Now that the Menendez Brothers have been thrusted into the spotlight once again with the show Monsters on Netflix, there’s a brief mention of this book. And anyone who is a true-crime buff will like to read or more importantly listen to the audiobook.
But anyone else will junk it as garbage. I admit, Lyle is hard to evaluate. Is he a full blown sociopath or a narcissistic manchild. A decade ago, we were angry at the idea that Ethan Couch had lived a life of affluent lifestyle when he was convicted of intoxication manslaughter that he got a 10-year probation sentence because affluenza was argued.
However, there are people out there who may be unaware of certain things. We laughed at how Crocodile Dundee didn’t notice how an escalator worked. But when you’ve lived out in the Outback near nature, you’re not going to know a lot about modern technology. On the flip, FarmersOnly.com mocked people who lived in more metropolitan areas. We are all products of our environment.
This is the result of several phone calls Lyle made with writer Norma Novelli and you must wonder what has been left out and what has been taken out of context. It is very easy for a writer to twist someone’s words against them. But did Novelli know how to stoke Lyle’s ego to get him to say stuff he probably should’ve been quiet about or did Lyle actually believe there was no way he was ever going to get convicted?
I think back to what an affluent character says in the true-crime limited series Under the Bridge about the murder of Reena Virk by many of her peers in a British Columbia coastal community. She’s a young teen who has been released on her own recognizance because of safety concerns. She then says to one of her accomplices while leaving that she doesn’t understand why they’re still having the trial if she’s being released.
Lyle is arrogant and cocky. And anyone who isn’t used to this type of behavior will get their fill of him very early. However, Norvelli never seems to be truly sympathetic to Lyle but more like an opportunist. I mean, there have been countless books written about the Menendez Brothers. Whichever writer could get the best source materials could publish the best book. Even Lyle and Novelli comment about how the other books were taken from transcripts.
The book was released in between the two trials for the Menendez Brothers. The first one was famously broadcast on Court TV and opened the public’s eye to the tedious nature of trial proceedings. It was a precursor for the O.J. Simpson murder trial which happened not much later. It’s even been reported that Simpson and Erik Menendez were in the same jail cell block for a while.
For the most part, it’s a bunch of stuff you’ve probably already heard from the countless true-crime shows for the past 30-35 years. But, I’m sure when the book was published in 1995, it was a big deal even if it was a cash grab. I’ll admit, I purchased the book If I Did It that Simpson had published, but that’s because I knew the proceeds would be going to the families of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman.
It also ends with a conclusion by attorney Pierce O’Donnell that is appropriate because it pierces through what some people view are lies said by Erik and Lyle. O’ Donnell is very fierce in his condemnation of both brothers, but especially Lyle. It’s quite possible that Lyle was just hamming it all up for the cameras. You have to remember people analyzed every minute of the trial down to the brothers wearing those sweaters and what it meant.
But even O’Donnell himself is really just an opportunist himself looking for attention. He’s been called the “Perry Mason for Hollywood.” So, it’s hard to know who really to believe or listen to.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 