Alice & Gerald

A Homicidal Love Story

By: Ron Franscell

Narrated by: Chris Lutkin

Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

True-crime master Ron Franscell tells the grisly story of Alice and Gerald Uden, a loving couple who murdered at least four people and lived happily ever after - while cops tried for decades to piece together a petrifying tale of murder and secrets.

In 1974, Alice, a desperate young mother in a gritty Wyoming boomtown, kills her husband and dumps his body where it will never be found, then slips away and starts a new life. But when her new man's ex-wife and two kids start demanding more of him, Alice delivers an ultimatum: fix the problem or lose her forever. With Alice's help, Gerald fixes the problem in an extraordinarily ghastly way...and they live happily ever after...that is, until 2013, almost 40 years later, when somebody finds a dead man's skeleton in a place where Alice thought he'd never be found.

This pause-resister by best-selling true-crime author Ron Franscell revisits a shocking cold case that was finally solved just when the murderers thought they'd never be caught.

©2019 Dreamscape Media, LLC (P)2019 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Deep Dark Putrid Hole

2.8 STARS As far as the story goes, it's a crazy story, it just wasn't presented and told well here, imo. The hole in this story is deep and dark and disgusting. Be mindful of the dark hole. In it lies death and decay and rot. It's a hot mess (well, not so hot as it is cold, very cold). Another true crime book that is worth checking out. I am a picky reviewer and don't give out 4 and 5 stars lightly. You gotta WOW me...sorry. It's enough to satisfy the need for a little true crime in your life.

A scorpion, a clumsy oaf & a parade of detectives

A genuinely engrossing listen. Rather than mastermind criminals and doggedly motivated investigators, it's a story more of the mundane stupidity of criminals and law enforcement alike, Which is not to say that there aren't a numerous well-intentioned detectives presented, all in some way deterred from the case, either by lack of resources or institutional inertia. That's one part of the book of which I may take slight issue. I found increasingly unlikely the presentation of a string of investigators with hearts of gold, promising resolution, only to fail. It became more of a trope, to rationalize the long delayed justice of the crimes of a couple of not-too-brilliant killers. Nevertheless, I enjoyed it immensely, virtually a non-stop listen for a long plane flight.

Suspense, fine writing, intriguing characters!

In this gem you get not only suspense, fine writing and intriguing characters but a solid, nuanced performance. Narrator is spot on time after time, his accent perfect for the material. Of my many dozens of Audible true crime listens, this is among the very top.

Too wordy

I struggled with the writer's need to repeat over and over useless information that added little value other than to add to the length of book.

HORRIBLE narration!

This novel is well-researched and well-written. I will give the author credit for taking time to dig into emotions, dialogues, and context, which a lot of true crime authors do not do. Many true crime books are simply a long and boring account of the trial and interrogation, because these are elements which are already written up. Franscell doesn't rely on this, and I commend him for not doing so.

If you're listening in the Audible app, however, save yourself the torture. The narrator is atrocious. He has no concept of sentence or paragraph pauses, or even basic words in some places. In some places of the book, it's maddeningly sped up, in others, excruciatingly slow and monotone. I listen to a lot of audiobooks and this was truly one of the worst narrators I've encountered. Please don't listen to this book. A shame that a great story had to be read by someone with the oration skills of a middle schooler.

A pretty good listen

The narration isn't "horrible", it's a little clipped, but it's not awful. The only thing I didn't like about the book was all the detail he goes into about one specific investigator, I thought that whole backstory was kind of irrelevant, especially since (like so many others) he ended up retiring and passing it on to someone else. The most interesting thing about this story, as it is written, is how a few inept police departments who don't ask enough questions, and two people who know a few really good hiding places, can result in neglected victims, and injustice for the victim's families.

Good story, abysmal narration

This is the worst narrator I've ever heard. He doesn't understand sentence structure or how to match pacing and intonation to it. it's a shame that it ruined an interesting story. Buy the actual book, not the audio version.

great listen

loved it, kept my attention, easy to follow. interesting story and writing well. well narrative

Deep research into an absorbing true story

More terrifying than a horror movie are the nice unassuming neighbor couple who have four murders in their past - two of them children. And who may target any spouse or ex-spouse who becomes too much of an emotional and financial burden.

This true story will stick with me for a long time. Why did they (Alice, really) choose to simply kill the people who they saw as the biggest problem in their life? And it makes me wonder how many other seemingly ordinary people are capable of the same thing?

The narrator Chris Lufkin superbly handles author Ron Franscell's descriptive prose. Lufkin's clear midwestern accent is just right for the setting of these events.

(No spoilers here, the author assumes the reader has advance knowledge, and is up front about where the story is going as he patiently puts together the pieces of the journey.)

This is also the account of years of struggle by dedicated law enforcement investigators who are severely hampered by a bumbling administrative infrastructure that goes all the way up from the local to the state level. The answers are learned and some justice achieved only with a new generation at the highest state level of law enforcement, along with better technology and science.

The author masterfully weaves in the bleak Wyoming landscape as a virtual accomplice to hiding the bodies of the victims for decades. Rather than tracking down what must have happened to the victims by bits and pieces, law enforcement knew the story very early on, from the revelations and careless lies that Alice and Gerald themselves shared with their grown children and LE officers themselves.

Instead, having the actual victims' bodies as the basis for a prosecution was a contest of wills between Alice and Gerald, law enforcement investigators, and the stubborn wilderness of abandoned mining shafts that kept this most important element of the crime out of the reach of justice. The author dives deep into memories, searches, autopsies, and myriad other sources to find the real thread of the story and an unconventional investigation.

The question that is only partially answered, with much left up to the reader, is the deepest mystery of all: the warped psychology that brings two apparently ordinary people, with ordinary jobs and an ordinary lifestyle, to the depths of evil that will end someone else's life for no better reason than to somewhat improve their own. Although it is apparent that the jealousy and rage of Alice are very likely the true motivating factors that drove Gerald to an unspeakable crime, in an attempt to keep her love.

Alice and Gerald won the contest of wills and lived out their lives on their own terms, until old age left them financially and physically unable to support themselves much longer. Only then did they elect to deliver themselves to justice.

Good Read

Sad story of depravity. a little laborious in certain sections but overall a good read.