Book Review: Portraits of Guilt

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Portraits of Guilt     Amazon US HC Amazon Canada HC
Jeanne Boylan
Class/Genre:   Non-Fiction   Mystery   AutoBiography
Pocket, Jun 2000, $24.95, 336 pp.

The author Jeanne Boylan is considered the top artist of criminal suspects. Ms. Boylan manages to portray an easy, friendly manner that coaxes the victims into relaxing so that they are able to dig deep, past the trauma, in order to provide the police with an insightful description. She is so good at what she does, Ms. Boylan is almost always the first police sketch artist to be called for, especially on the high profile, media circus cases like the Unabomber, the Oklahoma City tragedy, and the Susan Smith drowning of her children. This biography provides insight into what motivates Ms. Boylan to the point of a frenzied obsession.

This book is an excellent autobiography that allows readers to understand Ms. Boylan’s need to always say “yes” to the FBI even at the price of her marriage. Her story is simply fascinating and this account provides high drama yet insight into a family friendly approach to police questioning. Ms. Boylan is a hero and her book deserves best-selling status, as it is a well-written autobiography that may be the genre’s best of the year.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner