Bombshell: The Night Bobby Kennedy Killed Marilyn Monroe

This is a great read. The book tells you the facts. It gives you a look inside the LAPD. Also shows you the treatment of women at that point in time. Women were seen as objects. It was a big Boys Club.

While fascinating and convincing this was a difficult book to get through. There was far too much superfluous information included in the actual text that should have been footnoted, etc. This detracted from the ease and flow of his story. Rothmiller obviously researched and proved his case. He was convincing. I understand that much of the information was to provide background information to the reader but there was an overwhelming amount of information regarding the LAPD and its secret workings. After reading, I truly wonder who was running our country during those days as our leaders appeared to be indulging in sex, drugs and very little else! My eyes have been opened and I am truly saddened. I think Marilyn was taken advantage of but she was not entirely blameless in her own demise. Just a sad story all around.

I am unsure how many books have been written about the death of Marilyn Monroe. All of them have been interesting. Most have had at least a little credibility, but BOMBSHELL is the first book on Marilyn that ties everything together into a coherent and believable whole. You could not ask for an author with better credentials: Ten years as a highly respected member of the LAPD and five years with the Organized Crime Intelligence Division (OCID). Having read such a complete book that answers so many questions in this highly enigmatic case makes me wonder how anybody could write a better book than what Rothmiller and Thompson have provided here. They rely on credible sources which nobody else had access to. A real page turner! Highly recommended! There is one flaw in this book and that is the short account presented of Thelma Todd's death. Anyone interested in the death of Thelma Todd owes it to themselves to read Patrick Jennings's TESTIMONY OF A DEATH (2012) which carefully dismantles all of the myths and misconceptions about this case. It seems earlier authors took as fact what was presented in other accounts of this case instead of checking the reliability of their sources to see if they were in fact correct. Jennings points out, for instance, that not only did Lucky Luciano never meet Thelma Todd, but he never even came to California. A lot of the evidence accepted as fact is full of holes. There are 38 pages of sources here to back up his claims. Nevertheless, if you ignore the five pages on Thelma in BOMBSHELL, the rest of book has nothing I can find to argue about. Great book!

This fact-filled book is very beleivable since it was an "open" secret that Marilyn Monroe was having affairs with both president JFK and Bobby Kennedy. But she was threatening to have a press conference to divulge the affairs and many of the secrets she had learned from them. Also a witness to this was actor Peter Lawford, who was still married to the Kennedy's sister at the time. How the Los Angeles PD had covered up her murder and ruled it a suicide. So much makes sense in the wake of JFK's assissination and later on the murder of Bobby Kennedy as well. The author brings much insider information to light.

It is no secret that JFK was a sexual deviant like his father before him. There have been books about the Kennedy men and their affairs which their father encouraged. Rich, powerful, connected entitled men in a time period where women were judged by looks in Hollywood or D.C. enjoyed their ability to have and use women. Old Joe Kennedy got rich during prohibition smuggling illegal alcohol then he moved to banking and finances which led him to his own mistresses in Hollywood. Why anyone would find it impossible to believe this book is naive! Dirty cops, the mob, Sinatra, Hollywood studio couches, dirty politicians, pillow talk and sex are just a recipe for disaster. Who was going to speak up for Marilyn? No family, no real loved ones and her killers had all the power to set her up. She acted as a blonde bimbo in movies but she was a real intelligent woman who got chased and pursued by powerful and famous men who her used and that got her killed when they got scared. I don't think anyone believed she killed herself because she had too much to live for.

This book is interesting, and likely very plausible and true, I don't necessarily question the facts. BUT, the writing and editing is poor. Many disjointed sentences, making it difficult to follow the writer's thought pattern, and then the obvious errors like "Beverly" Ford Clinic instead of the "Betty" Ford Clinic. Really? A half competent editor would have caught that one...... An ok book, but when you make errors like that, convincing your readers will be a challenge!

The death of Marilyn Monroe has been a mystery for over six decades. In that time lots of books have been written with various theories offered up. Where this book makes a lot of sense is the motive. That motive makes more sense than an accidental overdose, suicide, or some of the past possible suspects. If you accept that motive, you are left with identifying the culprit or culprits. The author is correct in the idea that a successful conspiracy generally has a limited number of participants that actually know what all or most of the details. I find the book believable. That hinges heavily on the all-important diary of Marilyn Monroe and where it was eventually discovered. That’s the most intriguing part of this book. While it may never be proven, this book paints a clear picture of who was most likely involved. It’s a riveting read!

This book lays out the facts with great detail, based on extensive undercover spying done by the LAPD and other agencies, and confirmed over many years of testimony from insiders, procured methodically by Rothmiller. I would definitely recommend this book so that you have the opportunity to understand this important part of America's history. What finally happened to Monroe was tragic. The people she trusted were responsible for her murder, and much more. It was heartbreaking to learn that she was drugged and gang raped at Frank Sinatra's Cal-Neva a few days before her murder. And when she was given a glass of water (laced with poison) to drink, she looked into her friend, Peter Lawford's eyes and he nodded yes. If he had only been less of a coward. The complaint I would have about this book is that the authors show great compassion for Lawford and really none for Monroe.