Couple Found Slain

By Mikita Brottman, Narrated by Christina Delaine

Rating: 4/5 Stairs

Expected Publication: 6 July 2021

In February 1992, 22-year-old Brian Bechtold killed his parents in Maryland, and then about a week later went into a police station in Florida and admitted to his crime. The first part of this book is spent on the family history, Brian’s life leading up to the crime, and the crime itself, in a typical true crime narrative fashion.

However, while the author does not ignore the family history or the murders, a huge part of this book’s focus is on what happens to Brian Bechtold AFTER he kills his parents. Brian clearly is suffering from an undiagnosed mental illness when he commits this terrible crime, and is appropriately put into the mental health care system instead of prison. But what happens to someone once they end up on this track? What is it like to live in the mental hospital? How do you get better? How do you get out? Ultimately, what has Brian’s life been like since he entered the system?

This was an audiobook, and the narrator is great. It felt like I was watching a documentary instead of listening to an audiobook. Ms. Brottman provides an in-depth look into Brian and the 27 years he’s spent in a maximum security psychiatric hospital that is engaging, insightful, and empathetic.

Don’t miss the Goodreads Giveaway for this book, going on through May 25th!

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this audiobook so I could review.