The cover blurb -- "a true story of sex, murder, and a Texas millionaire" -- pretty well says it all.

The main character, Celeste Johnson, already had a long history of marriage, divorce, infidelity, and child neglect when she bagged her biggest prize yet -- the much older Steven Beard, a recent widower with lots of money and a yen for the sexy blond waitress at his country club. The new Mrs. Beard, not content with making a substantial dent in her husband's multi-million-dollar fortune, decided she would be better off as a grieving widow, and enlisted the help of her latest lover, a woman she had met in a psychiatric hospital, to achieve that goal.

Author Casey cuts Celeste no slack as she chronicles the woman's history, which is replete with narcissistic and irresponsible actions and various convenient allegations of medical issues, usually arising when she was trying to wriggle out of a tight spot or to convince someone to give in to her demands. The only real suspense here is generated during the investigation and trial, as prosecuting and defense attorneys fight it out in the courtroom.

True-crime fans will relish this one. ( )

Celeste Beard, a mentally unstable trophy wife, believes that she will gain more once her husband is out of the way. Enlisting the aid of her troubled lover, a woman named Tracey whom Celeste met in a psychiatric ward, Celeste convinces Tracey to shoot him one night. Ultimately, Steve Beard dies of a pulmonary embolism four months after the shooting, ratcheting the charges up to murder. But Celeste thinks she can get away with her role in the death of her husband, especially once she starts looking for someone else to take care of the Tracey problem.

Honestly, I think this book needed a better editor. I know it's "just true crime," but there was too much information here that wasn't necessary. I also dislike the sensationalism about Celeste's "lesbian lover." If Celeste's lover was a man, I'm sure the author wouldn't be bandying around "heterosexual lover" or something of the sort. Still, it's not a bad read, and Casey is better than many true crime authors. ( )

This is the true story of trophy wife Celeste Beard who wanted everything, but her husband stood in the way, so she enlists her lesbian lover, a love-struck, middle-aged woman with a history of mental illness to get rid of her husband, then when Celeste begins to doubt the reliability of her lover she tries to hire a hit man to take care of her.

This is an excellent book. Kathryn Casey has a journalism background and it shows in her attention to detail and amount of research that goes into her books. She gives a complete biography of all the major people involved in the case, detailing their childhoods in a style that is interesting and informative.

I recommend this book to any true crime fan. ( )