Couple Found Slain: After a Family Murder

There was a lot that I liked about this book. I appreciated the non-traditional true-crime narrative: happens when a person is found not mentally responsible for their crimes, life in a criminal hospital, and Brian's attempts to be released. I think it's really important for people who consume true crime to also learn about what happens to perpetrators. Obviously, Brian's crime of murdering his parents is horrific but so were some of the conditions in the mental hospital. It's a complicated situation.

What really bothered me about the book is at the very end the author is talking about another inmate at the hospital who is trans and she consistently deadnames her the entire time. When she does use her name the tone is really dismissive and rude about how she “lives as a woman.” She also seems surprised about how this transwoman seemed attracted to other women. Like, I dunno, have you not heard of lesbians/bi people?!

I really enjoyed the rest of the book and found it fascinating but this section at the end really soured it for me.