My Review of Ungrateful Bastard by Susan Ashline

Since Susan Ashline wrote the book on our story, Without a Prayer: The Death of Lucas Leonard and How One Church Became a Cult, I have read each of her subsequent books. This book, Ungrateful Bastard, is of specific personal interest, having grown up in Richfield Springs, where Woody Mower's family lived, and even rode the school bus with Woody. What follows is my review of this multilayered look at the justice system in New York. I highly recommend!

Ungrateful Bastard cover 

Timely and relevant, Susan Ashline’s third book tells the story of Gordon “Woody” Mower, whose story is again making headlines 30 years after he killed his parents, and which cannot be explored without a discussion of corruption within the criminal justice system, specifically corrections in New York State. As a student of criminology and public policy, and as one who rode the school bus with Woody, I admit that I have been eagerly anticipating this book—and I was not disappointed. Ashline’s background as an investigative journalist shines in this well-researched work, full of probing questions and persistent pursuit of all sides of the story. I am left with many answered questions, which provide a better picture of what led Woody to kill his parents, but I find myself pondering new ones: many what-ifs and how-comes and what exactly my tax money is paying for. To me, the hallmark of a well-written work of true crime is that it gives the reader solid information that empowers them to explore themes further. I finished the book days ago, yet the story is far from concluded, allowing the author's messages to linger with me. Well done!

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