Bethany Bee's Reviews > Unmask Alice: LSD, Satanic Panic, and the Imposter Behind the World's Most Notorious Diaries

Well, this sure did...get written.

As far as topics go, this book is fascinating, and on a prose level it's quite readable and often even good. But...it's probably the most unprofessional book I've ever read. From assuming the thoughts of the people he's writing about (some of whom have died, and therefore could not have given something for Emerson to expand on), to not citing his research (because, according to the epilogue, everything he states can be verified with a Google search or a phone call), to attributing particular venom to Beatrice Sparks, it's just a MESS.

He claims Erik Larson as an inspiration, and then (I'm paraphrasing) tells on himself by saying Larson's research skills put his to shame.

(Jake Peralta voice: ooh! Self-burn! Those are rare.)

Don't get me wrong, Beatrice Sparks seems to have been an awful person, manipulative, dishonest, and a terrible writer, but why not back up the facts? Why not...write a book that can be taken seriously?

One positive aspect is Emerson's compassion for Sparks's victims, those unfortunate people whose stories were co-opted and mangled beyond recognition, and their loved ones, but it would have been a mark of respect to those people to correctly cite and source his work.