[CR Note: Caitlin Rother is the author of, among other books, POISONED LOVE. A former investigative reporter for The San Diego Union-Tribune, Rother has been published in a variety of major publications. She is a frequent guest on many television crime shows. Her new book, out this week, is called TWISTED TRIANGLE, the crazy (but factual) account of a kidnapping, attempted murder and a love triangle involving two married FBI agents, Margo and Gene Bennett, and bestselling crime novelist Patricia Cornwell. It’s also the story of Margo's struggle, survival and triumph over her husband's abuse and an inner battle over her own sexuality. Crime Rant asked Caitlin long ago to blog on the book and the media’s obsession with sensationalism.]

Guest blog by Caitlin Rother

I first learned of the Margo and Gene Bennett case in a Vanity Fair article that focused mostly on Patricia Cornwell. To be honest, I was intrigued, as I’m sure other Cornwell fans were, to learn that the famous author had been involved with Margo, the female FBI agent. Although Cornwell was in no way involved with Gene’s crimes, her celebrity and her affair with Margo were what originally made this case so high-profile. I also knew they would be key in making this book compelling for readers today.

Let’s face it. Sex and celebrity sell.

But then came the hard part. 

I am not and never have been a sensationalistic or tabloid-ish writer. After nearly 20 years of serious investigative newspaper reporting, I now try to write non-fiction books about psychologically captivating, poignant, tragic and/or exciting stories of human drama – but I don’t do it to titillate. I strive, as I always have, to shed light on as many facets of “the truth” as I can, revealing events and emotions that help all of us better understand and connect with each other.

So how did I balance all of that in this book with the financial necessity of succeeding in today’s market?

Obviously, there was quite a bit of crime and substance to this book, so I researched the hell out of it, drawing from Justice Department documents, court records, my collaborator, former FBI agent John Hess, and my own interviews with sources, including former FBI officials, prosecutors, police, and Margo’s friends and family. I tried to speak with Cornwell (and Gene Bennett, who is behind bars in Virginia,) but both declined.

I handled Margo’s friendship and affair with Cornwell as respectfully and sensitively as I could. Not wanting to embarrass either one of them by exposing graphic details, I described their interactions through Margo’s eyes, focusing on her feelings about the seduction and passion between them, and the lessons Margo learned along the way. Margo, to her credit, opened up to me more during our two years of interviews than any other subject in my career.

As expected, pre-publication buzz focused primarily on excerpts from the Cornwell chapter. But I’m hoping that people will see this affair for what it really was – a pivotal point in Margo’s life and the beginning of the end for her and Gene.  Margo asked for a divorce and a year later, he kidnapped her.  Then, after a year in prison for defrauding the FBI, he tried to kill her, contending he snapped because he didn’t want his children raised by a lesbian.

Surely, readers will find parts of the book titillating, but I’m hoping Margo’s overall story will be an inspiration to women in abusive relationships and anyone, really, who is grappling with their own sexuality.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 24th, 2008 at 2:26 pm and is filed under Guest Blog, True Crime Books. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.