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Piggyback  By  cover art

Piggyback

By: Jeffrey Dean Doty
Narrated by: John N Gully
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Publisher's summary

On the evening of December 3rd, 1957, seven-year-old Maria Ridulph and her eight-year-old friend, Kathy Sigman, were playing in the new fallen snow on a street corner in the sleepy town of Sycamore, Illinois. A stranger approached the girls, introduced himself as "Johnny" and offered them piggyback rides. When Kathy Sigman ran home to get her mittens, she left Maria and Johnny behind on the street corner. Little did she know that she would be the last person to see Maria Ridulph alive.

The FBI was called in and the search for Maria and her kidnapper caught the nation's attention. President Eisenhower and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover demanded daily reports from the field agents. Nearly six months later, Maria's remains were discovered in a thicket 100 miles away. The search for Maria's killer went on, but all leads were slowly exhausted and finally the case went cold.

A series of events begun by a mother's deathbed confession led to Jack D. McCullough being convicted for the murder of Maria Ridulph 55 years after the crime, making it the oldest cold case in U.S. history ever to be successfully prosecuted. Follow along with the author as he investigates this historic event to discover if justice was truly served, or was another tragedy piled on top of the first, riding piggyback?

©2014 Jeffrey Dean Doty (P)2016 Jeffrey Dean Doty

What listeners say about Piggyback

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I Love true crime

Although I love true crime, I found this book to be a little dry. I don't know if it was the author or the narrator but I could not get into it. Saying that I found the case and the overall story very interesting.
I was provided this book at no cost by the author narrator or publisher for a honest review

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piggyback

This book is absolutely great. Loved the ending. You should be a detective. loved it

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Robotic narrator

Any additional comments?

About 20 minutes in and I just can't see myself listening to this narrator for the upcoming hours. SO dry and almost inappropriately cheerful sounding - in other words utterly disconnected from the content. The writing sounds fine, like the author may have an interesting perspective on this very interesting case, but I think I'll find a YouTube documentary instead. Returning it.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Real Life Mystery, still to this day

Would you consider the audio edition of Piggyback to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the book, so can not compare.

I did go online after listening to the book for updates and pictures. What a touching and sad story for the family of Maria, but the wrong man was convicted.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Piggyback?

The whole story of how the they went after Jack years later. What? Why? There were so many obvious lies and he HAD AN ALIBI! What a misuse of justice there. I was happy to find he has since been released.

What about John N Gully’s performance did you like?

He did a great job with this story. I was interested from the start to the finish.

If you could give Piggyback a new subtitle, what would it be?

Justice gone so wrong

Any additional comments?

This audiobook was provided by the author/narrator/publisher free of charge in exchange for an unbiased review.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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The complete story of Jack Mculloughs conviction

Any additional comments?

Piggyback completed the story that the news media only began to tell about the conviction of Jack McCullough. Great investigative work by Jeff Doty.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Interesting true crime cold case....

What did you love best about Piggyback?

The narration and the story made all the elements of a true crime book

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

The nature of the case and all the facts which came together many years after the crime.

Any additional comments?

"I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom."

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An important work

Jeff Doty's Piggyback was the only publication, book or article, to get it right. Jack McCullough was convicted of a crime he did not commit. John Gully's narration is wonderful. His pleasing, easy to listen to voice gives us a very worthwhile added value to this true crime expose'.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Not much emotions but excellent research

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I would have liked more introduction into the case as it was new to me

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Emotions toward the victim plus introduction to the case

Did John N Gully do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

In my opinion, the victim was left behind in this book

Could you see Piggyback being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No

Any additional comments?

The author has done an excellent job with his research one can feel how the case has gotten under the skin of the writer I like that. But once again I would have liked more introduction to the case and some emotions toward the victim
This book was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review

All opinions are my own

You can always find my full review on my blog - link in description

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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Piggyback

What made the experience of listening to Piggyback the most enjoyable?

Doty did a good job walking us through his investigative step and how he ultimately came to his conclusions.

Would you be willing to try another book from Jeffrey Dean Doty? Why or why not?

Yes. This was my first "true crime" book, and he kept my attention until the end.

What three words best describe John N Gully’s voice?

clear, average, monotone

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

The criminal justice system has more power than I realized.

Any additional comments?

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via Audiobook Boom.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Oldest Cold Case successfully brought to trial

What did you love best about Piggyback?

This case, the murder of 7 year old Maria Ridulph, spanned over 55 years. It obviously touched many people's lives in a harsh, negative manner. Yet most persevered.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Piggyback?

When the case started to come together so many years after the crime.

Which character – as performed by John N Gully – was your favorite?

This was written as a narrative. Told in the first person, for the most part from the perspective of the author. I felt the narrator, John N Gully's narrative lent itself to the effort. It kept my interest throughout.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The long overdue trial. It's outcome is controversial. Was justice served?

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed this book very much. I enjoy true crime stories, but wasn't familiar with this one. Other than the historic significance of the oldest cold case ... this isnt a front page story like Bundy, Dahlmer, etc. But I empathized with the victim, families and community.

Thank you for making it available!

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBoom dot com.

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