Lisa Wilson and Nick Van der Leek have just released their third ebook about the Murder of Meredith Kercher and it brings this complicated case even more into focus. UNDER SUSPICION grants the reader a ‘fly on the wall’ perspective of what really happened shortly after Meredith Kercher’s lifeless body was discovered in Perugia, Italy. UNDER SUSPICION is a continuation of two previous ebooks on the case: DECEIT, and DARK MATTER. No other book series has come this close to revealing the truth about this crime.
UNDER SUSPICION encompasses the developments of the case between November 6, 2007 and October 29, 2009. The former date being when Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito were arrested, the latter when Rudy Guede was sentenced to 30 years in prison. In these two years, which are largely ignored by most other crime writers, are details that reveal precious clues in this Italian whodunit.
Nick van der Leek and Lisa Wilson transport the reader back to 2007 to unmask the accused assassins. In the process they expose the many deceptions, manipulations, and peculiarities of the three main suspects Amanda Knox, Rudy Guede, and Raffaele Sollecito.
From Amanda Knox claiming that she could barely speak Italian at the time of the murder, a suspicious advert posted on a university door, excerpts of the memoirs contradicting documented recordings and much more are included in this book.
One example, ” . . .on November 10th, Amanda finally gets to see her mom. In her memoir, Amanda claims among the first words she says to her mom are that she’s ‘so sorry’ and she ‘didn’t mean for any of this to happen.’ Except, when you read the prison visit intercept, those words don’t exist. . .
Prison Visit Intercept . . .
Edda: ‘Are you sure you’re ok? Are they being okay to you?’
Amanda: ‘It was the police who were being mean; that’s why I said those things about Patrick ‘cause like… When I was with the police, the last time, I was with the police on Monday… …'”
Van der Leek describes Knox and Sollecito’s modi operandi with the police investigation. In one incident Knox is, “asked about a text message, denies receiving one and asks to see it. Why does she ask to see it? Because there’s a conditioning thing going on. If they already know something for certain she’ll give an explanation, if they don’t, she won’t.”
UNDER SUSPICION also delves into the invisible evidence which has been all but ignored in the majority of discussions about the case – the fingerprints (or lack thereof) at the crime scene As van der Leek points out, lack of evidence is also evidence, and goes on to describe how and why.
UNDER SUSPICION unearths minutiae and scenarios, many of which are often overlooked in the overwhelming pile of evidence that compose this case. “The devil’s in the details.” A thorough combing of this case is required to pick out the nits of manipulative and deceitful behavior of “the wand-wielding rape-obsessed Valkyrie [Amanda] and her partner, the sword-wielding assassin [Raffaele].” Van der Leek also makes a case for the pop-culture occult influence surrounding this attack.
Lisa Wilson provides the clearest blow-by-blow account of Sollecito’s defense development in 2008. Gleaning information from various sources, including his diary, trial transcripts, and televised appearances, it becomes clear that trying to prove innocence was a minefield of mishaps. Who can forget when Dr. Sollecito was on a TV program that broadcast images of Meredith Kercher’s nude body on national television?
Sollecito’s father hired experts and lawyers at large expense while Knox’s pop hired a public relations firm. We all know how it ends, however it is interesting to see how it all unfolded and how guilty they appeared in the process.
It was refreshing that van der Leek and Wilson included a closer look at Patrick Lumumba’s experience. The former bar owner appears to be the lynch pin to the explosive end of the beautiful young woman named Meredith Kercher. It seems that Lumumba was truly the only innocent person who had been accused of this murder.
The authors also hold a magnifying glass over the seemingly ‘silent partner’ of this criminal enterprise, Rudy Guede. The second black man arrested for the murder who wrote his own prison diary. Interestingly, he is the only one left of the three culprits who has not written a book. . . yet.
Wilson and van der Leek also lay the groundwork to analyze the elusive star witness of this murder trial, Jovana Popovic. She was the woman who was so vitally important to placing Knox and Sollecito’s whereabouts at the time of the murder. Does her alibi for them hold water? Readers will have to wait until Wilson and van der Leek’s fourth ebook CONTRADICTION, is released!
In summary, Nick van der Leek and Lisa Wilson once again produce the most revealing and riveting take on the Meredith Kercher Murder case. No other book on this crime can compare to the depth and analysis that these two authors bring out together. They dig deeply to sift out those nuggets that when it comes to understanding this case, are worth more than gold. UNDER SUSPICION, along with their other two books, DECEIT, and DARK MATTER are must reads for anyone interested in knowing the truth about the murder of Meredith Kercher.
Find out why, eight years later, Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito are still UNDER SUSPICION.
True Crimes Podcast 
Thanks for your detailed review L.
LikeLiked by 1 person