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A Lovely Girl: The Tragedy of Olga Duncan and the Trial of One of California's Most Notorious Killers
The incredible story of a 1958 murder that ended with the last woman to ever be executed in California—a murder so twisted it seems ripped from a Greek tragedy.
Deborah Larkin was only ten years old when the quiet calm of her California suburb was shattered. Thirty miles north, on a quiet November night in Santa Barbara, a pregnant nurse named Olga Duncan disappeared from her apartment. The mystery deepens when it is discovered that Olga’s mother in-law—a deeply manipulative and deceptive woman—had been doing everything in her power to separate Olga and her son, Frank, prior to Olga’s disappearance.
From a forged annulment to multiple attempts to hire people to “get rid” of Olga, to a faked extortion case, Elizabeth seemed psychopathically attached to her son. Yet she denied having anything to do with Olga’s disappearance with a smile.
But when Olga’s brutally beaten body is found in a shallow grave, apparently buried alive, a young DA makes it his mission to see that Elizabeth Duncan is brought to justice. Adding a wrinkle to his efforts is the fact that Frank—himself a defense attorney—maintained his mother’s innocence to the end.
How does a young girl process such a crime along with the fear and disbelief that rocked an entire community? Decades later, Larkin is determined to revisit the case and bring the story of Olga herself to light. Long overshadowed by the sensationalism and scandal of Elizabeth and Frank, A Lovely Girl seeks to reveal Olga as a woman in full. Someone who was more than the twisted family that would ultimately ensnare her.
As we follow the heart-pounding drama of the story through Larkin's young eyes—her father was a newspaper reporter who covered the case—A Lovely Girl is by turns page-turning yet poignant, and makes the reader reexamine how we handle fear, how we regard mental illness, and how we understand family as we carve our own path in a dangerous world.
Deborah Larkin was only ten years old when the quiet calm of her California suburb was shattered. Thirty miles north, on a quiet November night in Santa Barbara, a pregnant nurse named Olga Duncan disappeared from her apartment. The mystery deepens when it is discovered that Olga’s mother in-law—a deeply manipulative and deceptive woman—had been doing everything in her power to separate Olga and her son, Frank, prior to Olga’s disappearance.
From a forged annulment to multiple attempts to hire people to “get rid” of Olga, to a faked extortion case, Elizabeth seemed psychopathically attached to her son. Yet she denied having anything to do with Olga’s disappearance with a smile.
But when Olga’s brutally beaten body is found in a shallow grave, apparently buried alive, a young DA makes it his mission to see that Elizabeth Duncan is brought to justice. Adding a wrinkle to his efforts is the fact that Frank—himself a defense attorney—maintained his mother’s innocence to the end.
How does a young girl process such a crime along with the fear and disbelief that rocked an entire community? Decades later, Larkin is determined to revisit the case and bring the story of Olga herself to light. Long overshadowed by the sensationalism and scandal of Elizabeth and Frank, A Lovely Girl seeks to reveal Olga as a woman in full. Someone who was more than the twisted family that would ultimately ensnare her.
As we follow the heart-pounding drama of the story through Larkin's young eyes—her father was a newspaper reporter who covered the case—A Lovely Girl is by turns page-turning yet poignant, and makes the reader reexamine how we handle fear, how we regard mental illness, and how we understand family as we carve our own path in a dangerous world.
528 pages, Hardcover
First published October 4, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 87 reviews
December 9, 2022
Case and photos are 4 stars. The telling and POV of narration is barely 2 stars. Excess everything. Switching, minutia of endless unrelated criteria and overblown length.
October 6, 2022
This had way too many mundane details and not enough about the crime or the players in the crime. I understand the author’s father was a reporter and wrote about this crime in real time. But, it has a lot about the author and I would have much more liked it about the crime.
October 15, 2022
If you're a lover of true crime and magnificent writing, then A LOVELY GIRL by Deborah Holt Larkin is a must-read. Even if true crime is not your thing, this extraordinary book remains a must-read that you will find unforgettable. The story unfolds in the unique time of 1958 when American cars were huge, and gas was cheap. The bazaar, stranger-than-fiction murder of Olga Duncan, newly married and pregnant, seized the everyday life of the small town of Ventura, California, in a way never before seen and impossible to ever happen again. Around the corner, the 1960's waited with the Vietnam War, Bob Dylan, and Charles Manson, which would forever change the American landscape.
Told through the author's 10-year-old eyes. A LOVELY GIRL chronicles the Baby Boomer's early life before they took center stage and ended the post-WWII era of security and innocence. Larkin's poignant, often funny and ironic family life unfolds with vivid iconic details of a girl attempting to make sense of the gruesome Duncan murder. Her father, a locally renowned reporter covered the circus-like murder trial for Venture County Star Free Press. Her experiences intertwine with the courtroom and her father's reporting in a time when flash blubs popped in defendants' faces, and reporters had nearly unlimited access to everyone involved with the historic trial that resulted in the last woman to be executed in California's gas chamber.
October 12, 2022
Intriguing story circa 1950's Southern California murder. The author was ten when this occurred and she gives many details of current music, fads and tv shows of the era. Between chapters of the grisly and very graphic murder, she puts in humorous accounts of her growing up with a younger sister. Although the juxtaposition could be a bit jarring at times, her very engaging and interesting writing style more than compensated. I highly recommend this book. An added bonus was the many pictures she included at the end.
April 28, 2023
Very excellent book! How does it end? Well you’ll just have to read it to find out.
December 24, 2022
I'm a fan of true life crime books so was eagerly looking forward to this new one. When it first started out I became skeptical very quickly at the author's ability to remember conversations that happened over half a century ago. But she did talk about that in the preface. So I nearly stopped reading but am glad I kept going.
The author alternated chapters - one would be about the murder case and the next about her family. Well, the stories she told about her family were often laugh-out-loud funny. The stories about her father reminded me of the father in my favorite Christmas movie, A Christmas Story. He was funny, hardworking but not exactly a handyman about the house. There were even little asides in the chapters about the murder that were written in such a humorous way that I laughed out loud. The author is a really good writer - this was not your normal cut and dried, just the facts, ma'am (dum de dum dum! and that's a reference) kind of true crime book.
Highly recommend this book and hope to see more from Ms Holt Larkin.
The author alternated chapters - one would be about the murder case and the next about her family. Well, the stories she told about her family were often laugh-out-loud funny. The stories about her father reminded me of the father in my favorite Christmas movie, A Christmas Story. He was funny, hardworking but not exactly a handyman about the house. There were even little asides in the chapters about the murder that were written in such a humorous way that I laughed out loud. The author is a really good writer - this was not your normal cut and dried, just the facts, ma'am (dum de dum dum! and that's a reference) kind of true crime book.
Highly recommend this book and hope to see more from Ms Holt Larkin.
January 12, 2023
Loved this book. Growing up in Ventura, I had always heard about Ma Duncan and, quite frankly, had nightmares often about this case. So fun to read after hearing the stories all my life. Also loved all the little Ventura details!
November 12, 2022
A lovely girl was a good book. The book examines the murder of Olga Duncan and the process of trying to find out who killed her and why.
November 2, 2022
I would have given this book a 4.5!
Fascinating story from a young girls perspective written 60+ years after a senseless crime.
Fascinating story from a young girls perspective written 60+ years after a senseless crime.
March 21, 2023
I found this book on the library shelf and, as a fan of true crime, I thought this sounded interesting. Murder, a possibly psychotic mother-in-law, and a potential conspiracy. There was a lot going for this. (Although, calling this a book about "one of California's most notorious killers" feels like a bit of a stretch, given how many prolific and notorious killers California has had.)
But the story is incredibly well written and interesting from start to finish. The story bounces back and forth between Debby, the author of this book, as a 10 year old child hearing about Olga's disappearance/murder as it unfolds and the people closely linked to the crime. So it feels actually mostly like literary nonfiction rather than a more factual retelling. It reads really well and does make you feel like you're right there, learning the facts of the case along with everyone else. Obviously, some liberties have been taken for the conversations that Debby was not actually present for or that are based on testimony in court.
Honestly, though, I thought the case was really interesting and I'm surprised that, given all the twists and turns in it, no one else has picked up on this case sooner to devote an entire podcast to or anything. Elizabeth Duncan is definitely a piece of work and I could see a good podcast really diving into her psychology. The people feel all fleshed out and seem to be real and interesting. Elizabeth Duncan is the most obvious one from the crime, but Debby's father, Bob Holt, is perhaps one of the most interesting. A local reporter, Bob makes it a point to be at every day of the trial, every hearing, and every sentencing. We see him as a confident, qualified writer as well as a less-than-handy father who knows next to nothing about fixing electronics and can be short tempered but well-meaning to his girls. Larkin wrote in the acknowledgements that this was a farewell to her father and I think that was beautifully portrayed. Of all the people in the story, he truly does feel like the main character, as he is the connecting link between Debby's perspective and the unfolding of Olga's murder.
This was really entertaining, engaging, and enjoyable. Definitely a surprise.
But the story is incredibly well written and interesting from start to finish. The story bounces back and forth between Debby, the author of this book, as a 10 year old child hearing about Olga's disappearance/murder as it unfolds and the people closely linked to the crime. So it feels actually mostly like literary nonfiction rather than a more factual retelling. It reads really well and does make you feel like you're right there, learning the facts of the case along with everyone else. Obviously, some liberties have been taken for the conversations that Debby was not actually present for or that are based on testimony in court.
Honestly, though, I thought the case was really interesting and I'm surprised that, given all the twists and turns in it, no one else has picked up on this case sooner to devote an entire podcast to or anything. Elizabeth Duncan is definitely a piece of work and I could see a good podcast really diving into her psychology. The people feel all fleshed out and seem to be real and interesting. Elizabeth Duncan is the most obvious one from the crime, but Debby's father, Bob Holt, is perhaps one of the most interesting. A local reporter, Bob makes it a point to be at every day of the trial, every hearing, and every sentencing. We see him as a confident, qualified writer as well as a less-than-handy father who knows next to nothing about fixing electronics and can be short tempered but well-meaning to his girls. Larkin wrote in the acknowledgements that this was a farewell to her father and I think that was beautifully portrayed. Of all the people in the story, he truly does feel like the main character, as he is the connecting link between Debby's perspective and the unfolding of Olga's murder.
This was really entertaining, engaging, and enjoyable. Definitely a surprise.
April 10, 2023
I just finished this book and it was a great read. First, the care and attention to the victim, Olga Duncan, was heartfelt. Maybe when we hear about crime or a murder, the victim can be forgotten, but not in this book. The story is told from the perspective of a daughter of a newspaper reporter covering investigation and subsequent murder trial of Elizabeth Duncan, the mother in law of Olga. I loved the way the dual story lines connected. This book is part true crime and a glimpse of Southern California in late 50’s. We also get to find out what happened to all the key players in the investigation and trial. I highly recommend!
October 11, 2022
I had never heard of this case and I’m so glad I read this because it definitely was a wild one! We follow the case, but we also follow along the authors POV as a child at the time, her father was a reporter on the case, which was interesting! I appreciate the different take on a traditional true crime novel, but I did find myself preferring the chapters that were following the details of the investigation. But if you are a true crime fan, I would still definitely recommend!
July 23, 2023
Somewhere in this book is a charming memoir of a harried newspaperman and his exploits with his unorthodox family. What this is not is a true crime book about a horrific murder for hire and the last woman executed in the state of California.
Definitely not for me, although the photos and family stories I found to be worth a look.
Definitely not for me, although the photos and family stories I found to be worth a look.
Shelved as 'dnf'
April 4, 2023DNF. I’m both tired of these memoirs in disguise being marketed as true crime, and I don’t care about this author’s childhood in the least. Regardless of whatever happened to Olga Duncan, she definitely deserved to have her story told by anything better than this book.
April 21, 2023
i feel like this book was so boring for no reason. it's an interesting case and an interesting connection to it, but there are just sooo many details and small scenes that just felt unnecessary. i normally gobble up true crime/mystery things, but this was such a slog
January 12, 2024
What an insane story of unreal horror; mommy issues carried to the extreme. The book is a combination of a memoir and tale of murder. Really well researched, well told and (since I listened to it) well narrated. Recommend.
October 4, 2022
🚨 Attention true crime fans 🚨
This book stands out in a saturated genre because it’s part memoir, part true crime AND it’s set in the 1950s. Larkin takes a look back at the American judicial system and the political landscape around the death penalty in the 50s .
Here’s the gist of the case:
🤰Pregnant nurse, Olga Duncan, goes missing in November 1958 near Santa Barbara, California.
🙋🏻♂️ Her defense attorney husband, Frank, recently moved out of their apartment and moved back in with his mother. The last time he saw/spoke with Olga was 10 days before her disappearance.
👵🏻 Betty Duncan told her friend and Olga’s landlord that she hates Olga and doesn’t want her near her son Frank.
👨🏽🤝👨🏾 Betty claims that two Mexican men are blackmailing her because they are unhappy with her son’s defense of their relative. They claim that she hired them to kill Olga.
When the police find Olga’s body the truth comes out and let’s say things don’t end well for everyone involved.
In between the investigation and trial chapters, we get Larkin’s childhood POV of the case. Her father was the lead reporter on it for the Santa Barbara newspaper so the case was top of mind in their household, which shaped Larkin’s formative years.
My only gripe is I wanted MORE intel on Betty. What comes out about her in the trial is unbelievable. This woman, especially in the 50s, was like none other I’ve ever read. Larkin focuses on just the facts of the case, but I was dying to learn more about her.
I would love to read a follow up book that predates this murder on Betty’s life, children and MANY “loves.”
This book stands out in a saturated genre because it’s part memoir, part true crime AND it’s set in the 1950s. Larkin takes a look back at the American judicial system and the political landscape around the death penalty in the 50s .
Here’s the gist of the case:
🤰Pregnant nurse, Olga Duncan, goes missing in November 1958 near Santa Barbara, California.
🙋🏻♂️ Her defense attorney husband, Frank, recently moved out of their apartment and moved back in with his mother. The last time he saw/spoke with Olga was 10 days before her disappearance.
👵🏻 Betty Duncan told her friend and Olga’s landlord that she hates Olga and doesn’t want her near her son Frank.
👨🏽🤝👨🏾 Betty claims that two Mexican men are blackmailing her because they are unhappy with her son’s defense of their relative. They claim that she hired them to kill Olga.
When the police find Olga’s body the truth comes out and let’s say things don’t end well for everyone involved.
In between the investigation and trial chapters, we get Larkin’s childhood POV of the case. Her father was the lead reporter on it for the Santa Barbara newspaper so the case was top of mind in their household, which shaped Larkin’s formative years.
My only gripe is I wanted MORE intel on Betty. What comes out about her in the trial is unbelievable. This woman, especially in the 50s, was like none other I’ve ever read. Larkin focuses on just the facts of the case, but I was dying to learn more about her.
I would love to read a follow up book that predates this murder on Betty’s life, children and MANY “loves.”
June 7, 2023
I ended up DNFing this after reading a little more than 50%. It’s not a badly written book, but there are two completely different stories being told and it just didn’t work for me. This is written partly about the the case, how it was solved, prosecuted, and written about in the news, and then partly about the author’s childhood living in the area at the time with her family while her father reported on this. To be quite honest, this felt like more of an ode to the author’s family than it did a true crime book. There are so many memories she discusses that have nothing to do with the case at all, a lot of them center around her family’s lack of religion and growing up in a community that was judgmental of that, which are fine as their own separate story, but don’t fit into the true crime story as a whole. Those chapters seem to far outweigh the chapters about the actual case so it feels disjointed. I went in expecting to learn about the case, but more than 50% through I didn’t come away with any more information than I could get from a Google search. It just didn’t work for me at all as a story and every time I picked it up, I got frustrated that it wasn’t just cutting to the chase and sticking with just the facts of the case. The writing style also felt more like a fictional story-telling than a retelling of the facts, so that also just felt weird for what’s marketed as a non-fiction true crime book. This just wasn’t for me at all.
October 14, 2023
When a young, pregnant nurse doesn’t show up for her shift at the hospital, her friends immediately alert the police. What unravels is a story fit for the silver screen but is a true and heartbreaking tale of jealousy and deceit.
A Lovely Girl by Deborah Holt Larkin tells the true story of Olga Duncan and those that bring her killers to justice.
Olga was a nurse in California in the 1950s. Married and expecting her first child, her whole life is ahead of her. But that is taken away in a moment. Suspicion is immediate after she goes missing, and no friends or family know where she has gone.
Her husband, Frank, seems less concerned. He reveals he only spends a small fraction of his time with Olga; the rest is spent staying with his mother, an overbearing and emotional woman.
Detectives Thompson and Hansen dig deeper into Olga’s life and relationship with her new mother-in-law, and just when all seems lost, human error and greed crack their case wide open.
Throughout this compelling story, we also get glimpses into Larkin’s own life at the time and how this case influenced her in ways she never imagined.
I am a huge fan of true crime, especially those who can bring the victim to light and humanize them. This book was great for that. It didn’t just humanize Olga but all those involved. As the story unfolded, you felt like you were in the room with everyone. Even as a true crime junkie, I was unfamiliar with this story and couldn’t put this book down. The writing was done so well, reading almost like fiction to bring a new depth to the narrative.
I wish the photos, which were an amazing addition to see the faces of all those involved, had been moved from the beginning of the story to near the end so that the reader wasn’t spoiling themselves on how the story would unfold.
My biggest hurdle with this book was the personal stories of the author. I believe this would have been compelling and interesting if this had been a memoir. In fact, reading the epilogue and learning more about the author’s later life, I would be very interested in her story. However, being intertwined with this tale took away from Olga’s story and lessened the impact of what Olga went through. I wanted to continue to learn more about how the police would uncover the truth, but having that interrupted with stories of an eleventh birthday party did become difficult. It may have worked better had the author relayed this from her father’s perspective and how that impacted his coverage as a journalist on the case. This way, she could honor her father’s memory while not taking away from the heavier story.
A Lovely Girl is a true crime story seemingly lost to time. With twists and turns and incredible storytelling, this is a book you will pick up and not set down.
Reviewed for Novelsalive.com
A Lovely Girl by Deborah Holt Larkin tells the true story of Olga Duncan and those that bring her killers to justice.
Olga was a nurse in California in the 1950s. Married and expecting her first child, her whole life is ahead of her. But that is taken away in a moment. Suspicion is immediate after she goes missing, and no friends or family know where she has gone.
Her husband, Frank, seems less concerned. He reveals he only spends a small fraction of his time with Olga; the rest is spent staying with his mother, an overbearing and emotional woman.
Detectives Thompson and Hansen dig deeper into Olga’s life and relationship with her new mother-in-law, and just when all seems lost, human error and greed crack their case wide open.
Throughout this compelling story, we also get glimpses into Larkin’s own life at the time and how this case influenced her in ways she never imagined.
I am a huge fan of true crime, especially those who can bring the victim to light and humanize them. This book was great for that. It didn’t just humanize Olga but all those involved. As the story unfolded, you felt like you were in the room with everyone. Even as a true crime junkie, I was unfamiliar with this story and couldn’t put this book down. The writing was done so well, reading almost like fiction to bring a new depth to the narrative.
I wish the photos, which were an amazing addition to see the faces of all those involved, had been moved from the beginning of the story to near the end so that the reader wasn’t spoiling themselves on how the story would unfold.
My biggest hurdle with this book was the personal stories of the author. I believe this would have been compelling and interesting if this had been a memoir. In fact, reading the epilogue and learning more about the author’s later life, I would be very interested in her story. However, being intertwined with this tale took away from Olga’s story and lessened the impact of what Olga went through. I wanted to continue to learn more about how the police would uncover the truth, but having that interrupted with stories of an eleventh birthday party did become difficult. It may have worked better had the author relayed this from her father’s perspective and how that impacted his coverage as a journalist on the case. This way, she could honor her father’s memory while not taking away from the heavier story.
A Lovely Girl is a true crime story seemingly lost to time. With twists and turns and incredible storytelling, this is a book you will pick up and not set down.
Reviewed for Novelsalive.com
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April 5, 2023I was more interested in the criminal case than the author's side of the story and at the very end I started skipping her portions. The author also combined individuals for ease of writing, which gave me the feeling I was reading a fictionalized account instead of true crime. Overall, though, a decent read. I had not heard of this crime before.
Book Description:
Deborah Larkin was only ten years old when the quiet calm of her California suburb was shattered. Thirty miles north, on a quiet November night in Santa Barbara, a pregnant nurse named Olga Duncan disappeared from her apartment. The mystery deepens when it is discovered that Olga’s mother in-law—a deeply manipulative and deceptive woman—had been doing everything in her power to separate Olga and her son, Frank, prior to Olga’s disappearance.
From a forged annulment to multiple attempts to hire people to “get rid” of Olga, to a faked excoriation case, Elizabeth seemed psychopathically attached to her son. Yet she denied having anything to do with Olga’s disappearance with a smile.
But when Olga’s brutally beaten body is found in a shallow grave, apparently buried alive, a young DA makes it his mission to see that Elizabeth Duncan is brought to justice. Adding a wrinkle to his efforts is the fact that Frank—himself a defense attorney—maintained his mother’s innocent to the end.
How does a young girl process such a crime along with the fear and disbelieve that rocked an entire community? Decades later, Larkin is determined to revisit the case and bring the story of Olga herself to light. Long overshadowed by the sensationalism and scandal of Elizabeth and Frank, A Lovely Girl seeks to reveal Olga as a woman in full. Someone who was more than the twisted family that would ultimately ensnare her.
As we follow the heart-pounding drama of the case through Larkin's young eyes—her father was the court reporter—A Lovely Girl is by turns page-turning yet poignant, and makes the reader reexamine how we handle fear, how we regard mental illness, and how we understand family as we carve our own path in a dangerous world.
Book Description:
Deborah Larkin was only ten years old when the quiet calm of her California suburb was shattered. Thirty miles north, on a quiet November night in Santa Barbara, a pregnant nurse named Olga Duncan disappeared from her apartment. The mystery deepens when it is discovered that Olga’s mother in-law—a deeply manipulative and deceptive woman—had been doing everything in her power to separate Olga and her son, Frank, prior to Olga’s disappearance.
From a forged annulment to multiple attempts to hire people to “get rid” of Olga, to a faked excoriation case, Elizabeth seemed psychopathically attached to her son. Yet she denied having anything to do with Olga’s disappearance with a smile.
But when Olga’s brutally beaten body is found in a shallow grave, apparently buried alive, a young DA makes it his mission to see that Elizabeth Duncan is brought to justice. Adding a wrinkle to his efforts is the fact that Frank—himself a defense attorney—maintained his mother’s innocent to the end.
How does a young girl process such a crime along with the fear and disbelieve that rocked an entire community? Decades later, Larkin is determined to revisit the case and bring the story of Olga herself to light. Long overshadowed by the sensationalism and scandal of Elizabeth and Frank, A Lovely Girl seeks to reveal Olga as a woman in full. Someone who was more than the twisted family that would ultimately ensnare her.
As we follow the heart-pounding drama of the case through Larkin's young eyes—her father was the court reporter—A Lovely Girl is by turns page-turning yet poignant, and makes the reader reexamine how we handle fear, how we regard mental illness, and how we understand family as we carve our own path in a dangerous world.
August 21, 2023
I finished this book feeling... confused.
The case itself is extremely shocking and interesting and Deborah Holt Larkin's writing style is engaging and easy to read. Which is why I don't understand why she tainted it with unnecessary insertions of her own life. A good rule of thumb to live by: if I can skip a chapter and be able to read the rest of the book without ever referencing it, then the chapter was probably not necessary.
In fact, I did end up doing this towards the end of the book. The chapters about her and her family were not only unnecessary, they were distracting. I understand that her father was the main reporter on this case, but it didn't even really focus on him. It focused entirely on Deborah's recollection of the events - which are unreliable considering her age. Also, I don't particularly want to hear about a gruesome murder from the viewpoint of a child.
Additionally, it's really hard to tell whether this is an accurate representation of the case. There were many flourishes added to create a cohesive, engaging storyline. But this is still a true crime novel. I could tell that much of the story was embellished and Deborah was adding emotional inserts to keep the audience more engaged.
Overall, the book was well written but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
The case itself is extremely shocking and interesting and Deborah Holt Larkin's writing style is engaging and easy to read. Which is why I don't understand why she tainted it with unnecessary insertions of her own life. A good rule of thumb to live by: if I can skip a chapter and be able to read the rest of the book without ever referencing it, then the chapter was probably not necessary.
In fact, I did end up doing this towards the end of the book. The chapters about her and her family were not only unnecessary, they were distracting. I understand that her father was the main reporter on this case, but it didn't even really focus on him. It focused entirely on Deborah's recollection of the events - which are unreliable considering her age. Also, I don't particularly want to hear about a gruesome murder from the viewpoint of a child.
Additionally, it's really hard to tell whether this is an accurate representation of the case. There were many flourishes added to create a cohesive, engaging storyline. But this is still a true crime novel. I could tell that much of the story was embellished and Deborah was adding emotional inserts to keep the audience more engaged.
Overall, the book was well written but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
October 19, 2022
Many Goodreaders enjoyed the memoir of her pre-teen years which Debra Holt Larkin interleaved with her true-crime account, A Lovely Girl. I did not, and in fact was put off by the cheerful description of her father’s sometimes reckless and invariably obscene parenting - somehow incongruous in a book about a mother’s reckless and horribly self-centered parenting. That said, I thought Larkin did a good job of presenting the facts and allowing the reader to draw his own conclusion. Elizabeth Duncan’s psychopathy becomes increasingly obvious with her every interaction with others. Although given more attention than is common in books about murder-for-hire, the two actual killers remain so opaque that even at the end of their lives, neither can explain his own motivation for committing so awful an act for so small a reward. And the most incomprehensible person in the whole wretched affair is of course its lynchpin, Frank Duncan. If a fictional character were to behave as he did in real life the writing would be rejected as simply not believable.
A Lovely Girl would probably evoke memories in anybody who lived in the Santa Barbara area during that period (late 50s, early 60s) and doubtless will appeal to true crime fans regardless of where they live.
A Lovely Girl would probably evoke memories in anybody who lived in the Santa Barbara area during that period (late 50s, early 60s) and doubtless will appeal to true crime fans regardless of where they live.
November 4, 2022
This book is shelved as True Crime, but it's far more a memoir with a bit of true crime thrown in.
Olga Duncan was a pregnant, married nurse who disappeared from her apartment. Her husband was, at the time, living with his mother.
And that would normally be that. A woman disappears. Plenty of women disappear. Olga was from Canada and living in Santa Barbara. Plenty of reason to be gone.
And that's what the police investigated, a missing person, reported by her friends. And then Olga's mother-in-law was dragged into the police station by her son to report she was being blackmailed. The mother is very hesitant to report the blackmail.
[Spoilers] It turns out the elder Ms. Duncan was hesitant because she had her daughter in law murdered. Yeah. And that's not the wildest part of the whole story.
[/end Spoilers]
The author's father was a reporter who is the only reporter to have covered the entire trial of Ms. Duncan's killers from the initial hearing through the appeals. He was present at the executions of the killers.
In an emotional epilogue the author updates everyone who was party to the trial's situation now. Many have passed, including the author's father. The "expert" on the trial.
Olga Duncan was a pregnant, married nurse who disappeared from her apartment. Her husband was, at the time, living with his mother.
And that would normally be that. A woman disappears. Plenty of women disappear. Olga was from Canada and living in Santa Barbara. Plenty of reason to be gone.
And that's what the police investigated, a missing person, reported by her friends. And then Olga's mother-in-law was dragged into the police station by her son to report she was being blackmailed. The mother is very hesitant to report the blackmail.
[Spoilers] It turns out the elder Ms. Duncan was hesitant because she had her daughter in law murdered. Yeah. And that's not the wildest part of the whole story.
[/end Spoilers]
The author's father was a reporter who is the only reporter to have covered the entire trial of Ms. Duncan's killers from the initial hearing through the appeals. He was present at the executions of the killers.
In an emotional epilogue the author updates everyone who was party to the trial's situation now. Many have passed, including the author's father. The "expert" on the trial.
March 31, 2023
I am a true crime fanatic and had heard of this case, which for some reason is rather obscure, which is odd, because it is truly a fascinating case and really fits into the zeitgeist of the '50s-overpossessive mother with a tawdry past, a mama's boy and caught in the middle, an innocent nurse and her unborn child who are killed by said mother.
Ms. Larkin's telling of the case is rather unusual-instead of a straightforward retelling of the case, we see the murder and assorted miscreants through the eyes of a young child who is navigating the post WWII world, which is a tad topsy-turvy due to her love of murder, her uneasiness with the mental patients her mom works with and her idolization of her father, who covers the murder case the book centers of.
The book's chapters alternate between the murder case and Ms. Larkins, hilarious, chaotic homelife. In addition, a bonus is that we get a look at a California and America that in many ways, no longer exists.
The last part of the book detail whatever became of the central figures in the case as well as Ms. Holt's family. The chapters that detail the aftermath of the trial are devastating.
What a great read!
Also, Frank Duncan, the son who his mother murdered for is still alive and is 94!
Ms. Larkin's telling of the case is rather unusual-instead of a straightforward retelling of the case, we see the murder and assorted miscreants through the eyes of a young child who is navigating the post WWII world, which is a tad topsy-turvy due to her love of murder, her uneasiness with the mental patients her mom works with and her idolization of her father, who covers the murder case the book centers of.
The book's chapters alternate between the murder case and Ms. Larkins, hilarious, chaotic homelife. In addition, a bonus is that we get a look at a California and America that in many ways, no longer exists.
The last part of the book detail whatever became of the central figures in the case as well as Ms. Holt's family. The chapters that detail the aftermath of the trial are devastating.
What a great read!
Also, Frank Duncan, the son who his mother murdered for is still alive and is 94!
May 24, 2024
This one gives a whole new meaning to the definition of a wicked mother-in-law. Elizabeth Duncan became incensed when her boy "Frankie" married a nurse and impregnated the young lady. Olga had moved to America from Canada and how dare the "foreigner" have the nerve to take away her son.
Bob Holt was the author's father and he wrote a weekly newspaper column. His material was of his everyday family life. Deborah Holt had a fascination for Nancy Drew mysteries and in 1958, the story of Olga's disappearance made the headlines. Holt was assigned to cover the case and, eventually, the trial and its' outcome.
The chapters alternate between Deborah's childhood and Olga's abduction and murder. Her father had a copy of Cell 2455 Death Row, written by Caryl Chessman while awaiting execution in their home state of California. He believed that the Red Light Bandit was guilty but doubts remain more than sixty years later.
The courtroom testimony is beyond strange as Ms. Duncan sparred with both the judge and prosecutor with several unintentionally funny moments. The woman had led an adventurous life, to say the least.
I will leave the conclusion for the reader to discover. A Lovely Girl was another of my one long morning reads.
Bob Holt was the author's father and he wrote a weekly newspaper column. His material was of his everyday family life. Deborah Holt had a fascination for Nancy Drew mysteries and in 1958, the story of Olga's disappearance made the headlines. Holt was assigned to cover the case and, eventually, the trial and its' outcome.
The chapters alternate between Deborah's childhood and Olga's abduction and murder. Her father had a copy of Cell 2455 Death Row, written by Caryl Chessman while awaiting execution in their home state of California. He believed that the Red Light Bandit was guilty but doubts remain more than sixty years later.
The courtroom testimony is beyond strange as Ms. Duncan sparred with both the judge and prosecutor with several unintentionally funny moments. The woman had led an adventurous life, to say the least.
I will leave the conclusion for the reader to discover. A Lovely Girl was another of my one long morning reads.
July 2, 2024
A very unusual book, as it sometimes told from the perspective of the 11 year old daughter of the main journalist who covered the trial. At first, I thought it was a very strange angle and didn't belong with a true crime story. Then Larkin continues on with her home life during the late 50's and early 60's with her foul-mouthed, smart, and funny father, caring and compassionate social worker mother, conservative grandmother, and at times annoying little sister. It was like revisiting my early childhood, with the same t.v. shows, concerns, but with a little bit of church hopping thrown in. It ended up setting the backdrop to an incredibly heinous crime all the worse, due to the innocence of the narrator.
The crime was horrible: the murder of a pregnant newlywed, as arranged by her deranged mother-in-law, under the nose of her husband. Elizabeth Duncan was surely THE mother-in-law from Hell; but there are others in the story who are also despicable.
I gave this a 5 star rating due to the uniqueness and unlikeliness of a story this gruesome being told against the background of a fondly remembered time of innocence. The polarization, just prior to the new world of the 1960's, is fascinating.
The crime was horrible: the murder of a pregnant newlywed, as arranged by her deranged mother-in-law, under the nose of her husband. Elizabeth Duncan was surely THE mother-in-law from Hell; but there are others in the story who are also despicable.
I gave this a 5 star rating due to the uniqueness and unlikeliness of a story this gruesome being told against the background of a fondly remembered time of innocence. The polarization, just prior to the new world of the 1960's, is fascinating.
November 27, 2022
3 1/2 stars. This book was interesting because I grew up in Santa Barbara - where a lot of the story took place - and I recognized many of the areas the author wrote about. Olga Duncan, a pregnant nurse, disappeared from her apartment one evening in the late 1950s. Although she was married, her husband lived with his mother in town, and he claimed to have no idea what had happened to her. It turns out his mother, Elizabeth had some sort of pathological attachment to him and had been threatening Olga for a long time. There was also a lot in her past that no one knew about. The chapters about the crime alternated with chapters from the author's point of view. Her father was the main reporter on the trial, and Deborah was fascinated by it. At first, I read every chapter, but I soon found I wasn't especially interested in what happened in Deborah's private life, so I skipped those chapters. I understand why she included those personal chapters - her life was a snapshot of a typical middle class life in the late 1950s, and her father was deeply involved in the case - but they didn't really add much to the story and could have been edited down.
January 29, 2023
In 1958 a crime was committed that led to the execution of the last woman in California history. Olga Duncan was a pregnant newlywed when she went missing from her apartment one night. The twisted circumstances of this crime are something you would expect to see in the movies not play out in real life. Author Deborah Holt Larkin's father was the top reporter on the Duncan case back in '58 which consumed ten year old Deborah's life at the time. The story splits the narrative between the Duncan case and snippets from the author's life during that time. Though I know those details felt pertinent to the author when the title is directed towards the Duncan case you expect a book strictly about the Duncan case. I think I would have rated this book higher if it had stuck to the case alone as it was researched and told very well. Also, the audiobook is narrated smoothly and makes for an interesting listen. If you are a fan of true crime, this might be an interesting add for your TBR list. I had never heard of this case before and some of the twists that unfolded were just mind-blowing. Thank you to Pegasus Books for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
March 16, 2023
I definitely judged a book by its cover this time. Knowing nothing about Olga Duncan, or this case, the title grabbed me. Sadly, I was disappointed more so in the construction of the book. Specifically, I mean the location of the photo inserts and the corresponding comments. Again knowing nothing about who Olga Duncan was, or who the "notorious killer was," I was plowing through the first 100 pages of the book totally engrossed, until I got to the photo inserts. I was disappointed that the killer, outcome of the trial, and sentencing was revealed in such detail so early on. Understandably, this is a non-fiction book, so presumably, information is widely available, however, as someone who knew nothing about this story, it was disappointing to learn everything so early on. I would have liked the pictures to have been split into two sections maybe (one with earlier pictures before the trial/after the trial) or placed later in the book, or maybe don't explain what happened in so much detail. The comments gave away so much information it was not worth carrying on, just to listen to the author's childhood.
May 15, 2023
While I found the case really interesting, I have to say that Larkin's writing style wasn't for me. I know a number of people who don't typically engage with true crime say that they found it enjoyable and more accessible. However, the reasons they seemed to enjoy the writing are the reasons that I didn't, and that is how novel-ized it felt. I prefer true crime to be presented in facts and in a third-party perspective rather than to have scenes full of dialog. Aside from the court proceedings and police interviews, I don't know how you would know what was said at a given time. It just took me out of it. Any time one of the suspects, witnesses, or detectives' thoughts were described, I couldn't help but roll my eyes and think, "You have no way of knowing this." I also didn't particularly enjoy the memoir parts of the book where the author writes about her childhood and how she viewed the case as a child. Again, other readers seemed to have really liked this aspect, but it just slowed the narrative down for me. I actually started skipping the memoir chapters towards the latter half of the book.
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