bits of humor and enlightenment throughout the work make this heavy-hearted memoir a more engaging read. Fleming begins by introducing the reader to his large family and his father:
"His Achilles heel was his belief that he was smarter than he actually was. If Dad wasn’t scheming, he was pushing some invention. One of his brainstorms was a hotdog roaster—a homemade fork made from a strip of flattened metal that he had split on one end and had shoved into a piece of wood he had whittled into a handle. A pair of wires—actually six feet of lamp cord—ran from the base of the handle to a plug. I was afraid to touch it, but he was a union residential electrician with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, so I figured he had to know something about basic electricity. He stuck a couple of fat hot dogs lengthwise on the tines and pushed the plug into a wall socket. Before the circuit breaker blew, sparks sprayed out of the wall socket, there was a loud pop and smoke poured from the wooden handle. The dogs spit end-to-end, their centers burned black—but the rest of the meat was pink and still cold."
The author proceeds to weave a tale of emotional growth. Throughout the memoir, Fleming shares bits and pieces of his past, unrelated to the murder Mickey. These details are shared only to further provide example of his growth and allow the reader to fully understand how this tragic event completely changed his life. Fleming also takes a few steps back from the incident, viewing the killer, Anthony LaRette, through the eyes of society. His words suggest the question of the making of a serial killer and how society can and should study their background to proactively understand their behaviors.
In all, She Had No Enemies was a well-written memoir that, while sharing Mickey’s unfortunate story, evoked thought on the nature of society. A highly recommended read for readers of memoirs and true-crime.
Bits of humor and enlightenment throughout the work make this heavy-hearted memoir a more engaging read. Fleming begins by introducing the reader to his large family and his father:
"His Achilles heel was his belief that he was smarter than he actually was. If Dad wasn’t scheming, he was pushing some invention. One of his brainstorms was a hotdog roaster—a homemade fork made from a strip of flattened metal that he had split on one end and had shoved into a piece of wood he had whittled into a handle. A pair of wires—actually six feet of lamp cord—ran from the base of the handle to a plug. I was afraid to touch it, but he was a union residential electrician with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, so I figured he had to know something about basic electricity. He stuck a couple of fat hot dogs lengthwise on the tines and pushed the plug into a wall socket. Before the circuit breaker blew, sparks sprayed out of the wall socket, there was a loud pop and smoke poured from the wooden handle. The dogs spit end-to-end, their centers burned black—but the rest of the meat was pink and still cold."
The author proceeds to weave a tale of emotional growth. Throughout the memoir, Fleming shares bits and pieces of his past, unrelated to the murder Mickey. These details are shared only to further provide example of his growth and allow the reader to fully understand how this tragic event completely changed his life. Fleming also takes a few steps back from the incident, viewing the killer, Anthony LaRette, through the eyes of society. His words suggest the question of the making of a serial killer and how society can and should study their background to proactively understand their behaviors.
In all, She Had No Enemies was a well-written memoir that, while sharing Mickey’s unfortunate story, evoked thought on the nature of society. A highly recommended read for readers of memoirs and true-crime.
November 7, 2009
She Had No Enemies is a personal and touching true crime story about the death of the author’s young sister, Mickey, by a serial killer. At times it was difficult to read, but there is so much to this tragic story from his own family dynamics to the legal drama that came with the arrest of the killer. The story clearly shows how the death of someone so young damages those who love them physically, mentally, and spiritually.
Those who suffer through this type of loss have to make a decision at some point to go forward, and this book explains how the author took his loss and created something positive. The book takes some strange spiritual turns at the end, but it is the author’s story and part of his recovery. Finding peace is not easy when things in life are going well, but finding it in the midst of tragedy is truly an accomplishment.
Those who suffer through this type of loss have to make a decision at some point to go forward, and this book explains how the author took his loss and created something positive. The book takes some strange spiritual turns at the end, but it is the author’s story and part of his recovery. Finding peace is not easy when things in life are going well, but finding it in the midst of tragedy is truly an accomplishment.
July 16, 2012
This book was a page turner from the beginning for me. Being able to see inside of a person completely torn apart by the murder of his younger sister--it is unlike any other perspective. It takes you through times before, during, and after Mickey's murder and the author tries to cope over the years. It also talks about the signs that he gets from Mickey after her death. I belive these type of signs can be seen if you are open to seeing them. There were a few times where the author goes a little too far off the path and I find myself skimming those sections, mostly towards the end of the book when talking about moving and jobs, but other than that, the book itself was written well.
April 16, 2015
Tissue please
I was watching my usual line up of true crime on television when I saw the story depicted in this book. Watching Mr Fleming's account near the end of the show I found myself intrigued by both the man and the horror(s) he has survived. I absolutely HAD to purchase the book.
I couldn't put it down. I'm sorry for the circumstances from which the book was written however it doesn't make the reader feel nearly as intrusive as I had expected.
Do yourself a little favor and have a tissue or so handy, you'll need it.
Well done Mr Fleming. I hope your creativity in book form continues. I look forward to whatever you publish next. May God bless you and your family.
I was watching my usual line up of true crime on television when I saw the story depicted in this book. Watching Mr Fleming's account near the end of the show I found myself intrigued by both the man and the horror(s) he has survived. I absolutely HAD to purchase the book.
I couldn't put it down. I'm sorry for the circumstances from which the book was written however it doesn't make the reader feel nearly as intrusive as I had expected.
Do yourself a little favor and have a tissue or so handy, you'll need it.
Well done Mr Fleming. I hope your creativity in book form continues. I look forward to whatever you publish next. May God bless you and your family.
July 8, 2018
A Great, Great Read!
This is a very unusual book. Where many friends and family members of murder victims become legal or social advocates of some kind, Dennis Fleming went in a completely different direction, working to make his life more meaningful and making himself over into a more balanced, functional person. The book is painfully honest without overwhelming you with the sorry details of a job ending or a marriage falling apart. Always, the focus is on his sister Mickey and where she led him in the years after they lost her. Seriously, don't miss this one.
This is a very unusual book. Where many friends and family members of murder victims become legal or social advocates of some kind, Dennis Fleming went in a completely different direction, working to make his life more meaningful and making himself over into a more balanced, functional person. The book is painfully honest without overwhelming you with the sorry details of a job ending or a marriage falling apart. Always, the focus is on his sister Mickey and where she led him in the years after they lost her. Seriously, don't miss this one.
August 6, 2012
A real disappointment. Sadly the girl who was murdered even changed age which I found careless in the extreme. The author, her brother said she was 18 when she was killed in 1980, and further in gives her birth year as 1960.
I read quite a way-40% in and gave up. It had gone from Mickey's story to what Dennis was up to and it wasn't why I picked it up to read.
The date issue REALLY niggled me, though.........
I read quite a way-40% in and gave up. It had gone from Mickey's story to what Dennis was up to and it wasn't why I picked it up to read.
The date issue REALLY niggled me, though.........
October 30, 2012
Far More than a Fascinating and Gripping Memoir
This review is from: The Girl Who Had No Enemies: and the MaN WhO HaTeD WoMeN (Paperback)
Dennis Fleming has found a way to enter the complex, difficult, and elusive world of writing with this excellent introspective mind-purging memoir recounting the 1980 brutal death of his little 18-year-old sister Mickey by a serial killer. Twenty eight years have passed since that horrid incident and Fleming manages to revisit every aspect of the tragedy, not only by taking the reader to the scene of the crime in visceral detail, but also in building a background of his large but quite dysfunctional family from early childhood memories through the event itself and the subsequent trial and conviction of Anthony J. LaRette, Jr., through the impact this had on each of the members in his family up to the execution by lethal injection of LaRette in 1995 - and most important how Fleming found his life completely changed by this tragedy.
Fleming paints an image of Mickey so vividly that no photograph of his victim sister is needed: a photograph would only have substantiated her physical appearance but not the glowing being that Mickey was, a powerful influence on a big brother who obsessed on the loss of this special sister to the point of surviving multiple failed marriages and relationships, a contemplated suicide, to the discovery of his diagnosis as a bipolar patient, and his eventual discovery of his own true direction of a life in the arts. Having gone through skirmishes with alcohol, with the rigors of being Marine, and with the frustrations of groping for his voice in literature and film writing, Fleming takes the reader by the hand and in solid writing technique allows entry into all his secret spaces and disillusionment, only to finally come to grips with the closure of his loss of his sister by witnessing the execution of her killer and putting into words his personal resilience in the form of a letter to that trigger for his life change - the killer, Anthony LaRette.
In the original version of this novel published a bit prematurely there were some construct problems: at times the reader felt distracted by bits and pieces of past events mixed with current events and stirred with emotional ups and downs of the constantly emotionally altering personality of the writer. In this updated and revised form the story is far more sophisticated. Fleming pulls off his last chapters that explain, almost didactically, a life in progress that resulted in the development of a writer of remarkable skill. This book is most assuredly a spellbinding account of a one of the victims (and that victim's family) of a serial killer: no details are spared and though some of the gruesome truth may be difficult to digest, Fleming paces the layers of revelations of the process in a tense and fascinating fashion. For this reader one of the surprises that makes this first book by a new writer of particular note is the careful unveiling of a portrait of an artist finally finding a public forum for his gifts. This is a very successful book on multiple levels. Grady Harp, October 12
This review is from: The Girl Who Had No Enemies: and the MaN WhO HaTeD WoMeN (Paperback)
Dennis Fleming has found a way to enter the complex, difficult, and elusive world of writing with this excellent introspective mind-purging memoir recounting the 1980 brutal death of his little 18-year-old sister Mickey by a serial killer. Twenty eight years have passed since that horrid incident and Fleming manages to revisit every aspect of the tragedy, not only by taking the reader to the scene of the crime in visceral detail, but also in building a background of his large but quite dysfunctional family from early childhood memories through the event itself and the subsequent trial and conviction of Anthony J. LaRette, Jr., through the impact this had on each of the members in his family up to the execution by lethal injection of LaRette in 1995 - and most important how Fleming found his life completely changed by this tragedy.
Fleming paints an image of Mickey so vividly that no photograph of his victim sister is needed: a photograph would only have substantiated her physical appearance but not the glowing being that Mickey was, a powerful influence on a big brother who obsessed on the loss of this special sister to the point of surviving multiple failed marriages and relationships, a contemplated suicide, to the discovery of his diagnosis as a bipolar patient, and his eventual discovery of his own true direction of a life in the arts. Having gone through skirmishes with alcohol, with the rigors of being Marine, and with the frustrations of groping for his voice in literature and film writing, Fleming takes the reader by the hand and in solid writing technique allows entry into all his secret spaces and disillusionment, only to finally come to grips with the closure of his loss of his sister by witnessing the execution of her killer and putting into words his personal resilience in the form of a letter to that trigger for his life change - the killer, Anthony LaRette.
In the original version of this novel published a bit prematurely there were some construct problems: at times the reader felt distracted by bits and pieces of past events mixed with current events and stirred with emotional ups and downs of the constantly emotionally altering personality of the writer. In this updated and revised form the story is far more sophisticated. Fleming pulls off his last chapters that explain, almost didactically, a life in progress that resulted in the development of a writer of remarkable skill. This book is most assuredly a spellbinding account of a one of the victims (and that victim's family) of a serial killer: no details are spared and though some of the gruesome truth may be difficult to digest, Fleming paces the layers of revelations of the process in a tense and fascinating fashion. For this reader one of the surprises that makes this first book by a new writer of particular note is the careful unveiling of a portrait of an artist finally finding a public forum for his gifts. This is a very successful book on multiple levels. Grady Harp, October 12
March 28, 2014
This memoir was unlike any that I have read so far. It was a mix of a true-crime novel as well as a memoir.
Read the rest of my review here!
Read the rest of my review here!
January 18, 2015
Finished in one sitting.
To say anything other than this story made me "feel many different emotions...well ...I can't begin to describe the thoughts, and emotions...so I will merely say, it is well worth a read.
To say anything other than this story made me "feel many different emotions...well ...I can't begin to describe the thoughts, and emotions...so I will merely say, it is well worth a read.
February 22, 2020
A well written memoir.
Dennis had a sister, who he loved dearly. She, and others were murdered by a serial killer. The killer, had had a hard life, and many head injuries. I wonder, if the childhood and head injuries, made him a killer.
Dennis had a sister, who he loved dearly. She, and others were murdered by a serial killer. The killer, had had a hard life, and many head injuries. I wonder, if the childhood and head injuries, made him a killer.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews