While Innocent Slept - A story of revender, murder and SIDS

Adrian Havill

St Martin's True Crime Library

2001

250 páginas

8h 20m

ISBN-10: 0312262701

Billed as a medical thriller, this unsavory story focuses on the troubled life of Garrett Wilson, the father of two infants who mysteriously died in their cribs in the 1980s. Wilson is not an easy person to like: he's a womanizer, a liar, and a thief. But is he a murderer? Author Adrian Havill, better known for biographies of more appealing characters such as Christopher Reeve and Bob Woodward, maintains a journalist's impartiality throughout the story and utilizes an abrupt, matter-of-fact writing style, never hinting at Wilson's guilt or innocence until the trial verdict at the end. Readers may find it difficult to keep track of the many characters that appear--particularly since there is no single, distinct voice telling the story--but more than a dozen black-and-white photographs help keep the faces straight. The medical angle of the mystery, with its detailed look at sudden infant death syndrome, adds interest and intrigue.