Luggage by Kroger: A True Crime Memoir by Gary Taylor (December 2008)

Crazy Is As Crazy Does
Review by Kim Cantrell

Luggage by Kroger by Gary TaylorGrab a seat on the wild ride of an obsessive relationship, from its erotic beginning to its violent end and the trials required to clean up the mess. In this true-crime memoir, former Houston Post reporter Gary Taylor recounts his personal, true-life fatal attraction involvement in the trail of violence that has dogged Texas attorney Catherine Mehaffey Shelton for nearly three decades, prompting coverage by newspapers, magazines, 48 Hours, American Justice and even Oprah. The result is a tooth-grinding, genre-bending tale that blends memoir with murder mystery and legal procedural with psycho-thriller in an adventure odyssey of self-discovery that nearly cost him his life.

Many true crime reviews claim a book to be an extremely raw account of crime, but that statement has never been so true as it is with Luggage by Kroger from author Gary Taylor.

As a matter of fact, I found the writing to be so raw that at times I didn’t know whether I wanted to sympathize with Taylor or slap him silly.

Gary Taylor walked through a literal hell-on-earth with the psychotic Catherine Mehaffey, yet came out with such a sanguine attitude you can’t help but to admire him.

Before reading Luggage by Kroger, I had read others’ reviews.  I recall one in particular that stated the book contained too much filler.  I’m not sure to what the reviewer was referring.

In the beginning it may seem that Taylor is providing too much information about his life – even a bit braggadocio at times – but as one continues reading it becomes obvious these details are important to understanding how Taylor came to be in such precarious circumstances.

I found Luggage by Kroger to be a thought-provoking, emotion-inducing, addictive tale that sucked me in much like Catherine Mehaffey sucked author Gary Taylor into her deranged life.

This award winning true crime gem is highly recommended for your reading list.  You don’t want to miss it!

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