'Til Death Do Us . . .': A True Crime Story of Bigamy and Murder

by Patrick Gallagher

The riveting true story of serial wife and husband killer Gladys Lincoln, written by the grandson of her lead defense attorney.

Includes love letters from the victim to the defendant hidden over seventy years!

In August 1945, Gladys Lincoln of Sacramento contacted prosperous Dr. W. D. Broadhurst of Caldwell, Idaho, and rekindled a romance from twenty years earlier. After many passionate letter exchanges and several sexually-charged meetings, they were married in Reno, Nevada on May 20, 1946. After a passion-filled three-day weekend together, the doctor returned to his home in Idaho, and Gladys returned to Sacramento . . . and to her husband, Leslie Lincoln! But Gladys was much more than a bigamist.

Gladys needed something even she didn't understand. She married her first husband when she was twenty, and her second husband only fourteen months later. The second marriage lasted only two years, the third less than sixteen months. Leslie Lincoln was her fifth, and Dr. Broadhurst became her sixth. But what desperate need drove her to go from marriage to marriage?

And what dark mindset moved her and her young cowboy chauffeur to commit murder? Find out in 'Til Death Do Us . . . the gripping true crime from WildBlue Press author Patrick Gallagher, whose grandfather was Gladys' lead defense attorney during her sensational trial.

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction

286 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 12, 2020

Reviews

[Valerity (Val)]

I like the family connection of the author to the lead defense lawyer during Gladys’ trial. This is about a cunning woman who gets married over and over to different men that she feels she conquers. Once that is done, she moves on to the next conquest. She begins writing to an old flame who is a doctor, and he is over the moon to hear from her again. She eventually marries him, making him her 6th husband. But she is still married to her 5th husband, making for complications. She shows her true colors when she becomes a black widow. It’s fascinating true crime, decently written. I stayed up all night reading it.

[Jamie (The Kansan Reader)]

Okay, DNFing at page 21.

Why you may ask?

Because I'm bored. If I am not interested, I'm going to not want to read anymore. There is nothing that is quite gripping in this story. The woman Gladys Ralphs was married five times. I haven't gotten to where she becomes a murderess but I just can't take this much longer.

I hate to DNF, but life is too short to spend on a book I may not like. The low rating of this also didn't help in the area of motivation.

[Valerity (Val)]

I like the family connection of the author to the lead defense lawyer during Gladys’ trial. This is about a cunning woman who gets married over and over to different men that she feels she conquers. Once that is done, she moves on to the next conquest. She begins writing to an old flame who is a doctor, and he is over the moon to hear from her again. She eventually marries him, making him her 6th husband. But she is still married to her 5th husband, making for complications. She shows her true colors when she becomes a black widow. It’s fascinating true crime, decently written. I stayed up all night reading it.

[Grace]

Interesting local Treasure Valley true crime. Just wish the organization of the book was different so that several letters and telegrams were not re-printed in entirety at different parts.

[Carla]

I read a lot of true crime books as it is one of my favorite types of books. I won this one as a giveaway on Goodreads. Frankly I’m glad I didn’t pay for it. It was unorganized and poorly written. I read the entire ebook in a few hours. I was very disappointed with it. I feel the story itself has the potential to be a good book, if it was written by a different author.

[Rebecca Hill]

'Til Death Do Us will captivate you from page one, almost as easily as Gladys captivated each of her husbands!

From all accounts, Gladys was a young woman with a big future. As a young girl, she was doted on by her family. As an adult, she was a serial bride - continually marrying and divorcing husbands, many in quick succession.

While reading through 'Til Death Do Us I was shocked with the amount of husbands that Gladys had gone through, but also of the very nefarious means that she used to capture a new husband. She was cunning, deceitful, and a master manipulator.

Throughout the book, we get an insight into what made Gladys tick - money. She wanted money, a lot of it, and she would use any means that she could to get a hold of the money that she longed for. But it goes deeper than that. Gladys liked the chase, getting men to do what she wanted, but the end result, marriage, was not something that she particularly enjoyed. She did enjoy some of the benefits of marriage, but it was difficult for her to remain engaged and attentive to the relationship once they crossed the threshold.

Overall, I did enjoy this read. Patrick Gallagher does a great job in breaking down the relationship between Gladys and her three husbands. While she married once more after prison, it is the first marriages we want to look at. Bigamy charges, and the subsequent murder trial that she would go through with her newest husband - another bigamous marriage, will blow your mind. The amount of evidence is mind blowing.  After just nine years of a life sentence, she was able to walk free on parole.

This book is now available from WildBlue Press and is available in multiple formats. I listened to an audio version of the book. I highly recommend this book for all true crime lovers! This is one that is a perfect weekend or beach read.

[Paula Ratcliffe]

This book follows Gladys Lincoln whose had her share of breakups in her case the breakup happens after marriages. We learn there is more to Gladys than her marriages and the road you go one is full of turns you didn't think someone would go through.

This book is definitely different than most true crime books and you learn so much you may not have known about Gladys Lincoln. What made her do what she did and why she would want to murder someone she loved.

Definitely great for those who love true crime stories it pulls you in and keeps you reading to find out what Gladys Lincoln was thinking and feeling when she did so many marriages and even marry someone while still married!

[Lisa]

Pretty good

For someone who is "not an author" as he says himself, it's not bad.

I don't believe the book starts in the right place, though. It really needs to begin in the chapter before the one it starts in (authors notes, I believe?). That gives readers background they need when reading.

So if you read this before buying the book, read that part first, THEN continue reading from there. It gives you more info.

[Paula Corregan]

Fascinating story!

This book details the life and many marriages of a femme fetale, who was a bigamist as well as the instigator of the murder of one of her husbands. It was well written and researched. I highly recommend this book to other true crime readers.

[Ruth Anne]

Sort of a 'nothing' book...true crime that shook up the eastern Oregon, western Idaho communities back in the late 1940s. Not any 'who done it' doubts at all. This was a good book for me to fly through to 'clear my brain' for the next deep, dark true crime book that will be a real page turner.

[Suzanne]

Terrible

This story could have made a great book but half of the book was appendixes and pics. The rest was repeated telegrams or letters

[Tommy Swinney]

Very poor writing. Author inserts his own editorial comments. Best read a sample before buying.

[Ronnie Cramer]

Written by the grandson of the lead defense attorney in the trial of Gladys Broadhurst, this rather folksy book is pretty entertaining.