A Warrant to Kill: A True Story of Obsession, Lies and a Killer Cop | 
|  | | | Title: | A Warrant to Kill: A True Story of Obsession, Lies and a Killer Cop | | Author: | Kathryn Casey | | Publisher: | Avon | | Type: | Book / Mass Market Paperback | | Publication Date: | 01 October, 2000 | | ISBN / ISBN-13: | 0380780410 / 9780380780419 | | List Price: | $7.99 | | Amazon Price: | $7.99 | |
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Product Description
She tried to tell her friends. She even went to the police. No one would believe her--and now she was dead.Problems had always followed Susan White, but when she remarried and moved to Houston's posh suburbs, she thought the past was behind her--until she met a deputy sheriff named Kent McGowen who would soon become her worst nightmare. McGowen was an aggressive cop with a spotty record. When Susan rebuffed his advances, she claimed he stalked and harassed her, using her troubled teenage son as bait. And then, in an act of arrogance and revenge, he made good on his threats, setting her up for the kill. In A Warrant to Kill, Kathryn Casey meticulously pieces together the tragic shards of the case to create a riveting story of vengeance, fear, and justice--of the terrifying power a badge can have in the wrong hands.
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Customer Reviews:
• Bad Cop, Great Writer 29 January, 2007
Kathryn Casey takes us into the bowels of the Houston police department and shows us a man that NEVER should have been in law enforcement. What a sad story of a flawed woman and the police officer who ended her life. This book was masterfully researched and written, as are all of KC's books. The more I read this writer, the better I like her work. I have pre-ordered her next book.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A3UBO00ZRROH0T
• Rogue Cop On The Loose! 24 November, 2007
Kathryn Casey tells a tale of obsession, desperation, and a cop who exacted his revenge on a woman and her troubled son. Susan White and her son both underestimated the lengths to which Kent McGowen would go to make a point about who was in control and who held the power. Written in a smoothly captivating fashion, Kathryn Casey demonstrates insight into the strange dynamics that existed between a cop and his supervisors, a woman and her son, and the forces that brought them all together in a moment of tragic proportions. As are all of Casey's books, A WARRANT TO KILL is meticulously researched and formatted in an understandable and gripping manner. The Epilogue of the book, in which Casey personally interviews Kent McGowen, is nothing short of a stunning look into the mind of a psychopathic liar and a cop without morals! I read late into the night and could hardly wait for the long arm of the law to reach out and take down Kent McGowen.
McGowen was a cop who used the law to exercise his own brand of justice. Wholly disliked by other law enforcement officials for his lack of appropriate judgment and incessant arrogance, Kent McGowen seemed unable or unwilling to stop using his job to bolster his own ego or his status within the community. After a series of poor performance reviews at several different law enforcement agencies, McGowen had backed himself into a corner. Unable to find another agency willing to risk his employment, Kent McGowen took a position as a sheriff's deputy entrusted to patrol a wealthy Houston subdivision. It was a Mickey Mouse position, but that mattered little to McGowen. As long as he had a badge and a gun, he was the BMOC in his own mind, a Big Shot. While it is unclear why McGowen focussed his attentions on Susan White, his rage came to a full boil on muggy, August night that ended in murder.
A word of warning to the reader, however. Susan White is a less than sympathetic victim. While she claimed to love her son above all else, she seemed unwilling to do the difficult tasks associated with parenting. Shirking her responsibilities as a mother, Susan White turned a blind her to her son's escalating behavioral problems. While Jason spiraled out of control and spent large amounts of time unsupervised, Susan White appeared to have plenty of time to dine at expensive restaurants, frequent barstools in trendy pubs, drop names, and go home with men in her never ending quest for the next wealthy man who would support the lifestyle to which she had become accustomed. Often intoxicated or strung out on prescription drugs, Susan White was an addict self-destructing at an alarming rate. McGowen simply ended a downward spiral a bit sooner than it might otherwise have come. While Susan White is not responsible for the egregious behavior of Kent McGowen, she tragically underestimated the consequences of her own actions and inaction. In so doing, she lost her life and left her son to grow up without a mother.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A3MVJ4XPILWQ6
• Very Detailed 24 April, 2007
This is the first true crime book I have read and it was only because I saw the story on A&E and was intrigued to learn more. It was very detailed and while I can't say I enjoyed it (murder is nothing to be happy about) it really shocked me at how much harm a man with a badge can do. Susan White had her issues but she didn't deserve to be harassed and then be killed by someone who is supposed to serve and protect. Anyhow, while I truly found this intriguing, I don't know that I will read anymore true crime simply because I love happy endings and these for the most part don't end that way. I will stick to fiction.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A2DTVRYC8CL3V8
• Readable True Crime Story 18 July, 2007
I have enjoyed all of Ann Rule's books, and find this author to be almost as good. This true story is even more gripping than fiction.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A3E1FN0M3GY1H
• Casey Is A Great True Crime Writer 28 August, 2007
Though I am a veteran reader of true crime, I had not heard of Kathryn Casey until earlier this year when she was recommended by a friend.
A WARRANT TO KILL is the third, and the third outstanding, of her books that I've read. To briefly summarize, it is the story of a troubled woman, Susan White, killed by a likely-sociopathic rogue cop named Kent McGowen. As in her others I read earlier, SHE WANTED IT ALL and THE RAPIST'S WIFE, Casey's talent for true crime is remarkable. Her writing is crisp, reportorial, and to the point. As in the others, A WARRANT TO KILL contains none of the boring, superfluous filler found in lesser true crime. It contains none of the irritating drama, often used even by good writers, which can turn true crime into cloying true soap opera.
A WARRANT TO KILL shows in-depth research and interviewing and a sincere interest in writing an outstanding book. She also, importantly, knows when to leave out unnecessary or repetitive information, with the result that she avoids excessive length and boring repetition. An excellent example is the section of the book which deals with the trial. This is often a deadly dull part of a true crime book, but Casey keeps it moving and interesting by not including every bit of testimony, only that which is necessary to futher the story line. And, thankfully, she does not feel the need to include every bit of forensic testimony.
Finally, Casey, as in all of her books I've read, does a masterful job of presenting the details of the personalities and psyches of the principals in the case. This, in my opinion, is the single most important element in great true crime. And Kathryn Casey writes great true crime. Fans of the genre will love this book.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A1CNXVJ4KWIOTY
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