WASHED IN THE BLOODby
SHELTON L. WILLIAMS
Memoir / Biography / True Crime
Newly updated!
Date of Publication: February 17, 2022
Number of Pages: 175 pages
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The true story behind the Kiss and Kill murder in Texas in 1961. Author Larry King says: Washed in the Blood is a page-turning read about the time--early 1960s--and place--Odessa, Texas--during its rowdy oil boom days when violence often rode the range. It is at once an examination of local mores and foibles, piety and hypocrisy and an inside-look at the famed 'Kiss and Kill' murder of a 17-year-old would-be actress, Betty Jean Williams, whose ghost is said to haunt the Odessa High School campus to this very day.
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Music of the Times
Number 1 song the night Betty died
Elvis Presley, "Surrender"
When we kiss my heart's on fire
Burning with a strange desire
And I know, each time I kiss you
That your heart's on fire too
So, my darling, please surrender
All your love so warm and tender
Let me hold you in my arms, dear
While the moon shines bright above
All the stars will tell the story
Of our love and all its glory
Let us take this night of magic
And make it a night of love
Won't you please surrender to me
Your lips, your arms, your heart, dear
Be mine forever
Be mine tonight
Betty's
favorite song
Gogi Grant, "The Wayward Wind"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cQUVtbztEs
Betty's
favorite Roy Orbison song, "Crying"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNdBLBleO90
Betty's favorite upbeat song song:
Thursday Harris, "Little Bitty Pretty One"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8j4mn4eF-c
Betty's wish for teen girls today
Roy Orbison,"Bridge Over Troubled Waters"
HALL WAYS MINI-REVIEW: Washed in the Blood is a very quick story, coming in at just under 200 pages, but readers will be invested -- particularly if they know West Texas. WASHED IN THE BLOOD vacillates between being a coming-of-age, 1960s memoir, glory-days-of-football story and an exploration of, social commentary about, and reflection upon the murder of the author's cousin, Betty -- with a splash of courtroom drama and eye-witness testimony thrown in for good measure.
More than anything, this book feels personal. Writing and telling Betty's story is clearly cathartic for the author, but also clear is that closure eludes him, even years after the murder. He sometimes speaks straight to Betty, and we even hear Betty speak (via her letters). Her words are painful to hear, and Williams doesn't shy away from sharing the impact of those words on him and all the questions that linger.
“No one noticed that I was a completely different person.”
More than anything, this book feels personal. Writing and telling Betty's story is clearly cathartic for the author, but also clear is that closure eludes him, even years after the murder. He sometimes speaks straight to Betty, and we even hear Betty speak (via her letters). Her words are painful to hear, and Williams doesn't shy away from sharing the impact of those words on him and all the questions that linger.
Overall, Washed in the Blood is an engaging book that covers a lot of ground and leaves the reader thinking. And I think the book would translate very well to the screen -- and maybe, just maybe that will happen.
*Be sure to get the version featured on this tour as it's newly edited and updated with extra content.*
Shelton L. Williams (Shelly) is founder and president of the Osgood Center for International Studies in Washington, DC. He holds a PhD from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and he taught for nearly 40 years at Austin College in Sherman, Texas. He has served in the US Government on 4 occasions, and he has written books and articles on nuclear proliferation. In 2004 he began a new career of writing books on crime and society. Those books are Washed in the Blood, Summer of 66, and now the three books in the Covey Jencks Mysteries series. All firmly prove that he is still a Texan at heart.
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