From the critically acclaimed author dubbed “one of today’s finest practitioners of nonfiction” (The New York Times Book Review), a breathless true crime tale of sex, religion, and murder in the deep South.
“Two couples. One death. Zero body… A nonfiction noir that combines propulsive true crime with stylish writing, Brottman’s account of a murder, a love triangle and small-town secrets in Tallahassee, Fla., makes for an unputdownable read. There’s sex, death and money, yes — but also a smart, sensitive examination of a group of people and what happens when lies take over a life.”
—The New York Times
So much more than another true crime story, Mikita Brottman’s Guilty Creatures is a psychological thriller as intricately organized as a Hitchcock movie…
—Madison Smartt Bell, author of All Souls’ Rising
“There is never a shortage when it comes to crimes in Florida, but Brottman has captured one of the strangest, and saddest, to ever occur in the Sunshine State.”
—Minneapolis Star-Tribune
“Ms. Brottman is a groove.”
—James Elroy
Through meticulous research, Brottman constructs an atmospheric tale that unwraps the wholesome, God-fearing exterior of two lovers to show the rot underneath… An excavation of the luridness and venality underneath a smiling, all-American façade.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Psychologist Brottman (Couple Found Slain) meticulously catalogs the illicit passions roiling beneath a husband’s murder in this enthralling true crime narrative. Meticulously catalogued… and paced with aplomb. Readers won’t be able to look away.”
—Publishers Weekly
“Intriguingly unconventional… The tragic tale of a couple whose lust overpowers their inhibitions and drives them to commit a heinous crime is hardly new, but as Brottman demonstrates with freshness and verve in Guilty Creatures, that doesn’t make it an any less engrossing one.”
—Shelf Awareness
“Guilty Creatures could have slinked out of fiction by Flannery O’Connor or Donna Tartt—not to mention James M. Cain—and they come alive in this richly atmospheric, deeply researched, and terrifying true crime book.”
—Betsy Bonner, author of Round Lake and The Book of Atlantis Black
“Propulsive, harrowing, and ironic, Mikita Brottman’s impeccably researched story investigates how, under pressure, morals can twist to justify even the worst actions.”
—Erika Krouse, author of Tell Me Everything: The Story of a Private Investigation
“A compelling deep dive into human nature.”—Booklist
Author interviews: Tallahassee Democrat, Rendering Unconscious, Out With Dan, Mysteries, Mayhem and Merlot, Cemetery Dance, Wake Island, True Murder, ISBN Reading, Q&A with Deborah Kalb, Writer’s Digest. Audiobook Preview
Publicist: Debbie Norflus; debbie.norflus@simonandschuster.com
Marketer: Maudee Genao; Maudee.Genao@simonandschuster.com
