I'm addicted to true crime stories, whether they're on television or in print.
The crime story is even more interesting when it happens in a nearby, familiar place.
And you know someone involved.
And you've seen the author, M. William Phelps, on one of your favorite true crime shows, "Deadly Women."
So I was thrilled when reporter Holly Herman passed me her copy of "Love Her to Death."
The book is about the murder of Jan E. Roseboro, who was beaten and thrown into the family's swimming pool to drown on July 22, 2008.
A jury found that her husband, Michael A. Roseboro, a prominent funeral director in Denver, Lancaster County, killed her. He's serving a life sentence in state prison near Mahanoy City in Schuylkill County.
Roseboro was a serial cheater, but he was obsessed with Angela Funk, the last mistress he had before he was nailed for the murder.
His alleged motive was to get rid of his wife without having to give up the funeral home, the family home and the hefty bank account.
Funk, who lived near the funeral home with her husband and two children, had Roseboro's love child while Roseboro was awaiting trial.
The plot rivals good crime fiction.
The book is an easy and entertaining read.
There are several pages of photographs of the characters in this soap-opera style murder and its setting.
It does have some problems, though.
Phelps went overboard on interpreting and commenting on the hundreds of emails Roseboro and Funk exchanged in the months before the murder.
The quantity and content of the communications, added to their dozens of daily phone calls, speak for themselves.
I didn't like the way he portrayed Allan Sodomsky either.
Sodomsky is arguably one of the best defense attorneys in Berks County. Watching him in action in a courtroom is a fascinating experience.
Phelps at times acknowledged Sodomsky's skill, but at other times used words such as preachy, hackneyed, angry and cocky to describe him.
Still, the book is worth reading.
It gives you insight into what happened yet makes you wonder whether the whole story will ever be known.
That's the way true crime almost always plays out.
Contact Mary Young: 610-478-6292 or myoung@readingeagle.com.
