Gone Forever: A True Story of Marriage, Betrayal, and Murder (True Crime (St. Martin's Paperbacks)) | 
| Author: Diane Fanning
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $6.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  21 reviews
Sales Rank: 21912
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 3.8 x 0.6
ISBN: 0312994044
Dewey Decimal Number: 364.1523092
EAN: 9780312994044
ASIN: 0312994044
Publication Date: February 7, 2006
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Condition: Brand New and Factory Sealed Item Fast Shipping
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Product Description
Susan McFarland was a vivacious, successful mother of three young sons. On November 25, 2002, she disappeared. Three days later, her car was found, keys in the ignition. Later that day, her husband reported her missing—and a desperate search began.
Her friends and family hoped against hope that Susan was not gone forever. But investigators became increasingly suspicious of Richard McFarland. When the charred, decomposed body of Susan McFarland was finally discovered at an overgrown farmstead outside of San Antonio, a new hunt began—for justice.
McFarland maintained his innocence, and investigators only had circumstantial evidence against him. While headlines screamed out new details in the case, and police tried to gather more evidence, a blockbuster trial was about to begin. Then, Richard McFarland finally spoke...and a terrifying, chilling truth came out...
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| Customer Reviews: Read 16 more reviews...
 Sizzle! Diane Fanning at the top of the field! April 16, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
There is true crime for people who only want "entertainment" and then there's true crime for people who think. Diane Fanning delivers both the strong read, the "sizzle" and the "steak." (OK, I'm a big meat eater.) She doesn't duck the tough issues in an ugly crime and in Gone Forever, she delves into the real questions of "why" this kind of crime could happen. It's great to see a writer work harder with each successive book and rise to the top. This is true crime worth reading because of what you learn about the "dark side" of human behavior.
GREAT STORY January 5, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
THIS BOOK DEFINATELY HELD MY INTEREST. SUE'S HUSBAND WAS REALLY BIZARRE! IF YOU LIKE TRUE CRIME BOOKS, THIS ONE IS WORTH THE READ.
Highly Recommended September 12, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Gone Forever is the first book I read by Diane Fanning. In my opinion, the first paragraph of a book makes you want to read more and the last paragraph makes you want to read the next book written by the author. This certainly was the case for me with this book. I have read all of Diane's books and look forward to more. As to why women stay in abusive marriages, I have done a lot of research on this and I always hear the same answer, "I don't know." I honestly believe abused women do not know and until a person is in that situation, they don't have the right to judge. A well written book Diane. Wish you could write books as fast as we read them.
 This book creates more questions than it answers... August 17, 2007
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
I felt the book was lacking in depth of background information regarding aspects of the numerous relationships discussed. Many unnecessary tidbits of info are given for no apparent reason. As written, the story could have been streamlined. I would have liked more insight to the reasons why this woman stayed with her husband for so long and why none of her devoted family or friends were willing to help her children in their time of need. The 'stayed for the kids' sake' type of explanations are hollow. That man was doing nothing good for the kids as everyone knew, he wasn't supporting the family financially-quite the opposite, and everyone watched the horrible tragedy play out in slow motion.
And why give fictitous names for the children of the deceased woman only to show a picture of her headstone with their real names on it?
Disappointing read...
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly July 19, 2007
8 out of 10 found this review helpful
The Good: The author obviously did her homework on this case. It is clear that she obtained in-depth information from all of those closely involved in the case and those that knew and loved Susan McFarland. The story is told in a comprehensive manner, leaving no questions as to what happened in the before, during, and after of the crime.
The Bad: The actual writing is a bit amateurish. The author attempts to end most chapters with a "shocking" cliff-hanger type statement, however, the story is compelling enough on its own to keep the readers turning pages. This use of techique is not warrented and slightly annoying.
The author's use of detailed descriptions of certain buildings, events, people, etc. is somewhat inconsistent and again unnecessary. They happen spottily and are mostly a distraction from the larger story.
The author makes grandiose statements regarding acquaintance's thoughts and feelings, which are rather over-stated and dramatic for drama's sake. They come across as cheesy and really do nothing to enhance an already dramatic story.
Finally, some of the conversations between characters could have been paraphrased for clarity, as they were slightly confusing and hard to understand at times. There are other inconsistencies, grammatical errors, and minor holes that a good editor should have caught before this book went to press.
The Ugly: I was shocked and angered that no one in Rick's or Susan's families took their children in after their horrible experience. This, to me, is almost as bad as the crime itself. Those children will be forever marred by this experience, and I only hope that their adoptive families can somehow help them salvage a somewhat normal life in adulthood.
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