A true story of a crime committed in San Diego several years ago against a young mother by a strange man whose intentions were only known to her when it was too late. Alone she suffered abuse and an attempt on her life, bravely shielding her two young children (from a previous marriage) with courage. The action of several Iraqi immigrants makes the story the more fascinating and mysterious.The investigations, arrests, and trials lead to eventual hard-fought justice.          Excerpt ...a dark gray car had come swiftly into the driveway which passed in front of her parking place, and had stopped directly in front of her, creating a shadow in her view and drawing her attention. As she looked up she saw the three black occupants of the car openly staring at her, one on the passenger side beside the driver leaning out of the window. He was pointing a gun at her. The sun's rays ricocheted a glint from the barrel of this instrument of death into her face, blinding her unbelieving eyes. She panicked, frozen in fear, unable to control her shaking body. "My God, he's going to shOOt me! I'm about to die!" He fired a thunderous shot. DUCK DOWN! DUCK YOUR HEAD! I'LL SAVE YOU! She did not know what the bullet had hit. As the voice suggested, she struggled to get her head down to the empty seat, hindered by the still fastened seat belt her hands would not reach. Her torso bent over and her head tilted as far as it would go beneath the dash, she heard another deafening shot--a slight pause--then two more rapidly fired shots closer to the right door. A screeching sound and the smell of burning rubber made her realize she could now raise up her head. Through the windshield she could see a dusty film rising from the driveway and scattered small gravel settling as she unfastened her seat belt with violently shaking hands. She cautiously but rapidly jerked open the door and began to run to the school office door. Two workers from the office had stepped out and took hold of her arms, nearly dragging her, to help her get inside. The bell had rung. The school children were huddled around the double exit doors nearby and were clamoring to get close to Charlene. Among them she saw the colorless, pinched face of Jericha who had tears in her eyes that were begging Charlene to let her out so she could be with her mother.

Professional Reviews
The Cote Literary Group
TWO CODES FOR MURDER effectively and quickly hooks the reader's interest with a Prologue set in a courtroom in 1996. Much of the account reads with the intimacy of a journal...the reader thus gains insight into the psychology of abuse in a compelling way.

Bookwire Review
Writing with the authority and conviction of the victim's mother,
Dorothea Fuller Smith delves into the world of domestic abuse through the eyes of her daughter, Charlene, in
this gripping, true story of intrigue,
deception, and greed.
Meeting Floyd Mitleider was a dream-come-true for Charlene, a divorcee with two young children. A well-heeled buinessman with an avid enthusiasm for exercise and diet, Floyd was irresistible as he lavished her with attention, charming her with promising words of their future together. Despite some personal uncertainties regarding Floyd'sbusiness ethics and his demeaning treatment of everyone around him, Charlene agrees to marry him. Moving across the country and leaving everything she owns behind, Charlene quickly finds her honeymoon over as she begins a descent into her own personal hell.
Denied her own automobile, bank account, career, and friendships,
Charlene's dependence on he husband increases as rapidly as does his abuse, which begins as verbal belittlements but escalates to physical beatings and ends with Floyd taking a contract out on her life. Narrowly escaping the murder attempt, Charlene lives on to endure the frustrations of pursuing a legal divorce while seeking personal protection and justice from the police, as well as struggling to regain her dignity and sense of self-worth.
The first half of TWO CODES FOR MURDER: A TRUE CRIME STORY reads much like a suspense novel. It artistically recreates the unfolding events while insightfully developing the characters of both assailant and victim. However, once the litany of trials begins, the narrative flow is, unfortunately, superseded by the presentation of the cold, hard facts of the judicial proceedings.
Despite this abrupt change in style, the author successfully delivers an engrossing account of the tragic hardships endured by Charlene as she slowly uncovers the layers of deceit that attracted and bound her to the man who would eventually try to have her killed. This book is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand the dynamics that keep the cycle of domestic abuse alive.

Reader Reviews for "Two Codes for Murder"

Reviewed by D. Kenneth Ross	7/17/2008
Based on the excerpt alone there is good reason to buy this work. It is going on my non-fiction must buy list today. The author chooses her words painstakingly in setting up a most horrific event. This is a well documented story by an author delivering it with the words of an expert storyteller.
Reviewed by Dorothea Smith	9/24/2006
I am happy that wholesalers are still ordering this title. It assures me that readers out there are still attracted to the events of this tell all crime book along with the intimate details of the domestic violence where it all began.Since some years have now passed, it is time for a revision and update of the victims and the criminals in this story. The Iraqis who played roles in the unfolding scary tale may have been involved in the Sept. 11 tragedy of our country. The new information will be a part of the revision.

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