This great book is a warts and all expose of the tragic, twisted relationship that began in 1977 and ended in June 1994 when Simpson slit his ex-wife's throat on the steps of her townhouse. You feel as if you are a part of the couple's inner circle, watching the events that led up to the tragic, brutal murders of Ron and Nicole unfold, and you want to jump into the book and yank Nicole away from her pig of a husband who did not deserve to be married to the fine, beautiful, and caring woman that she obviously was. Although Sheila Weller offers no physical evidence of Simpson's guilt, her description of the unhealthy, obsessive bond between this egomaniacal man and this poor, sweet, unfortunate woman leads the reader to believe that OJ Simpson was the only person on earth who had the motive and the reason to commit these murders, and we all know that OJ Simpson IS guilty of these heinous crimes.

I hated this book before I even opened the cover. Why? Because of all the bad press and tabloid rubbish about this whole Amy Fisher episode. So, like millions of other people in the world, I tended to sway over to Joey's version of the story but after reading this rather deep and interesting version from Amy's view, my mind has definitely changed somewhat. Amy does not belittle Joey as he has constantly done with interviews about her. She also writes about her childhood and is very truthful about being a prostitute etc. She was deeply in love with Joey by the sound of it while he was obviously just using her for his own pleasure. Although Amy did a terrible thing to Joey's wife and I am not excusing her from this, I can now see how she was just an immature kid in lust/love with Joey and this was the only way she could honestly see her and Joey being together forever. As we all discovered, Joey is nothing but a liar. At least Amy has been truthful from the start. I'd recommend this book just to get the real facts and not Joey's blown up version of events.

This book is very interesting...Amy tells her story from her rocky childhood all the way to her experience in prison. She gives VERY SHOCKING accounts of her times w/ Joey and her prostitution clients, hardly leaving anything to the imagination. You get the feeling that this girl isn't the "monster" that the media said she was, just a confused young girl who wanted desperately to be loved... She takes blame for a lot of things, but she doesn't come out and blame Joey for EVERYTHING like you would think or expect her to. After reading this book you understand how messed up Amy had become to do such a crime, even though it was unforgivable. Another interesting way the story is written is the co-author of the book, Sheila Weller divides the book up by * * *'s that let you know when Amy is telling the story in her OWN words, and when Sheila is telling it...Not the best book I've ever read, but its definitely a book to read when there's nothing else to do - you won't want to put it down...I recommend this one.

This book is great to show parents of teenaged girls who are going through dificulties at home. Whether parents want to know it or not, any 16, 17, or 18 year old girl can become involved with an older adult man. It doesn't take long for a child to get caught up into the adult world. All the things that Amy went through with Joey and the Escort Service can happen to your sister or daughter. Thank God her mom and new lawyer stuck by her and is helping her to get on with her life after prison. Good luck Amy!

I remember taking a high school writing class where we loaded our stories with big beautiful words that were clearly above the average 9th grade reading level (good or bad, most people read at this level). After all, we were shooting for the big grade, trying to impress the teacher, and of course meeting our minimum word requirement. However, that type of writing leaves the reader reading the same sentence over and over again to try to figure out what the writer is trying to say - such is the case with this particular book (and possibly with this particular writer). This is frustrating to the reader; it just makes you want to scream . . ."Please, just get to the point!". It was strange to me that the writing in the Prologue was just the opposite - to the point, not glossed over with fancy (and boring) wording; in fact it basically tells the whole story.

She may do everything else right in the steps to writing a good book, but she needs to step away from the high school level writing style; she needs to write as if she's have a personal conversation with her readers...quality comes from that.

"Saint of Circumstance: The Untold Story..." is a book for the kind of people who like analytical true crime books. If you want a fast-paced, can't put down book, Sheila Weller is not the author you are looking for. Weller is a highly analytical woman, whose observations are witty, truthful and highly intelligent. The book is at times serious and journalistic as well as fun and gossipy, however, Weller fails to make the story of Alex Kelly come alive. I have read other books by Weller, notably "Amy Fisher: My Story", and her style towards book writing is researching the community that created the person and somehow try to explain how the tragedy that she chronicles comes about. They are good, quality books, but they are not thrillers or don't implant in the reader a desire to keep reading. The style is pretty narrative, and she is not one to recreate scenes. Although her descriptions of the place are pretty good, most of the story is told through quotes from other people. Don't get me wrong, as a soon-to-be published author I can tell you I do this too, but she doesn't make the story come alive. She tells rather than describing the book in scenes so the reader can feel they were there. They are there. If you want a summary of the investigation of Kelly, a profile of Alex himself, his family and the coddled, rich, affluent town (which Weller, in one of her more insightful observations terms "one of the country's last enclaves of genteel elitism") in which he grew up, you'll love the book. If you end up loving the book, you will also like Doug Most's "Always in Our Hearts", about the Amy Grossberg/Brian Peterson case because of it's social analysis. Also, check out the landmark Lefkowitz book, "Our Guys".

Sheila Weller provided a fair portrayal of Alex Kelly, his town, and his crimes. She provided the details with objectivity and still provided the reader with an enjoyable read. I do not believe Darien, the town Alex Kelly grew up in, was unfairly represented. The town and the environment played a key role in Kelly's development and although it is not responsible for its actions, it is one of the more important aspects to his crimes.